Tasting 31Ten

I was invited to try 31 Ten Lounge, so this is one of those rare posts where everything I ate and drank was provided by the management and delivered to me by the chef. More than 95% of what I write here is based on experiences where the owners, managers, and chefs do not know that I write a blog. On the rare occasions when that is not the case I will always let you know, and I promise that regardless of whether or not I paid for my meal and drinks, my comments will always be honest.

31 Ten Lounge becomes a club later at night, but if you go earlier than 10 pm, you can enjoy a few drinks and bar bites in their beautiful patio.

The open kitchen and bar.

The creator of all the tasty bites, the chef, Michael Wilson.

I asked the chef what he recommended to drink with the assortment of bites I would be tasting and he suggested the Diablo Margarita made with jalapenos, cucumber, and a nice blanco tequila. It was supposed to be spicy, but since they use fresh jalapenos, the heat varies and mine was not hot at all and overly sweet. When I told Joseph, the manager, he promptly replaced it and the second version was much better. Since I don't like sweet drinks, I'm looking forward to their new martini menu debuting Thursday, April 18 with drinks like the Poison Ivy, made with Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, Grand Marnier, Pomegranate Juice and a Rosemary infused Simple Syrup, and the Remedy, made with Jameson Irish Whisky, Honey & Ginger Infused Simple Syrup & Lemon Juice ($14-$16).

One of my favorite items was the grilled and raw asparagus with fennel, button mushrooms, and grana padana cheese for $13. The contrasting textures and tastes of raw and grilled worked well with just enough cheese to add a slightly salty richness. I would gladly order this as an appetizer again.

One advantage to being invited is that I got to chat with the chef about his creations. An intriguing menu item is the tempura avocado taco which is a perfect choice for vegetarians and all the Californians who love this local fruit. They make their own tortillas and the usual serving is two for $8, but since I was tasting, I asked the chef to make mini portions so I could taste more dishes. I loved the crisp batter and the soft texture of the avocado with the cabbage, salsa and sour cream, but I found the tortilla underwhelming. It may have been made in house but the texture was heavy and it was oily.

They serve two kinds of ceviche ($13 each), so I got mini tastes of both the diver scallop and calamari (on the right) and the shrimp (on the left). I definitely preferred the diver scallop and calamari for its wonderfully light ocean flavor, but if you are not adventurous, you have a tamer choice available. If you go to sushi bars and order California Rolls, order the shrimp ceviche. If you order sashimi, get the diver scallop and calamari ceviche.

The grilled romaine with seared Hamachi in a yuzu Caesar dressing (regular portion size is $17) was another one of my favorite bites. The slightly tangy yuzu with the creamy Caesar married the grilled fish and warm romaine like a Unitarian preacher joining a Northern and Southern Irish couple together.

When I saw smelt fries on the menu, it was the first thing I wanted to try. Served with a sriracha mayo and lime, these tasty bites are great finger food for any fish lovers. If you want some creamy spice, dip them in the sriracha mayonnaise which adds just a bit of heat. A normal size portion is $13 and if it was available all year round I would always order it.

I thought I was done with the fish and vegetable tastes when chef Michael brought out this seared diver scallop in a taleggio cheese sauce. I would never have put a cheese sauce with a seared scallop, but that is why chefs are truly artists at heart (as you can see from the plating, food can be art). The scallop was perfectly seared and not overly cooked (think of seared ahi tuna), not cooked through, not raw. I was undecided about whether the taleggio sauce worked with the scallop because I thought the richness of the cheese and scallop combination was a bit too much together, but I loved the scallop by itself.

The chorizo Bilbao and fingerling potatoes was one of the chef's recommendations and I LOVED the chorizo Bilbao! I gave the chef a card for Lindy & Grundy so he could taste their handmade chorizo; maybe the chef will create a chorizo flight!

Since I couldn't decide between the wild boar meatball with creamy cheesy polenta or the wild boar slider, the chef made me a mini plate of both :) My favorite was the wild boar meatball (normal portion is $15) because the tomato sauce perked up my palate, but since they grind all their own meat, the texture in both offerings was perfect.

If you have never tasted wild boar before I would recommend you try the slider, made with oven tomato, taleggio, and arugula for $7. You will never want a boring beef slider again.

Even though I am not a big dessert eater, I know many of you are, so I tried the molten chocolate cake with gold leaf and an orange blossom cream. As a non dessert eater, anytime I eat more than one bite of a dessert, it is a great sign. I ate nearly all of this (even after all the other bites I tasted)! The warm molten center of the cake was addictive, and because none of the components were overly sweet or rich, this was a satisfying way to end my meal and evening. The edible gold was a beautiful touch and fresh berries with the fresh cream gave the dessert a lighter mouth feel.

Thank-you Joseph and Michael for providing me with a varied tasting of your menu :)