Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc

For the second half of the day, we went to Thomas Kellers famous Bouchon Bakery, and his family style restaurant Ad Hoc.

While walking to Bouchon Bakery, we noticed a huge line out front so we decided to take a walk down to the French Laundry.

"The best restaurant in the world"

The French Laundry garden

After we saw the French Laundry, we were off to Bouchon Bakery. The line had died down so we went in and got a few of their signature Pastries.

First was the Bouchon's. These little cakes were a mix between a cake and a really dense brownie. Super rich and super filling, but extremely delicious.

Next were their Macaroons. We decided on Hazlenut and Caramel. The Hazlenut one was very good, but the Caramel Macaroon was outstanding.

Now that dinner was approaching, we decided to head over to Ad Hoc, easily the most anticipated meal of my entire trip.

Ad Hoc serves a pre fixe menu with an appetizer course, entree, cheese course and dessert. Their menu changes daily and is always something different and portions are served family style. Onto the food......

Course 1: Winter citrus salad, candied hazlenuts, blood orange, oranges and pickled red onions.

The salad was crispy, light and refreshing. The candied hazlenuts added the perfect sweet crunch and the two types of oranges worked perfectly. Great start to the meal.

Course two: Herb Crusted Sirloin of Lamb, Braised Greens, Bacon, Yam Mash.

The lamb was cooked sous vide and then grilled. I have no problem saying that this was easily the best lamb I've ever had. Even though it was cooked to a medium rare, the lamb wasn't gamey at all and was extremely flavorful and tender. The herb crust just added a crisp and delicious herby flavor. The braised greens were the perfect addition as was the bacon to give a little texture to the greens.

Alongside the lamb was a yam mash which is basically mashed potatoes, but done with sweet potatoes or yams. The mash was so creamy and smooth and the perfect consistency.

Course 3: This course was a hundred day aged goats milk cheese alongside a celery puree and some bread. The cheese texturally was like a Parmeggiano Reggiano, but tasted along the lines of a goat cheese.

Course 4: For the dessert course, we were presented with a flawless Apple Tart with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

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It was easily the best apple dessert I have ever had, but it was also one of the best desserts I've ever had. The tart was so flaky and the apples in the middle were caramelized. It was crispy, crunchy, chewy and so good. The ice cream on top just made it even better when paired with the caramel. It was almost like a bananas fosters, but instead of bananas it was apples. An amazing dessert for a meal I will never forget.

Ad Hoc strives to do family style food. The food is simple, common and food that people are used to. Ad Hoc takes those ideas and memories and transforms them into the most refined and delicious renditions I have ever had. Every dish was flawless, the service was top notch and the restaurant is perfect. Rarely do I ever leave a restaurant and wonder how soon I will be back, but I could eat at Ad Hoc every single day.