Bistro Jeanty: So French you'll belch the Marseillaise

From pig's feet and escargot to jellied bone marrow, the French have an uncanny ability to drown pretty much anything in béchamel or brown butter and make it exceptional. But what keeps eaters beating a path to Chef Philippe Jeanty's Yountville restaurant is his elevation of rustic cuts and home-style French cooking from merely palatable to universally comforting.

A perennial vote-getter on the Chronicle's Top 100 Bistro Jeanty is oft-lauded as Wine Country's most authentic French country bistro. A native of Champagne and the opening chef of Domaine Chandon, Jeanty's menu features simple dishes like rabbit terrine, Coq Au Vin, cassoulet, Sole Meuniere, steak frites, foie gras pate, fried smelt and roasted bone marrow--classics informed by a mother's kitchen and hometown bistros. Classics that, to the consternation of some and comfort of others, remains constant. (Beef stew and cassoulet in summer? Really?)

In warm weather, the small patio is a favorite spot for sipping espresso and lingering over crepes Suzette. Inside, the restaurant is intimate and cozy, painted in a soothing tone of buttercup and plastered with vintage French adverts and Marcel Pagnol posters. Lace curtains adorn the windows and a country bicyclette sits parked outside with flowers in its basket. Calculated charmant, bien sur. Mais charmant.

Best bets on the lunch/dinner menu include the pork belly and lentils ($14), fried smelt, and Entrecote frites (a grilled rib eye steak with fries and Bearnaise sauce, $28), tomato soup in puff pastry ($8.75), and Coq au Vin ($16.50).

Daily specials supplement the menu--like a recent Sunday's addition of bone marrow. Not the easiest dish to approach, it's elegantly crude. High level stuff even for experienced gourmands, it amounts to gently scooping out the inside of a roasted cow femur, spreading the gelatinous goo on a crouton and moaning ecstatically. And while a silver spoon, civilized drip of Bordelaise and swig of Cotes du Rhone helps the process feel less flagrantly carnivorous, one can't help listening cautiously for the disapproving clucks of angry vegans.

With the opening of Jeanty at Jack in SF and PJ Steak (which has since closed) fans howled (as fans often do) that consistency had begun to suffer. Along those lines, the Sole Meuniere ($18.50) was the meal's only casualty. And while it was perfectly okay, the flavors were a bit muddy and tired. The brown butter seemed oilier and less nutty than expected. The citrus tang that I so love in this dish was only in the small bits of cut lemon I had to squeeze myself. And the capers were merely window dressing. Perhaps I should have followed the old adage about fish on Sunday and stuck with the steak.

Desserts keep the French accent with a focus on rich crème brule and delicate crepes Suzette with orange butter. For a change of pace, skip the sweet stuff and tuck into a nice slice of Epoisse (served a bit chilly for my taste, but nonetheless stinkily delightful) with candied walnuts and poached pear as you ponder post-modern existentialism and the brilliant humor of Jerry Lewis.

Bistro Jeanty, 6510 Washington Street, Yountville, 707.944.0103

Fig pizza con prosciutto e karma

This isn't a story about Ubuntu. But it starts there, on a very hot, very sticky Napa afternoon not so long ago--in fact last Friday. The story opens with BiteClub standing a the dark, all but empty restaurant wondering...um...exactly what happened to the breakfast and lunch service scheduled to start last week.

No dice. Maybe in a few weeks, they said. Maybe not. And so go restaurant openings.

Which wouldn't be a total tragedy but for the mouthwatering tales of fig pizza and Epoisse lavished on me by a girlfriend who'd eaten there just last night. Fig pizza. Epoisse. Say no more. "But I just kept thinking," she lamented, "that fig pizza would have been so much better with a little prosciutto on it."

Because, really, what isn't? But BiteClub regrets to inform readers that--at least on the opening menu at Ubuntu--"vegetable-inspired meals-to be enjoyed by both omnivores and herbivores" translate as vegetarian/vegan. No ham. No bacon. No prosciuitto. And on that hot afternoon, no lunch.

