American-Statesman’s Review
“Despite her time at Uchiko, pastry chef Sarah Prieto informed us that she had not previously experimented much with Asian flavors for dessert. You could have fooled me. A pastry chef for only four years (the things you learn with ringside seating), with stints at San Francisco’s Wayfare Tavern and Saison, Prieto delivered imaginative and artful desserts on both visits.
She implemented sake lees (the residual yeast that come from making sake) to create a Thai-inspired khao mahk (fermented rice pudding) served with brilliant pineapple sorbet, coconut chips and dollops of whipped coconut. She also used the sake lees to make refreshing cream soda foam that pulled off the impressive feat of being both innovative and nostalgic.
Asian flavors also appeared on a dish of Thai tea crème brûlée that looked like a candy bar and came with a Thai basil and rice tuile, puffed rice and toasted rice sorbet that came on like a blast of warm wind and receded with a cool whisper.
The counter seating allowed us to engage Prieto on her inspiration and vision. “
Matthew Odam