Jackson Street Dual - 2007.01 - ***** vs *****

Aka cheap attempt to blog 2 restaurants with one entry!

It was pure coincidence that Scott Howard and Frisson were 3 blocks down from each other, and both were offering enticing DAT menus. Eating there a week apart, it is hard not to do a tete-a-tete.

Menu

I liked equally the clean modern look at SH and the retro, slightly whimsical tone of Frisson. SH however perked my interests on more accounts, particularly the raw - smoked - cured section. I wish I could have tried their smoked trout with truffled egg salad on crostini! But that unfortunately wasn't part of DAT (and I was too cheap to get extra).

SH 1 - FR 0

Appetizers

Which brings me to their Smoked salmon - Fingerling potato salad - Green apple - Creme fraiche, gorgeous and amazing. The apples made a wonderful accent. I didn't miss the trout after that. The two other starters were also fine dishes, technically. To my left the mache/frisee salad was paired with a lovely Champagne vinaigrette - text book - except maybe for the lack of candied walnuts, but also a little commonplace. And to my right, a brilliantly intensified carrot broth that withstood the perfume of truffle oil. It was however its own worst enemy, as it was so carroty I could only admire from afar.

At Frisson, there was no sitting out. We dived into the velvet depth of the double portion Dungeness crab & lobster bisque, fishing for the lobster ravioli, artichokes, and chunks of toasted chestnuts that was to-die-for. In between spoonfuls of those, the Oven roasted tomato & eggplant tartlet (sharp pecorino cheese, basil cream) offered a multitude of flavors in contrast to the creamy harmony of the soup. I liked even the black olive emulsion.

SH 1 - FR 1

Entree

After such commendable "entrees", the main courses typically fall a little short of expectations. I'm afraid to say both contenders here were no exceptions. Frisson presented a 24hr confit of veal bacon (veal belly, not veal with bacon) that by any judgement exceeded their first two efforts, for it had at once the flashy appeal of well caramelized meat and the soulfulness of slow braising. It was good enough to eat without any sides, but it did come with serrano ham, wild organic rice, baby carrots, pear-onion soubise and madeira sauce. It was a "wow" piece, and I hadn't had a "wow" piece for a long while.

Which was why it was so incomprehensible how they could have botched the Cornmeal dusted filet of english sole so badly. Greasy, tasteless morsels of fish that had no help from the criminally boring sides. Garlic braised spinach? Think chinese 蒜茸波菜.

Scott Howard didn't get off scott-free either. While its "Pork shoulder - celery root puree - mustard green - cider vinegar glaze" was almost as good as the veal bacon (almost), being luscious, simple, with tart balanced against sweet and savory; and the Lamb loin with dandelions and truffle jus held its own; my "Maine scallops - Maitake mushrooms - Saffron sauce" was somewhat disappointing. Not bad, but it just didn't come together all that well. I had to try to finish the last piece, and looked forward to something to counter the overly rich tastes in my mouth.

SH 2 - FR 2

Dessert

Fortunately my desire was quickly fulfilled. A plate of Panna cotta bursting with citrus flavors and the crunch of Macadamia nut brittle was the perfect way to cleanse the palate. A few slivers of basil did wonders to elevate the citrus. As with some of the other winners at Scott Howard, it was the simple little touches that turned good into great. We also had a nice Butterscotch pudding topped with some very yummy caramelized banana, thought Amnon was sworn to the butterscotch pudding at Fork, which incidentally was Mr. Howard's first restaurant.

Lastly, we had a Warm chocolate cake which made a perfect match up against Frisson's "Bitter chocolate pudding". Both lavacake style sweets, with SH's Blackberry coulis + Creme fraiche versus FR's toasted brioche, mango, and chai spiced ice milk. Actually, forget the supporting characters, FR's cake won hands down; luxurious chocolate so good it can convert me to a choco-holic and melt me into a gooey crumbly mess that was the cake itself. I didn't care much for the chai spiced "ice cream", too spiced for my taste.

Also at Frisson was an olive oil ice cream on a bed of citrus shortbread on a bed of tangerine-saffron granite. Good, but memories of this dessert is eclipsed by that of the chocolate cake.

SH 2 - FR 3

Bread + Service

On the miscellaneous front, SH served a good combination of breads: sourdough, olive bread, and a super-calorie super good cheese shortbread. Frisson on the other hand had nothing more than plain crusty bread of no particular greatness. But it did have cute waiters and waitresses that said more than "what would you like" and "thank you have a nice evening". I'm not keen on service but for establishments like these two, one can't help but expect better service than Chili's. And apparently the bartender was quite rude to Amnon!

SH 3 - FR 4

Final Words

Despite the score count, I think I would pick SH if I am to be banished to an island with only one restaurant of these two to choose. I may not have liked some of the dishes or ingredients, but the general flavor quotient was discernibly higher at SH; there was a real effort to enhance and intensify the natural flavors of foods. I would love see what they do with other season's ingredients.

This year's DAT's have all been surprisingly successful. I'm happy to see the city still holds places of these calibers.

Scott Howard, $40 per person, all incl. with 2 drinks. Pictures.

Frisson, $39 per person, all incl. Pictures.