Camille-Beau

Yep. I'll be there. Beau may join as well.-Camille

It's a variety of lettuce. The lamb's tongue dish actually had it in micro form

More on the tasting room. We visited the Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve last Friday night where Cathal continues to mix things up. As a result, there were several new offerings. We began with an amuse of three small bites: Copper River salmon atop a gaufrette, topped with crème fraiche and sprig of micro basil; duck confit resting on salsify and toasted brioche; and the deviled quail egg, topped with osetra caviar, also on brioche. Each offering was quite satisfying in its own right and each very different. I like the restaurant's return to offering an assortment of three so that the diner can choose the direction to munch in. I'm still a big fan of ending with the uber rich deviled egg. The next course consisted of sweet corn custard, sprinkled with lobster roe. The underlying sweetness of the roe, balanced against its natural saltiness, played well with the richness and density of the custard, which was more like a panna cotta in weight and feel. We went in different directions on the next course, which consisted of thinly sliced Lamb's tongue (you can see the striations!), topped with aged balsamic vinegar, and Manni olive oil. The savory character of the dish was enhanced by shaving of Mountaineer cheddar cheese (from Meadow Creek Dairy) and finished with micro basil and bulls blood. The other half of the tasting team (Camille) had a dish that clearly demonstrates that Summer is almost here: heirloom carrot and pea puree (from David Lankford's farm), fresh peas, tissue-paper thin pea "paper" [think really thin papdam] and foam. Both dishes are very creative and have layer upon layer of flavor and are also fine examples of the seasonal focus of the Chef's menu selections. From here, we moved onto two fish dishes: the first consisting of Atlantic Black Sea Bass on a bed of oyster mushrooms. The dish was topped with a bundle of tiny stalks of white asparagus and finished with chive oil. The second consisted of perfectly sautéed skate wing on a spring garlic coulee and capped off with fried spring onions. The sea bass is a great mix of textures that include the crispy skin of the fish and its firm flesh. It had a marvelous "clean" taste. The skate paired well with the coulee and was perfectly prepared. Following the fishes, we moved back to the mammal side of ledger, with an offering of braised pork shoulder in a crepe topped with a poached egg yolk (Chef's version of ham and eggs?) and a cube of pork belly confit. Yes, pork belly has crossed over from the bistro and in my opinion, not a minute too soon! This is a very rich dish, full of great flavors. Indeed, the "ham and eggs" portion of the dish -- when pierced, the yolk smothers the crepe containing the shoulder -- is really something not to be missed and really gives the belly a run for its money in terms of decadent richness. By comparison, the companion dish -- pan roasted venison accompanied by salsify on ramps atop puff pastry -- was almost light. Ramps are often on the menu and they play an excellent supporting role to the venison. A composed cheese course, amazing desserts, and mignardies followed. Todd Thrasher's suggested wine pairings were right on the mark with these course. Come to think of it, I could grow to like white wines, especially if they all come from Montrachet... - Beau

Keep in mind that one day will not really offer enough time to spend in both valleys, so there is that choice between NV and SV with all the other valleys north of them (Alexander, Russian River, etc.) If in the town of Sonoma, then I enthusiastically second the suggestion by AlliK for 'The Girl and the Fig'. HIGHLY recommend their eponymous cookbook as well. I've been cooking my way through it and have been impressed with everything in it thus far.

Although a large amount of work has been completed, it's a farm, therefore there's always work to do. We're thinking about another weekend toward the end of June so information should be available about that in the next week or so. I've been remiss in posting information lately but will be updating the thread to include some more photos and the status of the move. Thanks for the interest and keep an eye on the site for the dates and type of work to do (it will likely involve power tools and building more greenhouses -- the usual stuff)-Camille

Sunday night -- Dino's bar -- had the prosciutto-wrapped grilled asparagus served on a toasted crouton with shaved parm, fruity olive oil and balsamic. This is a really good way to start a meal and could be shared with someone due to the amount of asparagus they use. Makes a great alternative to a salad too. I should have stopped with that, but tried a half-order (again big enough for sharing) of the wild boar pasta. Really loved the flavor in this dish. The meat was well-braised and shredded, not ground, then perfectly spiced and served over parpardelle. I'll be back for both very soon. -Camille

