What I Ate: April 2, 2009 (La Mar)

I met Harold McGee for lunch at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana‎ (Pier 1.5, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA‎ - (415) 397-8880‎) near the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I had never met Harold before but had read many of his writings and discussed several of his articles with Papa and my wife (most recently, this one for the New York Times on How Much Water Does Pasta Really Need?). Harold is friendly and easy to talk to (he's got a great easy going attitude but carries himself with an air of attentiveness) - we ended up talking about everything from my upcoming move to Austin, some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, and, of course, his incredible book On Food And Cooking (which everyone that reads Cooking For Engineers should have a copy of).

At El Mar, they started us with fried chips (plaintains, sweet potato, potato) with dipping sauces. The chips were so good I forgot to try the dipping sauces that came with them.

I ordered their Cebiche Mixto as my first course. The ceviche was spicy and brightly acidic. The flavors were great and the fish (mahi mahi, octopus, and calamari) were extremely fresh. (Unfortunately, the camera didn't properly focus on the ceviche…)

I followed with Tiradito Clasico which is a tasty sashimi of corvina fish with lime and cilantro.

And ended with Causa Limeña. Whipped potatoes in column form are topped with a delicious Dungeness crab salad topped with a little avocado puree. The sauce was aji amarillo Huancaina and had a quail egg and cherry tomato served with it. This was a great dish - but a little too filling. I think two would have been good - then Harold and I could have had the antichucos de coraz&oactue;n (beef heart, potatoes, and Peruvian corn grilled on a skewer) that we had planned to order.

For dinner, Tina and I heated up some leftovers (pork ribs and cornbread from Nate and Annie's). We also had a pomelo.