Napa-versary: The Restaurant at Meadowood + Meeting Chef Christopher Kostow

***This is part 4 of my "Napa-versary" trip report detailing a recent visit to Napa Valley to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary***

1. Eating Napa
2. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort Part I - Check-In, Our Lodge
3. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort Part II - Resort Facilities, Activities, and Food
4. The Restaurant at Meadowood + Meeting Chef Christopher Kostow
5. Eating Sonoma
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Ever since Chef Christopher Kostow took over as Executive Chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood, it's been shooting up in the culinary world and currently is only 1 of 2 restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area with three Michelin stars (the other being The French Laundry). It's also ranked at #80 on the (somewhat controversial) San Pellagrino "Best Restaurants in the World" list which we use as another source, but by no means the authority, on restaurant rankings.

Our dinner reservation at Meadowood wasn't until 9:15pm, which gave us just enough time to digest from lunch and all of the snacks we had earlier in the day. Compared to The French Laundry where a significant amount of luck is needed to just get a reservation, reserving a table at Meadowood was surprisingly easy and just required booking about a month in advance.

It's a short 10-15 minute drive from Calistoga Ranch to the Meadowood resort, which along with the restaurant, features a hotel, spa, and golf course. The resort is on a huge compound, and in the dark it was tough to follow some of the signs, but eventually we found our way to the main lobby. We peeked inside on our way to the restaurant just to take a look.

Exterior of the lobby at Meadowood

Lobby of Meadowood

The restaurant is located just a few steps from the hotel lobby, and we were warmly greeted at the door and shown inside. We had arrived early, so we spent a few minutes relaxing in the bar area and were seated next to the fireplace in the middle of the room which helped us warm up on this chilly night.

Fireplace near the bar

After a few minutes we were escorted into the main dining room, which almost feels like the interior of a barn with high vaulted ceilings, and an elegant but rustic feel that is similar to what we had seen at the hotel lobby. The dining room is relatively small, with only about 10-15 tables inside. At our table, we found a nice hand-written card which welcomed us and congratulated us on our anniversary.

The Restaurant at Meadowood dining room

Table setting and hand-written card

Our server came by and explained that there would be no menus to look at or choose from for now - we would receive a copy only after the entire meal was completed. Apparently this is a recent change that the restaurant has made now that they feel like they've built a strong enough reputation. Instead of a tasting or a la carte menu, prospective diners will just need to trust that they will be fed well. We were asked if there was anything that we didn't eat, but that was pretty much it. The rest of the meal was a surprise, with each course explained to us as it was served. 

Before the main courses started, we had a series of "snacks" from the garden.

Pickled veggies from the Meadowood garden

Puffed kale with chorizo seasoning

Afterwards, the main dinner started, with about 10 courses served over of the next 3 hours. The food was absolutely delicious, playful, and presented in interesting and unique ways that we had never tried before. For example, potatoes that had been cooked in beeswax, chicken that had been cooked inside sourdough bread, and salmon that had the skin removed and replaced with layer of turnips. 

The ingredients were extremely fresh, with most of the meats coming from local sources and the vegetables coming from the restaurant's own garden. Everything was cooked perfectly, tasted great, and best of all didn't feel too heavy. Service was extremely warm and friendly throughout, a far cry from the overly formal and almost robotic service that we had at Per Se.

Tomato, wild plum beets and creme fraiche

Cucmber seed risotto

Potatoes cooked in beeswax

Abalone with coal roasted eggplant

Wild salmon turnip

Poussin baked in sourdough bread

Koji chanterelle beef

After the main courses it was time to move on to the cheese course, and despite the number of course we had eaten to this point, neither of us were feeling overly stuffed.. That's certainly a good thing, since there have been times where we've just been too full to enjoy dessert. The cheese course was was a play on ham and cheese with lettuce playing the role of ham.

Cheese "ham" bread

Lastly, a few desserts, including the amazing "spun" coconut with olive oil. The coconut tasted almost like a sorbet and was so simple, yet so amazingly delicious.

Spun coconut with olive oil

Passion fruit baba shiso

Herbal tea

Almond prailines

Our menu

At the end of the meal, we were invited in for a quick kitchen tour, which is offered to each table individually throughout the night. The restaurant had recently completed a million-dollar kitchen renovation, and it shows. We were actually surprised how big the kitchen was, given the fact they probably don't service more than 75-100 people in a given night.

