Bacon Heart Attack Dinner (5) – Bacon Beef Heart Confit

Bacon Beef Heart Confit

Beef Heart Confit over Hobbs’ Bacon, Lentils, Onion Flowers

The fifth course of Dissident Chef’s Subculture Dining “Bacon Heart Attack Dinner” was a serious boost; another great dish with more complexity than the Spam (which was awesome). The beef heart confit flayed like a welcoming, flickering Maori tongue atop  green garlic, Hobbs’ bacon, and lentils.

Visually, there’s an erotic play happening as well, with the phallic onion flowers atop the open, flattened beef heart confit. 

The flavors have stepped up, especially bolstered by the big red swathe of house-made sriracha, the red chile pepper sauce popular throughout Southeast Asia.  The Dissident Chef painted a big sriracha swoop across the plate and that hot pepper infuses the lentils and beef heart confit to just the kind of heat that keeps you aware of mild fire in the mouth. Just enough to enjoy the burn.

Then reach for that cooling glass of wine.

(To get Hobb’s bacon or Hobbs’ smoked meats, try Golden Gate Meat Company)

Bacon Heart Attack Dinner, Course 5 Pairing: Chateau Guiot Rose´

The Chateau Guiot Rose´has three varietals: mostly grenache and syrah, with some cinsault. The pink is dark-hearted, and the fruit initially bold (strawberry, raspberry) but pretty dry through the finish. It was a great pairing to the rich spiciness of the bacon beef heart confit dish, and would be a great summer wine for anything you might barbecue.

Chateau Guiot Rose (grenache/syrah) from House of Wines SF

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Wild Game Week – Big 4 Restaurant

While Big 4 Restaurant has game a-plenty to cook and serve during the year, this is their special week to shine. Like the Mardi Gras of game meats ready to party with you. The dishes are dear (in price), but I had their saddle of black buck antelope and it was phenomenal. [See my previous dish review.] And there’s Rocky Mountain Wapiti (elk); Sika Deer (Broken Arrow Ranch); and even Llama Rib Eye (Robert’s Ranch, Nebraska). 

You can even start off with a little piranha…how often do you get to eat that? (Before it eats you, random Amazon-wanderer?)

Carnivores of all persuasions, get to Big 4 this week, amid your journeys into SF Cocktail Week bar events. 

Check out the Wild Game Week menu (PDF); then make your Open Table reservation.

Australian, Grass-Fed Kangaroo Loin (Johannes, Palm Springs CA)

It’s not every day that someone this side of Sydney gets to dine upon kangaroo loin, so that’s what I ordered at Johannes in Palm Springs, CA. And it was excellent.

The Vibe: Understated décor, with comfy, white, high-back chairs, and a few cool paintings on the cool cantaloupe walls that reminded us of a couple of European cities.

The Dish: Australian, Grass-fed Kangaroo Loin. Wow; what a phenomenal dish from Johannes’ April menu. This goes on my list of favorite meaty dishes for 2008. It’s a clear indication of their commitment to excellent food.

The perfect loin was drizzled with an “organic wild blueberry port essence” that was rich but not heavy. For those who have not enjoyed kangaroo meat, it’s wonderfully lean, with a mild flavor and a texture between steak and (closer to) lamb. The kangaroo loin at Johannes was thick and lean, perfectly medium-rare, and tastier than any steak I’ve had in the past few years.

The Damage: The kangaroo loin is $28.

Accompanied by large, tenderly grilled summer asparagus and a glazed Granny Smith apple, it’s a hearty, fantastic plate and a good value for the price. Being one of the best meat dishes I’ve enjoyed in the past couple of years, the only real damage is the inability to eat this more often.

The Grade: Sterling (5 out of 5)
The Skinny: Johannes
196 South Indian Canyon Drive (at Arenas)
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Phone: (760) 778-0017
Dinner only, Monday – Sunday 6:00pm to 10:00pm
Owner / Chef: Johannes Becher
Johannes website: http://www.johannesrestaurants.com/