Apologies at the top for my awful photography skills and some missed courses.
I dined this past week at Lilo, in Carlsbad, the restaurant that won its first Michelin star just a few weeks after opening, and which just marked its first anniversary. They've made no bones out of reaching for a second star. I was greeted by the wait staff at the front of the *gorgeous* restaurant, and welcomed into the patio – an open area with fire pits and a beautiful landscape. The meal begins with an offer for drinks a few small bites outside:
Covering the photos above:
* A tequila (or mezcal, I forget) cocktail with miso caramel, coffee oil – sublime. Just absolutely perfectly balanced; an unpictured later order of a Manhattan-inspired cocktail with plantain was even better. The cocktail program here is the best I've ever had.
* Petite scallops with fermented raspberry and green shiso – an incredible acidity that didn't overpower. Lilo has an absolute *mastery* of Shiso, which can be overpowering and bitter when used inartfully.
* Uni, english pea, rose, green blueberry, koji, smoked soy, served in a bed of lettuces – a wonderful little pop, though the uni did get slightly lost amidst the flavor
* Big eye tuna and wagyu under radish, ginger, and lemon – Honestly a bit of a miss. The radish and lemon overpowered the wagyu and tuna
* Spot prawn, magnolia, smoked strawberry, pistachio, all in a little crunchy boat. The first "whoa holy shit" moment of the night. The complete pop of flavor from the smoked strawberry manages to *not* overpower the prawns.
* The signature cigar-shaped gougere filled with a mornay of comte, topped with iberico lardo, and brushed lightly with maple syrup. Fatty, rich, slightly sweet, slightly salty. Delicious, can see why it's a staple.
This wraps the snacks in the patio before moving inside to the gorgeous interior – one massive U-Shaped counter (with a few tables to the side for parties of 4), with a series of chefs in the middle. At the end of the snack courses, I'm a bit unsure…there are flashes of brilliance, but consistency is key and some starters didn't do it for me.
* Rock crab, sugar snap peas, finger limes, wrapped in jicama, served over almond milk and bergamot – Most diners near me seemed to love this, but it was a complete miss for me. The delicate crab was overpowered by the peas and almond milk, which is surprising because those aren't particularly strong flavors. It was a bit bland, and I'm now concerned that the meal will disappoint. Thankfully…that rapidly and drastically changes
* Scallop, white asparagus, celtuce, pine nuts, green garlic, anise sabayon – the green garlic, asparagus and pine nuts made this dish sound like it would be a wintery protein, but everything here was absolutely sublime. Every single other diner served the same course would whisper to each other some variation of immense surprise and delight when digging into this course. One of the best bites I've had this year.
* Grilled abalone with fermented pepper and guanciale, over a *chicken* broth – again, a preparation that might make a diner think there was confusion on the ingredients. But as with the scallops before, this blew me away. The broth should be bottled and sold, and the abalone was perfectly delicious. Not photographed was the second part of this course, tempura of brassicas and an oyster emulsion to dip it in. Also just absolutely phenomenal.
* Unpictured – Orgeat ice cream, kaluga caviar, *smoked celery root bushi* – This course was *insane*. Memory may fail me, but the celery root bushi is made by curing it in brown sugar and some other incredibly pungent flavors. The caviar and ice cream pairing is ingenious, and the celery root shaved on top like a truffle just brings this incredible potency. Doing dessert in the middle of dinner is a stroke of genius, it's like the lightest bite of the perfectly salty ice cream.
* Madai, rock crab butter, buttermilk koji, smoked tomato, shiso – as hinted before, Lilo's mastery of shiso is absolutely astounding. It's ever-present throughout the dish without ever being overpowering. The crackly skin gives way to tender flesh in one of the best sauces I've ever had.
* A5 miyazaki wagyu – *NOT* a supplemental course, and one of the most generous servings of wagyu I've ever been presented at a fine dining restaurant, especially for a non-supplemental course. Served with radichio, kelp, dashi vinegar, toasted walnut, and the following photo of a 3-day brioche to lap up the sauce. The dashi vinegar is like the greatest red wine steak sauce you've ever had, but lighter and punchier, letting the fatty wagyu carry the heft of the course.
* Unpictured cucumber and avocado sorbet palate cleanser into dessert – fine, but nothing to write home about
* "Earl Grey" – pain perdu, coca nibs, toffee, golden sesame, miso, bourbon sabayon, and roasted vanilla oil. If it sounds like there's a lot going on, there is. Every bite is a create-your-own adventure of how much crunch, salt, sweet, bourbon, and anything else you could want in it. If done poorly this could be a mess of inconsistency. Done as Lilo does it, it's perfection.
* Chamomile mochi hidden in a garden of greens. The lightest mochi skin I've had, with a lovely little center
* Stroopwaffle with burnt orange – just put a big smile on my face, what a lovely bite
* Unpictured – cherry blossom white chocolate fudge with yuzu. As above, just put a great big smile on my face
After-dinner tea is served back out on the patio, where you're invited to relax as long as you'd like. Once you're ready to go, a server will be back at the entrance to thank you for coming and to wish you farewell.
Lilo was just absolutely stunning. Sure, a few of the snacks and one course kind of underwhelmed, but the absolute mastery of ingredients and flavor shining throughout the entire rest of the meal was bewildering. The menu is creative, inventive, takes risks, and almost every single one of them pays off to amazing success. The service was attentive, the entire staff was so clearly excited to be there and to commit to the project they're building. I didn't provide 0-10 rankings for each course because honestly, the entirety of the main course portion of the meal (aside from the crab) was a 10/10 without a second thought.
The only meal I've had that is up to Lilo's standard among the many many many meals I've had recently was Ki, which I've posted about elsewhere. Lilo now has me questioning which I would put on top.
I'll be back to see the menu change once the seasons rotate and cannot wait, hoping the team gets that 2nd star they so clearly deserve.
by deskcord