Joy Godfrey
Garden sunflowers with matsutake mushrooms, sunflower barigoule, Chinese barley, young kernels and petal emulsion
Much has been said about the Las Campanas establishment that SFR dubbed Restaurant of the Year in last year's guide. Chef Colin Shane was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in 2017, the 2-acre organic garden inspires its ever-evolving menu, and the adjacent wine shop is a destination for enthusiasts. The modern dining room is staffed by impeccable servers, who must know a menu that changes sometimes by the minute. We decided to challenge them: I was dying for the New York strip with mole negro and heirloom beans ($46), my companion decided on the Alaskan halibut with porcini mushrooms and sweet succotash ($39), and we wanted a bottle of wine that would go with both—for under $50. After consulting his colleagues, our server brought a 2015 blaufränkisch from Krutzler (Austria, $42). It started strong, with tannin enough to stand up to the best steak I've had in a while, but finished bright and, shockingly, almost invisible. The meal, which began with an earthy plate of garden sunflowers with mushrooms and barley ($14) and finished with exploding liquid truffles ($3 apiece) and bruleed cantaloupe with custard ($10), was nothing short of a three-hour vacation only minutes from home.
218 Camino La Tierra, 983-2100
Dinner Tuesday-Saturday
Wine shop: 11 am-4 pm Monday,
11 am-9 pm Tuesday-Saturday
Twitter: @arroyovino
Instagram: @arroyovino
