Kenwood: Vineyards Inn All-Organic Basque dinner – One of the ten best meals of my life … good for the planet, palate and soul

[rworange]

This is the restaurant of chowhounds’ dreams. The unknown, unsung place, oozing charm where the food is top-notch, plentiful, inexpensive and served by a warm, welcoming staff.

On the second Thursday of each month there is a $40 six-course Basque dinner with unlimited wine that is served family-style. The rotating recipes are from Chef Esteban’s family.

The greatness of the dishes is not captured in the following deceptively simple descriptions. The menu for Dec 10 …
- White wine and two reds … one red was an organic wine made by the restaurant
- Basque chicken soup
- Baskets of Wild Flour Bread
- Swiss chard with chopped egg whites
- Roasted chicken
- Braised lamb shanks
- French fries
- Green salad
- Pound cake with chocolate syrup
- Amazing coffee from Tom and Dave’s (San Rafael) http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/673351

All of the food is organic and much of it grown by the restaurant.

Three bottles of wine were on each table and were replaced when empty.

Soup bowls with shredded Spring Hill cheese were at each place. A large stainless steel bowl of chicken soup was brought out. It was enough for two bowls each.

This is such a friendly, down-home restaurant that makes everyone feel like family, so I’m going to drop the Chef Esteban which is way too formal. Most of the repeat customers were on a first-name basis … Steve.

Steve gave a brief description of each dish. He talked about roasting the chicken bones for the soup, the farm supplying the chicken and picking the rosemary one hour before and adding it at the end for flavor and fragrance. It was lovely.

I forgot the Basque name, but it usually has potatoes. Since the menu had a lot of substantial dishes, Steve said this version just had cabbage and carrots.

Steve is someone who is deep into the enjoyment of delicious food and it came across with every bite.

The Swiss chard dish was based on a string bean dish once served at the closed Des Alpes Basque Restaurant in San Francisco.

Swiss chard was substituted because it is in-season now. The garlicky chard was mixed with chopped egg whites. It was so tasty.

Next was a platter of roasted chicken with the most wonderful rich jus.

This was followed by large tender lamb shanks that were served with the most flavorful French fries. The greaseless, crisp fries had a roasted potato flavor to them.

Next was a refreshing and nicely dressed green salad.

The buttery pound cake drizzled with chocolate sauce was made by the chef’s mother-in-law. I finally found a rich, deep coffee I like better than Graffeo. It was by a San Rafael roaster, Tom and Dave’s

Steve talked about each dish as someone who really enjoyed the whole process from growing the produce, selecting top-notch vendors and cooking the meals.

I love simple, rustic food that relies on top-notch flavorful ingredients. This meal was one of the best examples of that.

My dining companion had a medical emergency the night before and could not come. While I often eat alone, I was a little uneasy doing this at a family-style dinner. Believe it or not, I’m pretty shy.

Beverly was one of the first diners to arrive and asked if I was dining alone and could she sit next to me. It turns out she was Steve’s mother-in-law. She made me so welcome and soon everyone at the table was chatting like old friends. Also thanks to my fellow dining companions at the table who made me feel so welcome, Jay (who supplied one of the wines), Jeff (a local journalist) and Bill. I hope I remembered all your names correctly.

Six round tables were pushed together in the center of the room and there were about 20 diners. The greenhouse-like room has live grapevines covering the ceiling .They still had leaves, some beginning to turn golden. Bunches of plump purple grapes still dangled overhead. White Christmas lights were strung on the vines. It was lovely. .

Stepping into the bar with a lighted fireplace on a cold rainy evening could not have been cozier.

The dinners are by reservation only, are popular and booked months in advance A party of 12 or more can make special arrangement for Basque diners at other times.

This exceeds five stars.

This is my restaurant find of my life. I doubt I will ever equal it.

How I found Vineyards Inn

Kenwood: Vineyards Inn - Sturgeon chowder, Spanish tapas, Basque dinners, vegan menu and the greenest restaurant in the valley
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6641...

[hhc]

wow! Thank you RW for the report. I hope to go one day.

[rworange]

This would be an awesome place to schedule a Chowdown. I have a lot going on in my life right now otherwise I would do it.

[Robert Lauriston]

That sounds great. If he knew Des Alpes I guess he's local?

Here's my attempt to recreate their green bean salad:

http://lauriston.com/recipes.html#gre...

[rworange]

I don't really know his history. All I know is that Vineyards Inn has been in business for almost 30 years. I am SO sorry I passed by it so many times. Thank goodness I was trying to visit every farm in Sonoma this year or I would have never stopped. The sign that said they sold organic produce attracted me.

I want to try the $10 daily special next time I drive by at lunch time. Heck, anytime I drive by I'm getting a cup of that coffee.

[Robert Lauriston]

Thanks for the tip, this place is awesome. We went to the Basque dinners in March (guess I forgot to post) and again last week.

Last week's started with a pile of julienned sorrel (from the garden) onto which we ladled a simple soup made with zucchini (from the garden) puréed with chicken stock. Brilliant combination.

The chef's variation on the Des Alpes green bean salad is wonderful. In March it was made with kale from their garden (better than I can get at the farmers market), this time it was a combination of kale and green beans.

Then we had Morro Bay halibut filets roasted with a Spanish dry rub over lightly sautéed zucchini. Man, does he have a way with fish.

Main course was classic oxtail stew, followed by a tart salad to cleanse the palate before dessert, a wonderful baked plum something (bread pudding?), mostly plums.

We were camping up the hill at Sugarloaf and ended up going for dinner all three nights we were there. The next night the soup du jour was a chowder made from the bones, head, tail (maybe roasted brown in the oven first?), and scraps of the previous night's halibut: deep, rich flavor reminded me of Tuscany, maybe the single best dish we had. Kale lamb rolls were sort of like Turkish dolmas. Kale salad with artichoke hearts was great. Had seconds on the kale and green bean salad, which is on the regular menu. "Fire broiled" organic artichoke was one of the best preparations I've had in years: they put a little soy on the split artichoke (can't really taste it but it brings out the flavor) and serve it with a great aioli. Ceviche, peperonata, patatas bravas, chuletas (broiled lamb chops), palella with chicken, clams, mussels, and housemade chorizo, all excellent. There are still a bunch of dishes I'm eager to try.

Really good, utterly unpretentious, rustic Cal-Med at its best. This place is worth planning a special trip, particularly this time of year when you can sit on the (enclosed) patio and enjoy the view and pleasant evening weather.

[Ruth Lafler]

Let's see if I can get a place link: Vineyards Inn Kenwood -- nope apparently not. Stupid links feature!

[rworange]

Ohhh ... I'm jealous ... you got to go in the summer.

Isn't it amazing how totally off the radar of EVERYONE ... not just Chowhounds ... that this joint is given the remarkable food. I really loved the chowder on my first brief visit and it lured me back. From your report is seems like they have a real knack for soup.

[Robert Lauriston]

The place was pretty full, so it's on someone's radar. Basque dinner was sold out, both parking lots were full Friday night and we had to park down the road, good crowd Saturday night. Lots of locals.

It's not full summer yet, they just started getting tomatoes from their garden.