Miramonte (August 31, 2002)

St. Helena, CA

I thought we'd start our week of unbridled eating at Miramonte for a couple of reasons. First, we hadn't yet dined at a Cindy Pawlcyn restaurant, and since her restaurants are well known in the Napa Valley, it seemed like we needed to do it. Second, the menu had a Latin American feel, and I thought that might be a nice change of pace from the rest of the week's eating events.

sj: heirloom tomato puree soup, garlic, ancho chile, croutons, parsley
js: sweet red rellenos, braised beef, toasted almonds and charred tomato salsa (my description: pequillo pepper relleno, stuffed with braised beef, in an ancho chile sauce with melted jack and cilantro)

Good braised beef is hard to beat, so even without the spices and seasonings, I would have been happy. But the tomato-based sauce was nicely smoky, and the peppers contributed heat and flavor.  The cheese was blended into the sauce, so texturally you had very tender beef with a nice coating of sauce.

sj: mojito
js: 1/2 btl 1997 Stag's Leap Fay Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

This was an expensive wine, but fortunately a very solid one as well, with the bite you expect from a cabernet, combined with a nice aroma and taste of fruit. I'm not going to pull a wine critic move and rattle off the eighteen flavors I picked up, but I did get a nice blackberry and cherry flavor.

sj: roasted artichokes, cilantro and caper dip, roasted lemon
js: wood oven roasted duck, potato croquettes, roasted shallots and citrus sauce

In retrospect, this dish was one of the highlights of the trip.  The duck was perfectly done, light pink in each slice of the breast, with a reprise of the smoky chile flavor from the appetizer. The citrus sauce had just enough tang and was just syrupy enough without dominating the dish, and the croquettes were perfectly prepared; golden brown and crispy, with a velvety smooth filling of potato, melted cheese, and chives. I was expecting a good meal here, given the reviews, but this was much better than I was expecting, and so it stands out in retrospect. If only I knew how to make croquettes like that.

sj: fig gratin (figs stuffed with almonds, covered with port wine syrup with melted cheese and chopped nuts), roasted mate tea
js: peruvian sweet corn creme brulee with orange shortbread, espresso

We were first introduced to the idea of corn as a dessert at the French Laundry a couple of years ago, and although it seemed bizarre at the time, it actually makes sense, if you consider that good corn really has two flavor components: the "corn" part, and the "sweet" part.  It's the sweet part that makes corn work as a dessert, and it's the corn part that adds interest. Here, it worked very well. I love creme brulee anyway, though, so factor that into your judgment.

All in all, Miramonte was excellent. Think Napa Valley cuisine with a smoky peppery twist. We'd definitely go back, and I hope we do at some point.

Postscript: If we do go back, however, it will be to Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.  Apparently, Miramonte never caught on with the locals, and she remodeled the place and altered the menu.  Too bad, if you ask me, although the place is apparently now doing a booming business.  I suppose the saving grace is that the duck dish is still on the menu.