Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA, USA

The boisterous chatter you hear walking into Restaurant Gary Danko is a snapshot of what dining here is like - excellent cuisine is the centerpiece, of course, but it's also prepared and presented in a way that's highly attentive, often creative, and surprisingly fun. We had to wait for about twenty minutes after arriving for our 8:15 reservation, which gave us plenty of time to soak in the surroundings - the tall flower vases in the corners, the small size of the restaurant itself, and the just-a-bit-noisier-than-ideal volume, probably due to the restaurant's small size.

A constant stream of servers and staff wearing dark jackets traverses the restaurant, ever attentive without drawing too much attention. The hostess was similarly attentive to us, apologizing for the wait and arranging for a few free treats for us when we were finally seated. The first, a buckwheat belini topped with smoked salmon and caviar, was delicious - the smoked salmon and caviar combining for a rich, salty flavor, but balanced by the buckwheat and complemented by a generous amount of butter that had gone into the belini. Indeed, a generous helping of butter helped many of our dishes taste better, and we even noticed the scent of butter in the air when we first walked in, probably from the bananas flambe, one of several dishes Gary Danko prepares for guests in the main dining room. The other complementary items were two glasses of champagne, and we were also served a small amouse bouche of curry soup like other diners.

The first of my three courses was a lobster risotto, made perfectly. The rice was al dente without being soggy, and overall the risotto had a rich, buttery flavor, with a surprising little hint of lime. Mixed in were nice large pieces of lobster, whose flavor was suffused throughout the dish; shimeji mushrooms, adding a creative and unusual new texture to the risotto; and peas. The first main was roast maine lobster, also done perfectly - the lobster was tender, sweet and needed nothing more than the rich buttery sauce to make it a savory delight. The lobster sat on a bed of potato puree, mixed with black trumpet mushrooms, edamame and tarragon. For wine, we selected a Chardonnay from Evening Land Vinyeards, a niche but growing vineyard, and the wine was also excellent, with a full-bodied, smooth flavor and hint of oak.

By now, we were concerned that we were filling up, yet only haflway through. The second main was a whole roast quail, stuffed with foie gras, mushrooms and quinoa. The dish was done well, with the hint of foie gras adding a rich, dense flavor to the quail. Accompanying the dish were braised artichokes, peas, and slices of prosciutto. Finally, for dessert, I picked the chocolate souffle. The server brought out the souffle, then poured in a two sauces, one vanilla, and one chocolate. The souffle was moist and soft, and the sweet, rich sauce was a perfect finish to a decadent, delicious and very memorable meal.

Though it was nearly 11pm by the time we left the restaurant, we had enjoyed every minute of the perfectly executed food, very gracious service, and fun touches like the cheese cart and bananas flambe in the main room, leaving with the same boisterous good cheer that we saw in the room when we first entered. Without a doubt, it's a splurge, an expensive, full-immersion experience, but one that any serious foodies should not miss.

Marinus at Bernardus Lodge, Carmel Valley, CA, USA

Nestled in a secluded valley three hours from San Francisco, the Marinus restaurant, part of the Bernardus Lodge, is definitely a getaway. The Bernardus resort complex includes a vineyard, a five-star hotel known for its attentive service and country estate style, and of course Marinus, a lovely little world where all food is organic and all wine comes from local vinyeards.

We sat down for dinner at 6:30pm, in front of a large fireplace crackling away in a dimly lit, hushed, but comfortable dining room. The staff was attentive, taking care of everything from providing a stool for my dinner companion's handbag, to discreetly adding wood to the fireplace every hour or so. Service is definitely one of the high points - the staff goes out of their way to make the experience enjoyable, for instance bringing out a series of complimentary experimental dishes throughout the meal.

We chose the 3-dish prix fixe for $65; the restaurant also offers a 4-course, 5-course, and chef's tasting menu with many more dishes. Before the first course even arrived, we were treated to some breads, one sourdough-style and the other a soft, delicious brioche, flaky on the top and bottom and warm and moist in the middle. It was the best brioche we've ever had. They also featured an experimental dish, a vegeterian spring roll (like a Vietnamese roll) with cucumber, carrot, avocado and red bell peppers in a light wrapper.

