It’s Chef Eric creating yet another magical experience. Do I really need to say Michelin Star Chef Eric again? Lilo is his second Michelin Star Restaurant in Carlsbad. And the second time I am going to this restaurant. Of course! (I had to check it out myself first, before bringing anyone)!
So I am at Lilo, Carlsbad once again but this time I am bringing a small group!
They seat us outside first, with the most amazing appetizers anyone could ever ask for. They also give us a grape pressed drink that is so thirst quenching and yummy.
Robyn is the birthday girl. She both starts and ends the meal with champagne. What she doesn’t know is I’m picking up the tab for her drinks! lol Well it IS her birthday, right?
What a great start. Just check out the pictures here. Then they come to escort us to our table. There are only 2 tables in the entire place. The rest are comfy seats around a counter.
Fortunately, we are right in front of the chefs working to create, plate and deliver the food, giving us the details of what we are about to eat.
Is this really worth a trip to Carlsbad and spending this much?
Yes. A hundred times YES! Please look at the Pix to get an idea of what was served. So many wonderful flavors, beautifully plated. One of the first things we get to try in the courtyard is Black Truffle Sable. It’s goat cheese and more between a thin roasted Chicken Skin. That plus a few other tastings. What a great way to start a meal sitting around a beautiful tree that had to be airlifted into the courtyard. There is not one thing about this experience that does not make you feel warm and fuzzy … well taken care of. It’s worth the expense. And again, a great way to start the experience.
“Madai Rock Crab is a perfect bite” says Robyn.
It’s course after course of creative and a creatively plated variety of fish, with amazing sauces that no one normally makes at home. You certainly, I certainly would not be able to create these flavor profiles.
After a couple of courses, Ana Maria is still talking about the starter that was ‘very earthy the first bite, but with wine as a gelatin you can really taste, as well as the goat cheese”.
Halfway through the meal we find ourselves agreeing that N25 Kaluga Caviar is ‘the bomb’. So good. So unexpected. Ice Cream & Caviar. It’s their signature dish, because Chef Eric says: “It’s been on the menu from the start”.
All their seafood is seriously, intentionally fresh and good. The quality and creativity is off the charts.
Miyazaki Wagyu has a sauce that is just ah-mazing. And while the beef itself is great, “it’s the sauce that really makes you appreciate what you’re eating”. Ana Maria continues “I love the contrast of flavors and the meat is very tender”. Robyn adds: “The vinegar flavor is just exquisite”.
If I’m being honest, I don’t even eat steak, but the flavor profile on this dish is what you would hope beef tastes like”. I went back in my blogs to hear myself say this very thing about Ludo Lefevre’s Steak at one of this pop ups in Los Angeles, 2012. I guess I can’t say I don’t eat cow any more. I’ll have to change it to ‘don’t eat cow often’!
As we continue Madhu comments: “This is just the right amount of food”. Ana Maria comments: “The scallops are amazing with 2 different sauces”. And I must say beef and scallops are my most unfavorite proteins, but both of these are so good, both of these are treated with such love and care, you find yourself enjoying food you haven’t really enjoyed before.
Towards the end, Ana Maria comments: “I like it when there are more chefs than people”. There’s about 14 chefs and 35 people, but it’s less people at any given time. And she’s right. There’s so many chefs preparing and presenting their food to you that it feels that way.
It’s time to pay our bill and they give us a special space to do so. We are back in the courtyard sipping tea when I overhear Robyn say: “This whole meal has been a perfect bite”.
What a wonderful birthday she is having. And they did give her what I call ‘A Birthday Bite’. We each take our own small taste and find it hard to believe how delicious this dessert is.
My favorite thing about this evening happens at the end, when Chef Eric let’s me know he is participating in Chefs Across America with Chef Marian, so I get to interview him for my new series soon! Whoo hoo!
I will say if you are looking for a special occasion place, Lilo is like going to France without having to pay for the flight. Everything is created with such love and care. I say: ‘Do it’! And I’m sure I will be back!
With garlic, gusto & gratitude,
Chef Marian🥂
📧 ChefMarianKitchenConfident@gmail.com
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