Chickpea Heaven

Had a great breakfast at the Wine Country Inn today with new friend Christina J (who, btw, writes a cool mostly-wine-though-some-foodie-type-stuff-too blog, Wacky Wine Sense -- check it out), and as we were talking (mostly about, uh, food and, well, wine), it struck me -- great food and wine are fabulous, but what really makes these come alive, so to speak, is when you share them with someone. This is actually one of the reasons I believe I enjoy writing here -- it's my way to share, if not the actual experience, then at least some of the sights and sounds and smells.

More sharing: was fantastically lucky recently to have my good friend, Jim S, treat me to dinner at The Restaurant at Meadowood (see pic above). Meadowood, of course, is a very high-end resort tucked away in the Napa Valley, and its restaurant, run now by super-up-and-coming-no-he's-arrived chef Christopher Kostow, ranks by most of those in-the-know as the second best restaurant in the Napa Valley (behind only the one-of-a-kind French Laundry).

Wow. No, double-wow. Dinners options consist of three separate tasting menus -- small bites of delicate, impeccably prepared treats, such as Truffle Glazed Sweetbreads, Lobster roasted in Nori Salt, Squid and Egg, Pain Perdu and Cherries, and so on. My two favorites were a selection of four different types of Foie Gras (see pic above), and, the winner, Jim and I both agreed: The Shelling Bean Broth, with avocado expum, fresh chickpeas, and cilantro flowers (see pic below).

Now, Meadowood is not for the faint-of-wallet. But if you can splurge. Go. No, run. Fantastic setting, amazing food, impeccable (there's that word again) service. Oh, yes: and be sure to take someone to share it with.