Burlap (Carmel Valley): O how I love thee, Rachel the pastry chef!

I'm now settling into Burlap (3rd visit). I have decided I only like going on off-nights, catching up with a girlfriend in the comfy couches in the bar area. Feels much hipper and more intimate than the rest of the airport-hangar restaurant. (there are other places I like to go for dates with CH!).

Tonight's plan: Snake Oil cocktail, split some dishes, try a new Rachel King dessert (yes, I had to track down her last name - the (ungracious?) Brian Malarkey gives her no prominence on the websites for either restaurant, let alone post her dessert menus!).

We got:
--the Snake Oil guys' newest Burlap cocktail, a hibiscus something (the online menu also shows no love to them and doesn't list the cocktails); my favorite cocktail there so far, very subtle, not as crazy as the other "Asian-inspired" cocktails on their Burlap menu

--field greens salad: had gotten it before; this time there were persimmons instead of strawberries. This is still a yummy salad, and one of the better values on the menu, since 2 can split it for $7

--miso cod: Yelpers rave about this; it's tasty, but at $30 without any side dishes, not any better than the versions available around town for a fraction of the price; wouldn't order this again unless I had money to burn

--cauliflower with curry yogurt sauce: yum. love Brian Malarkey's cauliflower dishes, and this is a nice sized portion for $7

--Rachel's green tea mousse and condensed milk cake: I had gotten this before, but my companion, hiphopgirl, wanted to try it (and I said it was yummy). Still tasty: the crunchies (puffed rice here) were my fave.

--Rachel's new devil's food cake with homemade chocolate ice cream, chocolate ganache, chocolate square with ramen crunch, and creme anglaise. Super tasty. More well-balanced than any of the desserts I have had of hers so far - I liked the whole thing a whole lot. Fewer crunchies than on her other dishes, as it was a small smattering of ramen crunch on the chocolate square. But I ate this all up - it's a perfect chocolate dessert if one wants chocolate!

Still a steep tab: $90 pre-tip, including a shared salad, shared entree, shared side dish, 2 cocktails and 2 desserts. But for a splurgey girls' night out, I've now decided that Burlap is my place. (I'll still head to Searsucker for date night with CH, though!)