Mari Kim
Google
This is that bougie brunch place that everyone tells you to go to. Turns out it's with good reason.
Went on Father's Day, because I woke up missing my dad on the other side of the country...and really good eggs. Made my reservation on Resy and decided to ask to be waitlisted because I realized I could arrive a little early.
A table was cleared for me but then reset for another party that might have more in it. I was given the option to be rerouted to the back room bar. Curious more than anything else, I decided to follow because I had my book with me and was planning to politely ignore everyone anyway.
If it's impossible to ignore the life-size Airstream that take center stage in the main dining area…it's even more impossible to ignore the life-size taxidermy giraffe head/neck hanging on the back wall of the bar area.
The bar area is undeniably elegant. It was populated with a large graduation party celebrating happily. A nice vibe.
I started with a strawberry mimosa ($9) and appreciated that it came in an elegant Reidel-like glass and had the usual bright, fragrant cava welcome. Eddie the barkeep was serving me.
I had seen caviar walking by so ordered a half ounce of the Osetra ($40). It came out fairly quickly with a side of crème fraîche and freshly chopped chives, and house made waffle chips. The combination created one of the most delightful mouthfuls I've had in a long time. If I'm honest it reminded me of my favorite Canadian sour cream and onion chips from childhood.
The buckwheat rhubarb pancakes that I ordered with the side of soft scrambled eggs took a bit, which gave me time to look around when I noticed not one but two bottles of L'Hermitage in the wine cellar above the bar. Having had the privilege of enjoying a bottle of 2017 a few years ago with a friend, I was curious about the vintage of the bottles, and asked Eddie for the wine list. They were missing from it. On purpose. (Later learned from the owner who came by solicitously to ask how the meal was going that they were reserved for her personal collection. So wise.)
The rhubarb buckwheat pancakes were fluffy and the stacked with the help of a little fruit jam. The rhubarb is prepared in three different ways and the compote version is lovely. The dollops of goat cheese whipped are richly satisfying and sprinkled with crunchy, roasted buckwheat before being generously serenaded by fenugreek syrup.
The soft scrambled eggs which arrived still-warm and sprinkled with sea salt and paprika. I inhaled them.
Perhaps what I enjoyed the most, if I'm honest, were the tasting notes that I had time to read on the different champagnes and wines. In particular the champagnes. I first noticed the "no words needed," ascribed to the 2015 Louis Roderer Cristal. Having picked up a gorgeous Roderer 2015 Rosé at The Davis last month, I knew this reviewer understood. As I continue to read the notes there was humor, and sass, and deeply personal revelations in comments like, "100% meunier is my love language."
Tasting notes after my own heart.
I'm looking forward to returning when it's dinner time or perhaps for an after dinner glass of something, something. Turns out the bar has all the verve, nerve, and elegance of a lounge that is wise enough to know what it offers and fierce enough to show a little leg, and the service to back it up. Bravo.