If you find yourself in San Francisco and are feeling adventurous, try one or more of Humphrey Slocombe’s flavors. Chef Jake Godby created foie gras, peanut butter curry, government cheese, pistachio-bacon or secret breakfast-corn flakes and bourbon ice creams.

Lobster bisque with tarragon shallot sorbet combines two distinct elements that are delicious on their own or together by spooning the sorbet onto the bisque. The creamy sweetness balances the savory and enhances the subtle sweetness of the lobster. 

Chef Marc’s menu at the Watermarc in Laguna Beach is filled with old comfort dishes alongside newer creative items. Dishes such as Crab Louis or Steak Tartare appear side by side with Ahi Watermelon Skewers–Seaweed salad, ponzu or Smoked Paprika Day Boat Scallops & Shrimp–Saffron orange couscous, apricot butter.

“Guests come in and say I’ve not had this since like forever,” said Chef Marc. “We have 26 grazing plates and are not too expensive. We don't want to be a special occasion restaurant.”  Appetizers, salads, flatbreads, and soups range from $6 to $12, sandwiches $9 to $16. The most expensive dinner item is the Fillet Three Ways: Oscar, Wellington and Diane for $34.

Pastry Chef Ramon Perez never runs out of ice cream or dessert ideas. A recent dessert menu at Sona in Los Angeles listed “Fatale” Chocolate Tart with braised raspberries and avocado-rum ice cream and a Montmorency Tart Cherry Strudel topped with a scoop of Parmesan ice cream. What he doesn’t enjoy as much is repeating himself. “I like to change it up too often and can’t do routine,” Chef Ramon said. Fortunately his fans are open to his desserts and dessert tasting menus.  Sona charge $55 for 3 to 10 courses of  desserts that change frequently depending on what’s best and in season. “We sell about 6 per night. Guests come and just order that,” he explained.  

Inspiration comes from random places. “I went into the walk-in and saw a drawer of brussel sprouts. Once I burnt the white chocolate by accident but discovered caramelized tasted good,” he said. Knowing what goes with what and utilizing product is what every good chef does.

Chef Scott Brandon
Chef Scott is from Corona del Mar where he currently is chef/partner at the Crow Bar and Kitchen. He’s returned from his working culinary travels through Los Angeles, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and San Francisco. He spent 13 years as executive chef at Oysters before partnering at the Crow Bar. He serves “pub food” with local ingredients that follow the seasons.
He has some regulars who come in just for his bananas foster bread pudding–rum caramel, caramelized bananas and brown sugar/caramel gelato; and Spreckle’s draft root beer float–root beer sorbet, vanilla bean gelato.

Chef Rudi Wieder
Currently working at the Hilton Bayfront inSan Diego, the German-born master pastry chef is an award-winning chocolatier with years of experience. He trained in Germany and has worked there, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Canada and the US. He came up with the monk hat ice sculpture holding his sorbet for a VIP dinner once. “Too much work to do on a large scale,” he said. His secret? Something to do with freezing water in a balloon.
He currently delights guests with his dessert creations and baked treats at Vela Restaurant.

Brussels Sprouts Ice Cream
500 grams milk
250 grams cream
4 grams kosher salt
250 grams sugar
10 ea egg yolks
300 grams Brussels sprouts
 
Bring milk, cream,salt, brussel sprouts and half of sugar to boil. Cook till Brussel sprouts are tender, blend and strain through fine mesh strainer into a medium sized sauce pot. Place over medium-high heat and allow to come to boil. Add remaining sugar with egg yolks, temper Brussels sprout cream into egg yolks, stirring constantly. Once tempered, pour custard base back into sauce pot. Place over medium heat, using a spatula constantly stir until temperature of base reaches 85°C. Freeze according to ice cream manufacturer specifications.

Serve with lemon olive oil sponge, kumquats and mustard seeds.

Chef Ramon Perez
Sona
Los Angeles

Shiso Ice Cream

1150 grams milk
300 grams sugar
10 grams ice cream stabalizer
240 grams milk powder
130 grams glucose
485 grams cream
700 grams shiso
 
Blanch shiso in salted water. Shock. Puree, and pass through fine mesh strainer. Set aside.
Mix 100 grams of sugar with stabilizer. Add remaining sugar with milk, milk powder, glucose and cream. Bring up to 45C, add stabilizer, and bring to 85C
 
Buckwheat Ice Cream

200 grams buckwheat grain
1000 grams milk
300 grams Simple Syrup
 
Cryovac buckwheat with Milk, place in water bath at 72C for 30 minutes. Cool. Strain. Add Simple Syrup and freeze according to manufacture specifications.

Serve with buckwheat sable, sous vide cherry and yuzu kosho marshmallow.

Chef Ramon Perez
Sona
Los Angeles

Chanterelle Ice Cream
1100 grams milk
300 grams sugar
10 grams stabilizer
250 grams milk powder
140 grams glucose
500 grams cream
670 grams chanterelles
25 grams butter
10 grams salt
 
Place butter in medium sized sauce pot, allow to brown. Add chanterelles and cook down. Add salt. Add milk, half of sugar, milk powder, glucose, cream. Mix remaining sugar with stabilizer, Once milk mix is up to 45°C, add stabilizer. Bring to 85°C. Blend, strain, and chill. Freeze according to ice cream manufacturers specifications.

Serve with soft jivara ganache and apricot.

Chef Ramon Perez
Sona
Los Angeles

Lemon-rosemary Pernot Sorbet

Juice and zest from 6 lemons
600 grams sugar
26 grams pectin
150 grams trimoline
32 grams fresh rosemary, leaves only
800 milliliters lemon juice
12 bottles water

Combine all ingredients in stockpot and bring to a boil. Strain through a chinois. Process in ice cream maker.

Chef Wieder’s colleague, Sous-chef Vijay Thukral, suggested the sorbet could also be served in an appetizer salad of greens and shaved fennel.

Pastry Chef Rudi Wieder
Hilton San Diego Bayfront