La Mar - Weekend Brunch-Peruvian Cuisine
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
We
have always loved dining at La Mar which
serves fabulous Peruvian Cuisine and has a beautiful location
right on the San Francisco Bay near the Ferry Plaza on Pier 1.5.
We learned that they recently added seven additional items to
their Weekend Brunch Menu and decided we'd better check it out.
It was a beautiful sunny Saturday and we were seated on the all-weather
outdoor dockside Patio overlooking the Bay and soon were enjoying
their habit forming Sweet Potato and Plantain Chips and
excellent Pisco Cocktails. The Pisco Sour made with Pisco
Quebranta Brandy, lime juice, simple syrup, and dash of egg white
and a drop of bitters was quite unique and the Pisco Punch
topped with pineapple was excellent as well! Both the chips and
the Pisco drinks go down easy.... so make sure you don't fill
up as the cuisine is excellent.
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Our
first course was the Cebiches which are the national
dish of Peru made here with 100% sustainably caught fish and shellfish
then marinated in "leche de tigre". We loved both the
Cebiche Clasico made with California Halibut in a classic leche
de tigre with red onion habanero and Peruvian corn and yam and
the Cebiche Nikei which was Tuna, red onion, Japanese cucumber,
daikon avocado, nori, and sesame in tamarind leche de tigre. The
portions are perfect and not only is Cebiche very flavorful it's
quite healthy. Next, we enjoyed another Peruvian specialty, Causa
Limena, which was whipped yellow potatoes topped with fresh
Dungeness Crab, avocado puree, quail egg, cherry tomatoes, aji
Amarillo huancaina sauce and basil cilantro oil. The texture of
the potatoes and the freshness of Crab made this an amazing starter.
The
new Brunch Main Courses were all wonderful and quite unique. We
loved the perfectly prepared Grilled Salmon Fillet which
was served over a bed of red chard, fried choclo and marbled potatoes
sautéed with butter and garlic crowned with a perfectly
Poached Egg in an aji amarillo hollandaise and Hawaiian Smoked
Salt.
Then
we enjoyed the Montadito Burrata served over grilled
artisan Acme bread topped with fresh burrata cheese, pisco, aji
amarillo sautéed mushrooms and a quail egg. The creamy
texture of the burrata along with the other ingredients paired
perfectly on the crunchy Acme Bread. This would also make a great
starter. A very unique and excellent brunch choice was the Chicharrón
(for two) which was a traditional Peruvian pan con chicharrón,
Pork Belly sous vide served with sweet potato and yucca fries,
huancaina, criolla, tartar sauces and slider Acme rolls. The Chicharron
was not rich at all.... as it is cooked for 17 hours which enhances
the flavor of the pork. This is quite fun to share!
La
Mar has an extensive International Wine List. We enjoyed
the The 2010 Vevi La Mar Rueda Spain Verdejo which paired
perfectly with the Cebiches ,the 2011 Albarino Lagar de Cerera
Rias Baix , Spain which paired perfectly with the Salmon and the
2009 Tempranillo Vina Vallarin Ribera del Duero, Spain
which paired perfectly with the Pork Belly.
We
saved room for Pastry Chef Astrid Gutsche's desserts.
We loved the Alfajorzon which was homemade Vanilla Ice Cream marbled
with manjar blanco and alfajor cookie served in a tulie bowl.
The presentation was lovely and it was actually a light desert
that went down very easily! We also enjoyed the Passion Fruit
and Colchagua Sorbets. A Hand Tied Organic Jasmine Green
Tea and an Espresso were a great ending to our brunch.
La
Mar serves a fantastic brunch! They feature Peruvian
Cuisine made with local and organic ingredients, Peruvian spices,
fresh seafood and meats prepared with Peruvian, Japanese, California
and Chinese influences. The atmosphere and décor are upbeat,
colorful and comfortable. There is a separate bar area in the
front, large dining room and counter seating which is great for
watching preparation and plating in the exhibition kitchen. The
menu developed by International Restaurateur /Chef Gaston
Acurio, the execution by Chef de Cuisine Diego
Oka , the excellent service, the spectacular San Francisco
Bay setting all contributed to making our dining experience outstanding.
We also enjoyed chatting with a friendly neighboring foursome
who had come via boat and used the private boat dock to tie up
while dining.
La
Mar Cebicheria Peruana
Pier 1.5 Suite 100 The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA. 94111
415.397.8880
www.LaMarCebicheria.com
