Tag: meadowood

12 days: on the eleventh day of christmas: yu… (2015)

~ A dinner series called the Twelve Days of Christmas hosted by a Jewish chef wouldn’t be complete without Chinese food, right? Enter: Justin Yu. He’s the chef and co-owner of Oxheart, a restaurant in Houston where he has earned national acclaim for his vegetable-focused menu. The last time I was in Houston was in 1988.  So, unfortunately, I haven’t eaten […]

Continue

12 days: on the eleventh day of christmas: yu… (2015)

~ A dinner series called the Twelve Days of Christmas hosted by a Jewish chef wouldn’t be complete without Chinese food, right? Enter: Justin Yu. He’s the chef and co-owner of Oxheart, a restaurant in Houston where he has earned national acclaim for his vegetable-focused menu. The last time I was in Houston was in 1988.  So, unfortunately, I haven’t eaten […]

Continue

12 days: on the tenth day of christmas: tanaka…. (2015)

~ He speaks Japanese, of course.  But he also speaks Spanish, French, and more English than I speak in any of those languages.  His name is Atsushi Tanaka, and I ate at his Restaurant A.T. in Paris last year (here are the photos from that dinner in September of 2014).  At the time, I had […]

Continue

12 days: on the tenth day of christmas: tanaka…. (2015)

~ He speaks Japanese, of course.  But he also speaks Spanish, French, and more English than I speak in any of those languages.  His name is Atsushi Tanaka, and I ate at his Restaurant A.T. in Paris last year (here are the photos from that dinner in September of 2014).  At the time, I had […]

Continue

12 days: on the ninth day of christmas: connaughton… (2015)

~ Single Thread Farms Restaurant & Inn was conceived long before I first met Kyle Connaughton in March of 2014 at the Rediscovering Coastal Cuisine event in Carmel, California.  I know this because I had heard murmurings of it before I heard about it from Connaughton himself.  Now, nearly two years later, the multi-faceted enterprise – which, […]

Continue

12 days: on the ninth day of christmas: connaughton… (2015)

~ Single Thread Farms Restaurant & Inn was conceived long before I first met Kyle Connaughton in March of 2014 at the Rediscovering Coastal Cuisine event in Carmel, California.  I know this because I had heard murmurings of it before I heard about it from Connaughton himself.  Now, nearly two years later, the multi-faceted enterprise – which, […]

Continue

12 days: on the eighth day of christmas: mchale… (2015)

~ One of the three guest chefs at this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas whose restaurants I have not visited is Isaac McHale and his Clove Club in London, England.*  I know of him, of course, from his short stint with his merry band of Young Turks, which included James Lowe (now chef of Lyle’s in London) and Ben […]

Continue

12 days: on the eighth day of christmas: mchale… (2015)

~ One of the three guest chefs at this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas whose restaurants I have not visited is Isaac McHale and his Clove Club in London, England.*  I know of him, of course, from his short stint with his merry band of Young Turks, which included James Lowe (now chef of Lyle’s in London) and Ben […]

Continue

12 days: on the seventh day of christmas: floresca and ryan… (2015)

~ Two more impressive culinary resumés you will hardly find in a pair than Kim Floresca‘s and Daniel Ryan‘s.  (It’d also be a challenge to find two more lovely and generous people.) Between the two of them, they’ve worked at The French Laundry, Alinea, per se, Alain Ducasse NY, and Eleven Madison Park; and together, they […]

Continue

12 days: on the seventh day of christmas: floresca and ryan… (2015)

~ Two more impressive culinary resumés you will hardly find in a pair than Kim Floresca‘s and Daniel Ryan‘s.  (It’d also be a challenge to find two more lovely and generous people.) Between the two of them, they’ve worked at The French Laundry, Alinea, per se, Alain Ducasse NY, and Eleven Madison Park; and together, they […]

Continue

12 days: on the sixth day of christmas: wilkinson… (2015)

~ At the start of this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, there was only one chef with whom I was not familiar at all. I had neither heard of Matt Wilkinson, nor his restaurant Pope Joan in Melbourne, Australia.  And for this reason, when I was asked, as I always […]

Continue

12 days: on the sixth day of christmas: wilkinson… (2015)

~ At the start of this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, there was only one chef with whom I was not familiar at all. I had neither heard of Matt Wilkinson, nor his restaurant Pope Joan in Melbourne, Australia.  And for this reason, when I was asked, as I always […]

Continue

12 days: on the fifth day of christmas: skenes… (2015)

~ I have eaten at Saison (San Francisco) nearly twenty times, and at The Restaurant at Meadowood (St. Helena) nearly fifty times.  With only one exception*, I have eaten at these two restaurants more than all others around the world. I have also photographed in both of their kitchens many times, and have, over the years become intimately […]

Continue

12 days: on the fifth day of christmas: skenes… (2015)

~ I have eaten at Saison (San Francisco) nearly twenty times, and at The Restaurant at Meadowood (St. Helena) nearly fifty times.  With only one exception*, I have eaten at these two restaurants more than all others around the world. I have also photographed in both of their kitchens many times, and have, over the years become intimately […]

Continue

12 days: on the fourth day of christmas: vallejo… (2015)

~ One of the most memorable meals I’ve had in Mexico City was at Quintonil in the city’s posh Polanco district. The cooking there combined the saturated flavors and colors of Mexican cookery with the ingredients and sentiments of cultures abroad.  In particular, I remember blushing slices of ahi tuna with warm pico de gallo and an inky […]

Continue

12 days: on the fourth day of christmas: vallejo… (2015)

~ One of the most memorable meals I’ve had in Mexico City was at Quintonil in the city’s posh Polanco district. The cooking there combined the saturated flavors and colors of Mexican cookery with the ingredients and sentiments of cultures abroad.  In particular, I remember blushing slices of ahi tuna with warm pico de gallo and an inky […]

Continue

12 days: on the third day of christmas: puglisi… (2015)

~ At a dinner at relæ in Copenhagen a few months ago, I marveled at the amount of flavor coaxed out of carrots and seaweed – an unexpectedly dynamic marriage – and how simple and delicious chicken could be with little more than its crispy skin, blitzed into a crunchy crumble, and some cabbage (here […]

Continue

12 days: on the third day of christmas: puglisi… (2015)

~ At a dinner at relæ in Copenhagen a few months ago, I marveled at the amount of flavor coaxed out of carrots and seaweed – an unexpectedly dynamic marriage – and how simple and delicious chicken could be with little more than its crispy skin, blitzed into a crunchy crumble, and some cabbage (here […]

Continue

12 days: on the second day of christmas: mlinarevic… (2015)

~ A last-minute trip to Switzerland earlier this year landed me within commuting distance of Focus, a two Michelin-starred restaurant at the Park Hotel Vitznau on the quiet banks of Lake Lucerne.  Although I had seen pictures of the resort online, no photo could have prepared me for its breathtaking setting, nestled among the Alps with an enormous […]

Continue

12 days: on the second day of christmas: mlinarevic… (2015)

~ A last-minute trip to Switzerland earlier this year landed me within commuting distance of Focus, a two Michelin-starred restaurant at the Park Hotel Vitznau on the quiet banks of Lake Lucerne.  Although I had seen pictures of the resort online, no photo could have prepared me for its breathtaking setting, nestled among the Alps with an enormous […]

Continue