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Have you ever wanted to stay in an über luxurious resort with amazing spa services, gourmet restaurants, suites that might be bigger than your apartment or house and beautifully decorated grounds? Then Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford, California in the heart of the Napa Valley might be for you. I have written about our stay there in a previous article.

While the rooms may be too extravagant for frequent stays, the restaurant is, by comparison, far more affordable. To be sure, the dinner service at the main dining room is a fine dining experience, collecting Michelin stars for 10 consecutive years, so it is not where you want to look for a cheap, quick meal, but if you love fine dining, you will fully appreciate the Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil.

I have eaten in many restaurants with menus, wine lists and food quality that are in the same league as The Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil, but very few can match the view from a balcony table at sunset.

Dinner in a place like this always has to start with a glass of Champagne. Well, it does for us, anyway.

Billecart-Salmon is a favorite Champagne house for us and we love the Rosé on a warm day. Enjoying he view, sipping on the wine and flirting with Valeria definitely was a good start to the evening.

We were soon presented with an amuse bouche (fancy way of saying a little appetizer from the chef): Salmon Mousse.

We could not have asked for anything better to go with the Champagne, but the bread and butter was also a good choice.

The bread is freshly baked with a crisp crust and a soft by chewy interior, like great bread should be.

Just so we didn’t get too hungry before the main meal started, another amuse arrived: Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil.

We love mushroom soup with it’s hearty, meaty flavor; adding some truffle oil put this over the top. Would have loved a whole bowl, but there was much more to come.

The first official course was Kona Kampachi Crudo with Sesame Créme Fraîche, Radish and Dashi.

A riff on Japanese sashimi, if you will. Kona Kampachi is a fish in the Yellowtail and Amberjack family that is found in the waters off Kona, Hawaii where the locals call it Kahala or Almaco Jack. It is farm raised, which often is a red flag since many fish farms are dirty and the fish produced of low quality. The farms off of Hawaii, however, are environmentally responsible, large and clean. The fish are not genetically modified, so, if they escape, they do not affect the local population. It is a very mild fish that almost literally melts in your mouth.

Dashi is to Japanese cooking what chicken stock is to French cuisine: the foundation of many soups, broths and sauces. It is very easy to make, as you can see in this quick video.

There are only 3 ingredients: water, Kombu (Dried Seaweed) and Katsuobushi (Smoked and Dried Bonito Flakes). Bonito is a fish in the tuna and mackerel family. Many supermarkets carry Kombu and Katsuobushi these days and you will definitely find it in any Asian store if you have one nearby.

In this dish, the dashi was used to thin the crème fraîche and also gelled to decorate the dish and add a touch of flavor.

The next course stayed with seafood and some Asian influence: Daybook Scallop with Green Garlic, Tapioka, Daikon and Lemongrass.

By now our Champagne was long gone, but we had ordered the wine pairings with the meal so a glass of Domaine Christian Moreau Chablis Premier Cru “Vallon”, Chablis, Burgundy, France magically appeared on the table.

Real Chablis (as opposed to the generic white jug wine from California) is made from Chardonnay grapes and can be light, delicious and a perfect match with many kinds of seafood, as it was here. You can read much more about Chablis and see pictures from our visit there by clicking here.

The next course was one of my favorite things in the world: Veal Sweetbreads, this time served with Hand Foraged Wild Rice, Asparagus Tempura, Mushroom Vinaigrette.

We had to have something to wash down the sweetbreads, of course. How about a 2009 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir, Chileno Valley Vineyard, Marin County, California?

By now we were on a happy roll, getting into meat courses and delicious red wines. Next up was Paine Farm Squab with Rhubarb, Pistachio, Cocoa Nibs, and Orange Star Anise Sauce.

The wine choice was the 2008 Bonaccorsi “Larner” Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley, California.

The wine was at its peak. Medium bodied for a Syrah, it showed black pepper and herbal notes that are characteristic of the grape and played beautifully with the squab.

Our final savory course was Spiced Lamb Ribeye served with Chick Peas, Curry, Niçoise Olives, Yogurt, Pastis.

Bordeaux wines are the classic accompaniment to lamb, so a California wine made from one of the major Bordeaux grapes was perfect: 2011 Duckhorn Merlot, Napa Valley, California.

Duckhorn has turned out some amazing Merlots over the years and, while this was not the best I have ever tasted, it was very good and perfect with the lamb. It was ready to drink with lots of red fruit and herbs on the nose and in the flavors.

Dessert scratched our perennial chocolate itch very nicely: Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse with Cocoa Gènoise, Caramel Nougat, Milk and Sorbet.

Chocolate is not easy to pair with wine, a a nice Port works, and we were served the Taylor Fladgate 10-year Tawny.

In case we were still hungry, one last plate was presented with Candied Almonds, Caramels and Chocolate Truffles

All in all, an excellent meal with unparalleled ambience. The restaurant has earned its perennial Michelin star and is well worth a visit if this type of dining appeals to you as much as it does to me.

Website: https://aubergedusoleil.aubergeresorts.com
Phone:    1-800-348-5406

All images were taken with a Canon 5D Mark III camera and a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens or a Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD VC Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens (now discontinued; replaced by Tamron AFA010C700 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD Zoom Lens) using ambient light. Post-processing in Adobe Lightroom^® and Adobe Photoshop^® with Nik/Google plugins.

 The author has no affiliation with any of the locations and products described in this article.