Photography by:  Fototeqnika

Previously, on Clout and About, we  described  our memorable two night stay at  the luxurious Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, CA and  mentioned our interview with its Executive Chef Victor Scargle.  What we didn’t expand on  was the 3 hour dinner sampling we experienced that evening.  It definitely merits its own separate post.  From the first plate all the way to the grand finale, we were impressed and found ourselves in food nirvana.  It was a gastronomic fiesta and we were definitely ready for a good old nap when it was over.  Except, it was nightime and the weather was gorgeous ~ so a walk around the premises was what we opted to do.

This summer, Bardessono welcomed a new executive chef, Victor Scargle, whose impressive history includes Napa’s Go Fish and Julia’s Kitchen at Copia; and San Francisco’s Grand Café and Aqua. His style has been described as “clean, bright and simple”, which I can personally attest to. Every one of the 19 dishes on the menu (and off) they prepared for us was exquisite, with many stand-outs. But most interesting is the fact that every dish is built around the seasonal vegetables he harvests from their own Lucy’s Garden in the back of the property. (SCOOP: Lucy’s Garden, named after the Bardessono matriarch, may possibly be the new restaurant’s name.) Released from a local ruling that allows restaurants-in-hotels to carry only the restaurant’s name, the property is under minor reconstruction to create a separate restaurant entrance to entice locals and non-hotel guest diners. With Yountville becoming the dining hub of Napa Valley, Bouchon and Bottega can easily withstand more competition.

We sat outside at 7pm and the sun was still high and the outside temperature close to perfect.  I must add here that the service at Bardessono’s restaurant [which will soon carry it's own name] was impeccable.  We opted for the Chef’s sampling, and curious as we were as to what that might entail, we were offered a glimpse into what we were about to experience.

  Fortunately (for our waist lines), every dish was served for our party to share.  If you enlarge the list on the right (above), there’s about 19 dishes we tried.  And everything was just out of this world fabulous and something you could write home about.  I’ll share the photos so you can vicariously eat with me. I know I’m going to salivate just sharing them with you.

 

 We started with bread and butter, with black truffle salt.

Then slowly, the rest of the night began to unfold.

    

Our appetizers only served to whet our appetites and make us eager for what was to come.

   

Hover over an image for it’s description.

Then the main event(s) began to unfold.

Can you tell we were kinda sorta hungry?  Or enjoying every bit of what we were eating? 

At about this time, darkness had fallen and I had to whip out my flash and say goodbye to natural light.  

The wine we had with dinner  livened up our conversation.   We were filling up, but ready to end with a sweet bang.  And for dessert which followed.

  :::BURP:::   Did you enjoy that?  It was about 10:30pm by the time we were done.  Without a doubt, a dinner to remember and a dining experience we’ll never forget.  The Bardessono Restaurant will be undergoing physical renovations and we’re excited to see it when it’s done.  Much of the change is from Chef Scargle’s vision.  It will open to the outside  and have it’s own identity.

If you find yourself in downtown Yountville, check out the Restaurant.  It’s inside the hotel and not always visible from the outside.  And then sample some – or all – of these good eats!   I can’t tell you which one above was my fave ~ but I’ll tell you, I’d eat these all again.