A Thomas Keller Weekend

winetime

We had the opportunity to go up to Napa this weekend to celebrate my niece’s 8th grade graduation and my sister-in-law’s big 4-0! While my parents watched Cooper overnight, Casey and I were able to act like adults and have two amazing meals from two Thomas Keller restaurants in Yountville. We went to Bouchon on Saturday afternoon and Ad Hoc for Sunday brunch!  Everything was absolutely wonderful!

Wanna see what we ate?
Here’s our meal at Bouchon:

Their bread is fab!

at bouchon

Casey brought a 2005 Radio-Coteau Syrah Las Colinas for us to drink!

We started off with the Halibut Salad- a special! Served with toasty bread & an avocado cream with some chorizo slices.

halibut salad

I ordered mussels & fries, and Casey ordered something ducky with a corn hash! I love ordering mussels when we dine out.

i ordered mussels & fries

The fries were HEAVENLY. And the mussels had a nice smoky/saffron flavor, thanks to the chorizo.

casey had duck

We stopped off at Bouchon Bakery after walking off our lunch and got a Pistachio macaron.

treats!

I also had a choc chip cookie…which was the most buttery cookie ever (not pictured).

pistachio macaron

It was about 95 degrees in Yountville. The macaron was chilled from being inside. Which was much appreciated!

thick macaron

Here’s our Brunch at Ad Hoc. One of our favorite restaurants!!

adhoc lunch june 13th 2010

Casey brought a nice bottle of 2007 J Vineyards & Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast for us to drink!

j wines

Here’s the Ambrosia salad- our first course. There was a whipped meringue & coconut creme fraiche with the fruit!

I couldn’t get enough of the coconut creme fraiche!

ambrosia salad

Toad in a Hole- Duck Confit Hash. I requested fish, instead. I’m not a huge fan of duck 🙁

me and hubbs

They gave me salmon that was pan seared to perfection! Soo good. My neighbor kept eying my plate!

salmon & hash

Here’s Casey’s duck confit hash. They always serve the food family style. It’s prix fix and totally reasonable!

We like this. A LOT.

casey got the duck confit

Casey’s digging into his Duck Confit Hash. The egg is resting in a toasted brioche slice. Tasty.

husband eating

I had some amazing french press coffee to start our dessert course.

coffees

And for dessert, they served Strawberries & Cream!!

oh dear lord

Strawberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and fresh out of the oven shortbread cookies!

strawberries & cream

Three cookies each. Pretty good portions, huh? Totally refreshing & light.

We ate well….

A big thanks to my parents, for giving us a nice little foody adventure! xoxo

  • emily s

    yummy play by play! for some reason as soon as I saw the bread I had a crazy craving! lol

  • Ren

    jeez, and I thought I was styling with L & L BBQ & Curry for my meals this past weekend.

    No wonder Casey doesn’t have time for others as he’s spending it with his lovely wife. Glad the two of you were able to get away and enjoy some time together along with some awesome food!!!

    • Tracy

      Thanks Uncle Ren! It was my treat for having a whole week home alone with the babe…while Casey was on his work trip! Well deserved! Let’s get together soon!

  • Katrina

    Oh wow, these meals look scrumptious. I need to make it to Napa one of these days…

  • Helen

    Yummm!! we had brunch at the bouchon in vegas a few months ago and had the best pastries ever, that man is magic 🙂

  • Eileen

    Jeallllllous! Of both the food and your child-free time. Looks fantastic.

  • Karla

    Tracy, though the food looks yummy, I would not want to eat out of pots and pans. It looks so unappetizing, to use cutlery on the steel surface and eat out of a pan. Looks like T.K. signed a deal with All Clad. Is it supposed to be like “home cookin”, food so tasty you cant make it to the table, eat it standing up in the kitchen over the stove!

    • Tracy

      Karla- oh! Since it’s served family style, they give you the pots/pans and then additional plates. Because I ordered something different, there was an extra pan on the table–which meant less room to use plates. I didn’t mind eating out of a pan…because I had salmon that didn’t need to be cut! It would have bugged me using a knife up against the pan…as that totally irritates me when metal touches metal! The food was just soo pretty and the table looked cool with all the shiny shiny stuff that I didn’t mind! 🙂

    • ChefShane

      I can think of a couple of reasons:

      It’s novel. People will remember and talk about it.

      Breakfast cools fast. When you’re serving family style meals, by the time diners go for seconds, it’s cold. A stainless pan heated in a 200+ degree warmer will keep food hot longer, and warm for the duration of the meal.

  • Jessie -- The Messie Kitchen

    Wow this all looks incredible. I haven’t had food that pretty in ages! Looks like a great trip– glad you enjoyed it!!

    Jessie
    http://www.themessiekitchen.com

  • regan

    I hate you so hard right now.

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