THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Hutchinson Cocktails & Grill Awards

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Hutchinson Cocktails & Grill Restaurant Review:

Here is how the story goes: Richard Hutchinson, the grandfather of owners Ian and Justin Hopper, had a geology PhD from Caltech. The mural behind the bar is Hutchinson’s final dissertation, relating to a cross-section of land ranging from the Sierra Nevada foothills to Death Valley. He spent more than twenty years in Sumatra and his Australian wife learned how to cook Indonesian food. She then passed the knowledge on to their daughter, Lois. The restaurant is a homage to the adventurous couple, from the décor to the cuisine. All of the photos spread out over the restaurant were taken by him. We like the batik stamp copper pieces separating the bi-level space that accommodates a large bar that mixes house-made cocktails. To start the dinner, slightly spicy shrimp chips are brought to the table. Then the challenge is to choose from among options that all sound pretty tasty, and we can confirm that they are as we tried many of them during our dinner. A wood-fire mesquite grill in the kitchen adds a subtle taste to the food. Beef satay utilizes filet mignon ensuring tenderness; it’s served with sambal, Indonesian soy, cucumber salad and a light peanut sauce. A good vegetarian option, spring rolls are stuffed with mushrooms and topped with pea sprouts; dip them into yuzukoshō aïoli and kecap manis (a sweet soy sauce). Lettuce cups are fun and can be filled with crispy prawn or pork belly, pickled carrot and daikon, tamarind-coconut sambal and serundeng (sautéed grated coconut with the addition of peanuts). Go easy on the homemade grilled ciabatta paired with mussels in a fresh turmeric-coconut broth. You need to save room for the impeccably grilled herb dorade or the must-have beef rendang (short rib cooked sous-vide so the meat melts on the tongue) in an Indonesian curry sided with coconut rice and caramelized baby bok choy. You have no choice but to order the Indonesian nasi goreng made of fried jasmine rice, chicken, pork and prawns, finished with a fried egg. End the meal with not-so-Indonesian Valrhona chocolate mousse, macadamia nut brittle and gula jawa (palm sugar) toffee sauce, or mango gâteau Basque, guava-lime coulis and toasted coconut. There is a small wine list comprised of mostly California labels.