06/06/2026
Winter in California carries a quiet kind of abundance. Alongside citrus season, there’s a brief but reliable window where tropical fruit begins to appear from growers along the coast and in protected microclimates: passionfruit, early mango, and kiwi show up at a time when most places are still deep in winter.
In the midst of that weird little winter tropical fruit season Chef David leaned a little more heavily into the flavors of the tropics for this dish. It started in part as an homage to a lobster and mango salad Chef David had at Chef Douglas Keane’s Cyrus in the summer of 2007 that stayed with him. And this dish also came up as something he was considering for ’s opening menu, albeit in a different form.
For this dish, we gently steamed Monterey spiny lobsters, remove from the shells, then dress them in a marinade of lime, turbinado sugar, black pepper, and liquid shio koji, along with finely chopped parsley, cilantro, and chives. We paired the lobster with delicious fruit from Brokaw Ranch, including Kensington mango and Hayward kiwi, alongside Tokyo turnips braised in passionfruit, bringing sweetness, acidity, and a subtle floral edge.
The sauce leans in the direction of a Thai curry, with coconut and mango, and infused with a variety of aromatics like lemongrass, galangal, Thai basil, lime leaf, and fermented habanada, adding warmth and depth without overwhelming the natural sweetness of the lobster. Marigold and mint finished the dish, keeping it lifted and aromatic.