The Restaurant at Meadowood Awarded Three Stars
by San Francisco Chronicles Michael Bauer

Michael Bauer

Sunday, June 10, 2007

When people think of the most luxurious places in Napa Valley, the French Laundry, Auberge du Soleil and La Toque come to mind, while the Restaurant at Meadowood is often overlooked. Tucked away off the Silverado Trail in St. Helena, this exclusive resort restaurant is known mainly to locals and vacationers who are staying there.

The restaurant originally opened in the 1980s, but closed for three years before being reopened about 18 months ago. Under chef Joseph Humphrey, it deserves a lot more buzz than it has received.

Few restaurants capture the magic of the valley as well as this Howard Backen-designed space. With large, elegantly-set tables, huge vases of tightly gathered white roses on a service counter in the center of the 48-seat dining room and walls of windows overlooking a 24-seat terrace, it's a prime spot for romance or a special occasion.

The dining room capitalizes on what's outside with an open-beam ceiling that looks like a gazebo. The focal point, however, is the windows, set off by ruffles of white geraniums in window boxes that work to frame the rolling hills, majestic trees and the Mayacamas range in the background. It's a spectacular display of green during the day; at night, the blue sky turns indigo behind the blackened landscape, adding a note of mystery to the romantic atmosphere.

Frette linens, crystal glasses and beautifully weighted flatware speak of luxury, a dynamic juxtaposition to the manicured country setting. It creates an elusive and captivating yin-and-yang quality that's also reflected in the food.

The menu features ingredients mostly from surrounding farms and the Meadowood gardens, including a complimentary bite-size brioche toast topped with garlic creme fraiche and a smear of sweet, fava beans grown on the property served as patrons go over the menu.

Diners can choose from a three- ($65), four- ($80) or five-course ($95) a la carte menu, a seven-course chef's tasting menu ($120) or several specialty menus, including an all-vegetable "Local Garden" ($85) and a seven-course summer truffle menu ($125).

Not knowing exactly what to expect, I was impressed after my first visit, where the food was imaginatively conceived and presented, and service was smooth and efficient. The staff was professional without being too formal, a hard line to walk but done here with great skill.

The brioche toast was followed by another appetizer from the chef: a cool fresh pea gazpacho, topped with a half-dollar-size disk of frozen citrus and fennel fronds. Then the first course arrived, and there was no question that Humphrey would hold my attention throughout the meal -- local chilled crab, moistened with vanilla aioli, was wrapped with thin slices of Anjou pear, topped with a warm fried claw coated in sunflower seeds and surrounded by a pear and jalapeno vinaigrette. All these complicated additions worked seamlessly to set off the crab.

In another starter, Humphrey swaddled foie gras with a thin blanket of crisp rye bread accented by an apricot whiskey coulis and baby mustard -- another startlingly satisfying dish.

The second course offered a clever nod to Spain, with Alaskan halibut encrusted in cocoa nibs and almonds and accented with Serrano ham and black rice flecked with clams, all sitting on roasted red peppers in a deconstructed romesco sauce.

On other visits, Humphrey pulled off a daring pairing of lobster and squab, modulated with spinach, maitake mushrooms and Zinfandel onion marmalade. He accentuated fresh, sweet Monterey spot prawns with wild ramps, green almonds and summer truffles.

Halibut was roasted in fig leaves, picking up subtle herbal flavors enhanced with sassafras, horseradish and a side dish of creamy potatoes with fennel and olive and fennel oils. While all these preparations are complex, the results are fresh and focused

Meat dishes include equally interesting combinations. Slices of rare-cooked lamb are fanned next to cannelloni stuffed with confit and freshened with English peas and a spoon of carrot sabayon.

A roulade of chicken filled with tarragon and mustard butter is rolled, poached and then seared in the flavored butter to form a crust. The medallions are fanned on the plate next to a tight knob of savoy cabbage and a square of confit legs cooked in a terrine so it has an almost bread pudding-like texture before it's unmolded, cut into squares and quickly sauteed. The dish is then completed with a quenelle of mustard mascarpone, tiny mustard greens and a thin line of foie gras veloute, adding subtle richness and complexity to the blend.

Other items include antelope on a puddle of spiced avocado mousse, smoked grapes and a gastric that added a sweet-smoky nuance.

