Trend: seriously funny food

When is a tuna melt not a tuna melt? When it's actually fresh seared ahi with warm foie gras. Haute toques around the West are presenting refined dishes in tongue-in-cheek ways that will take the stuffing out of even the most serious customers. Having fun with flashy food: It's the new wave in upscale dining.

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THE DISH  WHY WE LIKE IT                      WHERE TO FIND IT

Tartare   Chef Thomas Keller started the      The French Laundry
Cornet    trend by beginning every meal with  Yountville, CA
          a salmon tartare, red onion, and    www.frenchlaundry.com or
          creme fraiche hors d'oeuvre         707/944-2380
          playfully presented like an ice
          cream cone (prix fixe meal $135).
Tuna      Stylish innovator George Morrone    Tartare
Foie      tops a thick potato pancake with    San Francisco
Gras      seared ahi tuna, then melted foie   www.tartarerestaurant.com
Melt      gras, and finishes it all with a    or 415/434-3100
          Pinot Noir sauce ($29). A definite
          splurge, but the taste is
          heavenly.
DC        Canada takes on New York's famed    Diva at the Met
Burger    high-end burgers with a version     Vancouver, B.C.
          from chef Damon Campbell that       www.metropolitan.com/diva
          boasts a patty of Kobe beef and     or 604/602-7788
          flank steak, plus short ribs, foie
          gras, and a truffle aioli ($28 U.
          S.).
Lobster   Razzle-dazzle restaurateur Michael  Seablue
Corn      Mina's top dogs are filled with     Las Vegas
Dogs      meltingly rich lobster sausage and  www.mgmgrand.com or
with      encased Smelt in a sweet, crunchy   702/891-3486
Smelt     cornmeal batter ($18).
Fries
Ice       Disconcerting but delicious. Chef   Cowgirl BBQ & Western
Cream     Patrick Lambert's dessert is ice    Grill
Baked     cream rolled in chocolate powder    Santa Fe
Potato    with a banana frosting "butter      505/982-2565
          pat," whipped cream "sour cream,"
          and green chopped pecan "chives"
          ($4.25).
The       At Hawaiian culinary king Alan      Alan Wong's
Coconut   Wong's eponymous restaurant, a      Honolulu
          chocolate shell is filled with      www.alanwongs.com or
          coconut sorbet--a dead ringer for   808/949-2526
          a half-coconut ($7).

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group