Ad Hoc (Yountville, CA)

Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599
Dining date: 8/30/15

I’ve been to Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc twice before (with the last visit over five years ago) and been to Addendum once, earlier this year. While looking for a brunch spot for a large party, Ad Hoc came up as the popular choice.

This would be my first time having brunch here. Ad Hoc offers one daily menu, 3-4 courses served family style. The restaurant sometimes serves its famous fried chicken in a classic chicken and waffles dish for brunch; I was really hoping for this but it wasn’t in the cards this afternoon.

Arugula Salad k&j asian pear, red grapes, shaved fennel, toasted hazelnuts, garden mint, peach vinaigrette

A mound of salad was first on the menu. Slightly bitter arugula was offset by sweet Asian pear and sliced grapes on a light vinaigrette.

Eggs Benedict smoked turkey, spinach, english muffins, poached egg, roasted turnips, sauce hollandaise

A toasted Bouchon English muffin was topped with smoked turkey, sautéed spinach, a poached egg and rich hollandaise. These combined for some rich and delicious bites, although the egg was prepared inconsistently with some having a runny yolk and some being overdone. Overdone eggs came out perfectly on the kitchen’s next try though.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes crown maple syrup, honey butter

The pancake supplement was a worthwhile addition, super light and fluffy with warm chocolate chips.

Apple Crumb Cake caramel sauce

We finished with a simple apple crumb cake executed perfectly. The cake was moist with a textured crumble and a slightly sweet caramel sauce. All I needed was a scoop of ice cream on top.

While I had my fingers crossed for chicken and waffles, Ad Hoc still turned out a strong meal. The food was simply prepared and executed mostly well. I’ll be keeping my eye out for future brunch visits for that chicken and waffles.