Like a movie: campton place

When you dine out , there are certain "rules" that you're taught. One of them is that you treat hotel dining rooms as a place of last resort for dinner. Breakfast maybe, but you NEVER go to a hotel for dinner, unless you have to.

Every rule has an exception. For us, it's Campton Place.

It wasn't always that way. We had looked at their menu, and decided no, years ago. The fact that someone who's taste I do NOT respect always ate there added to that. But then one day, the lovely Shania Dilworth, who was the wine person at Jardiniere (only in SF can a bull dyke be a wine sommelier, and she's a damn good one), moved to Campton Place, after the Campton Place crew went to NY, and we followed her.

It was like a college reunion when we got there. It's impossible to talk about how good a time we had. I think the dinner took three or four hours, we probably had 8 wines, and even though the subway was a block away, it was out of the question we were so, well, uh, you know.

Well, Shania has moved on, the chefs have changed, many times, but we've gone back. And it's still good. In fact, it's still well worth going.

I should say that, when we walked in, I felt like I was in a scene from a Fellini movie. It was 7 o'clock, and the room was empty. NO ONE was eating. Very odd for San Francisco. The grill outside, was jammed. There was soft music, white orchids, beautiful glass sculpture... and no people. Eventually, I think it "filled" with seven of us, plus the general manager's table, but it was kind of odd feeling like there was personal attention. And there was. From yet another amazing 20 something. Joseph took care of us. Joseph is 23. If I didn't love him, I would hate him.

So what did we eat? First, an "amuse bouche" of avocado and apple foam, which looked, and tasted like kiwi, especially with the black sea salt that was in it When the chef came out and I asked him, he smiled and said "maybe" it was a pun. That came with a small slice of seared tuna. (Interestingly, later that night, the GM's table got the same soup, but with a fried cod beignet. I was tempted to ask for one). There was a second amuse bouche of a raw halibut chop, with some nuts and vegetables, not as good as the first one, but good.

Onto the real food. Scallops, "barely seared," as they say, and that was accurate, with just a bit of risotto of peas, ham and green soybeans. Perfect match. And this time, the scallops were RIGHT.

The next course might have been my favorite, and I will try to copy it. A soup of Little Gem lettuce, served with a spoon of cooked wheat , bacon and a poached quail egg. Now, Annalena has said that she is not a fan of poached eggs; however, a quail egg is about the size of a comma and she gave this a try. WONDERFUL. And lettuce soup (Little gems are baby heads of romaine lettuce. You almost never see these in NY, but they're very big here). Lettuce soup is one of Annalena's obsessions. The cook promised me the recipe, but it didn't happen.

Next, halibut, seared well, with a puree of basil and parsnip and preserved lemons. This may have been Guy's favorite dish. It is the case that halibut come to the bay area, like clockwork, at the end of May. It has been on the menu, every single restaurant. Having it "off the boat" does make a difference. So, Annalena suggests that if you like fish, and you're travelling, find out what has "come to shore" and eat that.

The meat course: grass fed beef with forels, fava beans, watercress, and a lyonnaise potato galette. The potatoes were too sweet for me, but the beef was fork cuttable. Interestingly enough, with all of the great beef available in California, this beef came from Pennsylvania. Hmmm. And the farm also specializes in quail. Interesting. Research for Annalena.

Finally, a perfectly poached peach, tea ice cream, white peach sorbet, and a chopped mango, with "granola." That was the ONE bad note in the whole meal. That granola could have stayed in the cereal box for tomorrow. But given how perfect everything else was, it was a perfect meal.

It was a splurge, no question about it. It always is here. The dinner was 85.00 per person. The wine added 60. 00 each, and we each had a glass of champagne for 19 bucks a glass. But given the level of care, the personal service, the GORGEOUS table settings (Annalena was very clear about wanting to steal each and every serving plate), the value is very, VERY high. And of course, we'll be back.

The one thing lacking, of course, was Gradisca and her gang from Amarcord, coming into the dining room to dance for us. THAT would have made things absolutely perfect. Perfect food, perfect wine, perfect service, perfect all around. Maybe next time, they'll pay Nino Rota's music for us.