After years of living in Solano County, Napa’s friendly neighbor, I finally ate at Bouchon Bistro in Yountville. My hubby took me there for my birthday dinner—after all, it was on my list. Yes, I have a list of restaurants to eat at.
    We had a 6 p.m. reservation, which I must say was the perfect time; the dining room was not packed, as it can get, but there was most definitely a lively buzz of enjoyable eating. We got the best seat in the house: the far back left corner of the dining room, in the corner of the banquettes. You can see the whole place but it is a very intimate table.
    Speaking of the dining room, details are everywhere—from the dominating color scheme of brick-red and cream to the intricate tile flooring to the glistening polished brass accenting the room. The “du jour” menu, which is hand-written in multi-colored chalk, and the live palm almost touching the ceiling add to the warmth.
    First things first, we ordered a half bottle of Kuentz-Bas Alsace Resling-Pinot blend 2005, which went wonderfully with each course. For my first course I had the Salade d’Homard et Poitrine de Porc, a salad of crisp frisée with sweet chunks of Maine lobster, salty cubes of pork belly and suprêmes of tart grapefruit all atop creamy avocado purée. I like to call this the perfectly balanced salad. Hubby had the Salade d’Esturgeon Fumé et Betteraves, which was also frisée and smoked salmon, pickled radishes atop thinly sliced rounds of roasted beets and dressed with a black pepper-beet vinaigrette. I am not too fond of smoked meats but Hubby really enjoyed the smoked sturgeon. My favorite part of his salad were the roasted beets.
    For our second course—we had four, I wanted to taste as much as I could because who knows when I’d get back—I had the Soupe du Jour, or soup of the day. Everything really does sound better in French. The soup that day was a purée of leeks topped with sautéd apples, chive and croutons, all of which were a perfectly uniform small dice and delicious. Hubby ordered the Petit Cassoulet de Canard Confit; it had duck confit and garlic sausage with white beans. I love that it is served in a mini Staub pot but I would not recommend ordering this as a second course because it is filling.
    Passing up on one of my favorite dishes, braised beef short ribs, I ordered the Coquille St. Jacques. With the seared sea scallops, piquillo peppers, asparagus, almonds and green garlic in a chorizo broth, this dish was surprisingly bland. Don’t get me wrong—it was good, but not great. Being a sucker for bouillabaisse Hubby couldn’t pass it up. Leave it to Thomas Keller to turn a hodgepodge type of dish into one with beautiful presentation. Instead of the normal bowl of this wonderful seafood soup, Keller’s way is to cook each component separate. The bowl arrives full of large chunks of seafood and the server elegantly pours the lobster broth over it. Hubby said mine is much better, how sweet, and I do agree. There was something missing—a flavor that comes from cooking everything together in one pot.
    Now to tell you about my absolute favorite part of any meal: dessert. I mean the only reason we eat dinner is to get dessert! I had the Tarte au Citron, the ultra mouth-puckering sour lemon tart. The first bite was a bit of a shock because of how sour it is, but following bites seemed to become tamer. My only complaint about it was the size. I know, can you believe it? A dessert that was actually too big. It is better off shared. Hubby ordered the Pot De Créme, a coffee-infused pudding. I enjoyed his much more than mine, as did he.
    Overall, our experience at Bouchon was fantastic. —J.H.





 

Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 in Permalink