Cursing this second strike-out at the Napa newcomer, I called in my late-afternoon safety--the one valley spot that would definitely be open, definitely be packed and almost certainly have pizza (fig or not) to console my bruised karma: Bistro Don Giovanni.

Double-parked limos and cell-phone-yacking wine barons (this is crush after all) along the sidewalk belie the fact that Don Giovanni is, in fact, a pretty casual spot. It's Napa's hang-out--where everyone from the mommy-tracked to the fast-tracked rub elbows and chow on house-made focaccia, strawberry lemonade, bistro burgers and rustic pastas.

Around since 1993, the restaurant (owned by Donna and Giovanni Scala) has always fallen a bit below the radar of tourists despite having amazing patios, an impressive wine list and consistently impressive Cal-Ital (heavy on the Ital) dishes like carpaccio, lamb meatballs, lemon-cream ravioli and roasted chicken. Call it a blessing, though you'll often have to wade through locals crammed like sardines around the bar to get to your table. You'll live.

And alas, there on the menu was my edible Holy Grail (at least for today): A wood-fired fig pizza with gorgonzola, caramelized onions and, you guessed it, prosciutto. Ciao bella. Crispy, thin, smoky and savory with fresh slices of sweet fig. All the better with a crisp glass of rose and worth every bit of $14, mi amore.

Who needs karma? Just add prosciutto.

Bistro Don Giovanni, 4110 Howard Lane, Napa, 707.224.1090.

Downdog & dinner: Ubuntu opens

Napa's long-awaited new restaurant and yoga studio, Ubuntu, officially opened last Thursday. Curious crowds packed into the restored 19th century building to get a glimpse, quickly overwhelming the kitchen. In fact, BiteClub couldn't find a single morsel to be nibble on, leaving the opening party hungry and well-jostled.

The menu will lean heavily on the restaurant's own biodynamic gardens, featuring lots of fruits and veggies. Flexitarians and carnivores take note, however: Ubuntu is hardly a wheat-grass shack and will offer up meat and dairy.

The vibe is redeco-yoga-chic--exposed bricks and beams commingle with Asian artifacts, sleek booths and ultra modern lighting. C'est so Napa.

The upstairs yoga studio overlooks the restaurant, but word is that the spot has been specially insulated so that cooking smells and restaurant noise won't distract ohm-chanters above. Still, does anyone else find it strange to be doing yoga in a restaurant?

Ubuntu is open for dinner this week, and will serve breakfast and lunch starting Aug. 27. Stay tuned.

Ubuntu, 1140 Main St., Napa, 707.251.5656

Sky Lounge opens: Houston, we have a problem

After months of anticipation Sky Lounge has opened for business in the Sonoma County Airport.

The second area restaurant for Shiso's Ed Metcalfe (who runs a popular sushi-centric spot in Sonoma) the in-terminal eatery is primed to nab both hungry travelers and nearby office park workers starved for a decent lunch-break spot.

Jammed to capacity just a few hours after opening, Sky Lounge could easily become the next Jonesy's--the Napa Airport's popular steakhouse/meet-up spot. That's the good news.

The bad news: At today's liftoff the kitchen had yet to earn its wings.

Knowing Metcalfe's passion for seafood, my instinct was to head straight for the shellfish. My instinct was wrong. Hold out for the sushi chef who arrives next week. Three of the six oysters I ordered off-menu were barely big enough to slip onto a fork and their $13 price tag wasn't the only thing that left an unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth. I also made incorrect assumption that I'd be getting big, plump, local Hog Island oysters, but got a bill for Fanny Bays (which usually hail from the Pacific Northwest). Either way, disappointing.

The Soft Shell Crab BLT ($15) also sounded enticing with applewood smoked bacon, fried soft shell crab and wasabi mayonnaise on toasted brioche. It too left me cold and searching between the slices of bread, lettuce and tomato for the tiny bits of crab that ended up tasting bitter and fishy. The flavors just didn't meld and the burned bits of toast clearly didn't help.