For dessert, rhubarb souffle rises a good inch above the dish, topped with a striated leathery strip of dried fruit, and a small bowl of made-to-order ginger soft serve ice cream as delicate as whipped cream. A strawberry float, made with fruit sorbet and vanilla ice cream topped with a splash sparkling water accompanied a too-dense warm Meyer lemon pudding cake. Another evening featured a milk chocolate caramel tart that tasted similar to pecan pie, with a chocolate mousse with caramelized milk and sea salt. Many of the sweets have familiar flavors, but the presentations are sophisticated and interesting.

If I had written my review after the first visit, you would read nothing but glowing prose. However, two subsequent dinners revealed that the restaurant is still struggling with consistency.

On my second visit I ordered the wine pairing ($60) to accompany the four-course meal. The wine with the first course tasted corked; by the time it was corrected, I'd finished the dish. With the second course, I had just one sip of wine before the sommelier swept by and picked up the glass. When I got his attention, he said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I take the wrong wine?" He then removed the glass from the first course. By the time any wine was returned, I was nearly done.

To add to the frustration, the wines themselves weren't nearly as exciting as the food. When I looked over the list, I found that two of the four pairings were available by the glass for $11 and $13, and the third was sold by the bottle for $46. The only truly special wine was a taste of the 1945 Rivesaltes Terroirs de Crest et de l'Agly at dessert. When I noticed the small size of the pours and the caliber of the wines, I felt a little duped.

On my last visit, I ordered the chef's tasting menu after hearing the waiter's description of how the chef creates the menu nightly from what's available, sometimes including variations of dishes on the regular menu. He detailed the selections, which were different from what I had eaten on the previous two visits. Because of my earlier experience, I ordered two half bottles instead of paying $90 a person for the pairings.

However, the food that arrived wasn't what the server had described. It was good, but the menu was made up of many dishes I'd had before. As with the wine, I had the feeling the staff wasn't at the top of its game. Next time -- yes, there definitely will be a next time -- I'll stick to the four-course menu.

Still, the food and the wine list are exciting. It would take just a little more diligence to turn the Restaurant at Meadowood into a world-class destination that would make Napa Valley proud.
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A list you can trust
From the 50-page wine list at the Restaurant at Meadowood is a compendium of 800 of the world's greatest wines.

While most of the wines are from Napa Valley and elsewhere in California, the international selections round out the list nicely. On any given night, 26 wines are offered by the glass (plus 17 dessert offerings), with a good selection of half bottles.

Given the quality of the stemware, the 11,000-bottle inventory and the care taken serving the wine, prices are reasonable and less than you'll pay at other places with fewer choices.

In addition, under wine educator Gilles de Chambure, one of only a handful of Master Sommeliers in North America, Meadowood has instituted an extensive wine education program that includes mealtime pairings, afternoon wine receptions and more in-depth programs and tours.

While the commitment is far reaching, it doesn't always translate to what diners experience in the restaurant.

Some of the pairings were lackluster, and the prices are considerably more than if the same wines were ordered from the menu.
Corkage is $20. -- M.B.
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Michael Bauer is The Chronicle's restaurant critic. E-mail him at mbauer@sfchronicle.com. Read his blog, and check out the comprehensive BayArea restaurant reviews, on SFGate.com.

Restaurant at
Meadowood
900 Meadowood Lane (near Silverado Trail), St. Helena; (707) 967-1205.
Dinner 5:30-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards
accepted. Free lot.

Overall: THREE STARS
Food: THREE STARS
Service: TWO STARS
Atmosphere: THREE AND A HALF STARS
Prices: $$$$ Noise Rating: TWO BELLS
Pluses: Elegant space that makes the most of the bucolic setting.
Exciting, well-crafted menu and fabulous wine list.
Minuses: The service, and the wine pairings, can be disappointing at
times. Wine pairings are expensive for what you get. For the price, the chef's
tasting menu isn't as interesting as the regular menu.
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RATINGS KEY
FOUR STARS: Extraordinary
THREE STARS: Excellent
TWO STARS: Good
ONE STAR: Fair
(box): Poor
.
$ Inexpensive: entrees $10 and under
$$ Moderate: $11-$17
$$$ Expensive: $18-$24
$$$$ Very Expensive: more than $25
Prices based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories,
the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings.
.
ONE BELL: Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels)
TWO BELLS: Can talk easily (65-70)
THREE BELLS: Talking normally gets difficult (70-75)
FOUR BELLS: Can only talk in raised voices (75-80)
BOMB: Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
.
Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous.
All meals are paid for by the Chronicle.
Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits.
Ratings are updated continually based on a least one revisit.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/10/CMGASQ07J01.DTL
This article appeared on page CM - 24 of the San Francisco Chronicle