Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, CA

Since I've yet to stumble upon bad food on my semi-annual pilgrimage to the Napa/Sonoma area of California, prepare yourself for another onslaught of high praise, superlative adjectives and drool-inducing photos of the cuisine UD and I sampled at the exquisite Bistro Jeanty.

For starters, look how cute it is!  Loved the Parisian vibe it threw off, both inside and out.

Service was immaculate perfection.  Our man of the hour was charming, knowledgeable and warm, which is pretty much the standard in wine country.  He started us off with a complimentary basket of the best warm and crusty French bread I've ever put in my mouth while we perused the menu.  I usually don't like to fill up on pre-entree carbs, but must admit that I polished it off almost single-handedly before our first courses arrived.

Wanting to savor a variety of items, UD and I opted to share a selection of small plates.  While some diners my cringe at the very idea of $12.50 bowl of soup, the creamy tomato soup topped with a Jiffy Pop-esque dome of puff pastry was worth every penny and almost catapulted us into sensory overload.  This luxurious trough of goodness was a silken study in tangy decadence and more than enough for two to share.

Since my beloved can never resist an opportunity to wrap his Neanderpaws around a femur filled with caramelized "meat butter" and fall upon it like a primal caveman, ordering the stellar Roasted Bone Marrow "Bordelaise" was a foregone conclusion.  

And, since a day without foie gras is like a day without sunshine, I zeroed right in on the Foie Gras Tourchon (spreadable disks of earthy, umami goodness presented with toast points and locally made apricot preserves for balance). Unforgettable.

The hub's Quenelles de Brochet (tender little pike dumplings with lobster sauce) tasted ocean fresh and practically melted on the tongue. 

Then, the most redonkulous dessert ever known to man showed up...Tarte au Citron.  The best way this epicurean redneck can think of to describe it is as a highly escalated version of those Jello 1-2-3 desserts from the '70s.  Intensely flavored layers of citrus custard and meringue were piled atop one of the most fabulous pastry crusts I've ever encountered to create an intoxicating, one-of-a-kind sweet finish.

Good times. California is a food lover's paradise...believe the hype.

www.bistrojeanty.com



My blog entries contain the unmitigated, and sometimes unforgiving, dining truths and perceptions I experience as an ordinary restaurant patron. Every meal I post about has been fully paid for by one of the participating members of my personal dining party. I do not engage in the gratis blogger freebie dining events I'm constantly invited to attend and never will. If I ooze font-like love for a restaurant in my blog, it's because they totally earned it…not because they gave me free food or knew I was going to share the experience on the internet.