Yesterday, thanks to our Napa operatives, we took an exclusive first look at Michael Chiarello's upcoming restaurant, shared its brand new name and marveled at the pretty arched brick doorways. Today, more details continue to come out regarding Bottega and the rest of the V Marketplace festivities. So, here are five amenities planned for Chiarello's Yountville endeavor that you may want to note:
1) 118 seats total, including a copper bar, private wine room, and room for 66 outside on the terrace. 2) Not one but two fireplaces on the aforementioned 66-seat terrace. 3) Inside: three separate dining areas, open kitchen, exposed wood-burning oven. 4) Also: five communal tables. 5) "Collected antiques, eclectic fixtures and textured fabrics" will be make for the "old world" interior design.
We've been hearing that Michael Chiarello has been on the premises quite a bit for his two new Yountville projects as they near so here's an update from the Chiarello front. Up first, his NapaStyle store is slated to open by this coming holiday weekend (we heard July 2nd), though it looks like they'll need a big push in the next few days. However, the juicier news—and delectable plywood shots—involve Chiarello's previously-unnamed restaurant, which as the new sign indicates, now bears the name of Bottega Ristorante. October is the due date, and as you can see from the pics above, the space is a good one, albeit very raw: original brick, old beams, and even some monastery-like arches. What's not to like?
· Napa Dispatch: Work Begins at Chiarello's NapaStyle [~ESF~]
· BREAKING: Michael Chiarello Opening Yountville Resto [~ESF~]
All the day's news and notes go in EaterWire. Feel free to drop your tidbits in the tipjar.
YOUNTVILLE—Once again, Bouchon will be the place to be on Bastille Day up in Kellerville. Come Monday, July 14th, Bouchon will put on a six-hour party (3pm-9pm) that will be open to the public. The expected live music, wine, dancing, and French bistro fare will be front and center throughout the evening, and because The Great Keller is always a man for the people, the first half of the celebration will even feature child-friendly activities like face-painting, drawing and sous vide for kids apple-bobbing. It's a three-day weekend in the making. [EaterWire]
LOWER HAIGHT—Starting at 6pm tonight, Toronado will begin pouring some special beers that are rare, new and Belgian: "There are going to be some very interesting beers. It's doubtful you'll see some of these elsewhere. One was selected at the brewery by David [Keene]. They start pouring at 6 p.m. No admission, of course, just pay for your beer." Full list of special beers here. [What's On Tap]
Perhaps the most titillating developments in this Bocuse d'Or business is Thomas Keller's announcement that he is going to construct a "training center" adjacent to the French Laundry, and in an email to his pal Michael Ruhlman, Keller explains the idea further: "To that end I have the opportunity to remodel my father's house into a R&D center for The French Laundry—think El Bulli. Enodis, a global food service giant, has agreed to contribute all equipment and funds to do it. That makes it a win-win situation. The French Laundry gets its R&D kitchen and Team USA gets a place to practice." [Ruhlman, previously]
You may remember that Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud have made it their personal missions to ensure the U.S. makes a legitimate showing in next year's Bocuse d'Or, the restaurant industry world's equivalent to the Olympics. They assembled a crack advisory board and put a call out to all well-regarded chefs at the end of May. Now we find out just how serious they are: the team of two chefs that wins the elimination contest this September will train for three months in a special facility built adjacent to the French Laundry. They will get free housing, access to the French Laundry and its farm, $15,000, special coaching, and a paid three month sabbatical from their jobs. Yes, competing chefs will have to take time off from their restaurants, a small sacrifice when one is seeking personal glory and defending the reputation of America. Suffice to say this competition is serious business and Keller and Boulud want to make sure that's driven home for your top level sous chefs and chef de cuisines. Applications are due on June 30. Read on for more details about the elimination contest and the three months of training. Don't forget to breathe:
Before one, great man rode into town on his white horse, things weren't always so idyllic in Yountville, and Bloomberg takes a long look at just how much the place has changed from a "raucous, drunken town" to Kellerville, home to the most Michelin stars per capita in the US: "The change began when one chef, Thomas Keller, bought a restaurant called the French Laundry and raised its standards and prices before he began serving in 1994 ... 'People who've been in Napa for a long time say they weren't allowed to go to Yountville when they were young,' said Mike Silvas of Morgan Lane Inc., a residential brokerage. 'It was where the unsavory types hung out. It was pretty run-down and crummy.'" [Bloomberg]
It's the first weekend of May, and with both the Oxbow farm stands and Napa Farmers Market open, many will be heading up to Wine Country, but travelers should be advised that Bouchon is still closed. Originally, Thomas Keller's Yountville bistro was supposed to reopen on May Day yesterday, but as of today, the return has since been pushed back to next Wednesday, May 7th due to a variety of reasons. The main component of the remodel is the kitchen expansion, and peering in, our Yountville correspondent describes an "impressive walk-in refrig and freezer" located between the bakery and restaurant's outdoor area. Did you expect anything less than impressive from Keller?
