Cuisine:

• Contemporary
• Californian
• French

Saison Description:
Burrowed into the back of a café that was once a stable, Saison can feel less like a restaurant than a recurring dinner party at the home of extravagant strangers. The crowded open kitchen dwarfs a smaller dining room with gauzy candle lighting and garish landscape paintings covering high white walls. Exceedingly attentive servers might as well be wearing wigs, gliding across the set of a Louis XIV biopic. Chef Joshua Skenes' signature egg in a cup with smoked butter and dashi riffs on savory Japanese custards. Spooning through the foam on top breaks up the soft egg beneath, revealing minced chives, caviar and tiny croutons. Asian influences also infuse a Stinson clam amuse with radish salad and shiso. The cèpes in an elegant jellied terrine peel off in earthy slices, comforting yet cool alongside a bright, crunchy salad and curls of Gouda. Saison's high points skyrocket but components of the seasonal fixed menus may also fall short a few times over the course of a meal---surprising miscues in the form of leathery chicken agnolotti or a bland hunk of veal, for example. Heavy on Loire Valley producers, sommelier Mark Bright's expert wine pairings are well worth a $40 supplement. Even on the heels of hearty imbibing, rich desserts featuring cookies and ice cream from celebrated local purveyors are welcome. While the tasting menu remains, Saison continues to evolve, and also offers a terrace menu and baked specialties from its wood-burning stove.


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