Madera is a Michelin star restaurant in Sand Hill Road (Menlo Park)—a venture-capital office park—near Woodside, home to many tech billionaires. Surrounded by three of the wealthiest zip codes in the country, this is where techies toast as they successfully convinced us that our life would not be complete if we don’t have the latest iPhones in our hands.
You can tell from their wine book (not list), that they do take their celebrations seriously. Because you know…poverty is loss of options…so they say.
The wine choices are dizzying. Definitely brimming with options.D had JANASSE, Rhone Blend, Cotes du Rhone Reserve, I had Salty Dog: tito’s vodka, giffard elderflower, grapefruit . You can count on me to order the most ghetto-sounding drink in a wine book filled with French words…FYI, it was delicious!!!
I love how this bread was presented, take note of the butter that’s melted in the middle.Chef’s offering – Pannacotta with tarragon cream and onion blossom. Appetizer -Fromage blanc, apricots, brown butter, saffron, golden beets
Liberty farms duck, cherries, daikon, rhubarb, honey, gingerDessert – CALIFORNIA CHERRY–maple almond cake, amaretto foam, almond tofu, elderflower cherry sorbetmy favorite dessert drink –Chateau Doisy-Daëne, Barsac, Sauternes, 2009–this is heavenly!!!…and a fancy cappuccino for D!!!
This was a lot of food. I’ve never been in a restaurant where I felt I had to order so much. But everything was exceptional so it was hard to resist. Presentation, as you can tell from the pictures, definitely above par. Great service in these kind of establishments, are a given. From the valet, to the sommelier, waitstaff and the incessant rounding of the manager, everyone worked to get us a great dining experience. This restaurant definitely deserves its star.
I have been watching this documentary in Netflix about international foodies. The term foodie has been used so loosely these days, it seems like anyone who dines out once a week calls himself that. But these people really take the term to heart. There was this guy who was able to dine on ALL three-star Michelin restaurants. There’s a hundred something of those in the world, so that really made a grand adventure! Naturally, I got jealous.
Dining in Michelin starred-restaurants is not cheap. It’s also time-consuming as it entails hopping on planes because as I mentioned, it spans the whole world. This bring up a conundrum because I have to keep a day-job to bankroll this adventure, and said day-job needs my physical self to work well enough to get paid (telemedicine developers!!! you need to chop-chop and get this technology going already). So I will have to make do with dining to as many Michelin starred places when I travel.
Bouchon is a Michelin starred restaurant in Napa Valley (Yountville). I really wanted a to go to French Laundry but the availability was too close to our flight sked, I didn’t want to risk it. Michelin 101: book in advance!!!
I had Elderflower Mimosa and D had Bordeaux–Chateau Margaux, Margaux 1995
My mimosa was absolutely delightful, I had to ask how it was made—it’s a mix of Prosecco and Elderflower liqueur (exact brand is St. Germaine—don’t ask me how i found out, let’s just say it involved some unauthorized snooping around in their bar).
Terrine de Jambon Persille – braised ham hock terrine with parsley, cornichons and celery root saladD had Soupe à l’Oignon caramelized sweet onions with beef jus, country bread & Comté cheeseSteak Frites – pan-seared flat iron steak, caramelized shallots & maître d’hôtel butter, served with French fries
Don’t leave this place without trying the Pomme Frites. It is truffled but not from the usual truffle oil. It has actual truffle shavings! The smell is so heavenly. If Jo Malone would create a perfume remotely close this, I will be buying it!
Coq au Vin – chicken leg braised in red wine with potato puree, bacon lardons, button mushrooms and pearl onions
This is actually my second choice. I wanted to try the duck but it wasn’t available this season. Like all good restaurants, they change/rotate their menu entrees from time to time.
Ile Flotante – poached meringue with creme anglaise and hazelnut praline
This is light as air, well balanced by the crispy praline. Its of those dishes that individually, they’re not exceptional, but collectively, it’s a bomb.
This is a chocolate confection made of several layers of cake and chocolate mouse, topped with super smooth ganache. I’m sure it has fancy name, it just escapes me at the moment.This was definitely a lovely meal. Service was impeccable. And believe it or not, reasonably priced.