· EaterWire: Bouchon on Hiatus [~ESF~]
· Keller Dispatch: Portable Toilets and Al Fresco Dining Come Together at Bouchon [~ESF~]
· Keller Dispatch: Behind the Bouchon Expansion [~ESF~]
Because the restaurant scene to the north does indeed go beyond one Thomas Keller (sometimes), we're going to check in up there every once in a while to bring the latest happenings in the ever-evolving Wine Country. Your sightings from both San Francisco and Napa are always welcome at sf@eater.com.
The Michael Chiarello era has officially begun in Yountville, with work underway at his pair of projects in the V Marketplace: Chiarello's "signature" restaurant and the fifth and flagship location of his NapaStyle chain of stores. The NapaStyle store, going into the old V Wine Cellar space, is slated to open sometime during the summer, but the restaurant (above, left) remains unnamed and won't arrive until the fall. And call us crazy, but we're getting the feeling that when it opens, Chiarello's joint might be better received than fellow Food Network personality/newly-minted restaurateur, Tyler Florence's. Anyone want to start the speculation?
· BREAKING: Michael Chiarello Opening Yountville Resto [~ESF~]
· More on Michael Chiarello's Yountville Endeavor [~ESF~]
"Our bottle of red wine came. She gave us stem-less glasses — tumblers — for it. (In the Napa Valley?) She poured a sip for me to taste. Then she plunked down the bottle without pouring any more." —Frank Bruni, 3/17/08
"Stemmed glassware has been replaced by crystal tumblers, yet the meal cries out for more refined wine-glasses." —Michael Bauer, 11/26/06
Critics near and far may have been irked by Thomas Keller's decision to go super-casual at Ad Hoc and serve wine out of tumblers, but a little known fact has recently come to our attention: you can get stemware at Ad Hoc if you play your cards right. Straight from Yountville, the Land of Keller:
What is this? Stemware at ad hoc. Who knew. We were told that they have about 20 stem wine glasses. I love that the staff knows the count, so if someone requests them for their wine they can just say, "Ooh, I'm sorry we just gave out number 19 and 20." Our wine was about $125 so we were ready to drink it out of a tumbler. By the way, he poured me a taste and walked away and let us pour ourselves. At least some things haven't changed.
PS $48 dollars for a bucket of chicken, I just don't get it?
COW HOLLOW—Thrillist has lots of deets on La Vinoteca—including a menu and some personnel info—but may have received a taste of the Joys of Luisa today when the Union Street wine bar did, in fact, not open today. According to Ms. Hanson, La Vinoteca will be open "by Thursday, for sure." Mark your calendars. [EaterWire]
SAUSALITO—Just over that bridge thingy, Sausalito three-star Poggio will hold an "Allo Spiedo Festa" from April 29 to May 3. The special five nights of special dinners—hoped to be an annual event—will showcase the traditional Italian style of roasting meats on a spit over a live fire. The meats are served tableside from a special authentic cart and everything. More info on the official site. [EaterWire Inbox]
YOUNTVILLE—Somewhat disappointing news for fans of Ad Hoc's fried chicken (read: everyone): it seems that ex-SJ Merc food gal Carolyn Jung's revelations about Keller fried chicken being available twice a week were not entirely accurate, as a call to Ad Hoc reveals that the fabled chicken is only on the menu every other Monday and every other Wednesday. So, once a week total, for the time being, unless there's something secret astir in Kellerville. [EaterWire]
Having been praised by everyone from Frank Bruni to Yelpers as pretty much the best thing ever, the fried chicken at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc is the stuff of legends, and now, it's not only confined to alternate Mondays: "Since Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc opened a year and a half ago, the storied fried chicken has been a hands-down favorite. After all, who can resist chicken brined for 10 hours in honey, salt and lemon, then dipped in buttermilk, flour, and cornmeal, before being fried crisp and golden? The fried chicken used to be available only every other Monday night at the casual restaurant, where there is only one set menu each day and everything is served family-style. Now, due to overwhelming demand, Ad Hoc has declared every Monday and every Wednesday to be fried chicken nights ... the restaurant decided to yank fried chicken from the brunch menu for good." Ed. note: UPDATE [FoodGal]
Remember back a few weeks ago, when our Napa correspondent shed light on "some highly dubious port-o-potty placement" at Bouchon? If you'll recall, several commenters went on record to say that despite the seemingly-questionable, remodel-induced toilet situation at Thomas Keller's bistro (more on the renovations here), the temporary toilets there are nothing short of Keller quality. Exact quote: "the French Laundry of porto-potties!" Now we have word that not everyone thinks "an outhouse" to be an appropriate toilet for a restaurant of Bouchon's caliber, and well, some people are just getting plain pissy with His Highness:
Frank Bruni, in a sort of "DVD extras" feature to his best new restaurants nationwide extravaganza, takes a long look at the most controversial exclusion from his top ten list: His Highness Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc. Like Mr. Frankie's Ad Hoc experience itself, his lengthy blog review features an enormous disparity between highs and lows, many of which we can't help but wonder how/if they will affect Keller's upcoming burger project, particularly the complaint(s) about overwrought informality. Anyway, to the carnage ... and the glory:
Bad News: Bruni Doesn't Like Shticks: "Ad Hoc is where the chef Thomas Keller stages an experience infinitely more casual than he does up the road, at the French Laundry. I emphasize the word 'stages' because part of what doesn't quite work about the restaurant is the transparently studied — and thus sort of shtick-y — nature of its informality. It's too aggressively, self-consciously, cutely informal."
