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Hurley’s Restaurant & Bar 6518 Washington Street Yountville 707-944-2345 www.hurleysrestaurant.com Local/Mediterranean Cuisine
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When you walk into Hurley’s, the first thing you’ll notice is the spacious bar and lounge area (a popular spot—especially during warm weather when the open doors to the 50-seat outdoor patio let the outside in). To the left is the open kitchen, which you’ll walk past on your way to the dining area. There, you’ll find a fireplace against the back wall and two large dining rooms separated by a long, wooden vintner’s table that seats up to 14 people in between. You may also spot a few local winemakers (after all, Chef Bob Hurley has fashioned his menu to be wine-friendly). Tall ceilings, Dijon-colored walls, a little Motown playing in the background and plenty of windows provide an overall open feeling. There’s also a private dining room that can seat up to 42 guests.
My friend Halley and I sat by one of the large windows along the front side of the restaurant. After one of the servers strong-armed us into opening the shade (kidding—he was funny!), we started our meal with the Belle River (Maine) Crab Cakes. There were four small, sassy cakes, lightly breaded and served with a paprika and cayenne aioli and a celery root and citrus vinaigrette salad. The vinaigrette had a bit of a bite, and the aioli’s subtle heat added just the right amount of pizzazz.
Next we enjoyed a couple salads. Mine was the local mixed baby greens, and while I loved its candied walnuts, Halley’s was the stand-out. She ordered an asparagus salad off the specials list. Lightly grilled and served warm, the crunchy asparagus was prepared Spanish-style, seasoned with salt and pepper and served whole with prosciutto, shaved manchego cheese and roasted pine nuts.
Now you may or may not know this, but Bob Hurley (formerly of the Napa Valley Grille) is known for his wild game dishes. That being the case, I went right for the Braised Wild Boar as my entrée. A signature dish of the restaurant, it’s a generous portion of shoulder braised with red wine, served on a bed of truffle-scented soft polenta and roasted winter vegetables, covered in a rich reduction sauce and topped with thin-sliced fried onions. The buttery vegetables and polenta were perfect with the earthy, meaty boar.
Halley ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli (a seasonal item, so it’s not always on the menu). Served with manchego cheese and prosciutto (a popular combination, it seems), the fresh-made raviolis were filled with a goat cheese and butternut squash purée then topped with a savory sauce and cubes of roasted squash. These, along with the prosciutto, added a welcome texture. I found it interesting to have both preparations of squash in the same dish—they played nicely together.
For dessert we sampled the Valrhona Chocolate Almond Torte and the Chevre Cheesecake. One of his favorites, Chef Hurley described the torte as his interpretation of a “gooey chocolate cake.” The rich, flourless cake is baked just enough so it’s moist inside, then served warm with crème fraiche on top and surrounded with a caramel sauce, brandied cherries and fresh almonds.
The cheesecake, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Made with goat cheese, a shortbread crust and topped with huckleberry compote, it was extremely creamy and light (very unlike a New York-style cheesecake). Hurley explained he does it that way because even “ordinary” restaurants have cheesecake on the menu, so he wants to give people a reason to seek out his in particular. Obviously, Hurley’s is no ordinary restaurant.
