A 10 star trip to the Bay Area

I was told I had abandoned some of my food posting in the actual blog and it holds some truth. I posted a lot of stories on Insta and forgot to do the big posts here, so this is me catching up. First up is my 40th bday trip weekend to The Bay Area and Napa to celebrate. I am calling it a 10 star trip, because we did 3 Michelin stars in 3 days. The 10 were 3 for Atelier Crenn, 3 for French Laundry, 3 of Single Thread an 1 star of Angler, and here is some pictorial journaling of the event:

Atelier Crenn : I really enjoyed this menu, it was fresh and inventive and very veggie forward which I loved. There was a lot of food but we never felt heavy. The dining room is also beautiful And i love that they take you to the bar room for dessert. Here was our menu:

Kir Breton
Geoduck, Sea Urchin and Stone Fruit
Oysters & Rose
Grilled Oyster

Spot Prawn Seaweed & Whey
Shiso Tempura

Beets And Leche de Tigre
White Asparagus and Perigold Truffle
Onion & White Pearl

Abalone, Cabbage and SMoked Mussel
Black Cod, Vin Jaune & Farm VEgetables
Boho Belle and Salad

Yellow Melon & gin, Apricot Wafer, Sake lees Kakigori , Almond, Mignardises

French Laundry: Second up in the experience was French Laundry and it filled all my expectations. There are some similarities to perse, especially in the amuses, but in general a different experience, stil lat the same high level. We did the private dining room and it couldnn’t be prettier, here are some pictures of the sertting and the behind the scenes tour before we get to the good stuff, the food! :

For the main event here was what we ate:

The amuses:

Oysters and Pearls: Sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and ova caviar

COMPRESSED SUMMER MELONS: castelvetrano Olives, Puffed Black Rice and Tomato Water Gazpacho

HAWAIIAN BIGEYE TUNA TARTAR Puffed Sorghum, garden cilantro and Pineapple Yuzu Chiffon

SWEET BUTTER POACHED NOVA SCOTIA LOBSTER: La Ratte Potato Puree, Nantes Carrots, Pommes Maxim and sweet carrot emulsion

APPLEWOOD SMOKED WOLFE RANCH WHITE QUAIL: roasted poland Chanterelle mushrooms, Young turnips, Wild Purslane and Creme de Champignons

CHARCOAL GRILLED JAPANESE WAGYU : Braised Brisket stuffed morel mushrooms, Arrowleaf spinach pain perdu, creamed spinach puree and sauce perigourdine
GOUGERE andante dairt etude and black winter truffle fondue

SILVERADO TRAIL STRAWBERRIES almond pain de genes, honey citrus puree and vanilla buttercream
GOUGERE andante dairy etude and black winter truffle fondue
YOUND COCONUT ICECREAN golden pineapple compote and lime salt
GATEAU MARJOLAINE Hazelnut Daquoise, chocolate Ganache and Praline Buttercream

Single Thread This was where I spent my actual birthday. The hotel in the restaurant is incredible, highly recommend taking a night when you go (pro tip, if you stay in the hotel you are guaranteed a reservation 😉 )

This was the beautiful setting when you came in:

Our menu:

CALIFORNIA CAVIAR
USUZUKURI MADAI
NODOGURU
IBUSHI-GIN SMOKED SALMON
SUNGOLD TOMATO
DUCKAIR DUCK
SHORT RIB
SONOMA PLUMS
WAGASHI

And some of the beautiful pictures of said menu:

And here are some pictures of the restaurant and the hotel, including the beautiful rooftop breakfast:

The last star (Which actually was the first one we went to) is Angler which is a lovely coal oven based meal. Highly recommend

We did do Other this apart from eating at Michelin starred restaurants, so here are some highlights of other great experiences:

The food pairing lunch at stag’s Leap was excellent

We also have a beautiful outdoor Tasting at Heitz Cellar

Harlan is a beatiful place, apart from it obviously being a beautiful wine and we even got a little preview of their new museum

Ad Hoc is always a good idea for dinner in Napa, and especially because we were staying in Yountville. (mega bonus points that the meal of the day was friend chicken and they did mine gluten free)