[El Diablo]

Tik,

Went to Gary Danko tonight. Awesome dinner. Since you gave such a great report, I'll just say that the service, as always, was great. You described it well.

Here's what we had.

App: Both had Foie Gras w/ Caramelized onion and some fruit. Delicious. But later I saw someone get my second choice, the sweet corn and truffle ravioli soup, and regretted not getting that. Then I read Tik's review and now I REALLY want that - I love great corn soup. I just couldn't help but order the foie gras. Anyway, it was still delicious.

Fish: I had seared scallops w/ pea puree. Delicious, the pea was a perfect mild complement to the flavorful scallops. She had the lobster, which was just as described by Tik.

Meat: I had the herb lamb loin. Perfect. Perhaps my favorite Danko entree. She had the tenderloin, which was very great, but somewhat on the simple side. Incredible beef flavor, though.

Cheese: You get to choose three, but he added an extra piece to both of ours. We had two blues - one Auverge or something that was OK, and a Roaring 40's that was INCREDIBLE, super strong and flavorful, but not out of control stinky. Just delicious. A brie, but I'm not a big brie fan. A triple cream that was just super rich, very tasty. One gruyere-ish thing that was OK. A manchego-ish thing that was very good. One more creamy and one more slightly cheddar-ish cheese. Everything was very tasty, but Roaring 40's, BY FAR the highlight of the cheese course.

Dessert: She got the ice cream platter - mango, espresso mint (my favorite), and condensed milk (I though this would be super sweet and rich and unique, but it tasted pretty much just like sweet cream ice cream - delicious, but not that unique). Overall, I'd say that dessert was OK, but not great. I got the waiter's recommendation - chocolate cream with passion fruit mousse and black tea ice cream. This was in layers, the ice cream was very mild flavor, the mousse was pretty dense and intensely fruity, and the chocolate super rich and sweet. Together, it was a great combination. Excellent dessert choice.

Had a glass of Chateauneuf de Pape and a glass of Pinot to go with dinner.

Overall, another great Danko experience. This is definitely my favorite high-end dining place in SF.