Bouchon has some pretty good dishes here and there (the boudin blanc in particular) and is open very late unlike most of the other restaurants, but there are much better dining options. The best new restaurant in Yountville is Redd named after Chef Richard Reddington, formerly of Auberge du Soleil and Masa in SF. Excellent place - reservations likely required. Farther north in St. Helena, definitely try Market as previously suggested or Martini House. Both are outstanding in their way and offer dining at the bar if you're interested in a more casual experience. Market appears more homestyle since it offers things like Mac & Cheese, but believe me, it is the best M&C you will EVER have. They refer to it as adult-style and one dish easily serves two. We stopped in for lunch and had it along with the fried calamari made with tempura batter which also included fried red jalapenos and cactus (nopales) -- very unique twist and delicious with two sauces. The mac & cheese is made with Hobbs bacon and a local white cheddar from Fiscalini. Some sour cream and many different herbs & spices really make it extraordinary. Note that the co-owner (former head chef and recipe-creator) is Doug Keane who now spends much of his time over in Sonoma Valley at his restaurant Cyrus in Healdsburg. Doug is one of Food & Wine's 10 Best New Chefs so he knows how to cook. When you can splurge, I recommend Cyrus instead of French Laundry. It's pretty amazing. Also stay in the hotel where it is located if you can (Les Mars Hotel) I posted previously about Martini House and after a recent re-visit (two weeks ago), it's as good as ever. They do extraordinary things with mushrooms of all types. Beau and I make a special trip to visit them every time. If you sit at the bar downstairs, see if Patrick is working the bar. If so, you'll definitely have a good time. Wineries on the Silverado Trail are a lot of fun to visit -- most are much smaller than their counterparts on the more touristy Highway 29 side of the valley. Some of our favorites are Vincent Arroyo for excellent Syrah and Petite Sirah, Zahtila for Zinfandel and Casa Nuestra for the VERY low-key hippie-ish atmosphere. Good fairly inexpensive wine all around. They're all up on the northern end of the Silverado Trail. For the scenery, travel a bit further south, also on the Silverado, is Joseph Phelps which has good wine and amazing scenery. It's a huge operation so you'll be there with more than a few other visitors, but the views from the porch are lovely. More upscale than the three previously mentioned. If you want to stay further south on the Highway 29 side and stay on the upscale side, Cardinale is a beautiful place with great wine and really lovely 360' valley views. If you can meet the winemaker, Chris Carpenter, you're in for a treat. Cardinale also offers Atalon and Lokoya wines. You should consider stopping into the Oakville Grocery located in, of course, Oakville. EXCELLENT wine selections in the back from places you'll either not have time to visit or that don't offer tours/tastings. Don't let the hordes of tourists packing into the place be a deterrent. Dean & Deluca in St. Helena has an outstanding collection of local wine as well, but lacks the charm of Oakville Grocery which also offers great hot & cold deli sandwiches & other food items. Wow... too many choices. Regardless of where you go, I'm sure you'll have a great time and be sure to post about your experience. -Camille

In Praise of Pork I stopped by David Greggory last night for dinner. Chef Hill asked if I would be interested in trying some "off the menu" items. I eagerly accepted. The pig feast began with a plate of sauteed morels and smoked ham, topped with a tangy blue cheese sauce made from St. Pete's blue cheese, with a smattering of just-arrived English peas. The morels and ham were plated against fresh greens that had been lightly oiled. Savory, smoky, rich, fresh are all words that come to mind for this dish that nicely balanced the meatiness of the morels with the Spring-time freshness of the peas. The next course consisted of jerked sausage, which had been prepared by Brian McPherson. I used to eat Brian's food at New Heights, and he knows how to prepare and season this food perfectly. The next course consisted of "bacon risotto," which contained double smoked bacon, paired with perfectly cooked, sliced pork tenderloin pork that was accented with garlic and chives. This was really a nice dish and I hope to see more of it. Finally (yes there was more pork in my future), the chef presented his interpretation of a trotter. The trotter was prepared in the confit style and cooked for 18 hours. The skin was crisp, with star anise glaze, and the meat succulent , very tender and almost sweet. The real surprise, though, was the seared foie gras nestled within the trotter. Oh my gosh: So over the top! So delicious! This fabulous dish was resting on sauteed chard, spiked with balsamic vinegar, and roasted tomatoes. A brief word about wine: Bill Hunter is putting together a great program at DG, especially when it comes to finding small-lot treasures. For example, I enjoyed a 2003 Du Nah Chardonnay that was crafted in a Burgundian style that had great body, but that thankfully lacked the cloying presnce of too much oak. The main wine event, though, consisted of a 2003 Sine Qua Non "Papa" Syrah. This wine was a great pairing to the heavier pork dishes, particularly the bacon risotto and the trotter. -Beau

While dining the first time at Maestro Beau and I were asked by the sommelier if we liked Riesling as we discussed our wine selections for the tasting menu. We said 'yes' and ended up with a Riesling -- the same one -- for each of the first 4 courses. Seems to have been an oversight on their part which we brought to their attention once we realized what was happening. Other than that issue, the dinner was lovely.

Just make sure that if you answer 'Yes' to the question "Do you like Riesling?" that doesn't mean you want it paired with the first four courses of the tasting menu.

Kinda hard to define -- much like "Who is John Galt?"

As long as the snooty waiters remain behind in the NY restaurant, we may visit the local establishment.

One addendum to my earlier comments: the mushroom dessert course actually featured mushroom ice cream, too. Beau

The Mountaineer was really was worth the wait. The mildness of the panna cotta played well, too. Given the emotion expressed thus far, looks like the 3 pig combo -- and especially the head cheese -- may be a hit.