Now, we're of the mindset that at this point, Thomas Keller, in his relentless quest to achieve god status, can (and might) charge whatever he damn well pleases, particularly at the French Laundry. But the Yountville locals aren't taking too kindly to the rising prices at the under-renovationBouchon, the accessible bistro where main plates once fell in the $15-25 range. From our trusty Napa correspondent: "Now I know how they are paying for the remodel. $40 for an entree at Bouchon in Yountville. This is not Manhattan, SF or the French Laundry!"
· Keller Dispatch: Behind the Bouchon Expansion [~ESF~]
This is First Word, wherein Eater and/or its correspondents sit for hours at steamy community board meetings to bring back the first word of new establishments and the like. Today, a very special recap of last week's Yountville city council meeting.
A pair of big ticket items were on the Yountville Town Council agenda last week: Thomas Keller's new restaurant and Michael Chiarello's resto/retail project. Keller's Burgers and Half-Bottles concept was approved by a three to one margin, leading us to wonder who exactly votes against Food Jesus. The conditions and details are as follows: 19 counter seats, take-out service, 1335 square feet and a shared kitchen with Ad Hoc, though there will be two separate entrances for the restaurants. According to our man on the scene, Keller isn't exactly thrilled about the small size of the space, but there weren't any other options in the area. In any event, Thomas Keller take-out service is officially en route.
A celebrity chef is treading on Thomas Keller territory, as Eater has learned that Michael Chiarello will be opening a new restaurant in Yountville, almost next door to Bouchon (and its little bakery, too!). The new Chiarello restaurant will be housed within the complex now know as the V Marketplace—once known as Vintage 1870—in the current space occupied by V Wine Cellars, which will be moving to a new space in the front of the marketplace. Details are still trickling in, but if we had to wager a wacky guess, we'd suppose that the cuisine will be classic Chiarello Californian.
Since founding Tra Vigne in the '80s, Chiarello has become one of the better known celebrity chefs in the country, with his two television shows (Easy Entertaining on Food Network, NapaStyle on Fine Living) and his Napastyle cookware store in Berkeley. He lives on his St. Helena vineyard with his family, a short drive up Highway 29 from Yountville, so it seems logical that he'll be fairly involved in the day-to-day at his new restaurant. Story developing...
After the madness of the holiday season, many restaurants often take a break, recharge the batteries and maybe undertake a renovation or two. On that note, here are some updates from a trio of restaurants readying for 2008.
1) Everyone's favorite Mission Michelin, Range, will return on Thursday, January 10th. The entire storefront is decked out in brown paper, which suggests that some remodeling just might be in the works. For those of you chomping on the bit, the January menu has been posted, complete with a bread pudding sighting.
2) Down on Fourth Street—right next to Elizabeth Falkner's Orson, actually—the Glas Kat Supper Club is putting the finishing touches on a facelift that included a new paint job, new lighting and other miscellaneous fixings. It will reopen today, and its website would like you to know that the Glas Kat is perfect for receptions of 80-800 persons.
3) File this in the "if you have to ask ..." category if you must, but the French Laundry is in the midst of its annual January vacation. Food Jesus will resume dinner service at his flagship on Friday, January 18th, and perhaps even more importantly, the reservation line is also closed during this time period, reopening the morning of the 18th.
