THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Vida Gourmet

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Vida Gourmet Restaurant Review:

For the most part, chef Rey Knight brings distinctive, farm-fresh cuisine beyond the Prospect Street border at the waterfront-level restaurant in a modest strip mall. The former executive chef at San Francisco’s Mandarin Oriental has credentials to spare and shows great promise, but the execution of some of the more basic menu items gives us pause. Some dishes, like butternut squash or parsnip-apple soups, lack seasoning and are heavy on the cream. But others---like toothy calamari noodles swathed in subtle carrot-cardamom emulsion, and tuna and hamachi gently accented with shoyu, lemon oil, Vietnamese coriander and black mint tip the scales in his favor. The tender Vande Rose Farm luau pig paired with silky parsnip purée and collared greens should not be missed. The halibut cheeks are deftly prepared and served with roasted saffron fingerling potatoes, baby bok choy and tiny cipollini onions. For dessert, we recommend the study on chocolate (a trio of bittersweet Kona almond tart, milk chocolate-caramel pot de crème and Gianduja chocolate crunch) or the revolving American artisan cheese platter.