Cafe/Post Meridian - Albany, Ca

I had heard that they had taken over Kensington Bistro for both the day and evening so decided to swing by for lunch a few days ago. I gotta say, I was very impressed by the upgrade in the level of service as well as the food. Though my only prior experience was for brunch at Kensington Bistro, it definitely seemed to me that the service and professionalism was stepped up in Cal-French Bistro fashion.

White cloth table tops and some nice paintings by a local artist? seemed to add to the decor when I walked in. I was one of the first lunch time diners for the day and promptly seated by the window but the place steadily filled up as the hour passed.

I was offered regular or sparkling water as I was given the menu. The lunch menu which also had the brunch menu on the other side seemed relatively short, but with some interesting apps and entrees ranging from $8-25. They seemed to be proud of their house made chicken pate so I had to give it a try, but being the glutton I am, I ordered the small Charcuterie plate - chicken liver pâté with jambon de Paris & Fra’Mani salame served with dijon mustard, tiny pickles and pickled pearl onions and toasted levain. I liked this starter a lot. The pate was very good, not over peppered, pretty smooth too, but it must've just came out of the fridge cause it was very firm and initially hard to spread on the toast. The ham was decent but not extraordinary. The salame was your standard hard salame, slightly thicker than usual slices, which I ended up preferring, not too salty or spicy, just went well with the pate and pickled items. I am somewhat embarrassed if anyone was watching me as I stacked the toast, the pate, the salame and swipe of mustard and then an onion pearl and then stuffed it into my mouth. Mmmmm.

I ended up ordering the Croque monsieur (grilled sandwich of pain de mie, jambon de Paris & Gruyère) which came out crispy and just enough gruyere to cover it but not drown it. A good rendition.

And I finished up with a strawberry and rhubarb compote with whipped ginger creme fraiche. Well executed, but I thought the ginger flavor was over powering in this case and detracted from the fresh flavors of the fruit. I think it may have gone better with a cinnamon flavored creme.

All in all, it was a very good meal on a beautiful day. The service was spot on and everyone was very pleasant. It was a bit more than my usual lunch, but that was to be expected considering what and how much I ordered. I definitely want to come back and try out their brunch and dinner menus.

Ad Hoc - Yountville, CA : Fried Chicken

This is a review I posted on chowhound.com:

I meant to post last night but didn't get back until around 10pm so was too tired. I arrived a bit early since I didn't hit as much traffic as I was expecting, driving in from Berkeley. I even arrived before the rest of my party so I had some time on my hands. At the suggestion of the hostess, I went up the street to check out Bouchon Bakery. Woohoo, I get to knock out two birds with one stone on this trip! I gotta say, I love that bakery, small and quaint but with some definite eye catchers. It would definitely be a dangerous place for me if it was closer to my work during lunch time. Anyways, while there, I took orders over the phone from the rest of my dining partners and we got the following: Baguette, Olive Loaf, 2 Chocolate Bouchons, TKO, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, Nutter Butter, Pain au Chocolat, and a Passionfruit Tart. I just finished the passionfruit tart and I'm fairly certain I'm in love. The custard was just the right amount of tart, it was topped with a hatched pastry layer dusted with powdered sugar and a couple of berries which took the edge off the finish of the tart custard.

Back to Ad Hoc, we were seated right away which was nice. Since Morton gave such a wonderful description above of the menu for the night, I'll keep my report a bit briefer. Our server confirmed that everything is served family style, which is my favorite way. I thought the salad was wonderful, greens were exceptionally fresh and the combination of the crimini mushrooms and leeks and paper thin slices of serrano ham was excellent. My tablemates did comment that they thought it was a bit over salted, but not so much for my tastes. Though I could've done with a more sour tasting dressing, perhaps.

The table was cleared and new plates and silverware were provided at every course in preparation for the fried chicken which already smelled heavenly from the parking lot walking in. Then there it was, piled high on a silver platter, easily 3-4 large pieces of chicken per person, a deep golden brown mountain, sprinkled with rosemary sprigs. Of course on the side came the whipped mashed potatoes and some of the best cooked veggies I've had. The english peas and carrots and onions in butter were a stand out to me that in it's own buttery way, contrasted well with the chicken. In my mind, I knew it was a lot of food, but some how I was convinced that I'd have no problem ordering seconds, after struggling to finish that first batch I am absolutely amazed, and somewhat scared of anyone who could finish two servings. It definitely is one of the best, if not the best I've ever had. Very crispy, slightly spicy and very juicy. Just about the juiciest fried chicken I've ever had. Even the breast meat was succulent. My only complaint, was that one of the last pieces I had was actually a bit undercooked. It wasn't cool inside, but there was definitely a bit of pink and that was a bit of a turn off for chicken.

I absolutely agree with Morton on this assessment of the cheese course. What a wonderful combination. Each ingredient, the medjool dates, the marcona almonds and the St. George cheese complimented each other so well. Chewing them altogether at the same time gave you that party in your mouth feeling.

When it was time for dessert, we were already feeling like gluttons, but we persisted on. On the menu was a banana upsidedown cake over caramel sauce with vanilla bean whipped cream. I enjoyed this a bit more so than my friends, who weren't banana fans, but the cake was a little dry unfortunately, though the caramel sauce and the whipped cream, which I probably could've had as a dessert on it's own made the dryness bearable.

