For Wade's birthday dinner, we went to Trust (formerly Playground 2.0) in Santa Ana.
A solid 9.8 on a scale of 10, and one of the best dinners we have eaten to date.
It is called "Trust" because they don't tell you the menu or even what the next course is;
you just have to trust that they know what they are doing.
A glass of sparkling wine to start, with some appetizers. In front are spiced Marcona almonds.
On the left is a cube of shredded potato stuffed with an egg filling similar to a sabayon.
On the right is a gougere, a cheese puff with Gruyere cheese.
Justin is the head chef on the left, with his two sous chefs. This is the view from our seats,
so we get to watch all the cooking being finished up.
Obligatory selfie.
House-made brioche bread, one minute out of the oven, with house-made butter.
A mixed green salad with a yummy dressing.
A red masa tostada with tuna, white soy, cilantro, avocado, cucumber, and pickled jalapenos.
Marinated lima beans with pickled haricot vert, pistachio, pecorino cheese, and hatchet pickles.
Braised escarole over farro, with crunchy pine nuts on top.
The turbot they imported from Spain and cooked on the hibachi, waiting to cool and be deboned.
While deboning the fish, they served a pasta course. Good, but probably the least-interesting dish
of the evening.
The fish deboned and served in sauce.
Marinated cauliflower hearts with hen-of-the-woods mushroom, over grits with a chimichurri sauce.
Gorgeous lamb chops with pickled asparagus and a blackberry-strawberry emulsion.
Wagyu hangar steak served with shishito peppers in red pepper sauce.
The first dessert, freshly-shaved ice (kakigori) covered with a macerated peaches, a yogurt foam,
and a super-salty crunch given by toated sesame clusters.
The second dessert, a scoop of cherry ice cream and a scoop of cheesecake gelato, with macerated
strawberries on top, all sitting on a caramel base with candied pecans in it. A definite highlight.
The final course: a kouign amann pastry with sugar and butter, and a suprising amount of salt that
catches you off-guard at first, but is incredible to eat.
On the day after Wade's birthday dinner, we had sushi with Rick and Karyn, followed by some cake at home.
Getting the cake all set up.
Wade trying to find something to wish for...
...and blowing out the candles anyway.