It was amazing, an explosion of flavor from each of the ingredients. You hear about how vegetables are supposed to taste better if you can manage to buy them locally, and if this is the result, I will be buying local as much as I possibly can. (Bernardus prepared the dish from vegetables in its own organic garden.) In the word of my dinner companion, it was enough to make her become a vegetarian.

For the first dish, my companion had a beet salad. It featured a variety of beets, including Chioggia, an Italian variety, again fresh and full of flavor. The waiter stopped by to talk about the chef's "100-mile" rule, whereby he tries to purchase all ingredients locally within 100 miles. From the flavors, it seems like a good idea. The beets were served accompanied by garden greens and feta cheese, and garnished with sliced black olives and mandarin oranges for just a trace of salty and sweet, too.

My first dish was Carmel Bay prawns, served with a Yukon gold potato risotto, chanterelle mushrooms, and parmigiano-reggiano cheese. The prawns were very tender, not stiff the way many restaurants will prepare prawns. They were cooked with a strong blend of oil, herbs and salt. It was a solid dish, but not far better or worse than most similar offerings.

My companion's second dish was a foie gras. Like the brioche bread and the spring roll before it, she said this was the best she's ever had. It was an explosion of deliciousness in your mouth, like pure fat oozing over your tongue with only the tiniest bit of goose liver keeping it together. The two pieces were large, too, making for a truly decadent dish. (And yes, we know what goes into making the dish, so we normally don't order it.) Finally, a few huckleberries and pineapple quince added a nice contrast of sweetness and tartness to what might otherwise have been an overwhelming entree.


My second dish was a Colorado rib-eye lamb. Unlike the typical bone-in rack of lamb, this was a very lean cut. Yet it was still very tender, and pink throughout. A smoked applewood flavor on the outside edge of the lamb was a nice touch as well. Marnius served it with candy cap mushrooms, fennel and roasted garlic jus.

My third dish was a filet mignon, a perfect example of what a filet should be. Seared to almost blackened on the outside, it was crispy with a strong smoky flavor (the Applewood again) on the outside, but the inside beef was the kind that would melt in your mouth. It was so tender it would move with the stroke my knife, and was perfectly delicious. It was served with a roasted torpedo onion, a "pomme ancienne" potato wedge (no idea what that means) and a bearnaise sauce.

My companion's third dish was a big eye tuna. Seared on the outside and pink on the inside, it too was well done, with a whole grain mustard sauce. What really caught her eye was the bloomsdale spinach though - even though fully cooked, it still had a strong, crunchy texture of a vegetable cooked just enough to be, well, cooked, without losing its essential flavor.

Between the entrees and dessert, the chef had the whimsy to serve a lemon sorbet with - get this - pop rocks. But it worked well to cleanse the palate.

My dessert was a chocolate vahlrona mousse, a very rich mousse with a thin layer of chocolate on top, served with a dollop of pistachio ice cream. Her dessert was a a hazelnut ganache, with a unusual consistency somewhere cake and a brownie, served with a scoop of coffee ice cream. Rounding out the meal, I had a DuMol winery Syrah (Russian River, 2004), whose smooth, full bodied, dark cherry and chocolate flavors paired well with the heavier meats that I ordered.

We look forward to our next visit here and wish we could come more often. We know of at least one older gentleman who dines at Marinus frequently: he sat in the corner acoss from us, and the staff paid extra-special attention to him, with four different servers standing by his side and sipping wine with him (in rotation). A younger couple that also frequents the restaurant arrived midway through our meal and chatted with the gentleman before digging into their meal. Seems like a nice life.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience, from the attentive service and excellent food to the whimsical, playful touches and relaxed, intimate ambience. It is worth every minute of the time it takes to reach this hidden, tucked-away gem, and we can't wait to go back.