I really liked the setting, it's a lovely and casual restuarant, though a bit out of my normal price range. If I lived closer, I could see myself eating there regularly cause it's just that comfortable. Service was very good for the most part, but my tablemates complain that it was annoying that the windows kept on being opened and the draft was hitting our table directly. Other than that, I thought it was a great night.

... and here is the other post that I referenced in this review by Morton the Mousse:

Looking forward to nicedragonboy's report. In the meantime, I'll throw in mine.

Mrs. Mousse and I were in Sonoma looking at rentals for our upcoming nuptials. We're pretty fried from all the planning, and figured that the best fried chicken on earth was just the treat we needed.

We sat at the bar so we could order off the a la carte menu, which is what we will do from now on. The prix fix is a great deal, it's just way too much food for us. A la carte prices are as follows: $12 Salad, $23 entree, $10 cheese, $10 dessert. We opted for 1 salad, 2 entrees, 1 cheese.

The salad was glorious. Freshly picked mixed greens from the French Laundry garden, incredible serrano ham, lovely cremini mushrooms, and these adorable baby leeks that made Mrs. Mousse squeal with delight. The salad came with just a light dressing of olive oil and salt, and a small glass of dijon vinaigrette. Our server encouraged us to try a bite of the salad sans dressing, just so we could appreciate the freshness of the greens. We then gave it a light drizzle, and it was very easy to toss in the family-style bowl. The dressing was great, but we were happy to choose how much to add. Though each element stood up on its own, the combination of bitter green, sweet leek, salty ham, sour dressing, and umami mushroom made for the perfect bite. It was a really refreshing way to lead in to a heavy main course. The salad was HUGE for a single serving, and I thought they had given us a double until I saw the double salad next to us that was gargantuan. Seriously, more restaurants in the Bay Area need to adopt Ad Hoc's approach to salad portions.

Good as the salad was, we hadn't driven over the mountain for a bowl of greens. Lemme tell you about this fried chicken. This was our second time eating it, and it was just as perfect as we remember. It is the epitome of everything fried chicken should be. Crispy crust with a kick of pepper, not too greasy or oily, tender, moist, flavorful meat. Even the breast was divine. No criticism whatsoever. Fried chicken perfection.

The fried chicken came with some lovely sides: english peas and carrots drenched in butter (in a good way) and whipped mashed potatoes. Total comfort food. It's amazing how this kitchen is able to execute classic dishes with such an eye to detail. They redefine my expectations of how comfort food should taste.

A single portion of fried chicken comes with a half a chicken (they use a poussin - it's small but still filling) and a nice sized serving of veggies and starch. Given the overall quality, it's a deal at $23. BTW - "all you can eat" is only available on the prix fix; no seconds on a la carte.

We were stuffed after the first two courses, but couldn't resist the cheese. Ad Hoc really "gets" the cheese course. We had a St George from the Matos Cheese Co in Santa Rosa. It was a firm cheese, nutty, very pleasant. The medjool dates and marcona almonds respectively brought out the sweet and salty flavors of the cheese. It was the perfect ending to the meal. There was no room for dessert (though I had my mind on the box of Recchiuti fleur de sel caramels I have at home).

I really enjoyed sitting at the bar. We were able to chat with our fellow diners: an Indian chef who is staging at The French Laundry, and a hard core foodie who works in the restaurant scene in NYC. Great dinner company. They were just as wowed by the chicken as we were.

Our server, Ross, was exceptional. Attentive, funny, and incredibly enthusiastic about the food. He really helped to make the evening special. Servers like this are a rare breed.

Quick comment on the beer: Ad Hoc may have the most well edited selection of bottled beers in wine country. A pilsner, a wheat beer, a bock, and a belgian ale, all from excellent breweries. The bock was the perfect match for the fried chicken. For once, I didn't miss draft.

Total bill for the food, one beer, one glass of wine, tax and tip: $110. We shaved $40 off the tab by sitting at the bar, and we definitely didn't miss the extra courses. Ad Hoc is still a special occasion sort of place for our budget, but fried chicken like this is worth every penny.

If you're strapped you could easily just order the entree, drink water, drop less than $30, and go home stuffed.

My first report on Ad Hoc's fried chicken, which is amusingly near-identical to this one:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/431231

Maritime East - Berkeley, Ca : Awesome Cheeseburger.

I finally went back to Maritime East to try that Cheeseburger that everyone has been raving about and the reports are all true! It's an excellent burger, and probably the best burger I've had in years. I went last night with 4 other friends all of whom I convinced to try out the burger. We walked in without a reservation and were seated within minutes, granted this was a slightly later meal at around 8:15pm. The service was excellent, much better than my first visit, not that the first visit was bad, but I could tell that last night's server was much more experienced. We heard all the specials (the roasted crab sounds like the thing to try) and ordered some great cocktails (get the White-Out if you want something crisp and refreshing) and though we were tempted to order other things, we all stuck with the burger which our host happily expounded upon.

The burgers came out with a nicely toasted, high quality bun/roll, thick cuts of bacon, white cheddar, fried onion strings and a light bbq sauce and of course the meal came with a healthy serving of herbed fries. To top the night off, we were even treated to a complimentary dessert, a miniature coconut cream pie, which was a perfect and light way to close out the night. Service was spot on and we had a great time with the wait staff. Definitely a burger and service I would come back for.