Vegetarian Fine Dining

An old classmate was in town for a conference. Since he can only eat gluten free and is also in the best shape of his life, he was a perfect candidate to come with me to check out a restaurant I've heard so much about - Millenium. I think I've passed this restaurant more than a dozen times but didn't realize how nice it is. I guess Geary and the Tenderloin kind of camouflages that fact.

(It was raining hard outside and I had forgotten my camera in the car unfortunately no pictures)

The complaint is that I read the menu and neither of us knew what we actually ordered until it came out. Then we had no idea what was what on the plate. But everything that was in our appetizers and main courses was delicious!!! I even got a menu so I could remember/try to replicate it at home. Here's what we had:

Black Eyed Pea Fritters - aji chile coconut cream, jicama & apple salsa
Chimichurri Grilled Portobello Mushroom - sunchoke & root vegetable hash, saffron scented IPA & French lentil brodo, escarole with carmelized onion & roasted apples, smoky orange-almond romesco sauce.
Pumpkin Seed Crusted Tempeh Brochettes - masa gnocchi, seared black chanterelle mushrooms & spigarello kale, roasted butternut squash, cascabel chile, espresso & pink bean puree, cumin scented cara cara orange mojo.

Come on, seriously - do you understand every word? Oh well it was great!

I like how they describe themselves though because it's beginning to become my dietary philosophy. "We are dedicated to the essential earthly concepts of organic food production, including sustainable agriculture, supporting small local farms...We cook with only the freshest, organically grown produce and are proud to state that our restaurant is completely free of genetically modified foods. We believe that a gourmet dining experience can be created out of vegetarian, healthy and environmentally friendly foods".

I can't wait to try more tasty bay area vegetarian restaurants. Anybody up for Ubuntu?