Category Archives: Thomas Keller/French Laundry/Et Al

A Visit to Rutherford’s Sequoia Grove Winery

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The namesake trees at Sequoia Grove Winery.
The namesake trees at Sequoia Grove Winery.

On a recent drive to the Napa Valley, I saw something I don’t remember ever seeing before: empty lands once blanketed in vineyards that had been recently plowed over.

With U.S. wine sales falling every year since the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020, it’s understandable why that may become an increasingly more common sight, unfortunately.

So, when I was invited in as a guest at Sequoia Grove Winery in Rutherford, I was heartened to find so many visitors — on a weekday no less — who were there enjoying tastings and purchasing bottles of wine to tote home.

Yes, they were more middle-aged, not the twenty-somethings that wine producers have been hoping to lure who have been increasingly shunning wine and even other alcoholic beverages.

Yet, this was a happy bunch, lounging at patio tables underneath a canopy outfitted with fans, so that even on an exceptionally warm day, as when I visited, it felt comfortable.

Winemaker Jesse Fox who followed an intriguing path to winemaking.
Winemaker Jesse Fox who followed an intriguing path to winemaking.
Large format bottles.
Large format bottles.

Then again, it’s hard not to have a lovely time at this winery, which gets its name from the soaring sequoias on the property that are more than a century old.

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The Arc of Michelin-Starred Press

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The fantastic pretzel with caviar at Press.
The fantastic pretzel with caviar at Press.

Six years ago, when Philip Tessier was hired as executive chef-partner at Press in St. Helena, his mission was to rework the then-15-year-old restaurant that had grown into a high-end steakhouse with a fabulously deep, award-winning wine cellar.

After all, whom better to accomplish that then the first American chef to ascend the podium at the internationally renowned Bocuse d’Or, winning silver, and before that made his mark rising through the ranks at Michelin three-starred Le Bernardin in New York and The French Laundry in Yountville?

That impressive wine cellar is still there, offering the largest collection of Napa Valley wines in the world. But now, so is a Michelin star, which the restaurant received in 2022 and has held ever since.

Last winter, Press took yet another step in its transformation — completely overhauling its kitchen. Most everything now is custom. There is an Argentinian-style grill, as well as a bespoke Bonnet suite from France.

At the entrance.
At the entrance.
Michelin-starred since 2002.
Michelin-starred since 2002.
The brand-new kitchen.
The brand-new kitchen.

With the gleaming new kitchen in place, Press rolled out a new four-course prix-fixe ($150 per person; $275 with wine pairing included; or $450 with reserve pairing included) to go along with its seven-course chef’s tasting menu ($195 per person; $350 with wine pairing included, and $695 with reserve pairing included). The cuisine is now more expansive and contemporary, rooted in new American fare through a Napa Valley lens.

Last week, I dined there in the soaring, white-washed barn-like restaurant with soaring ceilings, and opted for the seven-course menu. Even mid-week, the dining room was filled with elegantly dressed patrons.

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Gourmet Getaway to the Mendocino Region, Part IV: The Boonville Hotel and Offspring Restaurant

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Sun Gold tomato Margherita pizza at Offspring.
Sun Gold tomato Margherita pizza at Offspring.

Offspring is a fitting name for Chef Perry Hoffman’s second restaurant, an inviting pizza and pasta joint in teeny Boonville in the Anderson Valley.

After all, it was the success of the Boonville Hotel and Restaurant across the street, where he’s also chef, that gave birth to it.

Yet it’s also a name that applies profoundly to him, too, as this descendant of veritable culinary royalty knows a thing or two about the creating a lasting legacy.

Chef Perry Hoffman.
Chef Perry Hoffman.

His grandparents were famously, Don and Sally Schmitt, who bought an old stone building in sleepy Yountville in 1978, the French Laundry. They worked hard to turn it into a true destination, a process Hoffman witnessed from the time he was 5 years old when he’d roast peppers and cut baguettes to help out at the restaurant. It was the tender start to his own storied career that culminated in becoming the youngest chef in the United States to receive a Michelin star when he was 25 at the helm of Domaine Chandon’s Etoile restaurant in Yountville in 2009.

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A Visit to Thomas Keller’s Burgers & Half Bottles

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Lunch is served at Burgers & Half Bottles.
Lunch is served at Burgers & Half Bottles.

Two and a half weeks after opening, Thomas Keller’s Burgers & Half Bottles continues to draw lines of hungry and curious diners to his playful pop-up.

So much so that last Thursday, when my husband and I showed up at the opening time of noon to queue up behind about two dozen people, there were already plenty of diners eating burgers on the front patio. Turns out that the line that morning was already growing so rapidly, that the restaurant decided to open a little early, the manager told me.

Such is the allure when a legendary Michelin three-starred chef decides to build a concept around one of his favorite foods, the In-N-Out burger. When his Mexican restaurant Calenda closed in December 2024, it provided the perfect space for him to realize it, too.

Located in the building that was formerly home to Calenda.
Located in the building that was formerly home to Calenda.
The brew bus with beer taps.
The brew bus with beer taps.

On a torrid morning when it was already close to 90 degrees, a server passed out cups of ice water to those in line. This is a Keller restaurant, after all.

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The Napa Valley’s Newest Patisserie Is A Stunner

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The beautiful pastries at Under-study.
The beautiful pastries at Under-study.

As if the Napa Valley didn’t already boast an overabundance of fine eats, along comes the new Under-study patisserie and cafe, which opened with a splash in St. Helena at the end of May in the former Dean & DeLuca building.

It’s from the team behind Michelin-starred Press restaurant just a few yards away, which includes its Chef-Partner Philip Tessier, former executive sous chef at The French Laundry and the first American chef to ascend to the podium of the prestigious international Bocuse d’Or Competition; and acclaimed Executive Pastry Chef Frank Vollkommer, a former pastry instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. So, you know this isn’t your run-of-the-mill bakery, but one with some of the most exquisite pastries around.

Executive Chef-Partner Philip Tessier (left) and Executive Pastry Chef Frank Vollkommer (right).
Executive Chef-Partner Philip Tessier (left) and Executive Pastry Chef Frank Vollkommer (right).

I finally had an opportunity to visit a few weeks ago, when I was traveling through the valley. Under-study is right off St. Helena Highway, though, it’s not easily spotted from the road. When you see Press, you know you’ve landed in the right place. To the restaurant’s left is the new MAC, the Napa Valley Museum of Art & Culture, with its very thoughtful and creative Julia Child exhibit that shouldn’t be missed. Head around the left-hand side of the MAC, and you’ll find the entrance to Under-study.

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