El Vez, Philadelphia, PA, USA

As the eleventh node in the restaurant empire of Stephen Starr, the reigning king of Philadelphia's dining scene, El Vez was launched with high expectations, and fortunately it does not disappoint. The restaurant's website describes its atmosphere as a sexy, festive vibe of Mexican - American pop culture, with “Day of the Dead” motifs and kitschy Mexican accents bringing to life the authenticity of Tijuana, with a hot and flashy Vegas twist. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but somehow it works. The interior is an eclectic mix of trendy and funky touches, including Mexican-style murals on half the walls, a montage of pictures and colored panels on the other half, plush semicircular booths, and a very kitschy gold-plated low-rider bicycle on top of the large, circular bar, all bathed in a deep southwestern red.

The menu is similarly eclectic, offering an "updated" Mexican cuisine with touches of fusion. At El Vez, tostadas might come with wild mushrooms, enchiladas with carmelized onions, or tacos with mahi-mahi, red cabbage and a chipotle pepper remoulade (a French- style mayonnaise- based sauce). We started what turned out to be a huge meal with a Mexican chopped salad of romaine lettuce, charred corn, tomatoes, toasted almonds, green olives, cotija cheese, and crunchy tortilla strips with a cumin-lime vinaigrette. That was followed with an open-faced grilled shrimp quesedilla, with oaxaca and chihuahua cheeses and a pasilla chile sauce, and duck confit flautas, with poblano avocado sauce, cotija cheese and crema fresca. The descriptions of the dishes themselves are a confusing jumble of ingredients, but in nearly every case the unusual combinations worked well together.

For instance, our first entree was tamarind barbecue babyback ribs; the ribs were tender and the tamarind (a fruit best known for its used in Asian cuisines, including Indian and Thai) added a dash of the exotic. Similarly, the carne asada was just as advertised - tender, charcoal beef steak, and again the unexpected inclusion of a three chile sauce, tomatillo and arroz con crema added a new twist to the standard dish. The intriguing, almost fun mix of flavors often led us to double-check the description to see just how that taste had been concocted. The meal rolled on, with red chile and chicken enchiladas with crema fresca, radish and cotija cheese next, followed by yucatan seared tuna with rock shrimp, black bean salad and plaintain chips, along with sides of grilled corn on the cob, creamy poblano corn rice, and poblano corn bread.

Though El Vez is just over two years old, the restaurant's servers still seemed eager to please, giving us complimentary snacks to make up for a (very) long interlude at the bar while waiting to be seated. The service was also surprisingly well coordinated and looked after our party of over twenty people without any of the usual large-group problems. However, the restaurant's critics argue that the eclectic touches don't justify the prices - most of the entrees ranged between $19 and $24, and the starters were priced between $8-$12. A big bowl of guacamole, served with chips and salsa roja, will set you back $12, a high price even if the guacamole is made fresh right in the main dining room. After all, the entrees, while fresh and different, are hardly haute cuisine. Half of the fun is the restaurant's trendy, kitschy atmosphere, which certainly won't work for everyone. For those who do like it, though, El Vez is refreshingly interesting and, best of all, fun.

El Vez
121 S. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-928-9800
www.elvezrestaurant.com

Restaurant Hamdi, Istanbul, Turkey

The cluttered neighborhood and small elevator up to Hamdi Restaurant are not promising at first, but once you walk into the fifth-floor terrace, the hustle and bustle of Istanbul suddenly calms down, replaced with a wonderful panoramic view of the the northern side of European Istanbul, as well as the Golden Horn, the river separating the northern and southern sides of European Istanbul, and finally a glimpse beyond, toward the Bosphorus bridge linking to Asian Istanbul.

