Due to some less organized behavior by yours truly, I ended up with an extra night, or rather, an evening with no dinner plans while in San Francisco.\u00a0 The dining scene in the city is rather daunting – there is so much choice!\u00a0 Anyway, being the lazy person that I am, I decided to limit my radius to those venues that were within walking distance of my hotel (I stayed at the Hyatt Centric, a modern hotel, with excellent service).<\/p>\n

Enter, 1 Michelin star Restaurant Gary Danko<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now, almost exactly two weeks before this meal, I dined at another 1 Michelin star restaurant (Mingles<\/a>) while in Seoul.\u00a0 While the cuisines are completely different, I do think standards and quality of food should be fairly similar.\u00a0 After all, what good is a grading system if you can’t trust it?\u00a0 While I realize food is very subjective, there are certain qualities I would look for in each Michelin venue.\u00a0 So, how did Gary Danko compare to some of my other Michelin meals?<\/p>\n

Without a reservation, I was told I could try the ‘first come, first served’ service at the bar.\u00a0 Fair enough.\u00a0 Finishing at my conference, I arrived just before 6 PM\u00a0and was rather surprised to see the restaurant was nearly full on a Tuesday night.\u00a0 When I inquired as to how busy they usually\u00a0were, I was informed the restaurant can do up to three seatings in a night — that’s quite a bit of hustle from the kitchen.<\/p>\n

I had a look at the tasting menu, but as I was still a bit jet-lagged and full from a late lunch, I opted instead for choosing three courses (guests have options of 3, 4, or 5 courses, plus the degustation).\u00a0 Given the range of a la carte offers, I appreciated I could choose whichever three dishes I wanted from whichever section.\u00a0 The cost, however, USD$92 — seemed a bit much.\u00a0 I had a glass of wine and service water, my bill came in close to $120 (which, plus tip, put the meal much higher than I think it was worth).<\/p>\n

So, what did I choose?\u00a0\u00a0First up was a small amuse bouche — a tiny cup of Mushroom Consomme,\u00a0<\/em>which lacked\u00a0a certain depth I have appreciated in other similar\u00a0dishes.\u00a0 For my first course, Risotto with Rock Shrimp, Dungeness Crab, Sweet Corn, and Beech Mushrooms<\/em>, I was impressed with the flavor, but the presentation was certainly lacking.\u00a0 I know risotto is not the easiest to make beautiful, but my photos turned up basically a lumpy pile of pasta.\u00a0 While the taste was fine, given the level of plating and knife work at Mingles, I was surprised that this pasta gets a pass.\u00a0 My favorite course were the Roasted Sea Scallops with Tomato Fondue, Glazed Zucchini and Basil.<\/em>\u00a0 I love a scallop, and these were everything I enjoy about the protein — sweet, perfectly tender, and the sauce added some harmonious, savory elements.\u00a0 Lastly, I decided on another seafood dish, Roast Maine Lobster with Potato Pur\u00e9e, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Corn and Tarragon<\/em>. Personally, I thought the plate could’ve been taken further with texture (bacon, celery, squash, or any vegetable with crunch), but the ingredients were luxurious and overall, I would probably order this dish again.<\/p>\n

While I didn’t order dessert, I was presented with the largest tray of petit fours I’ve ever experienced at a restaurant.\u00a0 Seriously.\u00a0 While not included in the price, I can see a choice to add this as an option, or drop $10-$15 from the menu.\u00a0 As delicious as it was, I would’ve been happy with a simple piece of chocolate.<\/p>\n