Mijote

General Notes

Not your typical French restaurant, and for most people probably in a good way. High-end French restaurants sometimes have a reputation for being stuffy and having food that's heavy and somewhat bland. The food here was excellent -- super flavorful and incorporated a lot of interesting ingredients / techniques. Also importantly, not very heavy and fairly refreshing -- I came out of the meal feeling pretty refreshed. Apparently a Japanese chef opened this place recently (he studied French cuisine). They offer a 4-course fixed prix menu for $82 and it's definitely worth a try. The vibes + ambiance inside are also really nice, makes for an overall great experience.

Dishes Tasted

• ★★☆☆ mandarin, sunchoke, cimes pepper -- Ice cream, mandarin, crumbles. I'm not a huge fan of the giant frozen mandarin slice, which really killed my teeth (it was so cold), but overall pretty refreshing and yummy.
• ★★★☆ lamb loin, carrot, blue d'auvergne -- served with a jus and a foamy creamy sauce (maybe that was the blue d'auvergne?). Lamb is super tender + the flavor goes together well.
• ★★★☆ octopus, broccolini, 'nduja -- super tender, excellent flavor, all the components pair pretty well together. Would have been nice to have a little more grill / sear on it but otherwise incredible.
• ★★★★ steelhead, arrowhead cabbage, sansho -- I'm not entirely sure what goes into the sauce but it's SO GOOD, has a nice richness but also tanginess to it. I also love the way the cabbage is seared, you can smell the aroma from a mile away.
• ★★★☆ sierra mackerel, haricot vert, rhubarb -- + sauces, herbs. This is delicious, I especially love how the mackerel is blowtorched, giving it a nice smoky flavor. The sauces compliment everything well
• ★★★☆ pate de campagne -- great pate, also served with mustard, pickled daikon, salt, and pepper, it's delicious with some pickled daikon and mustard
• ★★★☆ celery soup -- right as we sat down, the server presented us with a small cup of soup, it tasted like celery, corn, potato, and cream, pretty delicious and nice way to start off the meal