Bouchon

I was not thinking of Thomas Keller or French Laundry when I went to have lunch at Bouchon. 

All I wanted was a delicously satisfying lunch to match the perfectly beautiful sunny day in Yountville where my girlfriends and I went for our twice a year wine-tasting day trip.

It is so easy to romanticize Bouchon's decor. This French Bistro is classy and definitely Parisian. Red leather booths, handsome brass/heavy wood bar filled with crushed ice for seafood. The color combination is pale and earthy with a shock of burgundy.

Service was impeccable, very attentive, polite yet relaxed. Our server was very knowledgeable and did  not falter in his recitations of that day's specials which were quite lenghty. We felt adequately taken care of while dining at Bouchon.

We started off our lunch with a glass of wine and cocktails. I chose the NACIONALE: A fruity refreshing cocktail that is slightly sweet.

We ordered a couple of starters which my girlfriends and I shared. We had the:

SALADE D' HOMARD ET MELON: Maine lobster, garden melons,
pickled shallots, mustard greens & piquillo pepper vinaigrette $14.50

This is more of an appetizer than a leafy salad. Very fresh sweet lobster meat on melons. A tiny dessert that has a big punch of flavors. This dish was almost too beautiful to eat. It is also great as an amuse bouche to cleanse your palate.

MOULES: Cold mussels deliciously served with mustard and cocktail sauce $7.00 / 1 doz

I chose the TARTINE DU JOUR: open-faced sandwich on toasted levain
served with French fries $17.95

I am not a sandwich person but somehow I was craving a hearty sandwich that day for lunch. The open-faced sandwich of the day  was grilled lamb sausage sliced crosswise in half. It was topped with onions and capers. A great combination of salty and tangy flavors. It came with  generous servings of fries and side of cornichons.  The lamb sausage was very juicy with nice flavors of the lamb but not gamey. Delicious with Bouchon's mustard!

For dessert, we shared THE BOUCHON: 3 small squares of brownies, which peach compote and ice cream. There was nothing spectacular about our dessert but it was a sweet way to end a beautiful lunch.

My girlfriends' orders included CRABE à CARAPACE MOLLE: crispy soft shell crab, wild mushrooms à la grecque  mâche with sauce grenobloise $14.00 and a FULL VEGAN COURSE.
I did not taste the above but just like me they really enjoyed their meals. My gf ordered the soft-shell as a main course instead of an appetizer. My vegan friend called in advance and told them to suprise her with a full vegan meal and she was very happy with what the chef has prepared for her.

Our tab was $159 including tax and 20 % tip ($53 pp)

I found Bouchon to be reasonably priced considering the ambiance, the well-executed dishes and being a Thomas Keller establisment. It deserves it Michelin star and its place as one of Bay Area's Top 100 Restaurants.

My lunch at Bouchon might not have been "soul-satisfying" but it was definitely very enjoyable. Everything we had was delicious and comforting.  What stood out were the details--a light, fresh-tasting mustard packed with flavors. I never thought I will ever rave about a mustard but I could have eaten Bouchon's out of the crockpot!  Our braided bread was also crusty and freshly baked. The french fries were perfectly fried and not greasy.

Bouchon is a great place to spend a have an "almost perfect" lunch on a perfect day in the Wine Country. We were full, happy and ready for more wine tastings! An hour of champagne tasting at Chandon before lunch at Bouchon. V Sattui, Castello di Amorosa--next!!!!

Foodie Girl's Rating: 4.5 Stars

Key:

0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

One Market

One Market is classy in its simplicity.  Huge windows looking into Market Street made One Market feel spacious.  The earth tones and white linen covered tables gave this restaurant  a formal business feel without feeling stuffy.  The open kitchen added a cozy ambiance to the place. Serious business suit seemed to be the preferred attire at One Market.

It was my beautiful friend Heather's birthday and I wanted her to feel special. We also wanted to check out Dine About Town's lunch menu. And we also wanted to sneak in our monthly gal-bonding lunch before we go on our trips separately.

Heather chose to try the DAT lunch menu. For $17.99, she got a FARMER'S SALAD: A simple salad of seasonal greens. Very fresh and generously portioned that we had enough to share between the two of us.

STEAMED MUSSELS (chili flakes, pesto and grilled bread): Heather loved her dish! The portion was also generous. I tried the mussels with the sauce and it tasted like curry instead of pesto but I thought it was good!

I was about to try the DAT menu as well until I saw two dishes on the main menu that I could not resist:

STEAMED GULF FLOUNDER (soy sauce, shitake and bokchoy) $22 The fish was sooooo tender, sooooo flavorful, sooo delicious! Yes, you can tell I loved it! I wish they gave me a little bit more fish but it was really good in its simplicity.

CHICKPEA FRIES ($5): Heather and I were intrigued that we had to have these. We thought they were deep-fried chickpeas but they were chickpeas that were mashed, formed into sticks then deep fried. They came with aioli type sauce but they were good even without. Light, not greasy and seasoned-well. Best to eat while hot off the fryer.



SERVICE:
Service was efficient and friendly. We opted for tap water but our server somehow insisted with a bit of pressure for us to try the flavored lemonades. We declined twice and the 3rd time, we just went, "What the heck. We'll have one each." They were refreshing but we just really wanted tap water.

LOWDOWN:
One Market's DAT is one of the best DAT we have tried so far. Heather and I have tried quite a few DATs over the last couple of years and somehow we oftentimes thought they were just okay.
At One Market the DAT dishes were executed well, priced right and generously portioned.

And I also found out after our meal that One Market is a 1 Michelin Star awardee. As good as our meal was, no stars fell from the skies for me. It was very, very good but I had better Michelin star meals in the past.

Tab: $70 including tax and 20% tip

Foodie Girl's Rating: 4.25 Stars

Key:

0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)