Lots of buzz going on about the new French bistro under construction in downtown Santa Rosa. The restaurant is taking over the former Wolf’s coffee and Cafe Japan spots. At the helm is General Manager Justin Werth, who’s worked at Mirepoix, Monti’s and Tra Vigne. It’s a family affair, Werth tells BiteClub, with his family helping to back the project. Inside, murals and tile work are going up, along with a large bar. The restaurant will be called Rendezvous, set to open in early September. Werth is currently looking for a chef.

Also slated to open is Saigon Cafe at 420 Mendocino (within shouting distance of the PD). The restaurant is taking over the spot formerly occupied by Vivere and should be serving up casual Vietnamese dishes beginning in early August.

A bit further afield, we got an interesting tip during last week’s Taste3 conference about new inn and restaurant planned for Yountville. Located in a former vineyard, the Bardessono is going for serious green cred. The inn, spa, park and affordable housing (in Yountville?) is bucking for Platinum LEED certification — a commitment to high-level environmental safety and use of sustainable resources. The inn is set to open in Feb. 2009, but BiteClub was interested in hearing about the in-house restaurant which is currently searching for a chef. Folks involved in the project say they’re hoping to make it a destination-worthy eatery.

It was a dinner that cost as much as a flat screen television. A single meal for two at the Michelin-rated Meadowood Restaurant cost more than my monthly car payment, more than I spend on clothes, as much as a flight to New York City and more than many people earn in a week. Let’s be honest, it’s more than many people earn in a month.

The knee-jerk reaction when I tell people this fact is either “Holy #$!&, I would never do that” or “Was it worth it?” And that’s exactly the point. We can all justify why it’s a ridiculous sum of money for anyone but lottery winners and the obscenely wealthy. But the harder question is, what could possibly make it worth that much for your average person?

Let’s break it down. Here’s what you get for $661:
– Brief access to the very exclusive Meadowood Resort, a secluded retreat for the rich and famous. They have a croquet pro, if that says anything.
– Million dollar, panoramic views from the dining room, and at least four people ready to serve your every whim.
– An eight-course chef’s tasting menu ($155 per person) and wine pairing ($95 per person). Tasting menus showcase the chef’s skill and ability to weave cohesive flavors and textures from appetizer to dessert.
– Haute French cuisine from one of the fastest rising chefs in the Bay Area, Christopher Kostow, who’s been at the restaurant since May 2008.

Those are the facts. But why people spend that kind of money on a meal is a bit more ambiguous.

Kostow, who’s in his early 30s, is among the handful of chefs working in Wine Country who have mastered modern haute cuisine. This is the kind of food you eat once or twice in a lifetime if you’re lucky — plates so tweezer-precise that if feels like a sacrilege to degrade them with a fork. Radishes become art and herbs become bubbling foams and powders. Kostow stops well before reaching the silliness of gastro-tech (lasers, dry ice and the like), but incorporates elements like sous vide (a water cooking process for meat) with impressive effect.

Take for instance “Foie Gras and Strawberries”, a quartet of foie gras as a smoked custard; shaved with a peppery arugula leaf; incorporated into a mille feuille (like a layered cake) with strawberry gelee; and pan seared. On top, a pickled strawberry, foam and drips of almost imperceptible balsamic vinegar. It’s heartbreakingly good, paired with a sweet-tart Hungarian Tokaji. Would I pay what amounts to about $31 for that experience again? Yep.

Other particularly good dishes on the current tasting menu:
– Lobster in a brown butter sauce with a sweetbread ravioli, morel mushrooms and summer truffle. Four small bites of bliss paired with an unoaked hillside chardonnay.
– A barrel-shaped bite of Sonoma Poissin (a young chicken) with a single cockle, four haricot verts tied in a bundle and a splash of buttery cockle sauce and an earthy cabernet franc.
– Smoked toro (fatty tuna) sliced paper thin, topped with Osetra caviar and teardrops of craime fraiche. Paired with a cedar-aged sake.
– A surprise pre-dessert palate cleanser of sorrel fizz (sorrel is a tart herb) and plum gelee.

Two small gripes: Meadowood’s tasting menu is based on “a collection of dishes inspired by today’s finest ingredients” — a theme on the a la carte menu as well, featuring “Local Gardens”, “Nearby Waters” and “Pastures and Ranches”. Sonoma meats and cheeses and regional produce are well-represented, but there’s clearly a little wiggle room when compared to stricter devotees of farm to table eating (Dungeness crab in July? Monkfish?). At the level of complexity of Kostow’s menu, I don’t begrudge him using whatever products he likes, but I’m not inspired by what’s become an almost meaningless drumbeat.

The other problem here is the level of service which, for this price, lacked the impeccable polish and consistency (read young staff who’ve memorized the drill, but don’t seem fully invested) of other comparable restaurants. McNibs’ pretty much laid it down, saying “Uh, are we being served by the interns?” Consider this came from a man who wanted slippers and a robe afterwards.

