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