Rest of U.S. Formal & Casual Dining

                                       San Francisco

Manresa - Chef David Kinch is an ambitious man. A veteran of NYC’s Quilted Giraffe, as well as a number of Europe’s finest kitchens, he has joined Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz in the club of American chefs who serve large, multicourse tasting menus. When I visited his Los Gatos restaurant in September, he plied us with 18 courses, and I've heard that they have gone as high as 25. The eclectic cuisine ranges from a perfect mackerel flown in from Japan served sushi style to a twice-cooked foie gras in a quince consommé, watercress “soup” with Iranian caviar, and various meats slowly braised or prepared sous vide. Manresa reminds of New York's Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Worth the 55-mile trip down from San Francisco and a much easier reservation to get than The French Laundry. This is a restaurant worth watching. The volume of courses pushes this score up a notch. A-

David Kinch's Watercress Vichyssoise with Iranian Osetra Caviar