Stellar

This is one of many adjectives I could think of as I experienced the genius of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant in Napa this past weekend. Thanks to our genuine foodie friends who are incredibly attuned to the challenges of securing reservations at exclusive restaurants, my husband and I were able to experience our first food adventure in the Thomas Keller world.

Ad Hoc changes its menu every day, and what is on the menu is what you get. We waited with anticipation until their website revealed our future dinner that morning at about 10:05am (not that we were paying that much attention :). Honestly, I could have gone home after the salad. The combination of pickled chard, gorgeous butter lettuce, a buttermilk dressing to die for, and a whimsical garlic chip was a salad lover’s dream come true. This was followed by a spectacular main dish. I’m still dreaming about the roasted vegetables which were truly like nothing I’ve tasted before. I used to think my roasted vegetables were pretty good, but now they have been demoted to only mildly-acceptable.

The cheese course was an unexpected pleasure. The combination of the cheese and shortbread - which was more like a scone - with the tart blood orange marmalade was sublime. Finally, the dessert of a meyer lemon bar with bruleed meringue was simply divine and was the perfect ending to a unforgettable meal.

Amazing food and great company. You can’t beat it.