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The Restaurant at Meadowood Wine Country Cuisine
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The Restaurant at Meadowood is one of the most elegant places I’ve ever been. It’s set within a resort and spa that our readers voted the Best of 2008. Inside is a small bar and lounge, a main dining room surrounded by picture windows and outdoor seating that overlooks the beautiful grounds below.
I haven’t been to France (yet), but I know where I can go to feel like I’m there. Well, I might have to close my eyes and pretend everyone’s speaking French—but I’m thinking the flavors are right on the mark. Bistro 29’s chef, Brian Anderson (who worked at the much-missed Café Lolo, which occupied the same space years ago), has created a venue and menu styled after that of the Breton region in Northwest France, right down to the crêpes.
My mom Sallie and I started with Zach’s (the bartender) new creation of Hendrix gin and tonic with muddled cucumber and some fresh ground pepper—the perfect summer drink.
The meal was then prefaced with Schramsberg Blanc de Noir and four bites: sliced and salted baby radishes, a chickpea square topped with octopus, a half hard-boiled quail egg with golden char roe, and a rye-crusted fried oyster. Next came a summer squash consommé with fresh mozzarella and tomato confit.
The menu is set up into several-course meals. Everything is offered with wine pairings, which I highly recommend. Our first course was cold smoked toro and Osetra caviar with crème fraîche, spring onion and warm brioche. It was paired with premium sake—a refreshing change from strictly wine pairings.
Next came an heirloom tomato and peach terrine, with the tomatoes cut lengthwise into small squares, dressed with white balsamic and garnished with shiso. The peaches were cubed and incredibly sweet, while a whipped ricotta cream bridged the sweet and salty elements. It was paired with Morlet Family Vineyards’ La Proportion Doree, a white blend that was light and wonderfully rounded. The salad of braised, thick and meaty lobster mushrooms came with fresh corn, summer truffle and crispy sweetbread and was paired with a Pinot Blanc.
Monkfish, roasted and topped with its own broth, was served with fage yogurt, sweet crayfish and baby romaine. A hint of cucumber added some sass. It was paired with a Vare Vineyards Ribolla Gialla, a first-time planting of this toasty, smooth Italian white varietal in the Napa Valley.
Next we were poured two wines (a Hendry unoaked Chardonnay and a lush Altamura Sangiovese) to accompany lobster served in a buttery-tasting foam with shaved morels and sweetbread encased in a rich pasta shell.
The slow-cooked beef tenderloin was served rare with tender, sweet spring onions, thyme and truffle oil. It was paired with a spicy Melka “CJ” Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon. The Sonoma lamb was also served rare, with castelvetrano olive, almond and purslane purée. Full-flavored but not heavy, it was paired perfectly with a spicy, bright Jonata Cabernet Franc blend.
Dessert was a lemon sorbet with rice pudding and tart berries as well as a hot chocolate soufflé with a dark, espresso and apricot sauce, followed with a few square bites: cinnamon chocolate, marshmallow and coconut. Every dish created by chef Christopher Kostow, from the very first bites to the sweet ones at the finish, was as appealing to the eye as it was to the palate.