Hot off the Thomas Keller beat in Yountville, here we have the latest developments from the renovation project underway at Bouchon. As mentioned earlier around these parts, Keller has been long rumored to have a plan to remodel the area between Bouchon and the Bouchon Bakery; the space that was once the outdoor seating area for the bakery is now the scene of the Bouchon kitchen's expansion. Quoth our man on the scene, "I believe they are adding walk-in refrig and freezer and redoing the bathrooms. This will give them more workspace in the kitchen." Bouchon is still open but will reportedly close for a week sometime in the next month or so to complete the expansion. More photos follow:
YOUNTVILLE—Earlier today, we shared some early rumors regarding the arrival of Thomas Keller's burger project as an addendum to Ad Hoc. You'll recall that Ad Hoc was initially meant to be a temporary, six-month placeholder for the bigger "burgers and half bottles" project, but of course, overwhelming popularity has since made Ad Hoc permanent. Now, we have more details from Kellerville on the burger project's specs. From our special correspondent:
The parking lot at Ad Hoc is a u shape. On the left side of the restaurant there are four parking spaces that jut "into" the building (this is the area between Ad Hoc and Redd). The restaurant will be expanded out into these parking spaces so the two restaurants (Ad Hoc and the new one) will occupy the same building. There will be outdoor dining and take away at the new place, as well as indoor seating. There are plans for 19 additional seats added to the 77 already at Ad Hoc. An increase of about 1,335 sq ft.
Keller's people have confirmed that Burgers and Half Bottles—or whatever its name will be—is indeed back in the works, and summer 2008 is the aim. More Keller News Follows: Bouchon Expanding! >>
Hot off the tipline, we have some juicy churning of the Yountville rumor mill, as it appears that Thomas Keller is making significant headway in his long-awaited burger project: "Finally opening his burger and half bottles restaurant. Will be a part of Ad Hoc. Is doing very well with the planning commission and design phase, just working on some small issues." [Eater Inbox]
Earlier this month, Thomas Keller and company made waves in coffee circles by introducing the most expensive coffee in the world to the French Laundry. The magic coffee, called the Panama Esmeralda Geisha, is apparently grown by three lone plants somewhere in the Central American mountains and sold at auction for $130 a pound. And the only place in the world to find it is at the conclusion of VIP dinners at the French Laundry and Per Se. Initial reactions to the coffee splurge were predictably glorious, but now some coffee-philes think it's all a cover-up ploy by Keller:
Problem is that the coffee service at The French Laundry is well, uh, severely lacking compared to the otherwise lofty dining expectations and l'addition. (For example, their espresso scored lower than the Starbucks at SFO.) So rather than get educated, train staff, and elevate the craft (if not also chuck their superautomatic Schaerer espresso machine for something less suited for an assembly line), they take the lazy short cut of espousing the merits of "the most expensive coffee in the world" on their menus.
A pair of EaterWire items from the weekend that was ...
WINE COUNTRY—In honor of its first anniversary, Thomas Keller's casual gem Ad Hoc will now be open for dinner seven nights a week. Originally slated to be a temporary restaurant, Ad Hoc's runaway popularity has made it a Yountville mainstay. Dinner will now be served from 5pm to 9pm Monday through Saturday, and from 3pm to 8pm for Sunday supper. [Napa Valley Register]
Yesterday, thanks to our Napa operatives, we took an exclusive first look at Michael Chiarello's upcoming restaurant, shared its brand new name and marveled at the pretty arched brick doorways. Today, more details continue to come out regarding Bottega and the rest of the V Marketplace festivities. So, here are five amenities planned for Chiarello's Yountville endeavor that you may want to note:
YOUNTVILLE—Once again, Bouchon will be the place to be on Bastille Day up in Kellerville. Come Monday, July 14th, Bouchon will put on a six-hour party (3pm-9pm) that will be open to the public. The expected live music, wine, dancing, and French bistro fare will be front and center throughout the evening, and because The Great Keller is always a man for the people, the first half of the celebration will even feature child-friendly activities like face-painting, drawing and 
You may remember that Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud have made it their personal missions to ensure the U.S. makes a legitimate showing in next year's Bocuse d'Or, the restaurant industry world's equivalent to the Olympics. They assembled a crack 
"Our bottle of red wine came. She gave us stem-less glasses — tumblers — for it. (In the Napa Valley?) She poured a sip for me to taste. Then she plunked down the bottle without pouring any more." —
COW HOLLOW—
A pair of big ticket items were on the Yountville Town Council agenda last week: Thomas Keller's 
A celebrity chef is treading on Thomas Keller territory, as Eater has learned that Michael Chiarello will be opening a new restaurant in Yountville, almost next door to Bouchon (and its little bakery, too!). The new Chiarello restaurant will be housed within the complex now know as the V Marketplace—once known as Vintage 1870—in the current space occupied by V Wine Cellars, which will be moving to a new space in the front of the marketplace. Details are still trickling in, but if we had to wager a wacky guess, we'd suppose that the cuisine will be classic Chiarello Californian. 
Earlier this month, Thomas Keller and company made waves in coffee circles by introducing the most expensive coffee in the world to the French Laundry. The magic coffee, called the Panama Esmeralda Geisha, is apparently grown by three lone plants somewhere in the Central American mountains and sold at auction for $130 a pound. And the only place in the world to find it is at the conclusion of VIP dinners at the French Laundry and Per Se. 
