Anniversary dinner at Bocado

Ten years is a long time. It's one to celebrate. In the weeks leading up to our anniversary, I asked Chef Todd Ginsberg at Bocado if he would prepare a special anniversary dinner for us. We were so thrilled when he accepted.

We made our reservation early so that we would affect the kitchen less. So we rolled into the restaurant promptly at 6pm, the second table of the night. Outside, a huge storm raged bending bamboo nearly to the ground.

Here is the menu we were served. Todd, Brian, and David took such good care of us all night. It was spectacular.

For an aperitif, David made us a sbagliato. In Italian, it means "a mistake". It's a popular riff on the Negroni but with prosecco instead of gin. He also lightened it up a big further, making it more amenable to my palate. A great way to get the appetite going.

For an amuse, grapefruit, avocado, radish, lemon-tarragon vinaigrette. Part of what made this amuse so wonderful is the size of the pieces. As you chewed, the taste of each component really stood out on its own. At the end, the cleanness of the radish shone through, but the last taste left was of tarragon. Delicious.

Georgia peach, pistachio & arugula pesto, pickled blueberries, duck ham. I had to use the flash on this picture to capture the brightness of the colors. And the flavors! It seems so unassuming sitting there on the plate, but the pesto was bright and green, with a freshness that we have come to expect and love in Chef Todd's food. The perfectly ripe peaches went so well with the pesto. The blueberries and duck ham were great too, but it was the peaches and pesto that really thrilled me. I came close to licking the plate, getting as much of the sauces into my mouth as possible.

Brandade on warm garlic toast, evoo, thyme, parsley. It was our first experience with brandade. For years, I've looked at brandade recipes, read about bacalao and how to buy, prepare, and then cook with it. And it was so wonderful. Much more delicate than I was expecting and such a smooth texture. I believe the puree was fennel, and it was also delicious.

Sole, artichoke barigoule. Chef Todd's french-style sole is always delicate, light, and delicious. I've had this version of his before with the artichoke barigoule and braised fennel. A solid, delicious dish.

At this point, we moved on from the Bitouzet-Prieur 2004 Meursault-Charmes 1er cru to the Harmand-Geoffroy 2001 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru. The Meursault was good, but the Mazis was amazing. A luscious, deeply delicious wine.

Duck breast, roasted foie gras, hakurei turnips, baby carrots, medjool dates, orange-coriander jus. The duck was so tender, we used a butter knife to cut it. It's a treat to have foie gras whenever it appears and this was no exception. Delicious nuggets. Meltingly tender dates, delicious turnips and carrots. Josh said it's the best duck dish he's ever had.

Roasted sweetbreads, poached farm egg, grits, hen of the wood mushrooms, maderia-truffle sauce. Simply the best sweetbreads we have had, beating out our prior favorite from The Spotted Pig. A light batter, but delightfully crisp. When you broke open the poached egg, it mixed in with the grits and mushrooms and created a wonderful sauce. I practically licked this dish clean also.

Cheese plate: (R to L) purple haze, tomini, humboldt fog, roquefort. A well-balanced cheese plate with a range of textures and milks. Of course, Josh ate most of the semi-hard cheese, so I ate all the soft cheeses. He also ate the bread and most of the accompaniments.

To go with dessert, David made us a so-called coffee drink. Cognac, ruby port, a whole egg. Delicious and such a good match for the cake. It did look just like a coffee-y/chocolate-y drink.

Chocolate, salt and caramel cake. Rich and delicious the way a cake should be!

We were the last table to leave. We can close down any restaurant, apparently. We talked with David about cocktails a lot at the end as the restaurant emptied. Around 10, we thanked everyone for our lovely meal and stumbled out to the car.

A truly wonderful dinner. One I'll remember for a long time.