Hamdi Restaurant is a popular kebab house, specializing in southeastern Turkish kebabs known for their strong spices. I tried a variety of kebabs, including kebabs with poppy, with garlic, and with pistachios. Most were made of ground lamb mixed with spices grilled on skewers - all were delicious, with each bite an artful mixture of spices and succulent meat. Dessert was a plate of walnut and pistachio baklava, a popular pastry throught the region made with sheets of phyllo dough between which layers of butter, finely chopped nuts and honey are baked. Baklava is a very rich, very sweet dessert, perhaps too much so for some tastes - but not for me.

Service at Hamdi Restaurant was well-run and friendly, the restaurant's interior was bright and inviting, with white linens and dark woods, and of course the panoramic, 180-degree view spanning European and Asian Istanbul contributes to an open, airy feeling inside, especially on spring and summer days when the Mediterranean sum streams in through the windows.

Hamdi Restaurant
Tahmis Caddesi
Kalcin Sokak 17
Eminönü
Istanbul, Turkey
90-212-528-0390
www.hamdirestorant.com.tr

Vong and Hutong, Hong Kong, China

Vong and Hutong are two contemporary, stylish restaurants with attention-getting interiors and cuisines, but the dining experiences they offer do not quite match their initial impressions.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's reputation precedes him, with Jean Georges, Mercer Kitchen, and Vong restaurants in New York, Hong Kong and Chicago giving him a global presence. At first sight, the Hong Kong Vong, on the 25th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel overlooking Victoria harbor, matches high expectations, with a sophisticated and subdued black and gold interior. Several touches mark the restaurant as one designed for style - if you look inside the tall, black cylindrical lamps near the entrance, you can see slowly fluttering golden leaves visible through an eye-shaped opening, giving off a slightly mysterious flair. The service was also marked with a few flourishes; for instance, multiple servers will converge on a table at once, such that each diner receives his or her dish simultaneously.

Unfortunately, the food, aspiring to innovative French-Thai fusion, is somewhat uneven. The lime and ginger sauce surrounding a pair of crab cakes was tantalizing, but did not really fit the crab cakes well, as if the sauce were simply prepared on the side and poured over just before serving. The roast duck slices with tamarind and sesame were too lightly seasoned and overcooked as well, holding little flavor at all, neither from the seasoning nor the duck itself.

Hutong restaurant attracts a well-heeled crowd, offering them a fantastic view of Hong Kong island from the Kowloon peninsula, and a well-designed interior that looks like an updated Beijing hutong, or traditional courtyard residence. Unfortunately, the prices are far too high and the service is very uneven, negatives that more than offset the often creative cuisine. Frankly, any restaurant that tells you upon entry that a minimum bill of HK$300 (roughly US$40) is required is immediately suspect.

The menu itself is notable, printed like a photo scrapbook, and equally hard to read. Unfortunately, the staff was not particularly helpful in navigating its pages, other than to remind diners that the dishes selected should exceed the minimum bill. They also forget orders with surprising regularity. Hutong's contemporary versions of traditional Beijing dishes, on the other hand, nearly redeem the restaurant (but not quite). One especially unusual and delicious dish was lamb prepared Peking duck style, with the same crispy skin that marks the classic Beijing dish. Yet the lamb, delicious as it was, was served in very small quantity for a nearly US$30 dish, further strengthening the impression that Hutong exists mostly as an operation to make money by luring trend-conscious customers, rather than a restaurant truly concerned with serving its genuinely interesting menu offerings.

Hutong
One Peking Road, 28th Floor
Kowloon, Hong Kong
852-3428-8342

Vong
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 25th Floor
5 Connaught Road
Central, Hong Kong
852-2522-0111

Sunday Brunch at the Lounge, Intercontinental Hotel, Singapore

The InterContinental Hotel's weekly champagne jazz brunch is a treat, as much for the atmosphere as the food. The hotel converts the lounge each Sunday to a buffet restaurant. With high ceilings and grand design (such as large white pillars and chandeliers) the lounge/restaurant's setting is very inviting, especially on days when the sun is streaming in through the skylights high above. And because the restaurant is a lounge on the weekdays, the chairs are large and plush, the tables are spaced far apart, and the noise level is kept under control - all the better to hear the live jazz band. (The band plays a set of traditional jazz "standards," enjoyable if not especially avant garde.)

