Guerneville – Applewood Inn
Hello everyone, and Happy Halloween! Are you ready for a mind-blowingly delicious (looking) but also mind-blowingly expensive meal (it’s worth it)? I’m sure as hell ready for another one!
Last Friday, Cindy (my sister, for those of you just joining us) visited me to go to Alton Brown Live in Santa Rosa (which was fabulous. The guy is amazingly talented in several different fields). I thought that this may be an excellent opportunity to both knock out another restaurant for my blog and bring her to one of my favorite restaurants in Sonoma County. So I booked a reservation for a party of six for Saturday evening: George (from Abyssinia entry, fake name), Dana, Sarah (from Backyard entry), Mustafa (roommate, fake name), Cindy, and myself.
The first time I went to Applewood Inn was with Mustafa and his then-girlfriend about two years ago, and I was more than impressed. I remember being in such a food coma afterward. Since then, I have been more times than I remember, and I do remember that I have never tasted a dish I didn’t like. Anecdote time: Dana and I and two friends went to Applewood Inn for Thanksgiving last year, which had a fixed menu for the holiday. The starter choices were either a mushroom dish or a persimmon salad. Everyone at the table wondered, who the hell would get the salad? Well, despite everyone at my table ordering the mushrooms, we were still able to taste the salad, and my mind was still blown…
Some pretty relevant information for you all: Mustafa and one of the head chefs, Tyja Taube, run the CSA together at the farm I live on. So I guess you could say I’m biased, but I would love the food regardless because Tyja is a damn good chef.
Let’s get to some food, shall we?
Watermelon with Anchovy, Miyagi Oyster with Caviar, Melon & Armenian Cucumber Gazpacho
The first dish we (each) received featured three items which looked beautiful, and the flavor did not disappoint.
- Watermelon with anchovy and citrus: This was one of my favorite items of the night, which is very strange because I am not crazy about anchovy, but the oily, fishy flavor of the anchovy balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the melon and the citrus essence. Would eat again. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the added bonus of knowing that the watermelon was most likely from Mustafa’s CSA garden.
- Miyagi Oyster with Caviar: The oyster was perfect; not too strong, not too salty, and a little creamy. And the caviar was great too, which is a nice change since I usually find it to be too salty.
- Melon & Armenian Cucumber Gazpacho: I have never been keen on the idea of gazpacho. The idea of iced tomato soup disgusts me, but I’ve never had it so I really can’t say I don’t like it. Because this was made with cucumber and melon, it was actually really sweet and refreshing, which I imagine is probably much better than tomato gazpacho.
Butter Lettuce with Chèvre and Pistachios
I love butter lettuce! I also love chèvre and pistachios! So what a perfect little mini salad and it arrived just at the right time! It’s everything you’d want from chèvre on a salad with nuts. While it’s definitely delicious, I’m not big on salad. So it was good, but let’s eat some animals and cooked veggies, please.
Salmon Belly with Curry Sauce and Peanuts
YES, curry sauce! And on salmon belly to boot. Oh man, that skin on the salmon was perfectly crispy, too. I am usually not fond of cooked fish, but this was delicious (as is everything that comes from that kitchen). And of course, when there’s curry sauce on it, it’s hard for me to say no!
Eggplant and Pork Belly
Oh good, my favorite meat showed up, and not only that, but the best part of the pig! I love eggplant, and I love pork belly, so I wasn’t going to argue. They came with pureed parsnip and a sorrel sauce. I do not remember what the brown sauce was, unfortunately (can confirm later). But all of the sauces just mixed so well with the pork belly and eggplant.
Sunflower Heart on Liver and Chanterelle Mushrooms, Baked Pear, Egg Yolk on Rabbit Sausage over Mashed Potatoes
- Sunflower Heart on Liver and Chanterelle Mushrooms: What the hell is a sunflower heart?, you might be thinking. Well, sunflowers belong to the family Asteraceae, the same family that artichokes belong to. So imagine an artichoke heart, only flatter and sweeter. This was my first time eating a sunflower heart, and I found that is one of my new favorite treats! And I absolutely love liver, and then on chanterelle mushrooms? I was simply in heaven.
- Baked Pear: It was a pear, it had cinnamon on it, and it was delicious. More meat, please.
- Egg Yolk on Rabbit Sausage over Mashed Potatoes: I’m pretty sure this rabbit came from Sarah’s! And who could say no to a rich egg yolk on perfectly-seasoned sausage and creamy, mashed potatoes? Yes, please, and bring me seconds. If you go to Applewood Inn and have the opportunity to order rabbit sausage, just do it!
Beef Tenderloin
We have reached the entree portion of our meal. Cindy, Sarah, and Mustafa all ordered the beef tenderloin, which came with seared Sungold cherry tomatoes, chanterelle mushrooms, and bone marrow bordelaise. This is actually the only dish that I didn’t wind up tasting. Cindy said it was delicious, and I think that’s all you really need to know. 🙂
Alaskan Halibut
Dana and George both ordered the halibut, which was served with a Brandade croquette, sauteed sweet corn, piperade, cilantro, and lime. I was able to taste the halibut in the sauce which was delicious, and if a dish can convince me to eat cooked fish, it must be damn good. Would taste again.
Cacao Crusted Lamb… Woops
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……………………….
For the first time ever, I forgot to take a picture before I ate my own entree, which is why you see a practically empty plate in the image above. Can you tell that I enjoyed it? My lamb also came with chorizo peppers and “garden” peppers, served in a mint chimichurri sauce. The cacao just works so well on the lamb, and mixed with sauce, the whole entree came together. I order lamb pretty much every time I come here because it is always so tasty, and cooked to order!
Frozen Yuzu Lollipops
On to some desserts! The first dessert we all shared was a dish of frozen yuzu lollipops. If you are unfamiliar with yuzu, it is a kind of citrus fruit. This is actually the second place I’ve tried a yuzu frozen dessert, and as always, I was happy.
It’s-It with Chocolate Sauce, Puff Pastry Coffee Ice Cream Sandwich
Oh Tyja, sending out an It’s-It with his gourmet dessert. If you visit Applewood, this won’t happen; it wasn’t even on the menu. Anyway, packaged or not, It’s-Its are very tasty, so I was happy with it. But the highlight, of course was the coffee ice cream with puff pastry. Nom, nom, nom.
Welp, that was quite a meal. And I would eat it again. AND AGAIN. And you should eat it, too. Give Applewood Inn a shot. It’s pricey, but it’s so, so, so worth it. You can save a little money by ordering from the tasting menu! TRY IT!
Overall:
Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Decor: 5 stars
Yummy Sonoma 