Passing burgers looked solid, though they were as unimpressively plated as my own sandwich (white plate, no garnish) and with equally bland stacks of diner-worthy fries. I'll accept that at $7. But not at $12 to $15, especially from someone like Metcalfe who clearly knows better. One bright spot was a beautiful dish of salmon (the day's special) that passed by on the way to a lucky guest who'd ordered better than I had.

I also didn't try the large plates of rib-eye, filet mignon, hangar steak and porterhouse. Prime cuts will run you between $24 and $32 with sides that include the aforementioned fries, mashed or roasted potatoes; creamed spinach, Brussels sprouts or carrots. That's a heavy chunk of change for lunch and the sides seem deadly dull. I get the retro-chic of a blue cheese lettuce wedge. Brussels sprouts lack that clever irony.

But the news isn't all bad. Even on the first day, wait staff were eager to please and well organized despite understandable opening snafus. I'm hopeful that the arrival of a sushi chef and the daily influx of more fresh seafood (there's little on the opening menu) will bolster oceanic offerings and presentation will improve as the kitchen gets more comfortable with the menu.

In the end, I'd recommend giving Sky Lounge a little more time for some pre-flight checks. If you go, stick with the basics and enjoy the view--never mind a little engine spluttering.

General's Daughter: The Comeback Kid?

Everyone loves a comeback story. All the better when it involves Kobe beef.

After years of lurking in the shadows as a solid, but not particularly innovative Sonoma institution, the General's Daughter has been reinvented as one of the most consistently impressive restaurants in Wine Country. No easy task.

Because the only thing more difficult than opening a restaurant is trying to change the public's perception of an existing eatery--especially when that perception is one of bridge club luncheons and wedding rehearsal dinners. (I held mine there 10 years ago.)

But with quiet perseverance over the last two years, Chef Preston Dishman has been winning over the hearts, minds and stomachs of locals with his southern take on California classics. Backed by the restaurant's new owners, Floridians Jim and Bettie Hall, Dishman's been given free reign over the menu, marrying southern ingredients like andouille sausage with local tomatoes, Dungeness crab cakes with creole mustard butter or goat cheese beignets. He is, after all, a Southern boy.

Dishman stops, however, well short of making the whole thing feel hokey and forced. Calling his food New American with a distinct Southern drawl, Dishman's obvious mastery of classic French techniques serve as a solid platform for his experimentation in Cal-Ital-Lowcountry cooking.

Bottom line: This ain't just collard greens and grits. Think foie gras with roasted peaches; heirloom tomatoes with spicy rock shrimp and basil vinaigrette; buttermilk panna cotta with blueberry gelee, brown sugar streusel and blueberry sorbet; venison with harissa spiced carrots. And, okay, West Coast shrimp & grits with andouille and Tabasco butter. (See a sample menu)

It took a plate of Dishman's slow braised American Kobe short ribs at a recent winemaker dinner, however, to seal the deal. Swoon-inducing, the ribs were melt-in-your-mouth bits of meat and sweet sauce piled on a potato puree (more butter than potatoes, Dishman admits with a smirk) with baby spinach. Professional courtesy was all that kept me from a gushing bear hug of thanks.

Maybe next time. This comeback story still has plenty of chapters waiting to be written.

If you go: Dishman's menu is arranged by courses, with diners selecting three ($49), four ($61) or five ($73). All menu items are available a la carte, however, should you (and you will) want to share a few extra dishes. "Beginnings" range from salads to oysters; "The Deep Blue" showcase Preston's skill with seafood (sea scallops with Israeli couscous, Maine lobster with potato gnocchi, tomato and mascarpone cream); "Field and Forest" (lamp chops, beef with polenta, duck breast), a cheese course and dessert (fig tart, buttermilk panna cotta, Meyer lemon crème brulee). The menu change up depending on what's fresh and seasonal, and Dishman likes to use fresh produce from his chef's garden at Benziger Winery.

