jardiniere - san francisco (hayes valley)

Words are not my friend at the moment so I'm relying on the pictures below to articulate our most recent epicurean adventure - an enjoyable one. I recently dined at Jardiniere with my favorite eating troupe - ML, Colonel Mustard, and C-Monster. C-Monster has graduated from excusing herself when wine is ordered at the table to avoid being carded to now leading the charge when ordering a pre-meal cocktail. She is officially ready for a decade plus of broken heels and running mascara.

Anyway, I feel that the elegant French offerings at Jardiniere are a bit more "approachable" than say, Michael Mina. I think that a la carte menus lend themselves to a more relaxed atmosphere in general. Additionally, it's a treat to dine at locations in which the owner has battled on Iron Chef America. Chef Traci Des Jardins gave Mario Batalli a whoopin' when they competed on the show a few years ago (let's ignore that she was the first cheftestant booted off of The Next Iron Chef).

My aversion grows more deep for foam each time I eat (suck? slurp?) it. Can you honestly look at this and not immediately think of saliva? The culinary world should definitely put this fad to rest...

My novice food dictionary took a leap forward when I learned the definition of "suckling pig" which basically is a piglet (I did not know this). The pigs are young enough that they have only fed on their mothers' teats. They are slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. It begs the question, why would I gnaw on the tough flesh of a grown animal, when I can be enjoying the silky smooth, supple meat of a newborn?

...

...hhmm, I'm going sans meat for Lent next year; call me on this when Mardi Gras 2010 rolls around.

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