I haven’t been to Crenn since 2013! I liked aspects of it but I know people who are all across the board - some who like it, who thought it was OK, and some on the other side of the spectrum, so I haven’t been back since. I know they’ve since gotten a new chef de cuisine (Rodney Wages from Saison), so I’m sure things are probably a bit different now. Almost all of the top restaurants have undergone some chef changes at some level. The key to me is the ethos/approach to food (what are they aiming for?) and technical skill.
With that said, the menus at Saison and Crenn have distinct identities, in my opinion. Take, for example, some of their duck dishes:
Crenn: duck-liver pate and duck fat “eggs” resting in a “bird’s nest” made of dehydrated and fried corn “silk,” w/ chocolate and porcini “branches.” It’s like a diorama meant to represent “birth” as it looks like duck eggs sitting in a bird’s nest…the corn also being something that ducks eat. The “full circle” narrative is prevalent at Crenn. Other dishes are much more “molecular” with powder, overflowing gasses, dessert presented on a wooden log, etc. It’s been a while, so that’s the only savory dish I remember.
Saison: duck in 3 parts - 1) liver “toffee” with caramelized white chocolate, sourdough bread “lace,” and dunkel beer foam, 2) spiced aged roasted duck breast with toasted cherry blossom leaf and plum-shiso “steak sauce,” sometimes served with a ragu of the innards wrapped in some kind of brassica (e.g. raddichio or treviso), 3) duck bone bouillon with mitsuba leaf.
The key to the dish at Crenn was the wit of presenting duck in a “natural” setting speaking to “birth” near the end of the meal, with dessert flavors but as if in reverse (the meal started with sorbet and sashimi after a poppable Kir Breton). The duck not present in meat form, but rather as “eggs” ready to hatch (vis a vis the “nest” of its diet), though no duck egg was used. So she used fatty duck liver to convey the duck essence, then mixed it with the sweetness of corn, vanilla, chocolate, and the earthiness of porcini - all complementary flavors, if a bit rich and indulgent. It ate like a pre-dessert - a smart combination to usher in sweet things to come and without the meat textures.
The key to the dish at Saison was the brilliant combination of complementary flavors and the masterful use of texture. You had the funky duck liver mingled with the yeasty and chocolaty notes conveyed by chocolate, bread, and beer. Wonderful layers of textures, too, with surprising levity and effervescence despite the richness of duck liver. Then the perfectly roasted duck breast, aged for deep flavor, with a super juicy crisped skin - paired with delicate toasted cherry leaf and the side of ume and shiso that is at once bright (hints of cherry and plum with duck) and earthy, and man it’s a damn good take on steak sauce, working well in conjunction with the bitterness of the raddichio or wilted treviso leaf to cut the funk of the innards. Then, the deep and pure broth with the perfect clean hit of mitsuba to reset the palette just before smoked milk ice cream with caramel and cocoa nibs. Gentle hints of smoke bind all the flavors together in a seamless progression.
I’ve seen some people on Chowhound scoff at the use of the boullion or the pickle dish (in horseradish ice) at Saison - would they scoff at an owan or tsukemono course in a kaiseki restaurant? I personally don’t want just a procession of expensive, rich crowd pleasers like wagyu and uni back-to-back, I want balance. I’ve also heard the criticism that Saison is too simplistic. The uni on toast for example. Well, it’s not so much about the uni, it’s about the texture difference of the soy-soaked bottom and how the homemade toasted grains “soy” sauce works with the brininess of the uni - the Hokkaido uni matches better than the Fort Bragg version, because “bafun” uni can be earthier. It’s deceptively simplistic but there’s a ton of depth there. I don’t care if they serve asparagus, as long as the asparagus is good (and the asparagus I’ve had, or at times Chinese broccoli, was incredible…just like the humble “brassicas”).
Of course these dishes change with the seasons - I’ve had the duck probably 4+ different ways now at Saison, so this is just a snapshot at a particular time. But maybe you can get a sense of their different approaches. I don’t mean to be reductive - there’s many facets to their respective cuisines. The above is just a snapshot and they’re not necessarily indicative of the whole menu, but just a window into some of their dishes which embody their approach. At Saison, you might have a complex duck course in 3 parts like described above, or you might have something much more pared down - perhaps smoked caviar (the good stuff) over kelp gelee with a japanese charcoal-roasted Parker roll. I’ve been to Saison many times, but Crenn I’ve only had some limited experiences early on, so I’m not familiar with her oeuvre, but it did seem closest to perhaps e by Jose Andres in Vegas (minus the obvious Spanish inflection). Maybe The Fat Duck (I haven’t been)? At Crenn, lots of trompe l’oiel and Modernist wit. At Saison, lots of unexpected flavor pairings with a brilliant progression. Naturally, because I’ve been to Saison much more than Crenn, I have a preference for Saison, but that’s my own personal take, and yours may vary.
Anyway, all of SF/Bay Area high-end places are different, and I have my thoughts on all of their respective merits. I hope you and your wife enjoy wherever you guys decide to celebrate!
PS - and respectfully disagree with Akiko’s and Omakase.
