having checked into "hotel los gatos" (which is home to a michelin single star restaurant which goes by the name "dio deka") in the idyllic boutiquey town of los gatos; i became cognizant of the fact that my hotel was within striking range of yet another michelin star restaurant; which twinkled with the radiance of 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (there understandably are only 14 of these in the united states) that goes by the nomenclature "manresa".
this is probably the first time in my life that i even got an opportunity to see a michelin 3 star restaurant, let alone set foot inside one. i came to know that this seemingly beatdown restaurant had a waiting list spanning 2 months, in the event you wished to enjoy a sit down dinner at one of their modest tables. how i actually managed to dine at the “manresa” without any notice whatsoever is kinda classified and all i can say is that i finally got an opportunity to get up close and personal with a michelin 3 star restaurant. period.
paraphrasing from the michelin guide... quote one star signifies "a very good restaurant", two stars are "excellent cooking that is worth a detour", and three stars mean "exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey" unquote.
of all the culinary odysseys undertaken by me, this undoubtedly was a revelation that broadened my culinary vistas and presented the answer to a longstanding existential question (such as "why are we here?" in other words what is the singular most important purpose of a human being on this planet: coz somewannamake a difference in this world, some folkswannabe the good samaritan and help and heal the world, some justwannacarry out crusades for the lord almighty, some justwannamake shitloads of money, some justwannakill, maul, plunder and blow up things just for the heck of it and ludicrous as it might sound, i justwannaeat as much as good food as possible, before i kick the proverbial bucket) that has plagued mankind in general and me in particular. if plating of food was an art; these folks were probably its pablo picasso equivalent. the dramatis personæ that i sampled from their menu were as set out below;
champagne - j.lassalle brut chigny-les-roses...
assorted nuts - glazed with honey and sesame seeds & toasted nori (a kinda seaweed used to wrap maki sushi)...
sea bream - garnished with radish, chives & shredded nori...
duck country pâté - duck pâté with toasted pistachios and dried persimmons garnished with cilantro with a dollop of pickled vegetables...
foie gras - the terrine of foie gras topped with roellinger pepper with margaret river rock-salt, mustard and fig jam on the side...
profiterole - it's an elderflower pastry with strawberry sorbet over it topped with with fresh elderflower spume garnished with dehydrated and baked strawberries including a white strawberry (a rare and special variety of white strawberries grown by a farmer in stanford)...
of the foregoing, might i state that the “pièce de résistance” were the duck country pâté and the profiterole.
igniting an explosion of gustatory sensations on my palate, a peregrination as experiential as this, shall forever linger on at the very core of my inner being, long after i've journeyed into a world we know not where.