Knife Pleat - Costa Mesa

What does a one-Michelin-star tea look like?

Small. Little bites, lithe and light, delicate, exquisite.

There's not a single ingredient that doesn't get to sing, and everything serves a purpose, whether it primes your palate, tickles your taste buds, or just makes magic in your mouth. No nonsense, no fillers, just a concise three-tier and some sandwiches that prioritize top-notch quality over uncomfortable quantity.

Start by selecting a single tea from a carefully curated list. I went Grand Earl Grey and got the cleanest, truest earl grey I've ever had. It's a shockingly straightforward cup of bold and woody, strong and simple, with a less harsh finish no matter how long it steeps. It's undoubtedly elegant and gracefully self-assured, but it's my bestie's Jin Xuan Oolong that floats with floral and fruity notes, a breezy bouquet as beautiful as its drinker.

Start with the sandwiches before you fill up on everything else. The Maine Lobster Eclair is a brick of a baguette, an all-butter shell with a shattering crust. It's reminiscent of a Red Lobster cheddar biscuit...if Red Lobster were run by Michelin-starred chefs. The filling has the full, sweet succulence of a delicate lobster with some crunch from small bits of celery.

Gravlax Salmon is a slick and meaty fish, sweetened by a sheet of cream cheese with a lift of dill on an earthy rye-caraway bread. 

Bright Persian Cucumbers crunch across an herby cream cheese, and even the Radish & Watercress has some pop, with a dry and bitter radish to offset the thick slab of butter beneath. It is a masterful chef indeed who can make radishes remotely interesting.  

Take that Deviled Egg from the top tier, and bite into that creamy concoction. The yolky mix is seamless, a balance of density with uplifting herbs offset by a few pops from the dill smoked trout roe on top. 

The middle tier has more savories; meet the Green Circle Chicken Barquette which holds the best chicken salad my bestie has ever had. There's savory chicken, crunchy celery, some sweetness from the apple, and just enough curry to give it some grit without turning it into a heavy hitter. 

The Winter Crostini is a pile of cold roots: celeriac, carrot, butternut squash, and yellow beet, all beautifully cooked and topped with some tangy pomegranate to sweeten the deal.

My favorite is always the Sunchoke, a sweet, roasted root with a simple, buttery tart shell and a dollop of cream on top. 

Desserts are very dessert-y, but the lower amounts of sugar show restraint. There's a simple little Strawberry Cream Puff, with a cake so fluffy and light. There's a Lemon Cake a la Sansa Stark, and my favorite is this Cacao Pod of chocolate mousse with fragrant hazelnut and a tangy layer of passionfruit. I've never seen anything so beautiful or tasted anything so complete. The Financier has a lovely pistachio with a base of brown butter cake. My least favorite has to be the Rhubarb Tartelette. This vibrant setting sun is more like a very light jelly, and it strips the rhubarb of a lot of its tartness. It might make it more palate-pleasing and far less jarring, but it takes the barb out of the rhubarb.

Just around the edge of a flawless black sesame Macaron sits a Diamant Chocolat Sable, basically a rich chocolate cookie, a perfect ending accompaniment to any tea. 

It's a lovely tea service that ends entirely too soon. I loved every moment and cherished every bite, and I left fully satisfied but felt like I could always have one more. It's beautiful but it's not cheap, and it's something most people can rarely afford to replicate. Still, I think I'd choose it again, even over other great tea services that might cost half as much. Afternoon tea is already very elevated, so why not splurge on the very best?

Knife Pleat - Costa Mesa, CA

Lunching in the land of conspicuous consumption defines the fine dining in this cushy Costa Mesa mall. Eating amidst elegant restaurant decor surrounded by an eyesore of bright lights and beckoning displays of habits worth more than my mortgage, I'll admit I never had high hopes for Knife Pleat. 

The amuse bouche gougeres are crumbly, quasi-cheesy bits full of a grainy, earthy pea puree. A welcoming texture and I'm all for the less-is-more cleaness of the flavors that shine through the complex preparation. 

 

The prix fixe menu offered something fresh and forgettable-sounding at a price point too frugal to ignore, so out came the Wild Arugula Salad, a simple salad. The arugula is crisp and bitter, the first peaches of the summer, soft and sweet. Toasted pine nuts add a savory element, highlighting the sweeter notes of fruit. White dots of gooey cheese make it stick. 

The English Pea arrives, and we silently shovel bite after bite into our mouths while muttering "It's so good". It's so good we ordered it again for dessert, to consume before our last course came out. We got looks but apologized for nothing. There is truly no execution more flawless than the golden ratios of this dish. Sunkissed peas are fresh off the vine, snow pea chiffonade adds a layer of luxury with a bolder bean flavor in the texture of satin. Mint and a dash of acid uplift the crisp prosciutto, and a base-bed of stracciatella cheese adds some salty notes. It's a mouthful of sunshine and rain, an entire spring garden on a single plate. For this dish alone, one Michelin star is not enough. 

The prix fixe gives us a tender Chicken Thigh in a chicken jus gravy good enough to drink. The potato puree is a little pile of comfort with chips to add some crunch. The fresh peas are a recurring theme, this time buttered. Simple yet spectacular. 

This Duck Leg Confit eclipses everything I ate in France. The meat releases savory shreds, so soft you can cut them with a spoon. Good gastrique, chef's-kiss skin, well-suited sides of starch and berries. 

It always surprises me how good rhubarb can taste. Their Rhubarb Tart is arrayed in picture-perfect stripes of pink, a pretty pastry with a side of fruit-packed sorbet. 

The Louis XV is a luxury, an on-the-nose parallel to their neighbor Louis Vuitton. Gilded with gold leaf, it tastes the inspiration for the first jar of Nutella. The chocolate is chocolate without not so much sugar, the hazelnut puree is smooth as silk, and the hazelnuts form a crunchy crust to contrast the cream. 

A birthday Macaron with pistachio, 

And gold stars filled with passionfruit wrap up an exquisite meal. 

I am not surprised, not even shocked; I am astounded. I haven't had food of this quality in years, and I never expected it, not from here. Well if this is only lunch, I MUST return for dinner.