UBUNTU

After lunch at Bouchon and wine from all over Napa we dined at Ubuntu vegetarian restaurant for dinner.  Ubuntu is a restaurant on the bottom floor and a yoga studio on the top floor.

Visually, Ubuntu is an earthy place, slightly modern, with a touch of the far east. The outside is made of old stones and much of the inside is furnished with salvaged wood. The staff is highly attentive as soon as you enter the restaurant.  The host's station is at the back of the restaurant next to the open portion of the kitchen.  However, they come to greet you with menus and a wine list.  Walking in didn't seem to be a problem but I have a feeling reservations will likely be needed very soon.  

My girlfriend and I decided to order the tasting menu and get a sampling of what ubuntu was all about.  Chef Jeremy Fox offered a six course menu on Thursday night.  

Amuse . . . "Chilled green garlic vichyssoise with chive fingerling potato and aged black garlic" - This was a beautiful dish and extremely flavorful.  It was finish table-side as the server poured the green vichyssoise over the potato and black garlic.  The garlic was topped with a small edible flower.  The dish was refreshing.  The flavors were a blend of sweet, salty, and umami.  It was actually so overwhelmingly flavorful that I could not finish.

First . . . "Radishes with local chevre and nori, banylus vinaigrette, smoked salt, hong vit"  - This course was interesting.  I was slightly apprehensive since I'm not a huge fan of radishes. But Chef Jeremy pulled it off.  I enjoyed the dish but felt the smoked salt needed to slightly smaller in mass.  The pieces were so big that the flavor overwhelmed each bite with the salt in it.  Sarah said this was the best dish of the evening.  

Second . . . "Carrots and tangelo - 'crumble' of dried carrot, almond, and mace" -  I found this to be the most enjoyable dish.  It was very flavorful but balanced and smooth.  The flavor was unique but also pulled from familiar parts of my palette.  This dish was exquisitely constructed from conceptualization to the diner.  I would encourage him to place this on the menu permanently. 

Third . . ."Cauliflower in a cast-iron pot with our vadouvan roasted-pea-shoots-'couscous', coriander sprouts" - The cauliflower to me is an underrated vegetable.  I feel like it can be a vessel for so much flavor.  However, this is the one dish that I was slightly let down with.  Don't get me wrong it was good, but it was quite one-dimensional.  I tasted and tasted again for more flavors but it was simple buttery, creamy cauliflower.  

Fourth  . . ."Smoked anson mills grits with a slow farm egg, blue bottle 'red eye' gravy, bordeaux spinach" - What?! Grits for main course.  Turns out, its not so bad.  The flavors and textural differences of this dish were definitely unique.  The smooth rich body of the slow farm egg paired with the grits natural texture was a smart move.  But the best part of the dish was the bordeaux spinach and red eye gravy's combination of sweet and just a touch of salty.  It was a great take on grits but I still can't get over grits as a main course.  I'm guessing I'm still waiting for the shrimp to show up.

Fifth . . ."Scharffen Berger chocolate Souffle with rosemary ice cream and candied hazelnuts"  - Simply amazing.  Rosemary ice cream is genius and I wish it were my idea.  Its refreshing but has so much more depth than the classic vanilla.  The souffle was nicely done with great flavor but was slightly heavy for a souffle.  The hazelnuts went great with both the ice cream and the souffle.  If it weren't dessert it may have won the best course award. 

From a man more inclined to eat at Chef Cosentino's Incanto than to sign up for a vegetarian tasting menu Ubuntu impressed me.  The service was excellent from start to finish and the sommelier was definitely loving her job.  Watching the chefs work under pressure really showed their passion for good food and their high standards.  Chef Jeremy Fox has a lot of great things coming his way.  One of which should be your name on his reservation list. 

Hours: Seven days a week.  Lunch: 11:30-2:30, Dinner 5:30-9:00

Price: $5-$49

Location: 1140 Main Street, Napa, CA

Bar: Yes

Sommelier: Yes

Large Groups: Yes

Payment: Cash, Cards

Phone: 707.251.5656

BOUCHON

Bouchon Bistro - Yountville, California - March 2008

On a recent trip to Napa Valley I decided to once again dine at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro.  It was a great experience.  The service was spectacular. The servers and back-waiters showed great pride in Bouchon without seeming pretentious.  The restaurant consistently lives up to it's reputation. 

Our lunch reservation was early (11:30am) so I ordered and orange juice and soda to start.  As soon as we were comfortably adjusted in our chairs a back-waiter delivered a small portion of an epi-baguette with butter.  One benefit to eating this early was that the baguette wasn't even done cooling yet.  It was fresh and still slightly warm in the center.  It was just warm enough to soften the butter but not melt it completely. 

Next we ordered lunch.  I decided to have the croque madame, a close friend of the croque monsieur.  Both sanwiches are butter grilled brioche with ham and cheese but the madame has the addition of a fried egg on top and at Bouchon also mornay.  To say this sandwich is good is a complete understatement.  I haven't figured out yet why this isn't on more menus!  Its a great combination of salty and sweet flavors.  The sandwich has a rich mouth feel and the crunch of the perfectly toasted brioche is a great balance to the smooth mornay.  

I ordered the croque madame because I knew it came with Bouchon's legendary french fries.  I've had this piece of potato perfection once before and I couldn't wait to enjoy them again. . . However, I was out of luck.  Since Bouchon is undergoing kitchen renovations there were no fries to be had.  In my sadness I ordered a dish of haricot verts.  I had recently read in Michael Ruhlman's book The Reach of a Chef that Thomas Keller (Chef/Owner of The French Laundry, Bouchon, Per Se & more) was a fiend for perfectly cooked green beans.  Keller has obviously trained his staff well, the beans were perfect.  They were soft with a slight crunch left in them but not so crisp to seem uncooked.  They were served with sauteed minced onions in a small iron crock.  

Overall the lunch was fantastic.  I'm yet to be let down by Bouchon.  I highly recommend spending your lunch hour there the next time you visit the Napa Valley. 

*After lunch and comfortably full, Sarah and I waltzed next door to Bouchon Bakery.  I picked up an extremely large pain de miche for my sister.  Miche is a large french-country style bread.  It's simple, with a dark caramelized crust enveloping a flavorful chewy center.  Its that large beautiful round bread you've been eyeing at your local bakery each time you visit.  I say go for it.  Fork over the $8.00 and enjoy a great miche!

Hours: 11:30 am - Midnight

Price: 

Location: 6534 Washington St. Yountville, CA

Bar: Yes

Sommelier: Unknown

Large Groups: No

Payment: Cash, Cards

Phone: 707.944.8037