When I think about some of the best meals I’ve ever had, the 1st attribute of them that comes to mind is not that they tasted good.   I mean, of course, they “tasted good” (that’s kind of a basic qualifier)  but the very best meals go much further than that.  These meals transport you.   They make you taste the skill in preparation.  Each ingredient sings and comes together in such a way that you never forget not only the taste, but the presentation, the smells and how eating it made you feel.  That’s the real stuff there.  The stuff that makes you view food differently than you did before you sat down for that meal.

Addison, located by the Grand Del Mar,  is Southern California’s only Five-Star/Five Diamond restaurant and is said to be the “finest dining experience available in San Diego”.  Well, Addison, the crew from BW8SD and I wholeheartedly accept your challenge.

Aimee–Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Amy B-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

Amy J-Rocky Horror performer, Michigan football loyalist, a common floozy

Chris-Attorney, lifelong food snob, loves good Scotch and gay jeans

Harry-Wise guy, master of the grill, loves camping for some reason

Joey-Future music professor, Sazerac drinker, makes a mean cup of coffee

Kathy-Loves a good farmer’s market, another camping enthusiast, Mother of Chris.

Kelsey-Project manager, Advanced level foodie, Has been known to drop it like it’s hot after a few cocktails

 

In addition to this here blog post, we were also celebrating Chris’s birthday.  He has been one of the driving forces behind this blog and he suggested this place so I figured if I’m gonna drop an obscene amount of money on dinner I may as well do it under the guise of celebrating the birth of a dear friend.  We were led by our host (yeah, we had our own) into the marble-lined lobby, through the marble-lined foyer into the equally marble-lined salon.  That’s fancy talk for lounge, in case you thought they were going to give us all ANTM-style makeovers before letting us into their restaurant.  Although, for a minute, I was hopeful.  We ordered some cocktails to start the night.   Aimee and I both had the La Grand Champange; j.lassalle champagne, grand marnier, bitters.   Sumptuous, fruit forward with great bubbles and a slight sweetness.  Also, strong enough to knock out a burrow.   Kathy ordered the Philanthrope; patron silver, basil, cucumber, lime, agave.  She loved the refreshing qualities of the drink.   Amy B had the Les Belles Abielles; belvedere vodka, thyme, lemon, vanilla, honey.  She said it was delicious and loved the name.  Harry ordered the Creme a’ l’orange; buffalo trace bourbon, lillet, orange.  He also enjoyed it.   Kelsey had the Mon Amor; bombay gin, elderflower liqueur, campari, lemon.  Le Salon visit was going really well.   Along with our cocktails, Chris ordered a plate of Kumamoto Oysters, which he and everyone else who ate them said were absolutely spectacular.  They seriously wouldn’t shut up about it so I’m gonna guess they were good.

The time had come and our table was ready.  Our bartender took all of our drinks and arranged them on a tray so we could be led into the main dining room.  We walked in procession and all I could hear in my head was this.  As we got closer to an enormous table, each of our 9 chairs were being stood behind by a different server.  In precision usually found in a choreographed ballet, all 9 chairs were pulled out at once and we sat down.  Before purses could hit the floor, small “purse stools” were placed beneath them.   This was luxury at it’s finest and I left like a toothless hillbilly seeing indoor plumbing for the first time.

The 1st thing we were brought was an amuse bouche.  Something to wake up the taste buds before the meal.  A base of yogurt with cucumbers, honey and a few sour elements.  Each of the flavors hit my palette like singers hitting perfect pitch in a beautiful 4-part harmony.  This was Boyz II Men in my mouth.  This was really unlike anything I’ve ever tasted and the meal hadn’t even begun yet.  The next 4 hours (Yes, FOUR HOURS) would be only uphill from here.

We ordered the laughably named “4 course menu”.  I say laughably because all told it wound up being about 11 courses of stuff being brought to us over the course of the night.  We all ordered largely different things but we all got to try just about everything so who ordered what will be less specific in this entry.  Just assume everyone had everything they could eat.  1st course offerings included a Sake cured Hamachi (Lime, Uni & Asian Greens).  Chris called it really phenomenal with the best Uni he’s ever had among raves from everyone else who tried it.  I (and our vegetarians) had the Spring Vegetables A la Nage (Parmesan and Extra Virgin Olive Oil).  You would never imagine a dish so simple could be so amazing.  The broth was poured over the vegetables at our table.  The smell of this rich, earthy broth wafted up at me and everyone near me.  It was magical.  The vegetables were slightly crunchy and mildly sweet.  Each flavor was present and prominent.  Full of flavor but still so incredibly light.  This dish was the result of a masterfully delicate hand in it’s preparation.

I wanted to take a minute here and recognize Addison’s Wine Director Elizabeth Huettinger.  She not only was able to suggest 2 fantastic wines for the table (a 2013 Chenin Blanc from Jurassic Park Winery and a South African Grenache, which were both fabulous) but she was super engaging, nice and immediately knew how to appeal to our geeky nature.  Plus her wine knowledge and know-how of food pairings was pretty spectacular.  She was awesome.

Before the next course arrived, we were treated to our 1st bread service.  A small ball of Brioche with a melted Rosemary butter cream in the center.  The chef requested that we eat it as a single bite.  Considering, at this point in the meal,  everyone at this table was ready to murder a bus load of orphans if the chef asked, we found following these instructions quite simple.   We all ate it at once and a hush fell over the table.  I just looked up and saw closed eyes and looks of absolute bliss across the table.  I just said “Heaven”, because that’s what the experience of this melt-in-your-mouth bread felt like.  Beautiful salty and sweet, soft & warm textures.  Fantastic.

