Call us flabbergasted. The Best Restaurant in America, as voted by OpenTable diners is St. Francis Winery in the Sonoma Valley.
Not that the luxe wine and food pairings that I once gushed “rival the kitchen of any Michelin-starred restaurant” aren’t deserving of the award. Most foodies know that wineries pay big bucks to have top-notch chefs doing super creative work (and not have to be at the whims of the general public), pairing great wines with great food.
But its surprising that the Best Restaurant in America is, well, first and foremost a winery. And beat out heavy hitters like The French Laundry, SF’s Acquerello, Daniel and Le Bernardin in New York and 99 other major hitters across the U.S.
So with a hearty clap of the hands, we say congrats to Winery Chef David Bush, who culls the best produce from the Sonoma Valley winery’s two-acre garden, taking inspiration from whatever’s in season, and has won numerous accolades for his work.
Want to see for yourself? St. Francis Winery has reservations for their food and wine pairings Friday through Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday) here.
I love this place. I have been twice, both times were incredible. Congrats!
Wow! Super congrats to the staff there! It is a pretty spectacular experience, even down to the views outside. Really glad a local place grabbed the top spot. I’ve done the food and wine pairing there a couple times, and was pretty blown away each time.
I couldn’t agree more. We did the food/wine pairing and sat there in awe of the experience. We EVEN said…= “better than the French Laundry” (as far as the food went). $45 is a crazy bargain for this once in a life-time experience. If you have the chance to go….HIGHLY recommend it!!!!
Do the people who cant afford a $45 meal get a vote in this?
No.
There are plenty of “cheap eats” spots you can find throughout the web and in biteclub. It wasn’t “most affordable” it was “best”.
They have spectactular food & wine pairings. It’s a lot of fun to get together as a group and explore the menu. Hooray to Chef Dave Bush and the rest of the gang!
Re your statement that the chef “… culls the best produce from the Sonoma Valley winery’s two-acre garden …”:
This is a self-cancelling phrase. By definition, “the best” are NOT “culled” — the rejects are culled. The best are chosen or selected — the culls are de-selected, i.e., rejected.
select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources.
“anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history”
synonyms: select, choose, pick, take, obtain, glean
The writer has used the term correctly. Look it up on your Funk & Estrella.