Recently I found myself in Yountville to run some errands. For those who don’t know Yountville is probably the gourmet capital of the world. Well, of my world anyway. The restaurants there are legendary. Since it was lunch, or so I told myself, I stopped at Addendum, which is a little offshoot of the Ad Hoc restaurant and it serves boxed lunches to go Thursday – Saturday. There are only two choices on the menu and I chose the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. You would be able to see a photo of it if I hadn’t eaten it so fast. And I’m not kidding. I inhaled it in one breath sitting at one of the little picnic tables in the middle of the Ad Hoc garden.
I believe it’s true that Yountville boasts more Michelin stars per capita than anyplace on Earth. The entire town is only 1.5 square miles and has six Michelin stars. Which simply means if you go to Yountville, go with an empty stomach and a full wallet.
Hunger relief to go. Indeed!
Bouchon is just down the street. I went there for a lovely brunch one Sunday and didn’t have a complaint in the world. They were mortified however that it took longer than they thought was proper to bring the meal (trust me, I didn’t even notice) and insisted on picking up my check. You can bet I have been back many times since.
Even the birds are well fed in Yountville. This one was in front of the Bouchon Bakery eating part of someone’s croissant. Note to self: if you are reincarnated as a bird, fly to Yountville, California.
If you want to have the meal of your life. Go to the French Laundry. A lot of the fruit and veg is grown in their gardens right across the street. That’s a remarkably short “farm to table” .
I am so looking forward to eating at Bistro Jeanty, which I haven’t done yet but which I hear is amazing.
My apologies, I really feel I haven’t done justice to Yountville. But to be honest, I think you can only do that with a knife and fork. Not a camera!
You can’t drive for a block without hitting a celebrity chef. As I was driving out of town I passed Thomas Keller walking down the street in his Chef’s coat and, this being Napa Valley, which is generally pretty friendly, he waved to me when he saw how excited I was to spot him. Now if only I could get a free meal at The French Laundry. I can dream… can’t I?
