Redd, Yountville, CA

When coming up to San Francisco, I knew I needed to make a stop in Yountville to eat at a few restaurants that have been at the top of my list for awhile. My plan was to go to Redd for lunch, a quick stop at Bouchon Bakery for some pastries then to the famed Ad Hoc for a four course family meal.

We arrived in Yountville just in time for our 1:00 lunch reservation. Luckily the restaurant wasn't too crowded so we were able to sit outside on the patio overlooking the valley.

The lunch menu at Redd is mostly small plates consisting of varying dishes from pastas, to asian food to steak and chicken. Since we were going to have such a big dinner, we decided to order a few different small plates that represented what the restaurant had to offer.

We first started off with their Glazed Pork belly with an apple puree.

The pork was belly was melt in your mouths tender and so flavorful. The apple puree paired perfectly with the crispy pork. The layer of fat on the upper third of the pork was definitely the best part. One of the best pork belly preparations I've had.

The next plate we opted to get was the tasting of the cold Foie Gras preparations. There were three different preparations of Foie on the plate; a mousse on top of a puff pastry, a terrine and a gallantine.

Aside from the beautiful preparation, the mousse and terrine were the clear winners. Each preparation paired perfectly with a fruity accompaniment and went great with the pieces of brioche bread. The gallantine posessed a very strong liver taste that made it almost too heavy. But the mousse and galantine were fantastic and were certainly memorable.

For the entree plate, we got a Prosciutto and Arugula pizza.

The pizza was very light and relatively simple, but it packed a lot of flavor. I appreciated that the arugula was on the bottom and prosciutto was on top instead of other prosciutto pizzas. The pizza was very flavorful and wasn't heavy at all.

For the last dish, we had to get their famed Steamed Pork Buns with Hoison sauce.

The steamed buns were pillow like and the pork inside of them was chopped up pork belly. If we weren't so full by the time these came around, they would have been devoured in seconds. The meat was super tender and the Hoison added the perfect amount of sweetness. Certainly the best dish of the afternoon.

Redd definitely lived up to my expectations. Every dish was spot on perfection and the ambiance and service were nothing short of perfect. A great lunch spot that would start the day off with some amazing food.