text: If one had asked me years ago if I would ever eat somewhere with the caliber and focus of an institution like Binkleys I would have pondered for a minute and probably responded only if it was by the desire and grace of a girlfriends sufficiently endowed parents or a reception catered by the Google Gillionaires I would surely be surrounded by as a result of a blossoming interest in the tech industry If one had asked if I would ever be there at the suggestion of my family who would be equally if not more at home at Claimjumper I would not have deigned the question worthy of response at allnnI would have been at least temporarily wrongnnAt the behest of a curious mother living nearby for years we ventured Unassuming from the exterior in a strip mall with such high end boutiques as Enterprise RentACar and sharing a zip code with a cowboy tourist targeted bar that features bull riding of the nonmechanical variety Binkleys is a tiny destination restaurant that seems slightly uncomfortable with its surroundings and we were equally slightly out of place with our sinusoidal experience not for control freaksnn Greeted by name due to party size and expected arrival time being unique resulted in feeling like VIPs confused by their own famen Sending away the sommelier a bit dejected when we unanimously declined winen Realizing our head waitress was a bizarro version of a friend from back homen Opting for the highest end course tasting menus wine pairing extra like nonconfused VIPs but skipping the foie gras surcharge n Being thankful of no collective food restrictions or allergies to impede chef creativityn Impressed by a nearly endless train of experimental amusebouchesn Processing that we were courses in without seeing anything we orderedn Recalling that some of us were no stranger to this dining style when it is called omakase except then there is no illusion of input into the majority of the mealn Hitting our stride with the hot appetizer including a superb soft she will crab coursen Enjoying the best black cod I have ever eaten in a sea of unusual but not quite as enjoyable candidatesn Starting to feel full around the penultimate course an amuse of chocolate souffle n Understanding without bitterness that soda refills were not free despite the staffs complete lack of hesitation in providing themn Taking home satisfaction levels ranging from grudgingly enjoying the expensive dinner show to thinking it was the best overall food experience in months if not yearsnnMenu guidance would be a futile endeavor since as the head waitresses helpfully informed all nonreturnee tables it turns over completely around every two weeks However overall the seafood dishes were stronger than those with meat of interest if one is opting for a menu with a single main Insteadnn Prepare for the onslaught of Kevin Binkleys culinary whimsn Pretend the a la carte menu does not existn Make a reservation well in advance especially for a weekendn Bring your wallet possibly twon Expect to spend at least hours luxuriating over the mealn Sigh longingly while realizing how far in the future the next justifiable visit will bennRegardless of apprehension except in the face of a diet with statistically outlying strictness it is worth trying once for a special occasion to form ones own opinion While I could easily think of a number of small tweaks the application of the formulaic main draw is in Yelps terms semantically indistinguishable from as good as it gets