2nd course offerings included Octopus Grille (Charred tomatillos, garlic and espelette).  Aimee, briefly an actual Japan resident, called it one of the most amazing dishes she’s ever had.  Joey, of actual Japanese heritage, said he’s never had better octopus.  Aimee implored me to break my standing rule that I mentioned right from the get go and try it.   I ate a small piece and it tasted like tender, light white fish.  I’m told this in no way represents the usual texture of octopus and is simply a side effect of the magic that our wizard chef practices on food.  Aimee told me to never try it again because it would simply never be that good again.  This advice, I can follow.  Kelsey had the King Crab (savoy cabbage and shellfish consomme) which she described as amazing and tasted like butter.  The Amy’s had the Red Pepper “Tarte Tatin” (Chevre, black olives and arugula).  The final florish on this dish was the 50 year old Balsamic Vinegar.  Yeah.  50 year old.   Amy B said words fail her to describe the amazing-ness of this dish.  Amy J said the dish was expertly crafted and fantastic.  I had the Caramelized Codfish (Daikon, charred scallions & Dashi).  This was gorgeous piece of fish that was melt-in-your-mouth good with another incredible smelling and tasting broth.  Perfect levels of sweet, savory and salty.

The third course only got better and better as our proper main courses took the stage.  Salmon au Beurre Sale (beets, apples, fennel and “troisgros” sauce) is possibly the best piece of salmon you’ll ever eat.  Joey praised the perfect temperature and preparation.   Kathy ordered the Coffee Roasted Canard (koshihikari rice and candied peanuts).  Canard is French for “Duck”  (I knew that without looking it up, which I’m sure would make my 11th grade French teacher, Ms. Coyle, very happy.  Provided she’s still alive somewhere.)   It was hugely aromatic.  Kathy loved the toasty elements and thought the texture was incredible.    I ordered the Kobe Beef Short Rib (mushroom gratin and potato croustillant) The sauce on the meat was chocolate fudge-level thick with an amazing impactful flavor.  The meat was tender and rich.  The potatoes were incredible.  Along with the mushrooms, these were great reminders of what we were seeing over and over again throughout this meal:  The simplest ingredients can be the most amazing thing you’ve ever tasted if they are prepared by a skilled enough chef.

We had a long way to go still before dessert, so this was the perfect time for the table to enjoy Addison’s Cheese Service.  5 incredible cheeses: Largo: soft, smokey, ashy and creamy with just a hint of sour on the finish.  Ardi Gasna: A little firmer with a tangy, richer but still creamy flavor.  Hafod Cheddar: Bold and strong with a zingy sharpness.  Crystalization from the again process gave it beautiful cripsy and creamy texture.  Cabot Clothbond: soft, rich, earthy and pungent with mouth-filling flavor.  Fourme d’Ambert: a tangy blue with the perfect amount of bitterness, salt and creaminess.  The word “Foodgasm” was dropped more than once in the description of these cheeses.  One unnamed diner even went so far as to say this cheese plate was so good it made her “not want to have babies”.  Well, then.

After the full scale assault of this cheese, Addison provided a palette cleanser in the form of a light lemon sorbet with rhubarb.  Kelsey described it as “Like the greatest orange sherbert you’ve ever had”.  She’s right.  It was light, refreshing and sweet.  The tiny slivers of rhubarb gave the dish a perfect tang and crunch.  A perfect in betweener before dessert.

No one in our group was surprised to find that dessert here was also all sorts of amazing. Among the dishes ordered were Tarte au Chocolat (cherries glacé and pistachios), Vanilla Pot de Creme (wild berry confiture and passion fruit) and what I had for dessert; Galette au Chocolat (mint chip ice cream and chocolate mousse).  The best way to describe this dessert is the fanciest mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich you’ve ever encountered in life.  It was perfect.  Rich, sweet, creamy and beautiful to look at.  The mousse was absolutely perfect.  A dessert so incredible, I didn’t even care that I was eating it at 10pm.

Just when Joey said that he couldn’t eat another bite of food, one appeared.  Addison just likes to make absolutely certain that you will forsake all other dining experiences in your life, so they delivered a single Macaron to each of us and it was, of course, perfect.  Sweet, light, cripsy and slightly chewy filling.  Aimee, usually the toughest dessert critic, called it one of the best she’s ever had.

Now, in the interest of maintaining my title of “keeper of the real”, I will say that Addison is by no means cheap.  I won’t be so crass as to share the exact amount of our bill but I will say that the 9 of us ate an amount of food equal to purchasing a 2003 Ford Focus (Yes, Chris actually checked the Kelly Blue Book rates on this).  The flipside of this is, this is a once in a lifetime dining experience that I wholeheartedly believe everyone should have at least once.

Chris really put it best; This was different from just a “nice restaurant” but rather food on another level altogether.  It’s not merely cooking but an expression of art.  The team at Addison, led by Executive Chef William Bradley & Chef de Cuisine Anthony Secviar, are artists in the purest sense of the word and their work deserves to be experienced by everyone at least once.

Further reading http://addisondelmar.com

Also, be sure to follow The Boy Who Ate San Diego on Instagram to see all the pictures from this meal and trust me, you WANT to see these pictures.