ad hoc

… and here is the famous buttermilkfriedchicken. definitely beats any kfc or popeye’s. arriving in front of us piping hot, the beautiful aroma had our mouths watering before we could even get a piece on our plate. the meat was well-flavoured, moist, and tender, and the batter wasfriedto perfection, making the crust shatteringly crisp. i was only able to finish 3 pieces because of the sheer amount of food i’d already consumed that day, but i desperately wanted to keep eating.

i've been wanting to come here for ever since they opened. so for my christmas present this year my wifey made the reservation. the menu changes daily so you never know what you're going to have till dinner. i get the daily email and so i see what they serve every day. i was kind of hoping for thefriedchicken but all good, we had the amazing roasted chicken. we added the addition of bone marrow which was the best i've ever had. all in all it was all very yummy and our server was top notch. just what we'd expect from a keller establishment.

incredible food awful waiter...the food was heavenly yet simply. the menu for the night i dined there was caesar salad, pork chops, cheese(can't tell you what kind because our waiter pretty much rushed through everything) with honey and a cheese cake pudding type dessert. the pork chop was cooked perfectly, salted just right and they let the meat be the star and it was. the salad was simple but the added capers that seems to be lightlyfriedgave it a nice burst of flavor. the cheese plate again was simple but the honey went so perfectly with it. finally, the little dish of the cheese cake parfait or pudding(once again our waiter did not do his job in explaining) was divine and forced us to try and get every last bite out of the cup. each course had a glass of wine that went perfectly with the food but once again we receive no more than a 5 second robotic sentence. this is wine country, the customer definitely wants to hear a little more about the pairings. all that being said about the food, alex, our waiter may have been the worst waiter i've ever encountered. he did not spend more than a few seconds at our table, it was so bad i made sure that before he put our dessert on the table i had my credit card out because we had no idea when the next time he would come back. i'm usually very forgiving with waitstaff but his only job really was to be informative, courteous and check in every now and then considering it is a set menu. that type of service can happen from time to time but you would never expect it in a thomas keller restaurant. thank god the food was on point.

when i told friends that i went to thomas keller's  ad hoc , their replies were always the same-- "did you have thefriedchicken?" unfortunately the famousfriedchicken at ad hoc is served on mondays, and my friend and i were there on a thursday. i am happy to say though, that i was still blown away by everything i did try. ad hoc offers a $52 (+ $36 for wine) 4-course menu for dinner that changes on a daily basis. each course is served family-style. the restaurant serves brunch on sundays. this was hands down the best meal i've had in 2015, and looking back on it is making my mouth water. i cannot wait to return on a monday and get some of thatfriedchicken! mixed green salad with r ed beets, pickled red onions, crispy gaufrettes, granny smith apples, toasted caraway creme fraiche a superb salad with a wonderful combination of flavors. the beets were sweet, the onions spicy, and the apples refreshing. mar i muntanya:  saffron rice, piquillo peppers, green beans, cauliflower, chorizo, roasted chicken, pei mussels, gulf shrimp mar i muntanya is a catalan dish composed of chicken and seafood over rice. i am a huge fan of seafood paellas, and this dish won me over just one bite in. the rice was incredibly flavorful with a perfect al dente texture, the chicken skin was crispy, the inside moist and juicy, and all the seafood was fresh and amazing. veal cutlet ($16 addition) with o lives, tomato sauce, capers without the additional course, we definitely would've had more than enough food, but we did drive over to napa mainly for dinner at ad hoc ( wine tasting was just a bonus), so when it came to deciding whether to add on this veal cutlet or not, it took all of a minute for us to say yes. and i'm very glad we did. this wasfriedto perfection. it was simple but very solid. bellwether farms pepato with palladin toast, dijon mustard the sheepsmilk with peppercorn was semi-hard with a strong flavor. it paired well with the spicy dijon and warm bread. cranberry bourbon b

in the past, when i’ve gone to ad hoc i’ve always enjoyed the food (see this post ),but i’ve never been there for theirfriedchicken (which is usually served every monday night). it was our lucky day when we visited because they were servingfriedchicken for the 4th of july...we started with the iceberg lettuce salad with fresh herbs, radishes, and carrots from the french laundry’s garden: everything was fresh and crisp; the vegetables were much more flavorful than anything we eat in new york!...the main course, thefriedchicken, is served lukewarm: with a side of corn and watermelon: we also ordered the mac and cheese, which was cheesy...

let me introduce to you ad hoc.  i was taken there by a friend when we visited napa, california a few years ago. although i love savory food, i normally prefer something lighter for breakfast / brunch.  buttermilkfriedchicken was definitely too heavy for me but i still have to admit, this was some very goodfriedchicken. i guess i shouldn't be surprised.  after all, ad hoc is owned by thomas keller, who also owned the famous (and coveted?) french laundry.  their menu rotates daily and i remembered my friend was ecstatic when we were toldfriedchicken was on the menu the day we went. i loved the bright and elegant interior design of the restaurant.  everything falls into place in the beautiful and relaxing environment in napa.   you might questioned:  it's been years since you were there, how can you remember?  i can tell you i can still remember the taste of that chicken wh

finally this gorgeous plan of buttermilkfriedchicken arrived and it looked like a whole chicken. the golden crust had beautiful ripples and the second we bit into the crispy rich crust, the juicy chicken gave us the tingles. totally worth the trip. totally the bestfriedchicken one can ever eat. here is food & wine unveiling of thomas keller’s lemon brinedfriedchicken recipe if you want to try it at home.

brunch. unbelievable. the atmosphere is fun and unassuming, and the food is outstanding. the family style fixed menu is perfect as it takes all of the decision responsibility out. we went on sunday whenfriedchicken and waffles were on the menu. something i would never order off the menu, and therefore something i've been missing out on. next time i'm in napa, i'll be back to ad hoc.

originally intended to be a temporary concept, this one-fixed-menu-per-day establishment has been packing them in ever since thomas keller (of french laundry and per se fame) started it. each day’s menu is posted on the website in the morning and served family-style that night. main courses have included santa maria smoked tri-tip, beef short ribs, grilled pork chop, and buttermilkfriedchicken.

so dissappointing!!. i loved ad hoc, and have been eager to repeat a wonderfulfriedchicken meal. it took 3 months to get a reservation! we trekked up with another couple to yountville.
not great ad hoc, just good. the best part was dessert.
and too loud, wrong genre of music blaring at us. it was hard to carry on a conversation. at $90.00 per person it should have been great. there are other places, i go there next time.


-----08 sep, 2009-----

destination eating. not the place to "drop" into. unlikely you'll get a seat, and very unlikely you'll land on the every other monday famousfriedchicken menu. i took two of thefriedchicken experts in my life, they have voted this the bestfriedchicken ever. i'd say the best biscuits too. so though you will need to plan ahead make a reservation and spend the day in napa, it could be a fine ending at ad hoc. ignore the urbanspoon 76% rating, it just isn't possible. they must not have been there for thefriedchicken. the place is beautiful, the service excellent and the food outstanding and all for a very fair price ! only suggestion is that they lower the volume of the music, it was too loud.

i couldn’t resist the prospect of eatingfriedchicken at thomas keller’s decidedly relaxed restaurant ad hoc, which specializes in comfort food and features a daily changing $45 prix-fixe menu consisting of salad, main course, cheese, and dessert all served family style.