After eight courses, three hours, eight glasses of wine and $661, I’m left wondering if I’ve truly gotten my money’s worth. Compared to the region’s other top Michelin-rated restaurants (Cyrus and French Laundry), I’d say yes. Though you can get out of Cyrus and Meadwood for far less by ordering a la carte, the $155 tasting menu is far below the $240 per person tab at French Laundry and comparable to Cyrus’ $130 chef’s tasting menu.

But this isn’t about bargain hunting. This level of cuisine is about the potential of food as sensory art. Kostow’s food pleases the eyes, nose and mouth, certainly, but wiggles deep down into the soul. If you take the time to explore each bite–to look at touch and smell; to appreciate each detail so carefully mapped out by the chef — it is transformative. Then again, I’m a giant food nerd who lives for that stuff.

Dropping a wad of cash on a single meal is a giant commitment for most of us. If you’re going to do it, Kostow’s certainly one of the best chefs around with whom to invest your palate–and your wallet.

The Restaurant at Meadowood, 900 Meadowood Ln., St. Helena, 707-963-3646.

Narsi’s Hof-Brau still fighting
If you’ve been following the ongoing saga of Coddingtown’s Narsi Samii, you’ve probably got an opinion one way or the other. If not, let me sum it up for you: The long-time mall eatery is facing eviction by new co-owners to make way for a Cheesecake Factory.

The move is in line with Simon Property Group’s attempt to modernize the outdated Coddingtown mall. The addition of a Whole Foods grocery is indicative of the kind of clientèle they’re going for.

The fight boils down to the fact that Narsi has put a significant amount of money into the restaurant over the years and claims he was told he’d have what amounts to a perpetual lease on the spot from Hugh Codding. He’s not looking to budge.A trial to decide the fate of the restaurant is set for August 22, according to Narsi.

But the question has to be asked: Why is Narsi putting up huge amounts of his own money to fight the corporate giant? Why not just move? Though Narsi claims to feed between 250 and 400 folks a day, he says business is way down due to the economy. The traditional-style buffet is a draw for many senior citizens — the sort of spot folks go for a cup of coffee and pastry in the morning or an early bird plate of roast beef, mashed potatoes and carrots. Not exactly the wheat grass smoothie or pear and endive salad crowd.

Narsi plans to fight on. He realizes that going to trial is a huge gamble, but says he’s 99.9% confident he’ll prevail. “They’re trying to force me out,” he says. What peaked BiteClub’s interest in the whole argument was what appears to be some significant action on a chef employment website for a local cook who’s been involved with several other Cheesecake Factory openings. Maybe nothing. Maybe a hint that things are heating up.

If Narsi loses the fight, he claims that the other local restaurateurs in the mall, including Fresh China and Sukura (both BiteClub faves) will face similar fights. That’s yet to be seen. What’s your take on the fight?

…Proud pop John Iverson reports that his daughter Ginevra Iverson of the soon-to-open Restaurant Eloise will be on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America this Sunday, July 24, with former boss Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune in NYC. The duo will battle Bobby Flay. Even dad, however, doesn’t know who wins.

…Santa Rosa Filipino food lovers are in luck. Trisha’s Lumpia, which I reviewed a few months ago in Petaluma, has relocated to 443 Dutton Ave. (527.0181). I have it on good authority that their fried pork belly is chef-worthy good.

(photo, Christopher Chung for the Press Democrat)

Historic Italian deli, Traverso’s is packing up the pepperoni and pinot; the mozzarella and tortellini and leaving downtown Santa Rosa for good. After more than 30 years in its B Street location, Michael Traverso tells BiteClub that they’ve officially inked the deal and will be headed for Fountain Grove Village at the end of the year.

The family sold the property to developer Raj Gulati several years ago and has been looking for a new location ever since. With scant parking and an aging building, Traverso says it was any easy decision to move. “We’re super niche. We’re not a grocery store, we’re more of a specialty foods store. We really have become more of a destination location, so we need more parking and easy access.”

The new digs are close to Agilent, HP and the Fountain Grove Club and senior center, Veranna, just a few miles from downtown Santa Rosa — good news for hungry business lunchers. The space is about equal in size and all of the features that have defined the store — the deli, Italian foods, wine and spirits — will remain consistent. The Fountain Grove location will include outdoor seating.

Traverso’s downtown will remain open until December 31, 2008 and plans are to open the new store in early January 2009.

Can’t live without your meatloaf? Traverso says delivery service is a definite possibility next year.

Traverso’s 106 B St., Santa Rosa, (707) 542-2530

Happiness is a warm donut and a cup of coffee. Not every day, mind you, but as a personal victory lap for the little hurdles in life. Say, waking up and getting dressed or perhaps having bent down to pick up the newspaper.

It’s easy to find a reason. Harder to find a good donut.

The Donut Cafe has recently opened on Montgomery Drive (near Lepe’s Taqueria) to fulfill your early-morning pastry needs. These little pillows of sugary goodness are made fresh each day and they throw open the doors at 5am every day of the week, spurning eager-beaver joggers and health-nuts. Or maybe rewarding them.

BiteClub leaves it to you to justify a nice glazed jelly or maple log. Just know the Donut Cafe is there at the crack of dawn should you need them.

Donut Cafe, 4275 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 707.539.2416. Open daily from 5am to 6pm.