Madcap restaurant in marin how to#

The lobster rests in a pol of dashi broth, which you’ll want to drag a spoon through to get every drop. The claw and tail meat pieces are ever so crisp on the very edges, then entirely supple within. If you’re a long-time “Iron Chef” fan, then you know that Siegel won “Battle Lobster.” He definitely has a way with the crustacean, cooking it such that it really does just melt in your mouth. But I could easily eat a dozen - without a second thought. As part of the chef’s tasting menu, you get three of them. Here, it’s served with a miso-mushroom puree, chanterelles, and a Parmesan foam.

The filling is succulent the pasta wrapper is the perfect blend of tender and delicate yet toothsome. His Devil’s Gulch rabbit tortelloni has been a favorite - for good reason. If Siegel ever wanted to open up an Italian restaurant, he certainly has the chops to do it. And darned if it doesn’t possess that same chewy texture, along with a briny, subtle fruitiness. The oily, silky fish gets a counterpoint with pomegrante-tarragon jam, radish, kombu and fresh, cream-hued seaweed that Siegel describes as like a fruit roll-up. Next, a favorite Siegel ingredient: shima aji or striped horse mackerel. Shima aji with “fruit roll-up-like” seaweed. Instead, minus its sinus-clearing heat, you really taste the lushness of the fish instead. It’s garnished with fresh hearts of palm, ponzu gel, and a black sesame seed paste sauce that adds richness and nuttiness. Instead, it’s filled with more big eye tuna, this time finely chopped like tartare, wrapped up inside nori and buttery thin slices of avocado.

His beautiful avocado roll is like a maki roll without the rice.

Think of it as almost a savory granola with the maple flavor of the mushrooms and the buttery, toasty crunch of pine nuts. Such was the case with this soup, which received a restrained garnish of candy cap mushroom crumble and pine nuts.

Madcap restaurant in marin how to#

He knows how to add just a tiny sprinkle of something or another to give the entire dish a real pop. With his many years of fine-dining experience, Siegel is a master of garnishing. It was as thick, smooth and rich as any dessert, but decidedly in the savory category.Įqually creamy and velvety was the butternut squash soup. Then came uni panna cotta drizzled with Indonesian vanilla oil and just a pinch of freshly grated ginger. It was a one-bite wonder - a tiny thing with such big presence. The tasting menu began with a curl of raw big eye tuna with yuzu gel so aromatic that you could smell its lovely floral-citrus fragrance the minute it was put down on the table.

In fact, because of the Japanese influences, this is a tasting menu that will leave you satiated with its clear, vivid flavors, but not feeling as if you’ll need to leave the restaurant, rolled out in a wheelbarrow, because of an abundance of butter or cream. At $80 per person for about eight courses or so, it’s one of the most reasonably priced tasting menus in the Bay Area, too. Inside, you’ll find a la carte selections, as well as the option to do a chef’s tasting menu, with many of the courses drawn from the regular menu. But there’s no mistaking how his time in Japan has heavily influenced his cooking, giving him a passion for its ingredients, techniques and esthetics.Īt Madcap, the menu cover is reminiscent of Japanese paper. Siegel remains modest about his 1998 exploits as being the first American-born chef to defeat an “Iron Chef” in Kitchen Stadium in the original Japanese version of the culinary competition show. A small marble bar accommodates a couple of diners.