General's Daughter, 400 West Spain Street, Sonoma, 707.938.4004

Ferrari tastes on a Volkswagen budget

Get your bubble on: Domaine Chandon's usually staid etoile restaurant is attracting some hipsters on a budget during Bubble Hour, featuring half off Chandon wine and $5 sparkling cocktails from 6-7 pm. Thursday nights throughout August, they'll be offering swing dance lessons for just $10 from 7 to 8pm and a live DJ. One California Drive, Yountville.

All you can eat sushi? Sonoma foodie Kathleen Hill reports in the Sonoma Sun that Shiso Restaurant will offer an all-you-can-eat dinner every Wednesday night from 6pm to 9pm. For $30, you've got one hour to cram as much food into your piehole as you'd like (though there is a limited menu). At an upscale sushi house like Ed Metcalfe's (who plans to open a steakhouse at the SoCo airport this month), that's quite a deal. 522 Broadway, Sonoma.

Locals night at Dry Creek Kitchen: Charlie Palmer's Healdsburg outpost offers up a three course tasting menu Monday through Thursday for $30, $45 with wine. 25 Matheson St, Healdsburg.

Applewood Inn, which received a recent Michelin nod, serves up high-end Cal-Ital dishes from Chef Brian Anderson Tuesday through Thursday on their bistro menu. Frequented by romance-seeking tourists on the weekend, the Guerneville spa/hideaway is a nice little getaway for us locals during the busy workweek. Reservations recommended 13555 Highway 116, Guerneville.

Plus...
Seems Santa Rosa wasn't quite ready for Nirvana's high-concept Indian fusion. The restaurant has reportedly closed. Though BiteClub was initially enthusiastic about the food, continued problems with service and consistency--as well some fairly rabid counter-advertising by nearby Sizzling Tandoor--seem to have doomed the restaurant.

SolBar: Spa-side dining

There’s nothing like watching thin, rich, tan people frolicking poolside from your dinner table to inspire a little caloric restraint.

Then again, if you’re anything like me, the sight of all that taut skin inspires an order of beef short ribs with polenta, a peach tart, some flatbread and a strawberry mojito. Oh, and uh, how is that potato gnocchi, anyway?

But SolBar isn’t here to be judgmental about your food choices. Tucked inside the new Solage spa compound in Calistoga, this ultra-trendy, ultra-minimalist (think Press, FARM and pretty much anything built in Napa in the last three years) restaurant features a menu politely divided into two parts: A Continental Divide, so to speak, of healthy, calorie-conscious spa food on the left and the hearty, carb and fat-loaded stuff on the right. You know, your choice.

Hey wait a minute. I feel judged.

Best bet is to wander back and forth over the chasm. Though the menu changes up according to season and availability, a summer favorite is the chilled carrot ginger soup with radish, avocado and spearmint ($7), which despite its glow is a cold snap of refreshing, sweet carrots and crunchy radishes from the healthy left side of the menu. If you’re in a sharing mood, the hearth-baked sea salt flat bread served with three dips: Tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber sauce), a pesto-like salsa verde (lemon, basil, cilantro) and a brilliant red olive tapenade ($8, sorry not from the healthy side though I’ll give you a pass on this. Come on its yogurt.). Also worth a peek are the char sui bao, barbequed pork buns ($10, nope fattening).

Entrees range from shrimp and vegetable salad with water chestnuts, fennel and orange ginger vinaigrette to chicken breast with brown rice, ajo blanco and red grapes (yes, you’re so good!) to Petrale sole with lemon garlic risotto, a double cheeseburger with fried pickles (what’s with fried pickles all the sudden?) and beef short ribs with organic polenta, watercress and thyme-roasted onions (from the husky side of the menu). Yeah. Live a little and experience what may be some of the best polenta I’ve ever had. In other words, it actually had flavor--and lots of it. The ribs are marinated for two days and fall apart at the sight of a fork. I could have done without the goofy green watercress, however. Leave it for the salad eaters.

For dessert, the Frog Hollow Farms peach galette with sour cherries and lavender honey mascarpone ($8) was a warm after dinner hug (though the heavy-handed crust was left behind.) Valrhona chocolate pudding with toasted marshmallows and graham crackers is a cute nod to s’mores—best enjoyed by the open fireplace or flaming fountain outside.

