I may have eaten the best meal of my life

Yes. It's true. We have a new contender for the best meal of my life.

This past weekend I had the privilege of traveling to the mountain-nestled town of Los Gatos and into the quaint inner sanctum of Manresa restaurant. Once seated inside the sleek yet warm dining room, and after sipping a painstakingly handcrafted signature cocktail, the room faded away and we came face to face with the choice of how to eat this epic meal. There are two options; the standard tasting menu which is grand in its own right or the "Spontaneous and Seasonal" menu which is an intriguing list of ~50 ingredients.  Patrons are invited to put themselves in the hands of the peerless genius of Chef David Kinch.  And that's exactly what we did.

Working as exclusive partners with Love Apple Farms Manresa's spontaneous and seasonal menu can be truly that.  Many of the ingredients come directly from the farm not 15 minutes away.  By having this intimate and exclusive farm-restaurant partnership Manresa has the luxury to design unique and of the moment meals only minutes before you order.

We began with several amuse bouches. Among which included a fantastic lemon balm curd and almonds drizzled with a sweet strawberry gazpacho.  Then a citrus tea gelee with yogurt panna cotta, grapefruit, capers and olives - an usual combination but the sweet, citrus and salt played off one another symbiotically.  Suffice to say our bouches were thoroughly amused.

Before the main courses, fresh homemade baked breads arrived. Ordinarily the bread acts as a side dish, a supporting player, an afterthought at best.  But the bread at Manresa - butter and salted brioche, olive banquette, stone wheat and so on - we're so spectacular accompanied by soft salty-sweet butter.  Almost a course unto itself, these breads should be remembered.

On to the main events!   Dungeness crab in a delicate translucent jelly mixed with crisp peas and dandelion petals -- so sweet and fresh that we couldn't help but ooh and aah as we cleaned our plates. Three types of seasonal beans floated in locally grown and pressed olive oil punctuated by dollops of smoked avocado and tender razor clams -- unexpectedly decadent and flavorful.  Sweet black cod with alliums, morel mushrooms over a fava bean and mint puree was immaculate.  Sublimely roasted duck with yuzukosho, strawberries, beets and pistachio was so sweet and savory it almost reached perfection.  Not to mention the succulent suckling goat prepared with ramps and soft green almonds swimming in a soup of their own buttery juices.

It's also worth calling attention to the course entitled "Into the vegetable garden."  On paper this is just a plate of vegetables.  But it tastes like a summer day sitting on a farmer's porch with warm breezes streaming past your skin.  I was on that farm.  I was in that sun.  I felt that breeze as I ate these vegetables.  I'll forever wonder how Chef Kinch bottled the sun in his kitchen.

The dessert courses befit the previous savory ones and included a goat's milk ice and cajeta with dark rum and tangerine topped with hazelnut crust and tapioca pearls - picture a crystal-like shaved ice with sweet goat's cheese and caramel.  Following that we dove into a plate of fried milk with fennel, strawberry, sheep's feta and strawberry dusted cracker.  Oh boy.

The meal wound down as we sipped our 2010 Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir and melted away.  And while I realize that I tend towards hyperbole when it comes to food and wine that doesn't change that our meal at Manresa has stayed with me days later.  And despite the restaurant being knocked from Pellegrino's recent list of Top 50 (don't cry, they're #52), Manresa now holds a place on the top of my top.  My only question is, now that I've sampled one the best meals of my life...where to next?


Manresa
320 Village Lane
Los Gatos, CA 95030