January 2012: Yountville: Bottega and Bouchon

On January 7th, we left for a 14 day adventure in Beijing, Shanghai, San Franciscio and Napa Valley. This post details our trips to Bottega and Bouchon.


As part of our trip to Napa - we were very excited to check out Bottega and Bouchon in Yountville. Our first dinner out was at Bottega.


BOTTEGA

The restaurant is very nice. I liked the place settings and the warm feel to the room. WE ordered a bottle of Elaine wine and it was excellent.

Glenn had the special appetizer - a deep fried egg. It was just okay

I  had the Polenta under glass  - creamy, delicious, well seasoned.

The special risotto - the rice was undercooked and the dish was slightly under seasoned.

Glenn had the ricotta gnocchi. The gnocchi was fluffy and melted in your mouth. The sauce was way too salty making it difficult to eat.

I had the short ribs. I definitely have had better.

Glenn had the duck three ways. The duck breast had too much unrendered fat.

BOUCHON

Salmon Rillettes - Fantastic. A delicious belnd of smoked and raw salmon.

The Rabbit Rillette. Very flavorful - until Glenn found a bone.

Trout with  brussel sprouts - The dish was fantastic. Only thing that could have made it better was a little more sauce.

Crispy Pork Belly - Excellent

 

Dessert was a simple good chocolate cake

The service at both places was very good. We will likely return to Bouchon. We loved the atmosphere and the food was excellent. We will likely not return to Bottega. The menu was interesting but the execution was a real problem.