Komi offers two different types of prix-fixe menus. The dinner menu includes seven to eight chef’s selections of mezzethakia (small appetizers), and a three-course (appetizer, entrée and dessert) choice from the daily menu. The degustazione menu includes twelve mezzathakia, the three-course selection and wine pairing. It is requested that the entire table choose the same menu so that the kitchen can properly pace the meal.

On this particular Saturday evening, we had eight mezzethakia: fresh olives with sea salt and olive oil; halved radish with fish roe and fresh whipped butter; mascarpone-stuffed date with Greek yogurt; Muscat gazpacho with Padrón peppers; octopus with avocado and quail egg; oxtail gyro; watermelon with feta fritter, heirloom cherry tomato and corn vinaigrette; and lastly, three types of homemade crackers: asiago cheese with thyme flour dough, sesame with wheat dough, and smoked paprika with corn dough. Wow! What a line up. And these were all pre-appetizer courses. Everything was fantastic! All the delicate pairings of flavors for these tiny dishes worked so well, I could hardly suppress all the “mmm’s” coming out of my mouth. Particularly remarkable were the sweetness of the gazpacho countered by the slightly bitter and sometimes spicy Padrón peppers and the refreshing taste of watermelon and heirloom tomato with a lightly breaded and frittered feta in corn vinaigrette. Delicious!

After our long and excellent meal at Komi, we were sent off with one last treat — passion fruit and saffron lollipops. Yet another original and wonderful combination of flavors — the clarity and tartness of passion fruit with the rich, full flavor of saffron. The lollipop itself is like a beautiful sculpture with strands of spice visible through the translucent candy (pictured above).