Yountville | The Blue Page Special

Ad Hoc began as a temporary restaurant. More than seven years later it remains a dining hot spot in an area rich with popular dinner options. It was created by Thomas Keller, the man behind Bouchon and the French Laundry. Besides the Keller lineage and exceptional food, Ad Hoc has little in common with those restaurants. The menu changes daily, meals are served family style and the eatery is only open five nights a week. Although accommodations are made for dietary needs, the four-course prix fixe menu means few decisions are necessary. A few add-ons are available. The meal started with Iceberg Wedge Salad saved from ordinariness by the inclusion of lardon. The entrée was far more memorable: Grilled Hanger Steak with brown mushroom sauce, haricot verte, eggplant and butternut squash over Carolina Gold Rice. The latter is worth distinguishing: an aromatic long grain from South Carolina. The vegetables are from the tfl garden – The French Laundry garden. The meat. Ah, the meat was so flavorful just thinking of it would keep me from ever considering vegetarianism. A cheese plate with Cowgirl’s Creamery buttery Mt. Tam, toasted nuts and Marshall Farm honey was a nice segue from entrée to dessert. I’m typically not a fan of bread pudding, but this Caramel Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream and fresh blueberry sauce made me want to move to Yountville so I could come back for more. Since there’s no way to know what the menu is from one night to another, I’d just have to keep returning until it reappeared. Darn! Ad Hoc
Five Plates
6476 Washington St.
Yountville, Calif.