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Bauer Renews Meadowood’s Four Stars, Calls Kostow an ‘Artist’

Meadowood's remodeled dining room.
Meadowood’s remodeled dining room. Photo: Courtesy of Meadowood

Michael Bauer made a return visit to Meadowood in St. Helena recently to assess the state of the Michelin three-star restaurant, post-remodel and menu change. Diners are now asked ahead of time if they have any food preferences or dietary restrictions, and chef Christopher Kostow customizes each person’s experience, with no menus presented until after the meal. Bauer finds everything still excellent, artful, and “quite a ride.” Still, though, he has a few complaints, mostly with the service. They phoned him twice to ask about dietary restrictions, etc., and he’s not generally a fan of not knowing what he’ll be eating — of course, in today’s age of cryptic menus with single-word ingredient descriptions, it’s hard ever to know what you’ll be eating at higher end restaurants. But he’s also a little put off by a too-casual server, and Florence and the Machine playing the dining room. Nonetheless, it’s four stars overall. [Chron]

Bauer Renews Meadowood’s Four Stars, Calls Kostow an ‘Artist’