Ok, so, the point of this visit was to celebrate Neil's parent's 39th wedding annaversary.  And since they're foodies, his dad picked this american-french restaurant in Santa Monica called Melisse.  It's got a couple of Michelin stars.  It's a place where you have to dress for dinner.  They had small stools they put by our chairs so we didn't have to rest our purses on the ground.  They actually tried to serve the dishes simultaneously (there were little glitches here and there, but you can't fault them for trying).  Our waiter was brash and kind of adorable, our somellier had the loveliest deep voice, and it was .. without a doubt on of the loveliest dining experiences i've ever had.



so, they started us with a very very tiny amuse bouche:
1/2 a cherry tomato covered in goat cheese crusted in pistachios

and then brought another, slightly larger duo:
a little tiny medalion of salmon roulade in a meyer lemon vinagrette
a tiny shot of cucumber tofu, a gaspacho and tomato gellee

First course:

I had the Seared Foie Gras with Cavillon Melon Confit, white port balsamic reduction with candied orange

If you've ever actually read any of my other food reviews, I do not pass up foie gras anymore.  I konw, i'm going to hell, and I like it.  This was beautiful, perfectly done, and every mouthful was so buttery and rich and soft and nummy.  Although I'm not sure if I'd do the candied pieces with it - I think I like an earthier berry (say blackberry) with my foie gras

Neil & his dad had the Duo of Foie Gras: one was twice cooked and the other terrine, with peach compote and puree, toasted brioche  (which was also really super duper tasty, but cold, and so i'm glad i went with what i got)
His mom had the Seasonal vegetable salad with the blanched Kolrabi, Daikon, Beets and Buratta cheese (oh my god if there was ever a salad that would make you pee your pants this was it. 
His aunt had the Sweet White Corn Ravioli with Summer Truffle Sauce (and a foam!)   One ravioli, and oh WOW was this packed with flavor and beautiful taste. and just ... the essence of corn.

Second course:

I had the Monterey Abalone, Geoduck clam with fennel, mizuna, and yuzu koshu

I would have never expected the Geoduck to be better than the Abalone, but it was - MUCH BETTER.  Not that the abalone wasn't good, but it was chewy, and the geoduck was actually really tasty without being fishy or clammy or anything.

Neil and his mom & dad all had the Salmon souvide with butternut squash gnocchi and a butternut squash broth with chanterelles and miataki mushrooms
His Aunt had the Imported Dover sole "Goujonnettes" with chanterelle mushrooms, almonds, and white corn brown butter jus

(and those two other plates were also nummy, but not as good as my geoduck, believe it or not)


Entre:

I had the Liberty Farms Duck Breast and Confit with black mission figs, beets, and banyuls-star anise sauce

OH MY GODS duck with figs?? Yeah, i know, it's pretty traditional, but oh so frigging good, because the sweetness of the figs compliments how strong the flavor of the duck is, and the duck fat is mmmmmmm soft and tender and wonderful.  and the banyuls-star anise sauce came in these little red dots on the plate that just burst with flavor

Neil and his Aunt had the Prime Rib Eye and 48 Hour Short Rib with confit celery, dijonnais, herbed bordelaise sauce

admittedly, these were yummy and the short rib definitely fell apart, but i was far far happier with my duck

His mom & Dad both had the Slow Cooked Rabbit, Ras el Hanout with Heirloom carrot 'tajine', boudin blanc, and jus de lapin

and finally, we were able to actually eat dessert:

I had the "Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate" which meant I got 4 different styles of chocolate:
1) a chocolate souffle that was injected table side with molten chocolate
2) a peanutbutter chocolate mousse on a peanut crust
3) a 'marshmellow' (which looked like a marshmellow on a stick) of chocolate mousse ice cream dipped in white chocolate
4) a chocolate flan with little bits of toffee in it

Now, after the menu above, i was pretty damn close to done, and even though none of these were more than 10 bites, getting through all of them was completely impossible.  But how could I pass up chcolate souffle?  So I didn't, nor did I give out much of the peanutbutter chocolate mousse.  The other two I had to give away though (well, after a bite)!

Neil had the Peach 'glazed' with rosemarry, greek yogurt mousse, and caramel powder
Neil's aunt had the Poached cherries with frozen almond parfait and basil sorbet
Neil's parents had the Sticky Toffee Pudding with mocha malt ice cream and red berries-hibiscus consomme

OH, and then AT THE END, they came around with fresh plums in a bowl with a little creame freche and some rock-sugar (though they didn't need the sugar at all).  AND a custard post-dessert amuse that i can't for the life of me remember the name of, but it was baked custard in a little dime-size pastry type thing.  Seriously blew the lid off my stomach, for sure.


Even though there are smaller portions with a tasting menu I'm amazed we were able to waddle out of there.  Oh, and that doesn't even include the champagne, then white wine, then red wine that we all put away.  Ooofta.  But amazing, nonetheless.

Other than that I haven't really been all that productive this weekend, so I've got to get to it.

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