Happenstance brought a handful of old friends to Napa and unexpectedly, the four of us found ourselves at Rotisserie and Wine, the newly-opened restaurant in downtown Napa by television darling, Tyler Florence. Of more interest to me however, is that Jeremy Fox, a favorite chef of yours truly, has been hired by Tyler to head up the kitchen in this meat-centric, waterfront establishment with a decidedly Southern bent. They have only been open two weeks and already it is jam-packed, but with a full capacity of barely a hundred diners, it is not surprising that without a reservation, there is a bit of a wait. While waiting, the service staff, thematically clad in jeans in plaid, work hard to ensure comfort with drinks and a menu for early perusal. It is the costume of the waiters and overalls and plaid donned by Jeremy which gives the restaurant an almost hick feel to it. The bulk of the space is taken up with the open service area where diners can see Tyler directing the staff. My friends noticed that Nancy Silverton was also waiting for a table with her friends, so even the famous don’t necessarily get preferential treatment.

After almost a half-hour wait, the four of us were given a counter spot. While this was not necessarily conducive to sharing the food, it did give a great opportunity to witness the action in the kitchen. While perusing the menu, some corn sticks arrived. I have a feeling these were comped; I didn’t see them on the menu and I’m not sure they were offered to everyone. About four inches long, these warm fingers of goodness provided a fantastic start. A crisp, crunchy exterior gave way to a sweet, tender crumb so light and delectable. Sighs were heard as one friend immediately commented, “I could eat these for breakfast every day of the week.” This was also my first glimpse at another aspect of the restaurant which charmed me, the place settings. Classic and elegant with a Victorian aesthetic, it is the sort of thing my Grandmother would have swiped to keep and I personally covet.

The menu is broken up into Snacks, items To Share, Fixins, and The Rotisserie. Separate from all these categories was a highlighted offering of something called The Meat Board. Snacks include a handful of individually-priced bites that can be ordered including Kale Chips, Olives, Scrapple, and the two snacks we ordered, Cheese Puffs (gougère) stuffed with bacon Mornay, aged Vella jack cheese, and chives and Deviled Jidori Chicken Egg, a deviled egg made with maple, sherry, celery, and candied bacon bits. The gougères, large with a delicate crust, oozed with rich and creamy bacon Mornay sauce. It would be very easy to eat an entire place of these. The deviled eggs’ filling was probably the most creamy and smooth ever tasted. The maple flavor was subtle and slightly sweet. I appreciated the micro greens garnish, giving a crisp bright contrast to the stalwart egg.

Shortly after our three tantalizing “bites,” The Meat Board arrived. Unlike most restaurants offering various cured charcuterie salamis and sausages, here it is terrines and potted meats. I would be very interested to know who was the brainchild behind its inception but there is no doubt that it is Jeremy who is adding the final touches which make this platter the shining highlight of the evening’s meal. Not only did we have the vantage of watching him cutting and plating and decorating, but the skill and artistry is not lost on the other staff in the kitchen as several stopped to view the master in action. Like watching a Da Vinci with a paintbrush, Jeremy layers slivers of radish into flowers and creates a mille fleur garnish with truffles and slivers of mushrooms. The plating is not just decorative, every delicately-placed leaf, perfectly dotted mustard, and stacked and layered vegetable is a part of a whole creating an incomparable platter of the most stunning terrines I have tasted.

On the platter was a Game Bird Terrine, laden heavily with porcini mushrooms and served with red wine jelly. Rich and earthy, the delicacy of the game meat was punctuated with the porcini but heightened by the truffle mille fleur garnish and red wine jelly. A large slab of country pâté had been carefully dressed with a bit of olive oil and micro greens and consumed with the toasted, country bread from nearby Model Bakery with dots of grain mustard and Moutarde Violette. But it was the Duck Liver Mousse on the board that surprised me the most. With the texture and lightness of whipped cream, concentrated richness of liver was accented with fried sage, frizzled leeks, and decorated with chunks of pickled beets and vegetable crudité. This is a restaurant riding on the laurels of its ability to roast giant hunks of meat, but I have no doubt that the restaurant’s appeal and reputation will grow based entirely on this amazing platter of potted meats.

