thursday night dinner

There were too many shows last night so I didn't go to any of them. Any reports? I did got to the Waterboys third thursday prix fixe dinner and Rick Mahan outdid himself. It was the best one I've been to. The common ingredient in all the dishes was orange cherry tomatoes that were at the peak of perfection. He started the meal with an amuse bouche of profiteroles with house smoked salmon, tobiko, sour cream and red onion. Then came a bomb-ass salad with grilled scallops, super crisp, super sweet corn, haricot verts, thin slices of Spanich chorizo, cherry tomatoes and a delicious, citrusy viniagrette with small pieces of lobster in it! Next were hand cut wide noodles with lightly grilled squash, yummy piquant black olives, onion, and cherry tomatoes. Then came the most delicious ribeyed steak ever. It was heavily salt crusted, so the outer, more well-grilled and salty parts were amazing, as were the rare inner bits. It was huge! It came garnished with fried potatoes, roasted onions, cherry tomatoes, arugula, and parmesan. Last, but not least was a peach filled crepe with vanilla ice cream and a squiggle of balsamic vinegar on top. AMAZING! This meal was 48 dollars, if you can believe that. I was surprised to see a few empty tables scattered throughout the room. He does this dinner once a month and you all really should go. He pairs wine with it, too. Last night I had an interesting white meritage and a cabernet that went excellently with the ribeye.

Tonight the Bananas are playing in SF at the "Drunx not dead" night at the Knockout. That's a really stupid name but it should be really fun.

p.s.-The topping for the ribeye reminded me of this salad that I've made a couple of times that's really good. Roast some potatoes with oil, salt, pepper, and whatever herb sounds good, maybe thyme or something. When they're done, let them cool a little bit, and then mix them with a whole bunch of arugula (it will really wilt down from the heat of the potatoes, so even two bunches wouldn't be too much), some champagne vinegar, and then grate a bunch of parmesan on top. It's great, and I think cherry tomatoes would be a really good addition to it.