The Restaurant at Meadowood (R@M) is the other 3 Michelin starred restaurant in Napa. The other being French Laundry of course.
It’s a bit of a drive from the City (i.e., 1.5 hours) but I didn’t let the drive deter me from dining here. Here are the accolades: Restaurant At Meadowood.
- 3 Michelin stars since 2011
- #84 on the 2017 World’s 50 Best
- #67 on the 2016 World’s 50 Best
- #72 on the 2015 World’s 50 Best
- #80 on the 2014 World’s 50 Best
Christopher Kostow worked out of a number of famous kitchens. He has appeared on a couple of shows. In addition, he’s one of the few top rated Chefs who has a female CDC (i.e, Chef De Cuisine) and his CDC, Katianna Hong, is the first female CDC in America. It definitely made me want to dine at Meadowood even more and I decided to go with the Chef’s counter experience. Restaurant At Meadowood.
Now, the restaurant is very elegant and sophisticated. It’s epitome of Napa Valley where a jacket is suggested but actually required. The kitchen is fairly large with multiple stations with cooks at every station pumping out dishes. The Chef’s Counter experience is well worth it and a total different experience than the main dining room. The attention and service were superb and the background music included Bob Marley and Sublime. It totally makes me wonder if the kitchen crew frequent Humboldt County. Chef Kostow comes by multiple times to explain his dishes with his sarcastic sense of humor and Tony Starks looks. Restaurant At Meadowood.
Now, the food. R@M is a seafood based menu and the Chef’s Counter menu had 22 different dishes. Everything was good to great. It was a farm-to-table dishes as many of their ingredients came from their own garden.
- Eel Smoked Over Cabernet Staves Beef Tongue Saba – This was hands down my favorite dish on the menu. It’s smoked eel wrapped in beef tongue then wrapped in nori. The first bite consisted of the crisp nori then as you chew the soft cooked eel became apparent and then the rich tenderness of the beef tongue. Restaurant At Meadowood.
Eel Smoked Over Cabernet Staves Beef Tongue Saba - Last Year’s Corn Foie Gras – The Foie Gras was thinly sliced. The couple next to me ask how he cut it so thin and Chef Kostow replied “with a knife.” Hence, his sarcastic sense of humor. He said they freeze the Foie Gras then thinly slice it. It’s just like how beef is easier to cut when it’s frozen. The Foie Gras was tasty and the corn purée was awesome. It just evaporated in your mouth. Restaurant At Meadowood.
Last Year’s Corn Foie Gras - Smoked Salmon Buckwheat – The smoked salmon had a skin of buckwheat on top of it. The salmon had a right amount of smokiness to it. The smoke flavor wasn’t overpowering that it took away from the flavor of the salmon. It was pleasantly a clean flavor and didn’t taste like sitting in a room where the house was burning down. Restaurant At Meadowood.
Smoked Salmon Buckwheat
Overall, R@M is definitely a great dining experience for one of the best restaurants in the United States. The Chef’s Counter was well worth it. It’s one of my favorite kitchen dining experience to date. The hustle and bustle of the kitchen keeps you entertained between the dishes. In addition, it was pretty cool to watch them track the time between each dish for everyone in the restaurant. It was like watching a symphony conductor take command of an orchestra. Restaurant At Meadowood.
Need places to eat and other things to do? Check out our San Francisco write ups here.
- Service - 9/109/10
- Presentation - 8/108/10
- Flavors - 7/107/10
- Decor - 7.5/107.5/10
- Ambiance - 8.5/108.5/10
Summary
The Restaurant at Meadowood (R@M) is the other 3 Michelin starred restaurant in Napa. The other being French Laundry of course. Chef Kostow is one of the few top rated Chefs who has a female CDC (i.e, Chef De Cuisine) and his CDC, Katianna Hong, is the first female CDC in America. R@M is definitely a great dining experience for one of the best restaurants in the United States.
