Napa: Bouchon, Ubuntu, Ad Hoc

For some time now I've wanted to see Napa. I went to Sonoma for the first time in September and totally fell in love with the area. However, as much as I LOVE LOVE Sonoma, Napa has the Keller! Seriously, French Laundry is on the top of my to do list so when I hopped a plane last minute 2 weekends ago- I definitely attempted a reservation.



However, to no avail. But, being that Napa is Napa, there were plenty of fantastic restaurants to try out. Let's start with Bouchon. Ate there with the BF Friday night. We've eaten at the Vegas outpost many times with rather mixed reviews, however I had heard that the original location was, not surprisingly, the best.



Ugh, we were so disappointed. Steak overcooked, haricots verts overcooked, green salad fine, mac and cheese just ok. Profiteroles (one of my all time FAVE desserts) stale and mushy. Highlight of the meal? Out waiter/bartender Jeremy who was quite entertaining. Oh, and earlier that day we had stopped by Bistro Jeanty for a snack and that was better than Bouchon. On to day two. Of course the requisite wine tasting which proved quite the feat in 105° weather but we made it through. We skipped lunch because our bomb hotel the Villagio had an actually pretty fantastic breakfast situation..so on the the wineries...then to Ubuntu for dindin. Since I read Frank Bruni's article last year in the NY Times where he rated Ubuntu one of the top 10 restaurants in the country, I've been so excited to try it out. It's actually the cutest place ever and I recommend it to anyone.



I also had a long chat with the chef Jeremy Fox where I suggested an LA outpost and he didn't poo poo the idea. The day we had stopped by he had just soft opened Ubuntu Annex next door which is a small market with everything form yoga clothes to Ubuntu's delish beet dirt. So Ubuntu is large open and very spread out with a laid back vibe and huge windows in the front. It sort of reminds me of Gjelina For those that don't know, Ubuntu is a vegetarian restaurant (some vegan offerings) though not your average vegetarian's vegetarian.



Jeremy for one is NOT a veg, but the food is so fantastic that one doesn't miss the meat at all. Also some sauces are prepared and reduced in a way that they actually mimic a meat flavor which is quite interesting. We tried: the hummus, the peas with white chocolate (SO GOOD), the garden torta with truffle cheese, a handful of other savories and of course some sweets.



The mini carrot cupcake was really fun, tasty, and not over sweetened with hints of carrot and a caramelized baby carrot atop.
On to day 3. Most notably we ate at Ad Hoc, TK's casual resty. I did find some strawberry patches and a nectarine tree in the back and may or may not have stolen some juicy fruit pre dinner!




This dinner however, was fantastic. Basically, Ad Hoc changes the menu every night and simply offers 4 exact same courses (10 components) to every diner in the restaurant. So, rather than choosing what one wants from the menu, one is presented with the menu. We started with a mushroom torta and mixed green salad- these were some of the tastiest and freshest greens I have ever tried in my life.



Next came braised beer with spinach, fried chickpeas and raisins with a side of roasted carrots with parsley, course three was a french cheese (forgot name) with strawberries and toasted sunflower seeds and then an apricot plum crumble and vanilla ice cream.



All food is served family style and I now understand why Keller is as famous as he is (not that I didn't get it before but..you know...). He can elevate the simplest ingredients and make them grand. Easily, our fave dinner.