D I N E W I S E WITH JASON WALSH
John Ash & Company M eet the new John Ash & Company. Sonoma County’s quintessential farm-to-table restaurant is taking the initial steps in what is planned as a broad transformation of the 92-acre Vintners Resort—and if the refreshed JAC is any indication, the resort- wide changes ahead warrant high anticipation. The resort and its restaurants—JAC handles dinner; the River Vine breakfast and lunch—were acquired in 2023 by Jackson Family Wines (partnering with luxury hotel operator Ensemble Investments) with a long-term vision for design and facility upgrades, new experiential offerings and potential brand repositioning. From what one can tell from the steps taken with John Ash & Co., the plan is to keep what has worked over the years to establish the restaurant’s stellar reputation—and improve everywhere else. “A more modern John Ash” is the description used in last May’s announcement that Sergio Howland had been hired as resort executive chef, a few months following the departure of longtime chef Tom Schmidt. A native of Mexico and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Howland has spent much of his culinary career in restaurants at top luxury resorts, including kitchens in Los Cabos, Palm Beach, Cancun, Vail and the Auberge du Soleil Restaurant in Napa. He wants John Ash menus to “reflect the changing seasons”—a timely promise at the time of our visit at the beginning of October, as summer changed to fall, and Howland had recently debuted a new menu. We started with a small plate of the Hog Island oysters ($24), served in a vinegar-based cucumber-shallot sauce (or “hogwash,” as dubbed at Hog Island Oyster Co., known for its long association with John Ash) with lemon wedges to add a touch of zest. Also recommended was the wild shrimp aguachile ($21), with its lime- marinated seafood in a tomatillo “broth” with cucumber, red onion, serrano pepper, cilantro and small cuts of orange. Howland came out to welcome us as the starters were served and described wanting to “lighten” the menu—a goal wholly reflected in our small plates’ flavor-enhancing use of citrus and fresh vegetables from the resort’s culinary gardens. (Howland believes the shrimp aguachile, a Mexican seafood specialty with origins along the Sinaloa coast, is the dish that “won him the job.”) We were seated in the covered terrace with an open view to the vineyards—the brick-red square-tiled floor, arched entryways and all-white table linens retain the Mediterranean vibe the restaurant has nurtured throughout the years. The restaurant was founded in 1980 by namesake John Ash, whose pioneering use of local, seasonal
Shrimp aguachile, one of chef Sergio Howland’s signature dishes.
Hog Island oysters, with a bit of ‘hogwash.’
44 NorthBaybiz
November 2024
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