Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fanatic than French chef Alain Passard
(see ) has visited Los Gatos just for the
privilege of cooking with him.
You'd hardly expect to find a Michelin
two-star restaurant here in out-of-the-way
Los Gatos—though the software million-
aires of nearby Silicon Valley certainly find
their way here. For Kinch, however, the
rewards of being close to his agricultural
sources make it worthwhile. Open
Wednesday through Sunday for dinner
only, this is a destination restaurant rather
than a local hangout. The tasting menu is
expensive, but if you came all the way
here, you'll want to sample as many of
Kinch's superlative dishes as possible.
320 Village Lane ( & 408/354-4330;
www.manresarestaurant.com).
( San Francisco International (40
miles/64km).
L $$$ Toll House, 140 S. Santa Cruz
At Manresa, in Los Gatos, California, David
Kinch calls his cuisine modernista .
Kinch goes for small portions that decon-
struct a dish's elements; in some of them,
foams and liquids concentrate the garden
flavors in surprising new forms. But Kinch's
great sense of northern California terroir
inspires every dish, and no less a locavore
Ave., Los Gatos ( & 408/395-7070; www.
tollhousehotel.com). $$ Garden Inn
Hotel, 46 E. Main St., Los Gatos ( & 408/
354-6446; www.gardeninn.us).
Straight from the Farm
183
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
The Field House
Pocantico Hills, New York
One fateful night, David Rockefeller had din-
ner at the unassuming Greenwich Village
bistro Blue Hill, named after the family farm
in the Berkshires where chef Dan Barber
and his brother and co-owner, David, grew
up. Little did the Barbers know that their
customer that night was in the process of
setting up the Stone Barns Center for Food
and Agriculture on his family estate in
Westchester County. One meal at Blue Hill
and Rockefeller knew he had found the
team he needed to run Stone Barns.
It was an ideal match of public-minded
philanthropist and passionate, gifted chef.
The Barber brothers, along with David's
wife, Laureen, now split their time between
their Manhattan bistro Blue Hill (75 Wash-
ington St.; & 212/539-1776; www.blue
hillnyc.com) and this country outpost,
opened in 2004 in a simply decorated
converted dairy barn of mellow golden
stone, surrounded by a huge 80-acre
(32-hectare) working organic farm. While
the farm also trucks produce down to the
Search WWH ::




Custom Search