The Distinguished Gourmand: Majordomo

Cultured Butter and Honey Bing / Chickpea Hozon Bing. Most meals at Majordomo begin with bing. The Chinese wheat-based bread is — for lack of better words — a short stack of pancakes you’re supposed to slather stuff on. I think we were all really digging the bing, but were afraid to get down and dirty and tear into the bread as greedily as our primal instincts desired. I think I preferred the chickpea hozon, but the cultured butter was tasty as well. Fuck. I bet the cave-aged butter and sturgeon caviar ($32) is dynamite.

Fried Cauliflower, fish sauce vinaigrette, red onion, cilantro. Perhaps the standout dish of the night, we had to amend this order because two people at the table had a cilantro allergy. That seems really uncommon, no? Either way, I’m sure the lack of cilantro didn’t diminish the dish because we were all raving about it. Perfectly crispy cauliflower showed off the umami and earthiness of the fish sauce perfectly. This is a must-order for anyone planning on selecting an item off the “market” portion of the menu. I bet the avocado and broken tofu with yuzu is great too, but as much of a sucker for yuzu as I am I’ll probably order this again on next visit.

Mafaldine, Dungeness crab, bread crumbs, lemon. We originally wanted to order the uni pasta, but the restaurant was sold out for the night. Not sure if I believe that on a Sunday, but whatever. I was happy we went with the Mafaldine. There was a bit of heat from the chili breadcrumbs, bright hits of citrus from the lemon, and they didn’t skimp on the crab. If money was no object, sure I’d go for the macaroni and chickpea with black truffles…but then again if I let my gluttony dictate the meal this one would have cost well in excess of $500.

Grilled Chinese Broccoli, turnips, brown butter, macadamia. I didn’t mind the broccoli but after the success of the cauliflower, it kind of paled by comparison. Not every plate can be a winner, and this one was fine, but damn…that cauliflower. I think around this time we ordered our second bottle of wine so I’ll write about that instead. Quantico Etna Rosso 2017 has a commercial description that says, “An elegant, mouth-watering red that is based on 90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% Nerello Cappuccio that mostly come from 80-100 year-old vines in Solicchiata. Almost rosé-like in hue, it is utterly true to a varietal character that is based on delicacy rather than intensity. Thought to be a hybrid of Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco, it’s not surprising that Nerello Mascalese doesn’t yield a powerhouse of a wine. In order to avoid extracting bitterness from the small berries that make up Nerello Mascalese’s grappolo, Pietro di Giovanni gives their red a maceration of ten days, treating the wine more like a white rather than a red. After fermentation in stainless steel, the wine sees a minimum of a year in a combination of multiple passage barrique and tonneaux. Expect a precise, silky palate redolent of ripe cherries with intriguing floral and herbal undertones.” That one was quite good, and cheap for the Majordomo wine list. Try it out sometime.

Whole Steamed Rockfish, Sichuan black bean, herbs. Again, when I sat down for dinner I never would have expected to order the whole fish. I figured maybe we’d get one extra small veggie plate and pick a small meat item for those of us who ate meat, but I was more than pleasantly surprised by the fish. My second whole fish in a week (!!!) I feel like I’m on a weird season of Survivor where I live my normal life (only in social isolation instead of on an island), and the fish is caught and prepared for me in very decadent preparations…

…and although I was the least-likely to know my way around the fish, I was elected to “butcher” it for the table. This is the halfway point, I think. I did a pretty good job of stripping the meat from the bone(s). I don’t think anyone at the table talked about “shittin’ bones” like the totally uncultured fool who brought that up at Dinner Club earlier in the week. Sadly no one at the eyeball once all the meat was gone. 

Horchata Kakigori, coffee, rice, dulce de leche. Who doesn’t like a giant shaved ice bowl for dessert? And when someone at the table ordered bubbles I seized the opportunity to order a glass of port, my second of the week! What a treat! You know I love my port, and while Majordomo’s wasn’t nearly as good as Atrium’s, I’m not a big enough snob about it to really care. I just like my after dinner drinks if I’m going to be having dessert. The shaved ice was fine. It wasn’t like that place Ice Kiss in K-town that served their iteration in a dog bowl. No dessert will ever be that gnarly ever again…unless you know of something similar, in which case let me know ASAP so I can go try it and write about it.