Eating Out: La Mar

the fanciest mashed potatoes I've ever had.

Mmmm, ceviche. I recently checked out the La Mar Cebicheria Peruana restaurant in SF on the Embarcadero. I was quite excited to eat there because I love Peruvian food. My daughter is a quarter Peruana (among many other things), so I have a special love for the cuisine.

First off, the building is quite a beauty. It sits on Pier 1.5 and I don't quite know the history of the place, but I can imagine how much history it holds. There was even a sign in the ladies room, claiming it to be a "historic bathroom." I'm not sure what exactly that means, but now I can say I pissed in one.

I started by ordering a drink in the bar. My favorite drink from Peru is chicha morado, a drink made from purple corn, making it full of antioxidants. I drink it any chance I get. Since this was a dinner, I needed my chicha spiked, and the bartender knew just what to make. He added pisco, passion fruit, and rimmed the glass with citrus peel. That gave it a nice finishing touch but also a tasty first sip.

After being seated, a basket of thin and crispy chips arrived at our table, served along with 3 dipping sauces. These were not just any chips, oh no. These chips were crunchy platanos, sweet potato, and yucca. We all tried the different sauces, but had the most difficult time choosing our favorite because they were all just so good. We devoured the first basket and kindly asked for more when we ordered.  Then we just kept asking for them until the waiter told us that he didn't have anymore.  Liar!

It wouldn't be right to eat at La Mar without getting ceviche. We ordered the cebiche clásico, California Halibut in a classic leche de tigre, red onions, habanero with Peruvian corn and yam. I absolutely love cebiche peruana! I don't eat octopus or too much squid, so the fish is just fine for me. The corn and the yam add some nice flavors too. The sauce is so good, you will want to drink it in a shot.

We also ordered the causa limeña, which are basically the fanciest mashed potatoes you could ever eat. They were served with Dungeness Crab, avocado purée, quail egg, cherry tomatoes,
ají amarillo Huancaína sauce with basil cilantro oil.  I don't like quail egg.  These were cool and all, but really, they were just really cold.  Some cold, fancy mashed potatoes.

All in all, I really dig the ambiance. I would go back to La Mar for a special dinner or happy hour, but not if I have cravings for Peruvian food. I enjoyed it, but what really impressed me was just the chips and the drinks. Personally, my fave is Nazca in San Jose, and that's all because of the food.

Eating Out: Ozumo

A few weeks ago, I went to Ozumo in SF twice in 3 days. The first time was for drinks after the L'Bel event. I ordered the Togatta, aka the Stiletto, and just loved it. Lychee-infused sake with passion fruit puree and Chandon, and a lychee garnish. Any cocktail with fruit in it is fine by me! This was my first time at the SF location; I've only been to the Oakland Ozumo and always ordered a certain roll there. I can't remember the name, but when I described it to the bartender, he told me that the 2 locations have different menus. Darn.

The second time, I had a dinner meeting with the lovely Michelle of Women Enough. We sat in the bar area, had some drinks (Stiletto again for me), and ordered some garlic-soy sauce edamame. It's quite tasty, but also rather messy, so be careful if wearing something light or delicate. The way I eat I'm damned to spill something.  When the Hanabi arrived, I immediately recognized its presentation, as I had ordered it before in Oakland. The hamachi and avocados were arranged to look like a beautiful flower. Almost too pretty to eat, but we will not let that stop us from digging in! Soooooo good! Yes, it's not a seasonal dish, but nonetheless the dish packed full flavors.

My favorite part of the meal was the roasted brussel sprouts. I would have rather ordered that again than the rather pricey and unmemorable roll. When I think of brussel sprouts, I think of children complaining about having to finish their veggies. But if these kids had these brussel sprouts, they would beg for more. The caramelized, roasted flavors mixed well with the mustard marinade. I want to recreate this dish.

I love the ambiance at both locations, and I'll have to go back to the Oakland spot to see if my favorite roll is still there. Costco also sells Ozumo gift cards for a deal, so I will need to stop by there beforehand to get the most bang for my buck.

P.S. I was totally crushing on this sushi chef there in SF.