Just when we were beginning to think that the Napa Valley was feeling the repercussions of the economy, we found that on Wednesday and Thursday night last week, the Yountville restaurants were alive and well with bar stools and tables packed with patrons.
Yountville Stars in the 2009 Michelin Guide
It is amazing what a restaurant mecca the small town of Yountville has become. The latest Michelin Guide of 2009 has four Yountville restaurants receiving its “Star” ranking. The French Laundry is the only restaurant in its Bay Area and Wine Country restaurant guide to receive the coveted Three Star rank. One Star was awarded to Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty, and Redd. This is impressive considering there are only 32 restaurants in the guide with one or more stars. Congrats to Yountville.
Dinner at Bistro Jeanty
With no reservations, we arrived at Bistro Jeanty at 7pm on Wednesday. There were no tables to be had inside except for the communal table. We opted for the outside covered patio equipped with overhead heaters. The patio area is not nearly as inviting or festive as the inside, but we were happy just to get a table. We hope this will be a reminder for us to always call ahead for a reservation no matter what time of the year it is in Yountville.
Bistro Jeanty serves scrumptious French cuisine. We had the dinner quiche that was very tasty and our other entrée was the special of the night, a wonderful slow roasted pork shoulder served on a butternut squash gratin. The service was nicely paced, no rush and overall everything nicely done. With a bottle Tres Sabores Zinfandel to accompany our dinner, our check with tip was $110. Not a bad price for a Michelin one-star rated restaurant. This was our third visit to Bistro Jeanty and all meals have been excellent. Has anybody ever had a bad meal at this standout restaurant?
Our only gripe is the wine list. They do offer a house wine for $19 but the rest of the wine list is priced fairly high with very few good choices in the $30 to $40 range. However, they do offer the Screaming Eagle 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon at the bargain price of $1200 for a 750ml!
Next post, we blog our Thursday night dinner experience at Redd.
The Good: Great food at a reasonable price. Inside is very festive.
The Bad: Wine list needs more reasonable choices, the outside patio is a little drab