California Take 2 - AQ

The last night in California, we headed up to San Francisco for dinner with Bill's cousin Ay Ay and her husband Dane.  We went to AQ and it was phenomenal.  The restaurant itself was light and airy with a definite feeling of Spring.  While Bill and I sat and waited for Ay and Dane, we struck up a conversation with our server about scotch and wine.  He knew we were interested in eating and drinking well that night. 

Dane brought a bottle of Mumm Blanc de Blancs to start dinner.  It was the first time I had ever had Mumm and I am now a huge fan.  We went right to the store and bought a bottle of their Brut when we got home!  Anyway, by now we were good friends with Eric, our server, who we found out worked at one time for Tyler Florence.  Eric was awesome but also realized his money making potential in our table.  That said, he got us to buy amazing wine so it was really a win-win.  Throughout the night we had Dane's wine, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre and a bottle of a 1983 Catherine & Pierre Breton Chinon "Beaumont".  At 30 years old, it's the oldest wine I've ever had and it was fantastic!  We each had three wine glasses going on our table plus the decanter. 

Dinner was 9 courses of awesome deliciousness.
Course 1 - an asparagus "cloud" (it was almost like a firm custard) over crumbled pistachios
Course 2 - warm consomme of raw lamb and mint "snow"
Course 3 - strawberry gazpacho with raw halibut and dill oil
Course 4 - beef tongue
Course 5 - skate wing (fish) with pineapple and gnocchi (best gnocchi I've ever had)
Course 6 - veal with smoked foam (best veal I've ever had - they cut it so it resembled pork belly)
Course 7 - cheese plate of hard goat's milk
Course 8 - white chocolate and rhubarb
Course 9 - chocolate, lavender ice cream and honey

Here's how they describe the tasting menu in their menu and if you can believe it, it's only $68 per person (beverages not included).  An absolute steal if you ask me.

As we were paying the bill, Eric brought us macaroons, as if we needed more food!  But of course, they were delicious.  He then took us downstairs to their wine room to show off their extremely impressive collection.  They will soon have the largest collection of unique wine lables, as well as the largest collection of Loire Valley wines, in the entire world.

After dinner, Ay and Dane took us to the Bay Bridge where a local artist was putting on a light show.  The lights were constantly moving and it looked very cool.  It was so nice to stroll down the pier and relax.  It was really a perfect ending to our night.

All in all the night was amazing - amazing food, wine, family and conversation.  We can't wait to go back to see everyone and I'm hoping we can make it back to AQ.  I am seriously in love with this place and am so sad it's so far away.  It's definitely near the top of the best meals I've ever had.