The buffet offerings are generally quite good. Highlights included fresh salmon sashimi, freshly fried tempura, as well as raw oysters. The Peking duck was not bad, though the duck was overwhelmed by the wrapping and heavy sauce, and the lobster tails were about par. The Sunday brunch offers a large selection of desserts, including a few unusual touches like a chocolate fountain and a crepe station. And last but not least, the free flow of champagne kept diners happy, especially the ones dancing with their children at the front of the stage. Finally, the service was attentive and helpful, though of course servers have less to do in a buffet setting.

All in all, the highlights among the food made the not-inexpensive price worth it, with the spacious, bright setting and jazz band making the most of a Sunday afternoon.

Sunday Champagne Jazz Brunch at The Lounge
InterContinental Hotel Singapore
80 Middle Road Singapore 199966
65-6338-7600

Restaurant Petrus, Admiralty, Hong Kong

The gold draperies, big chandeliers and black marble columns of this French restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel could create an intimidating atmosphere, but the large tables with plenty of space in between them, candlelight and most importantly, the attentive and friendly staff create an inviting if slightly hushed setting. On the 56th floor of the hotel, the restaurant offers a fantastic view of Hong Kong harbor as well. The menu is primarily French, but with a dash of other influences from around the world, including Mediterranean and Asian (the restaurant describes its cuisine as "contemporary French").

I started with pan-fried duck liver served with roasted peaches and fig ravioli. The duck liver was just lightly seared in a pork loin reduction, accenting the the thick flavors of the liver with a sparingly seasoned outer layer of seasme seeds. The sweet peach slices and fig ravioli contrasted with the heavy tones of the duck liver. For the entree, I chose lobster baked in its shell, not a traditional French dish per se but delicious nonetheless. The lobster was prepared with a butter-based sauce of shellfish jus, and was also very lightly seasoned - possibly bordering on bland for some tastes. Spaghettini with truffles and tomato confit accompanied the dish, again contrasting with the more substantial lobster meat. Finally, for dessert, I chose a warm apple tart with ice cream. Unlike most, Petrus' apple tart was very thin with a crispy crust. A light sprinking of cinnamon on both the tart and the ice cream was the perfect finishing touch for the dessert. The restaurant is also known for its extensive wine list, though I did not order wine during my visit.

The service at Petrus was also impressive, combining a French elegance in service and presentation with the fastidious, highly attentive style so typical of Hong Kong's hotels and restaurants. Yet the staff manage the balance well, without becoming too intrusive, remaining friendly, and never taking themselves too seriously (a serious risk at a restaurant such as this one). As such, the ambience and setting are two of the restaurant's most appealing aspects (both tables to my right and left were celebrating birthdays, in fact), making the cuisine that much more enjoyable.

Restaurant Petrus
Island Shangri-La Hotel, 56th floor
Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road
Admiralty, Hong Kong
852-2820-8590

Fukumatsu and Kinoko, New York, NY, USA

Kinoko and Fukumatsu stand out in the crowded New York restaurant scene by offering large portions of delicious Japanese food - something that usually only comes at a steep price. Fukumatsu, in east Midtown, offers several bento boxes that come with miso soup, soba noodles, sushi (tuna roll and California roll), tempura, salad, and ice cream - in addition to the main entree. I ordered the salmon teriyaki bento box - the salmon was fine, but for less than $15 in total, the dinner was a great value. Kinoko, on the Upper West Side, offers an all you can eat sushi dinner for $20. Most sushi buffets will use a small amount of fish on a large bed of rice, but that's not the case here. The sush is reasonably fresh, in all making for an excellent value.

