If you thought a street food fare welcome reception wasn’t enough, the folks at FoodBuzz organized a gala dinner as part of the festival. Did somebody say… More food???? 
The gala dinner was to take place at San Francisco Ferry Building and, given it was just after switch back to standard time, it was “dark enough” for some “interesting” pictures, hehehe…
The “blur” to the left is a ferry to Sausalito
When it was time, we joined the on-going cocktail. And, in a cocktail, of course you will have drinks and some finger food…
Now, I am not usually a fan of cocktails followed by formal dinner because, well, I might end up eating a little bit too much prior to the main event! Anyway, rather than mingling around, I gathered together with JS/TS, Mijune and Sherman instead. Anti-social? Well, let’s just say I was in good company! Eventually, they allowed us to enter the main dining room…
One thing was for certain: Lightning condition wasn’t necessarily an issue as we chose to sit in a really bright area. However, the lightning type also proved to be an issue. I am digressing here! ^_^;;; Anyway, to start…
Roasted bolden beet tart – Crimson beet, feta and currants, wild arugula and basil puree. It was OK and, in no way, I was excited about it. Other than the custard-y feeling of the tart in the tart, the rest felt… Average? A definite pass for me.
Seared scallops with Bonny Doon Vineyard verjus beurre blanc – served with braised fennel and garnished with fried fennel fonds. Before I go to the dish itself, if I was in an actual restaurant, I will have to call foul: There was a ~40 minutes wait between the tart and the scallops. Granted, you had ~350 guests and cooking 700+ scallops is not an easy task. However, they knew we were coming…
Back to business, I will have to admit scallops were well prepared, despite (or because?) it was seared properly on one side but the other side was lightly seared. I was wondering if this was prepared in an oven rather than in a pan, i.e., heat some sheets in the oven, pour some oil (to coat), put the scallop on top and to the oven for X minutes. The fennel was cooked really soft, almost to the consistency of Napa cabbage. The one part that felt slightly below expectation was that of the beurre blanc: I wished the acidic note of lemon or vinegar was more noticeable. Sorry, I know some beurre blanc aren’t made acidic; I just prefer my seafood with a bit of acid hints in it. But, overall, it was a good dish.
Not sure if readers here follow us in Twitter; if not, here is a “conversation” that ensued:
Sherman38: @followmefoodie Mijune, your rack looked so juicy…
followmefoodie: My rack was probably jucier and more tender than the ones you’re used too @Sherman38
KimKiuHo: You are jealous because hers is bigger than yours… RT @Sherman38: @followmefoodie Mijune, your rack looked so juicy…
Sherman38: @KimKiuHo @followmefoodie God, I certainly hope they’re bigger than mine!
Sherman38: @followmefoodie LOL, yah it looks like they Frenched her rack too…
Of course, there were a lot of speculation about this “thread”. Given the hoard of people who interpreted it in some, ahem, interesting ways forgot completely we are food bloggers and we were (obviously!) referring to a rack of lamb! 
In this case, rosemary and garlic infused rack of lamb, served with local wild mushroom, pinot noir sauce and butternut squash puree.
In a way, the racks served were a bit of luck of the draw. Mijune’s and Sherman’s were definitely smaller than my rack (errr…. that somehow didn’t sound “right”…) and, probably because mine was larger, it was cooked medium rare while Mijune’s was cooked to a medium-well done level. Even at medium rare, it was still past slightly the point I wished it was. The puree and the mushroom were quite good and didn’t “fight” against the lamb but complemented it by providing some sweetness and some earthiness. The one part of the dish that I thought failed was the gaminess of the lamb or the lack of it. We had a discussion about that “issue” and while some people like it that way, I disagreed because, well, that is partially the point (at least for me) for consuming lamb, otherwise, I might order pork!
Finally, dessert: Tarta de almendars with Oranges – Buttery almond cake with oranges and Spanish sherry sabayon. While I am not a sweets person, this one went a bit past that sweetness threshold I could bare. The fruits natural sweetness was fine, the rest wasn’t really the case. Also, the sabayon, if you look closely… Well, it had a really odd consistency.
Once again, if it was paid dinner, I would have certainly based it; however, that wasn’t the case. During the time we were waiting for the next course, we had some fun ourselves. In that case, well, that was sort of worth it. Else, it is what it is… So, to FoodBuzz, thanks for letting me part of your family!
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Sad Sabayon aside, I believe this cake is traditionally gluten free.
Starbucks had it for a while, before they got moldy because no one bought it.
We make it once in a while from scratch, which starts by boiling whole oranges into a pulp before mixing it up with the rest of the ingredients.
Peter, indeed, it was sad considering the type of dinner we were having… >_< In the few instances I have been to Starbucks and have purchased some of their goods, I have found their goods can be hit or miss, though it leans more towards the miss side. Sandwiches definitely a no. Cakes, muffins or loaves is a depend but they tend to be too sweat for my liking.
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