Sage

Sage

With one week's advance notice, we asked Sage to prepare a customized dinner for two of us, featuring mostly recipes not on their current menu. We submitted a list of basic ingredients that we wanted, while they masterminded the final arrangements.

The thought of a 12-course feast appeared daunting at first, but the portions were pretty light. We began with a trio of Pacific oysters, dressed with konbu jelly, ginger vinaigrette & wasabi vinaigrette. Sublime in their briny, elemental freshness; plump enough to provide pure pleasure with each pop.

Truffle-scented carpaccio of yellowtail with akame & Shizuoka tomatoes. A variation of one of Sage's most beloved specialties. Fresh, fatty fish, with a delicate taste that was nicely balanced by the earthy aroma of truffles.

Vichysoisses of artichoke with sea urchin & gold leaf. Cold, creamy decadence. Each of these first three dishes successfully whetted our appetite for more.

Foie gras, avocados & mirin soy. Melt-in-the-mouth bliss; perfection on a plate.

Seafood with tongarashi spice. Here, the meal began to falter. This tasted like regular angel hair pasta with seafood, though its mild spiciness made things a bit interesting.

Glazed anago with aged balsamico. There seemed to be more batter than eel in this.

Bouillabaisse with pernod & aioli. We've had this previously at Sage, but while we didn't actually request it this time, it was pleasant enough, brimming with more seafood than before.

Pan-fried red emperor fish with Hokkaido scallop & king crab sauce. The fish and scallop were OK but unremarkable; it was the rich, bisque-like sauce that made this memorable. Apparently, this was featured as a Friday lunch item at Cilantro, exactly a week after we had it here.

Capon with Perigueux sauce. The tasty truffle-&-madeira sauce rescued this; the chicken was fairly tender for breast meat, but had a not-quite-pleasant gaminess.

Duo of ox tongue with mushroom veloute & Wagyu beef cheek. No complaints here; both halves of this could hardly have been more succulent or flavorful.

Two courses of dessert on one platter, since we were pressed for time in the end. Ginger & lime creme brulee, as well as calvados souffle. Could have been more impressive in terms of texture. The creme brulee (which appeared on Sage's weekly lunch menu a fortnight later) had scarcely the semblance of a caramelized crust, while the souffle was one-dimensionally airy.