But the aioli is delish with the 
. 
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The article linked from the post I replied to.
Was the article moved to the other thread (I don’t see an article in this thread)?
Ah, thanks.
Well, then hopefully there have been some positive changes in how she thinks of those around her. I look forward to reading reports.
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Just left I’ll leave a full report in the morning but it was an excellent meal with exemplary service and some Of the best cocktails I’ve had in this town in recent memory.
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Warrior: I was impressed! I’ve always liked Sqirl for breakfast—particularly the salmon sorrel rice—but dinner is in a different league. It reminded me of a couple of recent meals at The Progress in SF: bold but balanced flavors, skillful cooking. Good wine list. Good service—way better than I expected. Thoughts on dishes:
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Sqimps (shrimp-sausage stuffed squid). 3/5. The squid itself tasted ordinary, and I saw little merit to the stuffing, which didn’t provide much texture or flavor contrast.
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Crudo. 5/5. Every component of this dish worked well together. I liked the texture of the thinly sliced jicama much more than jicama chunks.
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Contorni. 5/5. This was my surprise favorite dish. The flavor combo kept making me think “Wow!”
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Bread plate. 4/5. The jimmy nardello butter + jam was excellent. The bread was more ordinary.
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Fish. 5/5. Subtle, refined, high class. Not what I expected given my (positive) experiences with Sqirl for breakfast and lunch. This chef has serious talent.
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Grain (brown rice and lentils). 5/5. Delicious. I couldn’t stop eating this.
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Asparagus. 4.5/5. The sauce had amazing flavor—I kept eating spoonfuls of the sauce alone—but the asparagus could have been more bold and al dente.
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Cheese plate. 2.5/5. Only two cheeses, neither special.
Peony: I really enjoyed the meal tonight! Some of the dishes are really creative. I liked the asparagus more than I would have thought. I liked how soft and tender it was!
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Agreed on the grain and super agree on the asparagus. We liked the squimps a fair bit. Really nice char and texture on em.
We also had the tartare - really nice large hand cut pieces of tasty beef. The green blueberry capers were very nice.
bread + butter - also liked
Chicken Liver Mousse - excellent texture, celery butter brightened it up, tasty.
agnolotti - it tasted like borscht and Big Macs. Really loved. Small ish portion but well executed so I’m not complaining. But maybe 8 pieces of pasta would be nicer for the price. 5 is an inconvenient number for a 4 top.
chicken - just a great half chicken with nice braised greens and pickled peppers. Wouldn’t order again but really enjoyed.
Pork - highlight for our mains. Well cooked and seasoned pork collar, nice sikil pak salsa, chewy and delicious tortillas. Again 4 tortillas instead of 3 for the party size would’ve been nice.
fries - good fries!
Sticky Toffee Madelines - genius dessert, loved.
Crème caramel with bay leaf ice cream - also great!
I had the NSO cocktail and the chrysanthemum , loved both.
In general it reminded me of the sensibility of Rustic Canyon or spots in New York like Bridges but still felt distinctly sqirl. Curious how much the menu changes seasonally because damn they put some serious effort into the branding and printing but there’s lots we didn’t order so even without changes it warrants a second visit. The wait was worth it!
(other little touches were nice not just the branding - half glasses of wine are avail, nice toothpicks with the check, great plateware, new tables, quince pate de fruits at the end)
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So Sang is a friend of mine. And here’s the reason he doesn’t serve ketchup: he did not want to serve a product that had high fructose corn syrup in it at his restaurant (ie Heinz). And when he tried to make his own ketchup or use other brands they just did not taste right, so he decided to forgo it completely. It’s not some sinister plot to keep people from eating a burger the way they want it!
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he loves ketchup
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Haha he’s a hoot!
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Sure, though there’s now non hfcs Heinz. It’s reflective of a power dynamic or relationship between diners and restaurants/chefs that’s kinda silly and a decade outdated.
This doesn’t surprise me, given Sqirl had maybe still has a creative director. And having ordered cakes from Sqirl and interacted direclty, she’s involved and very attentive to detail.
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I don’t think ketchup is an exception to the rule that corporate food products are vile; I think it proves the rule. People have become hooked after eating it all their lives, due in no small part to the corn syrup. It doesn’t even taste like tomatoes.
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I see they’re trying to break the mold with this one.
wins the internet with this reply
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Koreans have been doing that for probably hundreds and hundreds of years.
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You mean avoiding ketchup?
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Koreans love ketchup and cheese on everything these days.
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I’m assuming he meant lacto-fermentation?
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