As luck would have it, Chef Christopher Kostow walked by during our tour and we had a chance to do a brief meet and greet with him. As luck would have it I had just blogged about his partnership with the new American Express Centurion Lounge opening at SFO later this year, so I looked like I had done my homework and was able to ask him about it.

Meadowood kitchen

Thanks for an amazing dinner!

Overall, an amazing dining experience at The Restaurant at Meadowood. I emphasize the word  "experience", since at most top restaurants it's a given that the food will be delicious (and if it isn't, that's a whole other problem). But at Meadowood, the food is really, really delicious, and is still memorable as I write this several weeks later. The rest of the experience was top-notch and they really make you feel appreciated with everything from the hand-written notes, to the personalized service, and lastly to the individual kitchen tours.We hope to go back one day - in fact, the restaurant keeps track of the exact menu each guest has had previously to ensure that they are given an entirely new experience each and every time.

Eating the Big Apple: Dinner at Per Se

***This is part 2 of my "Eating the Big Apple" trip report detailing my recent visit to New York City last month***

1. Looking for Food Heaven? Its At Smorgasburg
2. Dinner at Per Se
3. JW Marriott Essex House
4. Eating Our Way Through NYC
5. United Airlines: BusinessFirst Class JFK-SFO
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Each time my wife and I go on a trip we try to squeeze in as much eating as humanly possible. If we're really lucky that will include a fine dining meal at a restaurant on our bucket list, which includes many of San Pellegrino's "The Worlds 50 Best". Even though we were only in town for 48 hours, as luck would have it we were able to score a last-minute reservation at Per Se. While our reservation was on the same day as our visit to Smorgasburg, the silver lining was that it wasn't until 9:45pm so we had at least a few hours to try and digest before eating again.

Per Se is a Thomas Keller restaurant and the East Coast sibling of The French Laundry which is located in wine country in Northern California. While The French Laundry is set in a cottage-style setting, Per Se is as urban as it gets located right in the middle of the Time Warner Center near Columbus Circle. We had a few minutes to kill before dinner, so we did a quick stroll around Columbus Circle before heading up, and even made a giant new friend along the way.

Time Warner Center Entrance

Made a giant new friend on the way to dinner

"Fast and Furious"-style action shot at Columbus Circle

The restaurant is located on the 4th floor and starts with an entryway that leads to beautiful blue double-doors leading into the restaurant. There is a rather large waiting room and bar area which was empty when we arrived, presumably since we had one of the last reservations for the evening. We were led directly into the main dining room which is elegantly decorated and set up in a theater-style format with all tables overlooking Columbus Circle.

Entryway to Per Se on the 4th floor of the Time Warner Center

Entrance to Per Se

Dining room at Per Se

As described on Per Se's website, each day a nine-course tasting menu is created with the philosophy of creating a sense of surprise for diners. That means that while there are a couple main-stays, the menu changes daily and you don't really know what you'll be eating until you arrive. After being seated, we were presented with the menu and chatted with the sommelier to get recommendations on the best pairings for that night's menu.

Shortly after, it was showtime and the food started coming, and coming, and coming. In total, counting the amuse bouche, multiple desserts, and petit fours we probably had around 15-courses spread across the next three hours. The food was fantastic and service throughout was sharp and polished, but perhaps more than we would have liked since it made things seem overly formal to the point that it felt like we were dining with the Crawley's at Downton Abbey.

Here's a summary of all the food - sorry for the strange lighting in some of the photos:

Smoked salmon amuse bouche

Thomas Keller's signature dish - "Oysters and Pearls"

Salad of heirloom cauliflower

Six flavors of salt to choose from

Poached Alaskan salmon

Lobster "Boudin"

Lamb with sunchokes, asparagus, and dates

Dry aged rib-eye with asparagus

Shredded cheese in the shape of a flower

Trio of desserts

Petit fours

Small box of shortbread cookies, made for a great breakfast the next day

Overall, we had a truly lovely and enjoyable meal at Per Se. When you go to a restaurant that's built a reputation for being one of the best, its pretty much a given that the food will be amazing and in that regard Per Se certainly did not disappoint. But other than food, top restaurants can really differentiate themselves on the dining experience, which for us just felt too buttoned-up and corporate. We didn't get that pop of personality that we had enjoyed when we ate at The French Laundry. Perhaps that's just how things are in NYC, so it's a good thing I live out on the West Coast since I'd prefer flip flops and shorts over a suit and tie any day of the week.

Anyone else eaten at Per Se, and how was your dining experience compared to other fine dining restaurants?