Trying to manage the ying-yang desires of the spa-set is a tall order for Chef Brandon Sharp, a former sous chef at SF’s Gary Danko and French Laundry alum. And aside from some lackluster plating and distracted service Sharp’s clearly working hard to attain a sense of inner balance and harmony on both sides of the menu. It’s up to you to decide where your true bliss lies.

If you go: Don’t miss a poolside seat with exotic signature cocktails like the Strawberry Ginger Mojito (rum, strawberry puree, mint and fresh ginger); Brasilian (Oronoco oak aged-rum and fresh lime juice) or blood orange Sidecar with Martell Cognac, blood orange puree and fresh lemon juice ($11).

SolBar at Solage: Open to the public daily for lunch and dinner. 755 Silverado Trail, Calistoga, 866-942 7442.

Odyssey: Hidden Windsor spot won't stay secret long

Chefs are a notoriously fickle bunch to feed. Anyone worth their whites can sniff out undercooked pasta at 100 yards and won't hesitate to dress down a fellow cook (usually behind their back) with devastating candor if the fries are frozen or the spinach wilted. Suffice to say it's not just their knives that are razor sharp.

So, when word gets out that local toques have been frequenting Windsor's new Odyssey Restaurant after-hours, my foodie feelers start tingling. When I find out that the chef, Rudy Mihall, cut his teeth at Gramercy Tavern, spent two years in Italy and, according to an email from Jeff Mall "won't be under the radar much longer", my wheels are pretty much smoking in the rush to get there.

Nestled into the tiny space formerly occupied by L'Assiette, Odyssey has just 10 tables and a long, glowing bar that dominates the space. There's little room to maneuver, but proximity can have its benefits--like the ability to chum up to your neighbors and pilfer a little nibble from their plate. Not that I'm suggesting you do this uninvited. But when a ridiculously huge foie gras burger comes to the table, the urge is, well, irresistible.

In the six weeks since opening, Odyssey has breezed past the nervous tension and bungling that are the hallmark of first-timers and settled comfortably into wowing the locals. Mihall has clearly mastered the confines of his small kitchen (allowing more time for his creative coiffures) while friend and SF restaurateur Tom Gordon manages the front of the house.

The menu changes up daily, with house favorites like the pizza, burger and beet tartare as staples. Despite not having a wood-fired oven, Mihall cranks out impossibly thin and crispy pizzas, topped with arugula, pancetta and fresh mozzarella ($13-$15). And no, he won't tell you the secret to how he makes them. Starters show off Mihall's flair for the dramatic: Beet tartare ($10) with sunflower greens is a jewel-toned vision almost too pretty to eat and chilled pea soup with poached lobster (with, get this, pickled ramps) is packed with bits of meat that make its $12 price tag seem a bargain.

Capping off the food frenzy, you'll want to check out the foie gras burger ($21), if just to say you've done it. It's a layer upon layer of flavor (and cholesterol): black truffles, braised short ribs and foie gras encased by beef sirloin. It's not an easy thing to pull off--keeping the exterior from drying out completely, while making sure the inside isn't blood raw. Mihall gets it as close to right as anyone possibly could, searing the outside and finishing the whole affair in the oven. Roasted tomatoes and a brioche bun just add to the dedadence. Thing is, the burger's far too large to actually fit in your mouth, so just split one round the table. I don't want to be responsible for any of you keeling over in coronary arrest if you brave it alone.

Dessert hasn't quite worked itself out yet. Considering the sweet teeth of local clientele and late(ish) hours, we'll look forward to some creativity in this department to cap off the meal. No worries. Just ask the chef sitting at the end of the bar for a few ideas.

If you go: The spot is a little hard to find, hidden in a far corner of the Town Green and signage is minimal. Considering the buzz, you may want to call ahead for reservations. The restaurant has a considerable wine list featuring many local wines, in addition to a large selection of Italian reds and whites.

Odyssey Restaurant, 426 Emily Rose, Circle, Windsor, 707.836.7600. Open Tuesday through Thursday, 5pm to 10pm; Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 11pm.