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g a r g a n t u a Restaurant Review:

About the chef: Chef Nick Barainca’s work is to the culinary world what a boutique stay is to the hotel industry: intimate, detailed, precise, elegant and, in his case, contemporary. Barainca, who developed a passion for cooking at the age of 14, has not had his own restaurant yet. Among other past experiences, he worked at some Four Seasons hotels and was the opening sous chef at AK in Venice. You will see that his travels to Japan have greatly influenced him. (He even claims that if he goes back one more time, he will stay there --- but we don’t want that, we want him to stay here.) With the talent that he has and that we got to experience, it was about time he struck out on his own.

About the restaurant: For now, he is taking over Thursday-Saturday evenings at The OP Cafe, a small and very casual location serving breakfast and lunch. The décor does not match his food, which is actually for the best since you can devote your full attention to the plates in front of you. (Some of them he manufactured himself, while others were carefully selected to pair with his food.)

Likes: The five-course meal for $47 (plus tax and service) is a great value.
Dislikes: Only three nights a week.
View the dinner in photos.
View the dinner on YouTube

About the food: If the name of the restaurant refers to something “big,” it is not the size of the dishes (although they are pretty generous) but rather the amount of work that goes into the preparation of the five-course menu. (Please do not ask for substitutions as all ingredients have been carefully chosen to balance each other.) Since it is partially based on California’s fresh and organic produce, and also his whim, the dishes can change daily. The starter, black garlic bread, stuffed with aged beef and served with kefir butter, should be a staple and never removed. It is followed by compressed melon ceviche on a bed of white corn milk, sprinkled with trout roe, finger lime and onion flowers. The ancient grains and eggplant cream with thomcord grape, dukkah (an Egyptian condiment) and lavender beans might convert you to being a vegetarian, or at least until the next dish of Wagyu beef belly arrives. Perfectly cooked to medium rare, the meat is rubbed with sun-dried mole and served with raw water morning glory. When bringing the dessert, our waitress described it as “simple.” The financier topped with plum and accompanied by a scoop of buttermilk might look simple, but the mix of tastes proves the contrary to the palate. It is the perfect ending. Drinks are BYOB.