I Thought I Could Be a Food Critic

Posted 03/24/2008 at 08:18 AM by Chris

Bouchon Bistro in Yountville is often mentioned as one of the valley's top dining destinations, and with it's sister status to the French Laundry up the street, the mighty influence of Thomas Keller promises many wonderful delights. I visited on a beautiful August afternoon for a late lunch and was inspired by the energy of the packed house overflowing with a mix of visitors in Tommy Bahama shirts, shorts and sandals and the standout local winery brass decked out in suits and ties. Bouchon has the power to magically transport you directly to a typical Paris Bistro, as you imagine yourself sitting for hours with a Pernod and a steaming hot bowl of mussels and frites. The gleaming oyster counter beckons and the incredible zinc bar serves as the centerpiece of this simple, understated, yet lively dining room.

The illusion of my imaginary trip to Paris continues as the classically attired waiter approaches with white apron and tuxedo and presents the folded paper menu. Wines by the glass are visible on the chalk board and are also available by the carafe or half carafe enticing guests to share or to stay longer and have more to eat. I ordered a crisp, grassy Sancerre and considered my options. While I perused the specials announced also by chalkboard, my server brought a fresh, hot, unusual looking mini baguette with two sharp points at each end and uncovered a small pot of butter. The bread is now made fresh at the new Bouchon Bakery next door and supplies bread to many of the restaurants in the valley, including, of course, the French Laundry. I decided on the Salmon rillette to start and an order of frites. The rillette is presented in a mini mason jar, which the server unbuckles to reveal a layer of bright, solid butter. He removed the layer of butter to a side plate and uncovered gleaming chunks of salmon mixed with onion and garlic and held together with even more butter accompanied on the side by several pieces of toasted baguette slices just waiting for a spread of the marvelous mixture. Beautiful, pink fresh salmon melts in your mouth with every bite. The fries came leaning over the side of a cone layered with parchment paper and I imagined how hard it must have been for the waiter not to grab one or two on his way out of the kitchen. Crisp, and delicate and unbelievably addictive when dipped in the lemony aioli, I nearly ate the entire order of fries before getting half way through my salmon rillete. I decided the low carb diet was no match for the temptation this day.

The menu offered many interesting selections including a 'Croque Madame', a play on the classic Croque Monsieur, featuring brioche, a fried egg, tomato, and hollandaise sauce to add more injury to the low cal cheese and ham. As a marvelous tower of seafood walked by elevated above a bed of ice, I considered ruining dinner that evening by consuming the shellfish platter, as I can easily put away a dozen oysters and whatever crustacean, bivalve or shellfish wants to ride along. But, I sensibly continued with the Bibb salad, available with crumbled Point Reyes blue cheese. Again simplicity struck a chord here. The Bibb lettuce was crispy and fresh, and the oil and balsamic was light and provided the perfect acidity to cut through the salty tang of this marvelous local blue cheese.

In a moment of weakness brought on by the waiter's description of my entrée, I went out in the deep end and ordered the house special, the Boudin Blanc. A white sausage, composed primarily of pork, hot, earthy and with a portion of mashed potato and roasted prune on the fork, nearly the best bite of food I have had in a long, long time. These are prunes, which are already dried and bursting with intense flavor, but the roasting concentrates the flavors even more, and adds the perfect accompaniment to the sausage.

You might be pleased to note that I had to doggie bag the remaining few bites, because I needed just a little more room for dessert.

Sorbets included the exotic green tea, mango, and quince, while ice creams offered more simple flavors of chocolate and vanilla. Keeping with the gluttony of the day, I chose the profiteroles, as I was told I could not leave without the memorable experience of Bouchon's most well loved dessert. He was right. The plate was presented heaped high with glistening vanilla ice cream, sandwiched between three fluffy, delicate pastry portions. My server held a small pitcher of warm chocolate syrup and slowly and sensuously poured rich chocolate over each of the three profiteroles, and instructed me to pour the remainder as I ate, if I so desired.

The French have a tradition of enjoying lunch with their friends between noon and 2pm. My lunch alone lasted over 2 hours and I was completely satiated and very pleased with all the amazing food as well as the amount I consumed. As Bouchon celebrates their fifth anniversary I know that with this attention and simple innovation, they deserve their reputation in the valley and can look forward to many more years of success.

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