Tuesday in the Tasting Room... We crossed the river last night for a rare "school night" visit to the tasting room at Restaurant Eve. We left the culinary driving to Chef for our selections. Instead of sticking strictly to the set menu, we were treated to some of the Chef's new musings. The meal began with the presentation of 3 familiar small plates in succession -- the richly flavorful deviled quail egg, topped with osetra caviar; a black truffle beignet; and a piping hot mini chicken-pot pie (think creamy, savory sauce, melt-in-your-mouth chicken, and flaky pastry). Our first surprise of the evening arrived next: a seared Maine diver's scallop, served in a chervil soup, with a sprinkling of micro amaranth sprouts. The licorice flavor of the soup was pleasantly balanced by the richness of the scallop, which was cooked perfectly, just to the moment of being done. Seared foie gras, atop a bed of green, trimmed asparagus, and topped with bundle of white asparagus followed. The dish was finished with an asparagus cream sauce, accented by a judicious pour of 100 year old balsamic vinegar. Butter poached Maine lobster with diced heirloom carrots (from the Lankford farm) in a ginger broth followed. As many of you know, this is no boil-in-a-bag, sous vide lobster: it is tender and poached to perfection. Another item from the existing menu followed: gnocchi prepared with Spring garlic and medium-diced beets. The earthiness of the beets tempered the garlic in the dish which, if left to its own devices, could be rather robust. A new dish came next: pork belly on a bed of ramps, a mini pulled-pork open faced BBQ sandwich, and a wedge hog's head cheese, accompanied by house-made dijon mustard and garnished with a cornichon pickle. Call this the "Three Little Pigs" or "Hog Heaven," this dish again confirms that Chef knows how to make the most of pig! Cheeses came next. At this point things get a little fuzzy, mainly because of the marvelous wine pairings Todd had been providing throughout the evening. Just to mention a few high lights: the Lang & Reed Cab Franc was superb with the pork , as was the Puligny Montrachet with the lobster. The white wine from Txakolina in the Basque region of Spain was a surprising and excellent pairing for the asparagus. Back to the cheese -- we sampled a Brix de Meaux like cheese, accompanied by beets and a semi-hard cheese called Mountaineer, which was made by Meadow Creek Dairy in Virginia. The Mountaineer was accompanied by a cardoon pana cotta. A refreshing Meyer lemon froth shooter came next, followed by desserts: one, an intense strawberry short cake, and the other called "Milk and Honey," featuring honey-capped mushrooms. (Yes, dessert fungus!) Mignardise rolled up next: tomato bubble gum, chocolate "coins," almond macaroons, and mango gelee. The evening concluded with rich, hazel-nut tasting "gianduja pops." -Beau

12:30 today - Eve's bar for the Lickety Split.

Davon Crest Farm will be represented at this weekend's St. Michaels Food and Wine Festival From the site: Friday & Sunday are Industry Days - Owners, Chefs and Managers of Hospitality businesses in the region receive complimentary entrance to the pavilion. Business card required for admission.

Going for Pork and Pinot again tonight at David Greggory. Beau had a great time last week so I need to give it a try. -Camille edited to say -- raincheck! Beau is working later tonight than anticipated. Perhaps next week

Hey Todd (Kliman) -- taking notes for next year's dining guide?

OK, time for another trip out to the farm. As mentioned previously, the rental arrangement with the new owner (who couldn't do anything with the property anyway until he received permits) allowed the Lankfords the extra time they needed to get this stuff moved. That 'lease' expires at the end of the month (1 week left!) so everything must be off the property by then or it's gone. The extra time over the winter was a blessing since the original plan to have every house torn down at the old farm and rebuilt at the new one just didn't happen. The shoestring budget, skeleton crew, and the weather disasters that repeatedly damaged the same two houses didn't help in meeting the deadlines. So, we'll be at the old farm tomorrow, along with Ken from Restaurant Eve (Yay Ken!) to take apart the last three greenhouse frames. Anyone else care to join? Should be a fairly decent SPRING day. BTW, remember that thyme we moved on the first day last September? Here's how it looks today: And the biggest greenhouse in September (photo by Crackers): Today: -Camille

Cordon Bleu recipe: Split_Pea_Soup.pdf

Yes, sadly the Chef called it right. I think it was my poetic reference to "pig." -Beau

As one (or two) who resemble that remark, we thought the chat was excellent. I didn't know that tomorrow would be the 2-year anniversary so congratulations on that milestone!-Camille

"Pork and Pinot" at David Greggory for me & Beau. Any other interested parties?

Recently witnessed an outburst by one couple of a foursome who, after having completed their dinner, proceeded to berate the hostess and owner of the restaurant while on their way out because they'd had to wait 20 minutes for their table (lots of people 'camping' that night). "But we had a reservation!! That is totally unacceptable!! I've (the woman) been in the restaurant business for years and that's just rude!! We won't be back!!" (Yay! ) Once again my admiration runs deep for those of you who choose this often rewarding, but many times thankless, line of work. -Camille