Monsieur Benjamin Est Tres Bien
Quail at Monsieur Benjamin.
In the Bay Area, it’s Asian flavors that seem to be on everyone’s plate and palate these days.
So much so that French cuisine — though not its classic techniques — seem to have fallen out of favor.
But leave it to Monsieur Benjamin, which opened last summer in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, to remind us why French food — just like a sharp little Chanel suit — truly never goes out of style.
Korean-born Corey Lee may imbue his Michelin three-starred Benu with breathless Asian flair, but with his second, more casual restaurant, Monsieur Benjamin, he stays the course of timeless French dishes yet gives them a touch of modernity.
His right-hand man is Chef Jason Berthold, late of RN74 in San Francisco, who worked with Lee when both were at the French Laundry.
Chef Jason Berthold deep in concentration in the kitchen.
The bistro doesn’t try to recreate the look of one in Paris. Instead, it very much fits in with its San Francisco surroundings, incorporating a lot of stainless steel, clean lines and striking black walls.