Twenty Five Lusk: San Francisco, CA

Twenty Five Lusk

http://www.25lusk.com

ROSEMARY FOCACCIA BREAD

"Would you like some bread?"

"Darn tootin' I would!"

AMUSE BOUCHE: Mushroom Blini bite

I'm not sure if this is like a blini, but almost like a cut of a thick pancake which was really flavorful. 

 GRILLED OCTOPUS: Caramelized fennel, arugula, hazelnut streusel, blood orange emulsion

Recommended by the kind waiter, this was a highlight. The octopus was grilled well and the hazelnut worked well in tandem. Personally, I didn't like the emulsion because it was a kind of gooey that doesn't seem natural to me, but it added a level of sweetness and slight acidity to the bite. 

LLANO SECO PORK CHOP: Cencioni pasta, manila clams, crispy curried fava leaves

The pasta, which are little flat oval pieces with some spice, was not what I was expecting, and was a little too much on the al dente side for myself, but I can definitely see others liking this, I was given a spoon for broth, but there wasn't much of any, hence the pasta came off a bit dry. The pork chop was a little dry at places, but that's unavoidable really, but it wasn't as juicy as I'd like it to be. The curried leaves definitely added good flavor to the pork, although you needed to eat it together. I wish the pork had some curry flavor on top of it, like a thin crust would be nice.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS 

Much too sour and too many veggies had such intense burnt grill marks, we didn't finish this dish. 

AHI TUNA: SHRIMP, KUMQUATS, MIX OF GRILLED VEGGIES

I usually don't like to eat ahi tuna, but this worked well together, as well did the shrimp. I liked this dish a lot more than the pork! Not overpowering in any flavor, but nice, light, and fresh. 

CHOCOLATE BERRY MOUSSE: SNICKERDOODLE, LEMONY ICE CREAM, MINT MERINGUE

I completely forgot what kind of berry they used or what the ice cream was (although the ice cream was good and tart). The mousse was very sweet, but having everything in one bite is a good composition and the dish has almost all the textures and flavors to please anyone. The mint meringues: good texture and flavor there

CHEF COMPLIMENTS: SALTED BROWNIE BITES

This was surprisingly very good. Good size as well to get a good ratio of the brownie to complement the salt. Sometimes I get irked when there's too much salt...

I think I would stick to getting seafood here, versus other proteins, but I can see the concepts come through!

Service: The front of the house who seated us gave us a bit of a cold and detached attitude, but our server was great. We told him we had be out in an hour or so, so he continuously checked on us, advising us on timing for desserts etc. Thanks dude!