Hey! We were on vacation last week in California. And, no, no, we didn’t go to The French Laundry (although, I am starting a campaign to do so on our 5th wedding anniversary) but we did go to Ad Hoc, one of Thomas Keller‘s other restaurants. Mmm!

Menu from April 29, 2010:

* TFL Garden Carrot & Butter Lettuce Salad – sugar snap peas, blonde frisee, crisp chickpeas, white cabbage, chive oil, diced jicama, ginger dressing

* Angus Beef New York Strip Steak – grilled scallions, fingerling potatoes, cilantro, fried hen egg, fresno chilies, sauteed baby rainbow chard

* Fresh Leaf-Wrapped Goat Cheese with assorted pickles and olives, maldon flatbread

* Banana Spring Rolls – valhrona chocolate sauce, coconut ice cream

Yeah, it was quite good. See the pictures below. Plus a few assorted images from wandering around Yountville, CA.

The menu and wine list comes in a folder.

Mmm, sourdough bread with big holes.

The first course.

The wine course.

Iconic cookbook cover and pig illustration.

The second course.

Supplemental beef marrow, toast & orange marmalade.

. . . → Read More: Dinner in Yountville (Napa Valley)

Flea Street Cafe
3607 Alameda de las Pulgas
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-854-1226

I have very fond memories of Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park. You see, I used to live in an apartment above the restaurant. I would walk up the backstairs and smell all the amazing smells from the open kitchen door. In the summer, there was even a mini-farmer’s market in the parking lot. As if that all wasn’t enough — my studio apartment also had hardwood floors. All in all, it was a pretty great place to live.

When jwa & I ate dinner there, if we didn’t finish our wine — no problem, they would let us take it upstairs. Awesome. (This happened once — I think when we had 2 bottles, it’s not like jwa and I can’t drink a bottle of wine with dinner. Oh — we can).

This last trip to California, we scheduled it so that we could spend a night in Menlo Park (this actually turned into two nights, as he wanted to go to the Maker Faire — another post, perhaps). As we were there for a couple of nights, we couldn’t stay in Menlo Park without having dinner . . . → Read More: The Best Restaurant to Live Above: Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park