Almost ten items made up the To Share section of the menu and for me were the most intriguing and reasons I want to go back. I am dying to try the Uni Toast with Shaved Pine Mushroom as well as the Sonoma Duck Confit with Cracklin’ Waffles. Instead we opted with only a Beets and Avocado salad, made with red quinoa, Fuyu persimmons, and pistachios to accompany our Rotisserie selection, Beef and Bones, prime rib eye saddled up next to a horizontally-severed marrow bone, Yorkshire pudding, and horseradish. I suppose my only complaint about the prime rib is that instead of one, large thick slice of rare meat, two thinner slices were served. Good prime rib is good prime rib and we all wanted to order this more for the marrow which was crusted with bread crumbs. It was all very good, but hardly memorable considering everything else the restaurant has to offer. Other rotisserie meats for potential future visits include Sonoma BBQ lamb ribs, Petaluma chicken, and a stuffed porchetta.

Sadly, no Fixins were ordered on this trip and again, the Fixins and To Share menu options are what will bring me back; Arbuckle grits draped with lardo, Hudson Valley broccoli with pine nuts, capers, raisins and Vella dry jack, Mac & Local Cheeses, and David Little’s potatoes…

While I stepped away to take a phone call, my friends ordered dessert. I was only surprised because I was more than full at this point and would have been quite content to call it a night but was more than pleased after taking a few bites of what they ordered; a classic slab of apple pie à la mode and a panna cotta, dressed with Balsamic vinegar and served with cookies. The apple pie is about as great as it comes. The apples were crunchy and perfectly spiced but it was the crust that shines. Too often I am left disappointed by a pie due to a soft or soggy crust and this does not disappoint. The panna cotta is another nice surprise but more for the cookies for me, although the panna cotta was perfectly prepared and made that much more interesting with the vinegar. The cookie we all loved with pig-shaped with a bacon flavor to it. I also greatly enjoyed the gingerbread as we had been sent a complimentary glass of Aloroso Sherry which made for a great combination and a lovely way to end the meal.

That this restaurant is a mere block away from my new job could be my downfall. As part of the revitalization of downtown Napa, it faces the riverfront and outside chairs show that once the warmer summer evenings arrive, outside service will obviously increase the number of people which can be served and will make this a destination for those looking to expand beyond the standard Napa standard of Cal-French or Cal-Mediterranean fusion cuisine. While the name of the restaurant implies that meat and wine is the draw (and I regret that I completely forgot to take a note on the glass of wine which I ordered), it is the Southern cuisine-inspired sides which will tantalize and ultimately please.

The post Rotisserie and Wine first appeared on Feast Blog.

My visit to Charleston, South Carolina was a very quick one – barely two days. But there were two very specific things I wanted to experience whilst in Charleston; true southern barbecue, and McCrady’s. I’m not sure where I first heard about McCrady’s, but when I suggested to my friend that this is where we were going on my last night in town, she quickly assented and confirmed it was well-regarded in town.

We arrived early and admired the elegant dark wood interior as well as the numerous paintings on the wall. Being a tad parched, we started at the bar with a few house specialties. All I remember now is that one was made with house-made limoncello and was a bit too strong for both of us while the other, gin-based drink was nice but we were too anxious to move onto wine so neither drinks were finished.

The first course came out with a bang; Country Pâté, Frozen Mustard Pearls, Cornichon served with Pinot Gris Rose, Domaine de Reuilly, Loire, 2006. The very tasty house-made pâté was centered with a small round of truffle-wrapped foie gras but the brilliance lied not only in the delectable terrine, but the Dippity-Dot creation of mustard – tiny little frozen pearls of mustard essence which melts delicately on the tongue and entices against the richness of the terrine. We were truly marveled and giddy at the experience.

Next was Marinated Scallops with Mango Vinegar, Avocado, Crispy Rice, and Chamomile served with Txakoli, Gurrutxaga, Bizaiko, Spain, 2006. Served ceviche-style, the three slices of scallop were topped with a lovely mélange that accentuated the freshness of the fish which was complemented well with minerality of the wine.

