Day 3 in California-part 2

second amuse buche in "Meadowood"

salad with shaved ice vinegrette

looked like a flower arrangement,

the shaved ice vinegrette melted in my mouth.

Japanese Horse Mackerel

with winter escabeche, creme fraiche, lovage

I can't verbalize this dish...

CK Farm Egg

with Meadowood garden broccoli, bottarga, agnolotti

egg was cooked sous-vide, so the texture of the egg white and egg yolk was the exact same silkiness - incredible,

the vegetables were crisp and fresh

Green Garlic and Almond Milk soup

with bergamot, celery root sponge, chickweed

it was subtly garlicky and nutty

Andante Dairy Goats Cheese

with Za'atar, yellow raisin, turmeric honey

The goat cheese from Andante was mild, creamy with some tanginess

unique and unusual use of Za'atar

the sweetness from raisins and honey was a perfect counter-balance to the tanginess of the cheese

The dinner in Meadowood was like reading a beautiful poem. I didn't want to miss any subtle nuances or any aspect of a single item on each plate. Sometimes I even closed my eyes, taking time to savor all the flavors as much as I could with all my senses. Even after leaving the Restaurant at Meadowood, memories of the flavors and sometimes unexpected harmonies still linger in my mind, ...

The wine pairings were interesting. The sommelier's (Rohm?) suggestions were "Nuit Blanche" (by BURE Family, Sonoma county 2008) for the CK egg dish; Sauvignon Blanc "Entre Nous" by Kristine Ashe, Oakville 2008) for the Green Garlic and Almond Milk Soup; "Matriarch" (by BOND Estates, Napa Valley 2006) for the Roasted Bavette; "Dada 1" by Dada wines (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 2007) for the Andante Dairy Goat Cheese; and Reisling "Frogenbeernauslese" (Frog's Leap, Napa Valley 2009) for the dessert. It was a lot of wine. I wished I had an extra stomach for wine like we all know we have for dessert.