Bar Tartine’s Friends and Family Menu for December 10, 2013
Bar Tartine, the restaurant offshoot of the bakery that inspired my Kettle Bread, has been getting acclaim for its menus under chefs Nick Balla and Cortney Burns. Balla is from Budapest, and for a while the preps had an Eastern-European tilt (eg lots of sausages and root vegetables) but now they’re more cuisine-neutral.
This week I got to try the Friends and Family tasting menu, an excellent value at $62 considering the amount and diversity of food. Common themes were robust breads, of course (many of the dishes either came with bread or went great with bread) and the absence of external spices so the flavor magic was provided by reductions, fermentations and combinations of the ingredients themselves. There was also imaginative use of koji, a fermenting agent I’ll be working with in the new year.
Here’s what I ate:
Seared Seared Rainbow Trout with Tatsoi and Turnip, Dashi Broth
Trout Belly with Koji Butter on Rye Toast
Seeded Crackers with Pistachio Dip and Oven-Dried Laver
Beef Tartare with Grilled Onions and Koji Butter on Koji Toast (the kitchen’s most popular dish)
A bonus from the kitchen, flounder on nettle puree
House Bread with Kefir Butter
Smoked Potatoes with Black Garlic and Fermented Mustard Green Mayonnaise (my favorite dish)
Kale with Rye Berries and Yogurt
Pork Meatball with Creamed Trumpet Mushroom (another favorite)
A closer look at the succulent, rare interior of the pork meatball
Green Chili Stew with Flounder in Dashi Broth
Sweet Potato Salad with Blue Cheese, Avocado, Walnuts, Grated Pecorino
Carob Mousse (more like a brownie) with Carob Crumbles, Milk Ice, Dried Mint
Parsnip Cake with Honey/Apple Juice Reduction, Sour Cream, Bee Pollen
