delmonico kitchen+bar/dkb

jalapeño corn soup

i'm a little burnt out on reviewing restaurants right now. i've been sitting on this post for thre months now, and ahhh, nothin'. have you been here? tell me what you think of it. in the meantime, here are some pretty photos of some of my favourite dishes at delmonico/dkb.

mac-n-cheese with crabmeat

boneless fried chicken w|creamy mash

kb ultimate steak burger

apple tartlette and chocolate triple crème

the breakfast menu appeals to me greatly, but i've yet to try it. here's the slightly quirky menu.

28 feb 2011: okay, let's try this one more time.....

blink and you might miss it, especially if you're hurtling down santos hill as you are wont to do. tucked into the ground floor corner of the bayview hotel--newbies, look for the mural--is delmonico kitchen+bar (dkb). with its walls clad in warm wood and bright colours, modern decor and casual air, it doesn't look nor feel like a hotel restaurant, but instead like a cool little neighbourhood café. the menu is quirky--a mix of italian, asian and american casual cuisine--but expertly prepared by a kitchen headed up by chefs eddie chien and raul cordero, of the late colors restaurant red. red never quite found its footing, but by keeping the menu relatively simple and consistent, hopefully dkb will stick around for awhile.

i've tried to keep dkb in my regular rotation of local restaurants, and for the most part, the food has been consistent and competently prepared. i tend to stick to the same entrees--the boneless fried chicken and steak burger with a flying saucer-like disc of griddled cheese are particular favourites--but i can't fault the lightly crispy battered basa fillet sandwich in a fluffy white bun, nor its more elegant sister, the seared spicy crème dory on a bed of rice with a garlic ginger butter sauce. both are tender and flaky, and the delicately-flavoured fish is somehow never overpowered by its more assertive accompaniments. they've got a temaki bento box of make-your-own sushi with white rice, sheets of nori, sashimi and tempura prawns that can be a substantial entree for one, or a fun appetizer for the table. the desserts are few and familiar, but exceptionally well-made. the crème brûlée is one of the better versions on the island, and if they've got the matcha green tea-flavoured one, it's one of the best desserts i've tried here in awhile.

the breakfast menu looks interesting; i think one of the things guam lacks is a casual brunch place for the weekends, and dkb's menu looks extensive and interesting enough that it may fit the bill. now if i could only get up in time to find out....

delmonico kitchen+bar/dkb
bayview hotel, ground floor
tumon (santos hill).
646.2300.

tv dinner.

my addiction: AppleTV. i have season passes for "downton abbey," "top gear," and my new favourite cooking show, "dinner with the band" with chef sam mason.

i have to admit, i haven't really followed the career of chef mason because he looks like a relative of mine who i'd like to decapitate and stitch his head back on with an awl on a regular basis, so i've got irrational bias. i know i'm totally late to the party, but when i read about "dinner with the band" i knew it was worth checking out--indie music? good food? add a couple of fast cars in the mix and they woulda hit a trifecta, but two out of three is rarely ever bad, even if it is a meatloaf song.

if you haven't seen the show, the basic conceit is that a band shows up at chef mason's space, he cooks a meal and creates a cocktail that is somewhat tailored to the guests, and they play some music. zomg, the music! soooo good. great bands--most of whom i'd heard before, but i'm totally loving the ones i'd not known previously, in particular theophilus london and the devil makes three.

chef mason is a good host, really at ease in front of the camera. he's never at a loss for words, but still able to carry a conversation with the bands whilst prepping the meal. he's a bit no-nonsense, yeah, he's got that hipster thing going, but he's got a quick wit and easy going manner that appeals. and anyone who has a kick-ass waylon jennings tattoo is alright with me. then there's the food, which is far more interesting than i had anticipated, yet still executable by the average home cook. i watched six episodes in a row, and wanted to make everything.

luckily, i actually had most of the ingredients on hand to make the main part of meal from the murder city devils ep: midnight burritos at the mason kitchen.

chef mason said that this was his take on mission-style burritos. and then he said he'd never been to san francisco. um, it's kinda evident he's never had a mission burrito, which is a hulking, amalgamated behemoth. this is not. this is actually the antithesis of the mission burrito--healthier, lighter, of average proportion, and orderly.

chef mason lines up the ingredients in such a way that plucks at my OCD heartstrings, so of course i had to as well. the innards of the burrito contain chorizo, green cilantro rice, refried lentils, goat cheese, queso fresco, and watercress salsa verde. when i first heard the components, i was doubtful but damn if this isn't one fine burrito. (okay, if you call this a burrito in my 'hood, you'd get laughed out of town. so let's say this is one fine mexican-inspired wrap.)

the lentils are a particularly nice addition because they are so much lighter than the traditional refried beans. the goat cheese was an eye-opening, mouth-watering surprise--the sharpness and musty creaminess adds extra depth, and the watercress salsa verde is soooooo nice. the original recipe calls for fresh tomatillos, which unfortunately i didn't have, so i had to make do with some frozen roasted ones i chucked in the freezer mumblemumble months ago. still, the peppery spice of the watercress played well with the heated spice of the jalapeño, and the fresh herbiness works well with the roasted fruit (i'm guessing tomatillos are fruit). i look forward to whatever season brings in fresh tomatillos on island, because the original sauce is a beautiful, verdant, springy green, and i'm sure the salsa verde will just knock my socks off. if i wore socks.

here's the band:

who freakin' rock it out. and here's another link to the recipes. i wish i had enough tomatillos to make the agua verde cocktail, but there's time enough for that.

my notes:
--i used frozen pre-roasted tomatillos in the salsa.
--the chorizo is a local product, and pretty freaking awesome. i used the chicken chorizo, which didn't produce a lot of oil, so for the lentils, i drained off some of the 'rizo juice and added a small glug of olive oil.
--i used regular lentils and didn't mash them down that much as i was looking for more texture.
--even though there are a zillion components, it is actually not that complicated. from start to finish, i had all the components made and the burritos assembled in just about an hour.

"dinner with the band" is on IFC, or by download on itunes.