Auro At Four Seasons Resort and Residences, Napa Valley 400 Silverado Trail, Calistoga 707-709-2160 Auronapavalley.com
Dinner, Wednesday to Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. 7-course tasting menu, $225 per person; wine pairing, $165 per person
Michelin after his first year at Auro; served as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef ; and was a finalist for best California chef in the James Beard Foundation Awards. He’s also a local kid, having attended Vintage High School as a teen. An after-school dishwashing job was the modest start to what has so far been a notable career. At 38, he’s only getting started. The latter half of the tasting was highlighted by a tender squab— crusted with pistachio, the savory bird was sweetened by Hosui pear and a dark mole; and, finally, a cut of wagyu beef, grilled with binchotan charcoal for maximum smoky flavor. The meal rounded out with a decadent cinnamon bunuelo—the bun served atop a caramelized chocolate cremeux, surrounded by a foamy horchata. By meal’s end, more than the menu’s featured courses had crossed our palates—a handful of tasty chef’s selections preceded the first course; a decadent milk bread with butter came our way about halfway through. The amuse-bouche and house bread are just further examples of how beating expectations is part of the Auro experience. The incredible food is another. As we left, we heard another round: “Visitors in the kitchen!” “Welcome!” t
Did You Know? Chef Rogelio Garcia recently published his first book. Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country (Abrams, 288 pages), a visually rich volume of 150 recipes mixed with Garcia’s personal reflections on his own immigrant story from Mexico to Napa—he’s a beneficiary of the DACA program—and how that journey has shaped his culinary worldview. Written with Andrea Lawson Gray.
Jason Walsh is editor in chief of NorthBay biz magazine and northbaybiz.com. A North Bay native, he’s spent his career covering the news, lifestyles and people of Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties. When not up to his elbows in page proofs, you can find him and his family exploring all corners of the North Bay from their home base in Novato.
Garcia’s book, ‘Convivir’ mixes modern Mexican recipes with reflections about his own immigrant story.
December 2024
NorthBaybiz 61
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