Being overly enthusiastic about the pâté, our waiter surprised us with an extra course from the chef, a selection of his house-made charcuterie. As I had been telling my friend about my own endeavors in sausage making, our waiter informed me that the chef was enthusiastic about someone who appreciated good charcuterie with the platter which included braesola, lenzino, duck prosciutto, finocino, pepperoni, noisette du Beaujolais, rosette du lyon, and sopresetta, The accompaniments included pickled quail egg, ramps, turnip, cauliflower, and mustardo. Our giddiness continued at the surprise gift which was heartily enjoyed.

We were then presented with our first and only “interactive” course, a Himalayan salt rock that had been heated to 500° and given the course of Hawaiian Tuna, Pineapple, and Miso Butter. We knew it was going to be fun when a delicate set of tweezers were placed and we were instructed to sear our tuna on the salt griddle to our liking. The miso butter was unctuous and rich and paired with La Paradou Viognier from Provenece, 2006, could have easily been overwrought with unnecessary ingredients. The brightness of the pineapple was tamed with the butter. Stunning.

Getting more complicated, next came Colombia River Sturgeon with English Peas, Morels, and a Truffle-Emulsion served with a 2006 Costa de Oro Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. Having gone down the Molecular Gastronomy path with the frozen mustard pearls, I was not surprised to see the first introduction of foam. My non-mushroom-loving friend was entranced with the morels (as was I) but I was more in love with the sturgeon which is a fish I feel does not see enough menu time.

Our foie gras course came next; what the chef jokingly calls “Liver and Onions,” the roasted foie was served with three accompaniments, thick slices of roasted sweet white onion, a slaw of pickled onion, and a crouton studded with onion essence. The fabulous wine pairing came in the form of a Leon Beyer Gewurtztraminer from Alcase, 2005 which proved not too sweet or cloying as so often foie is served as an intermediary with a sauterne, thereby offering an unnecessarily jarring sweetness in the middle of a dinner. This way was superb.

The next course was another additional one that I had requested from the menu, Forest Mushroom and Pine Nut Stew topped with Celeste Alber’s Poached Egg and Parmesan Crisp. This was paired with an Azura Estate Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, 2006. Shame on me for asking for something outside the prescribed tasting menu as this was the only misstep of the evening. The broth was a tad too salty and the existence of the egg, which when broken would have made the sauce creamy, was poached a bit too hard to give the requisite runny yolk. There just was not an overwhelming cohesiveness. Also, the wine was a bit too bold and redolent of cranberry to give the classic earthy pinot quality which usually complements mushrooms so well.

Getting back on track, our meat course was next, Beef Shortribs with Carrot Confit, Celeste Alber’s Potatoes, and Truffle Jus paired with Ey, “Vigne Las Collas” Côtes Catalanes Grenache from 2004. Cooked sous vide, the shortribs were perfect but it was the carrots that wowed me.

A cheese course came in the form of a single bite, ColoRouge with light garnish of Smoked Grape, Saba, and Herb Salad. Served with a 20-Year Tawny Warre’s Port. Creamy and rich, the light garnish worked well with the port and the cheese. It was just enough and a great presentation.

Another surprise came which differed from the printed menu that evening, two desserts, both served with Elio Perrone’s Italian Moscato d’Asti. The first was a Meyer Lemon Curd served with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, a Compressed Strawberry, and a Triangle of White Chocolate. The curd was perfectly creamy and the combination of flavors were bright and clean. The second dessert was the show-stopper as we were presented with a platter that contained a rectangle of Soft Dark Chocolate, Mascarpone Cheese Yogurt, Chocolate Rice Krispies, and then the piece de resistance, nitrogen-frozen, dehydrated Strawberries served tableside. We were giggling again as what we were eating was akin to an adult’s version of cereal with the crispy strawberries similar to what we ate as  Frankenberries as a child and an adult-version of CoCo crispies.

Overall we were presented with an exciting evening full of inventiveness and imagination. The missteps were few and far between and the highlights were so superior and memorable as to easily make the meal memorable for a long, long time.

The post McCrady’s – Charleston, South Carolina first appeared on Feast Blog.