The Restaurant at Meadowood – 12/26/09

The Restaurant at Meadowood
900 Meadowood Ln
Saint Helena, CA 94574

Continuing my tour of the food in the Napa Valley, a stop at The Restaurant at Meadowood was in order. Both The Restaurant at Meadowood and Cyrus are constantly compared to The French Laundry, as they are both two-starred establishments that have earned numerous accolades in their own right.

This restaurant is part of a large hotel and resort, the Meadowood. A lot of its produce is sourced from the gardens on the hotel grounds, and chef Christopher Kostow was recently named a “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine magazine in 2009.

The decor is very clean, modern and elegant. I noticed that there were lots of windows and that this would probably be a great place for a lunch or early summer dinner with all that natural light coming through.

The restaurant offers a tasting menu, as well as an a la carte menu. We decided to sample a number of the dishes off the a la carte menu, as they sounded more appealing.

The kitchen first brought out a number of amuse bouche, including a cheese-filled pillow, baby beets in rye, and a parsnip custard with tea and matsutake mushrooms.

Our first course consisted of a tasting of potatoes and foie gras.

Tasting of Potatoes Bone Marrow, Smoked Sturgeon, Brook Trout Roe

I love potatoes, so this dish was a must. The one on the far right was like a tater tot, but cooked confit in pork fat. Definitely my favorite.

Foie Gras, Meadowood Garden Apple Four Preparations

The preparations are, from left to right: smoked, in a pastry-like tart, within a candied apple, and pan seared. By far the most interesting was the one within the candied apple, but I found the apple to be too overpowering. My favorite was the simple pan searing.

The bread service was one of the best in recent memory. There was only one option, a simple french roll, but each and every time it came out piping hot. Breaking into it released wisps of steam to reveal the very light and airy interior. The crust was crispy, but not overly so. Very nice.

Next came our entrees. We each ordered an extra course so that we could sample every entree on the menu.

Giant Humboldt Squid and Egg White Soy, Cauliflower, Swiss Chard

The squid was very nicely cooked and tender, but I don’t think the egg added too much to the dish.

Pacific ocean trout Garden vegetables, chicken broth

This was a great dish. The fish was cooked very well and was moist and succulent. The vegetables were also fresh and flavorful.

Poached and Roasted Wagyu Beef Chanterelles, Brescianella, Truffle

This was the most tender beef I’ve eaten in recent memory. It was rather mild in flavor, but melted in your mouth. It wasn’t quite as marbled and fatty as some of the wagyu beef I’ve seen, however.

Suckling Pig Quince Confit, Brussels Sprouts, Honey

There were multiple pork preparations here including the belly and tenderloin. My favorite was the tenderloin in the middle, which was wrapped in bacon – juicy and tender.

Pre-dessert – creamy sorbet with a mint granite

The first dessert was a dark chocolate custard. There was a very rich flavor, and the custard texture was nice.

Our other dessert was a tasting of citrus, which had a mixture of citrus atop a cheesecake with a yogurt sorbet.
The first of the mignardises were warm financiers with housemade ricotta. Warm and delicious.

And finally, to end our meal were chocolate bonbons covered with ganache. There was a creamy chocolate interior that burst when you bit into it.

At the end of the meal, we got a chance to tour the kitchen. Much larger than The French Laundry, but just as clean and orderly.

Chef Kostow was not in the kitchen on this night, so sous chef Chris Dettmer (pictured at bottom, right) was in charge.

The restaurant did live up to expectations. Was it was good as French Laundry? No, not in my opinion. But it’s a very good restaurant in its own right. The execution was spot on with each dish, and the presentation was fantastic. The flavors were there, but none of them really stood out as really outstanding.  My favorite dishes of the night were the ocean trout and the wagyu beef.