Meadowood
chef Christopher Kostow gets 4 stars
The
tasting menu at the Restaurant at Meadowood began with a waiter
bearing a brown velvet pillow on top of which rested an amuse
of house-made crackers, garnished with a minuscule flower and
leaf from the restaurant's gardens. It looked like what a ring
bearer might carry down the aisle. Was it edible, or was it
a jewel?
As I popped the bonbon into
my mouth and chewed, the initial crunch gave way to a gush of
warm, salty goat cheese. It provided a dramatic start to a beautifully
paced and executed dinner.
Then, still before the official
first course arrived, the kitchen sent out a baked potato parfait,
a custard cup layered with smooth potato puree, custard, herbed
gelee, crispy potatoes and whole oysters, creating another example
of how chef Christopher Kostow artfully marries opposing textures
and flavors.
Soon afterward we received
a plate mounded with "rye dirt" where fine bread crumbs
mixed with salt, and tiny radishes and carrots dipped in butter
"grow" from the mixture. While Kostow cooks from the
garden, it's with craft and whimsy.
When I reviewed the restaurant
more than a year ago, I thought that Kostow, a 2008 Chronicle
Rising Star, was destined to become a four-star chef but needed
time to prove himself. My recent meal has shown he's done just
that. From start to finish, he commands the kitchen, creating
dishes you won't find on any other menu, served in a dining
room awash with elegance and good taste.
Diners
can opt for a three-course menu for $75, with choices in each
category (optional wine pairings, $45). But Kostow saves his
most creative efforts for the $155 eight-course tasting menu
(optional wine pairings, $105), which is what I chose on my
most recent return visit.
After
the complimentary courses, the meal kicks off with a long, tissue-thin
strip of vivid red Wagyu beef, cured in pine from the property.
It has a slight resinlike flavor and looks like a psychedelic
forest topped with circles of pickled kohlrabi, lengths of sea
beans, dollops of caviar and little puddles of creme fraiche
with the airy texture of whipped cream.
That's followed by an equally
artful arrangement of cannelloni, stuffed with sweetbreads on
a creamed spinach puree, bejeweled with dots of butter-braised
turnips, delicate leaves of miner's lettuce, hedgehog mushrooms,
slices of truffles and a truffle broth poured on tableside.
Every luxury ingredient
is given star treatment, including lobster roasted in lime salt.
It's served with dollops of sweet squash puree, cubes of caramelized
sauteed apples and a restrained scattering of vadouvan, an Indian-inspired
spice blend. Again the blend of exotic flavors and unlikely
combinations came off seamlessly.
But the standout was the
meat course of nickel-size medallions of tender goat meat poached
in whey. They're garnished with a scattering of barley, dots
of goat cheese, delicate yellow flowers, a splash of olive oil
and just-sprouted blades of grass plucked from the winter vineyards.
The meat is as tender and mild as chicken, yet with a sweet
earthiness that sets it apart.
On another course the presentation
was just as alluring. Kostow slices squab breast thin and arranges
it so precisely that it looks like miniature packaged bacon,
set on a bed of toasted pistachio butter, and covered with dollops
of carrot puree, glazed cocoa nibs and tiny carrots, all dusted
with grated frozen foie gras.
The cheese course is an
intricately constructed Stilton "cheesecake" made
from a finger-size rectangle of whipped cheese, a tuille crust
and a topping of white port gelee. A necklace of dried cherries
and hazelnuts set off the main ingredient.
That was followed by a vibrant
green apple sherbet, with a scoop of ginger sorbet, vanilla
gelee that's dried and becomes crisp and a mint snow. The main
dessert brings a white chocolate and foie gras ganache - the
liver adding richness and just a hint of flavor - accompanied
by passion fruit and a rectangle of caramelized banana. Wheels
of confit black walnuts add drama, as does a thin line of passion
fruit puree and a swipe of cookie dough that was the night's
only unsuccessful element - it looked like an accident and was
unpleasantly grainy.
When chefs operate on a
culinary high wire, there's bound to be a miss now and then,
which makes the successes even sweeter. The meal ends the way
it began with another parade of surprises - sugared raspberries,
tiny filled cookies and glossy chocolates.
The dinner takes on an even
more elegance given the sophisticated interior and bucolic setting.
By day the windows look out onto a covered terrace and afford
sweeping views of the Mayacamas Mountains; at night the dining
room feels like a beautiful country retreat. Service is refined,
with waiters appearing when you need them and then effortlessly
blending into the background.
The decision to reopen the
restaurant after a three-year hiatus a few years back was a
good one for those who love this grand style of dining. Kostow
is in fine form, rarely missing a beat and leaving diners practically
breathless waiting for his next feat of culinary acrobatics.