Sometimes a meal is so good and so memorable, you wake up the next morning still smiling, remembering how enjoyable the company, how delicious the food. I felt that way a couple of Mondays ago, after an incredible meal at Manresa, David Kinch’s new restaurant in Los Gatos.

The dining room at Manresa isn’t overtly romantic. Instead, it carries the ambiance of the home of a tasteful friend: it’s cosily elegant with crushed silk curtains, oriental rugs, and clean, spare interior lines that echo the building’s Craftsman-style heritage.

Service is still a work in progress, but it was efficient and couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful. We are a pair of curious eaters and our questions throughout the evening were always answered (or researched in the kitchen) by the staff with a smile. As the restaurant has only been open for a couple months, we can assume this new crew will hit their stride soon.

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So you will go for the food: sheer sensuality on a plate. Or many, many plates in our case, as we had the tasting menu with wine pairing ($88/pp + $65/pp, ouch), our favorite way to experience the range of a new kitchen. What emerged from this one ranks up there with the best meals we’ve eaten. Take for granted the fact that everything tasted incredible. Beyond that, Chef Kinch and his team used contrasting flavors, textures and temperatures to elevate the simple act of eating into a more immersive experience. Like reading a good novel, we forgot our surroundings and became immediately absorbed by the story before us. It didn’t hurt that there was an Ferran Adria feel to the evening, not just in the foams that appeared in several dishes, but in the purposeful, yet light-hearted creativity that marked our meal.

It all began with a sparkling flute of Sorelle Bronca Prosecco di Valdobbiadene and our first amuse bouche, a shot glass of chilled strawberry gazpacho. Cold, slightly frothy, lightly textured.

Next a pair of martini glasses. In my partner’s, a lobster claw on mousse. In mine, a decadent, buttery Foie Gras “truffle” sitting on a small mound of pine nuts, salt-cured capers and currants . We shared, and the lobster was very fine. But it couldn’t compete with the complex flavors and textures happening in my glass.

Their signature amuse was another study in contrasts. Small eggcups were placed before us and we dipped tiny spoons into topped eggshells, slurping the contents. Warm, barely poached yolk slid smoothly down our throats but not before our tongues noted the cool foam with hint of maple, the crisp fresh chive bits, and the tang and crunch of invisible salt crystals. Wishing for a straw to nab that last bit of gelatinous albumen, our shells and cups were cleared away and we were left contemplating a cool glass of Meibo Sake in anticipation of things to come.

If this were Sesame Street, and I had to pick a dish that didn’t belong, I suppost this next one would stand out like a chopstick in a fork round-up. Not that I’m complaining. I inhaled the slice of soy-marinated hamatchi (yellow-tail) and tangy cucumber slices with its small, glistening cloud of cucumber and cilantro foam, accented by black sesame seeds and slivers of green onion. It was only the next morning I remembered I had always hated hamatchi.

Here’s where we may have caused some unintentional consternation to the staff. First, I had to go to the bathroom, then my SO took a short cigarette break. I suppose we might have broken the rhythm in the kitchen because my next dish was less than perfect. A dry piece of grouper with romesco sauce sat atop the shellfish and fresh cranberry bean stew. And the whorls of a rather large fingerprint marred the surface of my white platter. Shunning the fish, the fingerprint, and the cranberry beans (which I found too chalky), I still couldn’t help but take up a piece of Acme bread and sop up the tasty broth. I think this was served with a pleasant, but unremarkable Marques de Caceres Rioja Rosé.

The next course was back on track and more than exquisite. A thick slice of perfectly cooked roast squab and duck foie gras was surrounded by a clear puddle of honey wine and jus reduction. To the side sat a small bundle of perfectly sauteed red chard with rich slivers of spanish ham. A coarse and colorful grinding of orange zest and juniper berries circled the rim of the plate. Composing each forkful to go in the mouth was a joy because of the textures of the food, the utter deliciousness of said composition made you want to prolong chewing so you could suck the flavors out of each bite as much as possible. We drank a well paired, spicy, lightly herbaceous Domaine de Cabasse “les deux Anges” with this dish.

Our final savory course was also delightful. A square, glass plate held a saddle of rabbit wrapped around a pat of picada poised over an immensely flavorful sauce of green lentils, chantrelle mushrooms & sweet baby onions. The rabbit was good, but I would have been just as happy eating only the lentils & mushrooms. Again, these were palate-saturating flavors that made me resent the act of swallowing. To drink: Elio Pasquero Barbera D’Alba.

We took a breather from this rich parade of food and recalibrated our taste buds with a small dish of tasty, crunchy curried macadamia & sweetened/sesameed cashew nuts. Tiny sips from a flute of Laura Moscatel threatened to knock them into the sweet zone.

And so began the final chapter, with a crispy fried rice ball speckled with sesame seeds and filled with warm, oozing goat cheese. A fragrant, sweet strawberry was thinly sliced and fanned around the rice ball in an attractive star pattern. Delicious.

Then, hot plum polenta cake with macaroon and maple ice cream sandwich. I discovered a tiny tangle of cold basil chiffonade nestled within the polenta. More oooh-ing, ahh-ing and spoon licking.

To close, coffee creme brulee and an espresso eclair with maple glaze. Luckily, we ordered little hot cups of espresso ($3/pp): it’s gritty bitterness cut the cloying sweetness of the eclair, though it anesthesized our tongues from discerning what I presume would have been the more delicate flavors of the creme brulee.

Waiting for the check, we nibbled on a final tray of sweets. The truffles were quite nice, the tiny madelines ok, but the neon pink macaroons with marzipan bits should be edited out, post haste.

The menu is arranged simply and efficiently, from lightest to heaviest: savory courses on one page, sweet/dessert courses on the second. The meals are prix fixe, so you can select any 3, 4 or 5 courses for $54, $65, or $75, respectively. Full wine pairings by the sommelier can be added or you can select your own from their hefty, yet user-friendly wine list. But for a truly memorable experience, I highly recommend the tasting menu.

We hadn’t been huge fans of Sent Sovi, so I made my Open Table reservations with a bit of hesitation. Thank goodness so many other places were closed on Sunday; I can’t believe we came so close to missing this sensational meal.

—FM
(Manresa Restaurant Review originally posted on Craigslist FoodForum 9/16/2003)

Related Links
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Manresa Website
Metroactive’s Review
Make your reservation via OpenTable

Photo Credit: Lion Assoc.