ad hoc

ad hoc was originally intended to be a temporary space filler asthomaskeller put the finishing touches on his burger and wine restaurant concept, but it became so popular that he decided to keep it around. the concept is simple: a fixed price ($50 a hea

every foodie worth his artisanal salt knows thatthomaskeller is a culinary god. french laundry is a once-in-a-lifetime experience in dining bliss. that said, it's not the kind of place you can afford to go to on a whim. we tried it last time we were in

$49 for four courses bythomaskeller? how can you go wrong?!. seriously.

make reservations.

the wine list is fantastic and offers wine from around the world from inexpensive to very, very, very expensive.

but it is all about the food. don't be fooled by the $49 price or by the idea there is only one menu each night. as with anythomaskeller restaurant, everything is exceedingly well though out and painstakingly prepared.

i even had the amazing experience of sitting next to mr. keller at the bar one evening when he was having dinner.

during our wine tasting day trip to napa via grayline (see recap here), we had some leisure time in the charming town of yountville.  david, his friend william, and i went for a casual brunch atthomaskeller’s ad hoc restaurant.  whilethomaskeller has three restaurants in yountville, ad hoc is the most casual (though not michelin starred) and serves american family-style comfort food.

as for ad hoc, imaginethomaskeller’s refined palate but family-style. it’s great for a casual dinner and reservations can be made a couple days in advance or even on the day depending on how many people are in your party. we had a group of 4 and easily booked a reservation 1 day in advance.

the menu that day did not sound as exciting at first glance, but what came out far surpassed what you could imagine being on that plate…

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 lightly fried gave 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 athomaskeller restaurant. thank god the food was on point.

when i told friends that i went tothomaskeller's  ad hoc , their replies were always the same-- "did you have the fried chicken?" unfortunately the famous fried chicken 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 that fried chicken! 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 was fried to 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

any visit to athomaskeller restaurant would be exciting, but ad hoc in napa has a little twist that kindled our interest: there is one pre fixe menu every evening, so you have no choice in your order other than wine pairings. the menu is presented in a file folder, which made the office-supply-loving neurons in my brain do a disco dance. well done, mr. keller. bread. the brightly lit space, stainless steel tabletops, pale woods and flurry of servers dressed in chocolate brown uniforms combined with pig centric decor came together for a modern-tinged-with-farm look. the place was hopping when we arrived, and nearly every table was filled with diners. it’s popular, and after our experience, evident why reservations are required. the pre fixe menu includes four courses: a salad followed by the main course, then cheese, and wraps up with dessert. this is certainly an upscale place with impeccable service, but the file folders and family style dining make the entire experience casual and

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.  buttermilk fried chicken was definitely too heavy for me but i still have to admit, this was some very good fried chicken. i guess i shouldn't be surprised.  after all, ad hoc is owned bythomaskeller, who also owned the famous (and coveted?) french laundry.  their menu rotates daily and i remembered my friend was ecstatic when we were told fried chicken 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 buttermilk fried chicken 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 best fried chicken one can ever eat. here is food & wine unveiling ofthomaskeller’s lemon brined fried chicken recipe if you want to try it at home.

happy friday! i like to end the work week with food posts that inspire me to enjoy life, eat well, and stay hungry. is there a fun new restaurant you're trying this weekend? while in calistoga for a wedding, husband and i had a double date dinner one night in napa with friends. we finally got to trythomaskeller's ad hoc ! if you want to eat at a keller restaurant without breaking the bank, ad hoc is the much more chill and affordable brother to the french laundry . ad hoc changes its menu daily, which blows my mind. it takes so much skill and experience to perfect a meal in one shot! refreshing summery watermelon salad to start. in addition to the pre-fixe menu, we ordered some steak skewers, and they were a very good idea. the main dish was juicy pork chops that had so much flavor, especially near the bone. food is served family style, so go with people you're comfortable sharing food with. ;) a beautiful cheese plate with some fruit, nuts, and honey is always delightful. this set u

when you combine the talents ofthomaskeller, a comfortable and casual atmosphere, and a unique family style menu, it is easy to see why ad hoc became so popular virtually overnight. this permanent pop-up restaurant is showing no signs of slowing down, with the recent addition of a full liquor license and what is sure to be an incredible array of hand crafted cocktails. all of this may leave chef keller's hamburger and wine dreams unfulfilled, but with the luxury of hindsight, the accidental success of ad hoc is really no surprise at all.

originally intended to be a temporary concept, this one-fixed-menu-per-day establishment has been packing them in ever sincethomaskeller (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 buttermilk fried chicken.

ad hoc is a family style restaurant serving a fixed four course meal that changes daily. it's kind of like the casual, more affordable little sister of french laundry and was originally intended to be a temporary filler while keller developed a different restaurant that was to go in its place (ad hoc means 'for this purpose'). it became so popular that it ended up staying and after meeting many locals and visitors during our trip it became clear that it is a huge napa favorite. our experience was fantastic. the atmosphere was laid back and fun and the service extremely warm leaving us feeling as comfortable as being over a good friends house for dinner. the food was absolutely delicious and quite the deal for athomaskeller meal. we were especially happy that our menu featured just the right amount comfort food that we needed after a whole day of drink

ad hoc is actually a restaurant that was never meant to be.thomaskeller and his staff, as the story goes, began serving up seasonal fixed family-style dinners as a temporary endeavor while he planned for the opening of a