Nine-Ten: Mercy of the Chef

Jon and I finally got around to celebrating our birthdays (only 2 months late!) and went to Nine-Ten last night. It was my first time for dinner and Jon's first time ever. The restaurant is small and located within The Grand Colonial Hotel on Prospect Street in La Jolla. We didn't have any problems finding street parking on a Wednesday evening, but they do offer valet (for a fee).

I made the reservation through OpenTable and noticed that they surprisingly read my requests because we were seated in a private area and they knew it was Jon's birthday. I was beginning to think no one ever read my requests because they were never honored!

The service was stellar and attentive, without being snobby or pretentious. Almost immediately after being seated, we were given two complimentary flutes of rosé champagne to celebrate the birthday dinner as well as fresh bread.

Jon decided on this restaurant because we were both interested in their "Mercy of the Chef" dinner, which is a 5-course tasting menu of dishes created by the chef's inspiration for $70. We were each brought different items which was great because we were able to sample 10 different dishes!

I am not going to be able to list the details of every dish (sauces, garnishes, etc) because they were quite lengthy and I can't remember them all... even the server struggled to tell us what everything was and couldn't remember the exact names of things!

amuse-bouche:
This was a bite of salmon. It tasted very fresh and not "fishy" at all.

First course: salads

Jon: salmon salad with pieces of potato salad, topped with potato chips and roe

Jen: shaved cucumber salad with watercress and truffle oil (sorry this was taken in the middle of eating it because all other pictures were blurred)

These were both very good.

Second course: seafood

Jon: salmon with pomegranate and pureed celery root

Jen: swordfish with fingerling potatoes and olives

I liked these also. I generally don't care for swordish because it's too chewy/tough but these pieces were very tender.

Third course: main

Jon: lamb with yellow and pureed red beets and greens

Jen: turbot over some kind of vegetable with a truffle sauce

The turbot was very buttery and cooked perfectly. I couldn't figure out what else it was served with - seemed like some kind of shredded vegetable underneath it. Jon's lamb was also good. We both think lamb as being too "gamey" for us but this didn't taste like that. His was served with some kind of dark leafy green that I loved - seemed like it was a Chinese green of some sort.

Fourth course: cheese plates

Jon: goat's milk cheese and quince

Jen: a harder, peppery cheese (can't remember the name), toasted almonds

Both were served with different types of bread, including an interesting walnut bread.

Fifth course: dessert

Jon: coffeecake topped with bacon, butternut squash ice cream

Jen: chocolate mousse with creme fraiche, coffee, and banana ice cream

We both got candles on our plates!  Although beautifully plated, I was not as impressed with my dessert. Jon's seemed so much more inventive and unique.

They also gave us a couple of complimentary truffles (sorry, no picture) at the end that were good. Overall, I enjoyed the experience. Though very expensive for us, the food was high-quality, tasted good, and the service was excellent. Definitely a splurge though!

Happy Birthday to us!