Thomas Keller in Napa...amazing dinner!
 

Consider this a trip report for DiningBuzz :D
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So on a whim my friend and I decided to see if we could get a table at a Thomas Keller restaurant tonight. Being such short notice, we decided to try for Ad Hoc instead of the usual suspects (French Laundry or Bouchon). Seeing as how all the public reservations on OpenTable were gone when we checked (3pm-ish), I decided to enlist the services of Amex Concierge. Luckily they were able to score us a table for 2 at the last seating, 9pm. After asking the waitress later in the night, we found out that management sets aside the table we were at for last minute special requests (VIPs and such, with us falling into the "and such" category ;)).

We left a few minutes before 7 and it took us about 2 hours to drive there, with a little traffic in the city because of the Black and White ball. We arrived just a few minutes before 9. Our table wasn't quite ready so we sat for just a couple of minutes before being shown back. I was surprised at how small the restaurant was -- maybe 40 diners max. Ad Hoc being Ad Hoc, there was really no point in there being a menu, aside from the wine list. For those who don't know, Ad Hoc has one prix-fixe menu that changes daily and everybody eats the same thing.

I chose a delicious Riesling to start off with and a red to go with the meal. I completely forgot what red it was aside from having "Once" in the name. I need to call back tomorrow and get the complete name cause it was delicious.

On the menu was a mixed green salad with red wine vinaigrette, beef tri-tip with sweet corn-on-the-cob and mushrooms, a fine goat cheese, and a cherry tart. The salad was delicious and I'm not even normally a fan of red wine vinaigrettes. Moving to the tri-tip, it came in medium sized slices (2 per person) on a bed of mushrooms and strands of rosemary. On the side were roasted piquillo peppers and sweet corn in a herb butter sauce. Words cannot describe the level of bliss we were in during this course. I asked for more bread and dipped it in the herb butter sauce from the corn...so good but soooo bad for me :p.

We lucked out on the cheese course; the chef was feeling generous and gave us a cheese platter instead of the one cheese listed on the menu. We had a monterrey Cheddar, fresh Gouda (which incidentally reminded me a lot of parmesan), and and the Cypress Grove’s Humbolt Fog (this was the one on the menu). Cheese came with thick, buttery, toasted, sourdough bread slices and fresh honey.

Finally the cherry tart was pretty much a cherry tart with fresh cherries and delicious whipped cream. With some cappuccino, we were out of there in just under two hours. We tipped huge ($40 on a 160 check; our waitress was amazing) so our total came out to $200. Huge tip aside, this was an excellent meal for the price, especially when considering I've spent just as much (if not more) at Ruths Chris and other steakhouses and got nowhere as much goodness as I did tonight. FYI, the menu is only $48 a person, but the wines and coffees add up.

All in all this was an amazing introduction to Thomas Keller (although purists may disagree since he doesn't personally design the entire menu at Ad Hoc as he does with FL/Bouchon/Per Se). I am looking forward to coming back for another night at Ad Hoc and hopefully experiencing some of TK's other creations.

great report, nice to know cent concierge worked.
(ad hoc is not plat/cent dining like french laundry and bouchon)

I have had mixed experiences at Ad Hoc. Notably some pretty under cooked roasted fennel. Bouchon has never once failed to amaze, and I have heard nothing but orgasmic reverence for Laundry.

I just went to per se - the food was great but the indigestion lasted an entire night.