Jardinière - Chef Audie Golder at Traci des Jardins' Flagship in Hayes Valley - Closing Apr 27, 2019

[DonRocks]

"Traci des Jardins To Close Jardinière Next Month" by Janelle Bitker on sfchronicle.com

[TrelayneNYC]

I'm glad we went last month. I was a bit underwhelmed.

Selection of oysters.

Clockwise from lower right: Kumamoto; Wellfleet; and I don't remember what the ones in the rear were.

Served with fresh grated horseradish (bottom ramekin), lemon wedges and shallot mignonette.

These were ok. Paired with a 2016 pinot bianco from the Trentino-Alto Adige region in northern Italy. The wine had a crisp minerality with just enough acidity. This might be my newest favorite white wine, come to think of it.

We had come by early, were seated immediately, then had to wait nearly 10 minutes before we were handed menus.

I get it, it's the pre-theater dinner crowd and maybe you're understaffed. But first impressions count and, well, you know the drill.

Celery root soup, with crouton, saba and golden raisins.

Nice balance of flavors.

Venison carpaccio, artichokes, aioli, sunchokes, sunflower seeds.

I could have done without the seeds - which added nothing except texture. The aioli was underneath the carpaccio, probably no more than a teaspoon.

This was "fine". But not something I would order again.

Quail, kumquat, chard, farro.

Very good.

Kumquat with chard and farro isn't a pairing I would have thought of but according to B, actually worked.

Striped bass, cauliflower, leek and chervil.

Slight hint of curry in the seasoning coating the tissue-paper thin skin which shattered at the touch of a fork. Well-prepared, although the cauliflower florets were a touch undercooked.

The fish was perfect: flaky, moist and flavorful.

I found myself wishing for a small dish of salt.

Sorry for the quality of photos. I didn't have my camera with me so had to use an iPhone. While iPhone photos can be great, you need proper lighting to shine.

Semolina cake with huckleberries and pistachio.

Lovely texture and not too sweet.

Plating sucked though.

The waiter came by with our desserts and almost served us, then realized that we had nothing to eat them with. (IOW, they had cleared our main courses and silverware but didn't replace the used silverware with fresh ones.)

Cheese plate, paired with walnut-date bread. (Bread not shown.)

Although you don't see it, B was given a paper strip to identify the samples. 

I've been at other places in town that served cheese, and found the paper a bit tacky. Maybe it's just me.

You know, maybe it's great that Traci is tired of fine dining. Because for half of this dinner, the experience was not it.

[DonRocks]

8 hours ago, TrelayneNYC said:

You know, maybe it's great that Traci is tired of fine dining. Because for half of this dinner, the experience was not it.

Yes, you can see her fatigue in these pictures - it's a shame that this thread began so close towards the end.