Saison
San Francisco, USA
April 11, 2018
Saison was the very first restaurant on the quest. It was ranked 37th in 2017 and dropped to 46th in 2018. It’s also a Michelin 3-star restaurant.
Kitt and I went to Saison before I had even thought to do this wacky challenge. At the time, I booked all four Michelin 3-star restaurants in San Francisco. All within the same week. It was an ambitious endeavour and clearly set the tone for the even bigger challenge that awaited me.
Saison was the second of the four restaurants featuring an eleven course meal only a day after a nine course meal at Benu. (My ideas aren’t always the brightest but they can be ambitious.)
We sat “in the kitchen”, which meant that we had a view of the kitchen, could see all the preparation, and could hear them yell “Yes, Chef” every time a new order came in. It was quite delightful.
We noticed some overlap with the menu at Benu: the cod, some sea urchin, and, a glazed barbecued quail. There was a caviar option that I opted into that was a bit heavy on the butter (if there can be such a thing).
The antelope was also quite delicious, much like the rest of the meal. All in all, everything was wonderful. (And if I had to choose, I’d pick Saison over Benu.)