Kinoko Japanese Restaurant
165 W 72nd St
New York, NY
212-580-5900

212 Fukumatsu Restaurant
212 E 52nd St
New York, NY
212-754-4840

The Courtyard, Beijing, China

Entering the stark, serene interior of this restaurant, bathed in white, feels just like walking into any other ultramodern restaurant in a major world city. Creating this type of ambience was likely quite an achievement in 1997, though today, with China's rapid development, many similarly cutting-edge restaurants are finally opening. The Courtyard offers a modern fusion menu, preparing western dishes like grilled sea scallops and roasted veal tederloin with Asian ingredients like bamboo shoots and ginger, while also incorporating other influences (like goat cheese, dates, and baba ganoush).

For the appetizer, I started with tempura-fried shrimp, dusted with a light coating of green tea. For the entree, I chose lamb chops with a cashew nut crust, served with Xinjiang style ratatouille, sweet potato mash and roasted garlic demi glace (some definitions: Xinjiang is a province in northwestern China known for its large Uighur muslim minority; ratatouille is a French-style vegetable stew; and demi-glace is a rich brown sauce, also French in origin). The cuisine was successfully "fusion" in the sense that I would stop for a while and just absorb the mix of familiar and unfamiliar flavors, deciding in the end that I liked them.

Dining at one of Beijing's best-known restaurants, I had high expectations, and appreciated the service, the ambience and the creatitivty of the menu, though I found the preparation of my dishes a bit short of ideal, with the tempura shrimp slightly soggy and the lamb chops somewhat tough. Aside from those small imperfections, however, the restaurant is still one of a kind in Beijing, and also sits at a fantastic location right next to the Forbidden City, offering a remarkable view of the palace's eastern walls from the restaurant windows.

The Courtyard Restaurant
95 Donghuamen Avenue
Beijing, China
86-010-6526-8883
www.courtyardbeijing.com

Boulevard, San Francisco, CA, USA

The art nouveau / belle epoque interior and prime Embarcadero / waterfront exterior location create an elegant yet jazzy setting for this restaurant. The restaurant's dishes are much the same, offering a New American menu in the best sense of the term, infusing French and other (Medtierranean, Asian) influences into otherwise standard modern American dishes.

Noticing the large selection of seafood on the menu, I started with the Hawaiian ahi tuna tartare, which included very fresh pieces of tuna with just the right spices (chili, jalapeno and wasabi) to add a little kick. For the entree, I chose the pan roasted northern halibut, again sauteed in a fusion style, with Asian tempura ginger adding an unexpected flavor to a usually unremarkable fish. The fish was prepared perfectly, just a little bit crispy on the outside but otherwise tender and flaky, and is the best halibut I've ever had in my life - in fact, I had no idea it could even be this delicious!

Like the setting and the food, the service was smooth and welcoming without being too pretentious. All in all, the restaurant is expensive, but well worth it!

Boulevard
1 Mission St.
San Francisco, California
415-543-6084
www.boulevardrestaurant.com

Au Gamin de Paris, Paris, France

Nestled in Paris' trendy Marais district (a lively quarter that also hosts Paris' gay neighborhood), Au Gamin de Paris offers traditional French dishes in a friendly, bustling atmosphere. The service and the decor (also traditional, with dark wood and candlelight) are adequate for a moderately-priced restaurant, but the real draw is the food. Au Gamin de Paris is best known for its meat dishes (particularly steak), as well as its desserts.

I ordered the beouf aux champignons (steak with mushroom sauce), prepared medium-rare. The steak was quite tender, and was covered with a generous layer of mushroom sauce. The flavorful beef mixed perfectly with the rich, buttery sauce - delicious. For dessert, I chose the charlotte aux fruits avec glace pistache (cake with fruit and pistachio ice cream), which was also delicious, though I was really wishing that I could order a second serving of the beouf aux champignons.

Au Gamin de Paris has the feel of a inexpensive neighborhood restaurant, offering the welcoming but unremarkable service and setting one would expect from a restaurant close to home, but the well-prepared, delicious entrees and desserts make it worth a longer trip.

Au Gamin de Paris
4th Arrondissement
51 rue Vieille du Temple
Paris, France
01-42-78-97-24