Valentine's Dinner at La Toque in Rutherford

After Shweetie and I started dining at a lot of Zagat's highly ranked restaurants, we observed that their 0-30 scale made it hard to determine which restaurants were excellent, which were very good, and which were OK. Our experience has shown us that there is sometimes a wide variation in quality for restaurants with the same food score rating, especially those rated 25-27.

This disparity led us to create our own scale that we use to rate restaurants, a 0-100 scale, which is a rating system that most people inherently understand, since it is much like a traditional grading system: 90-100 is excellent, 80-89 is very good, 70-79 is good, and so on. The exact score also gives an indication of how excellent that restaurant is or is not, and allows one to see the distinction between a restaurant that scores 98 versus one that scores 92.

Restaurants are graded on three criteria: food, service, and décor. Those familiar with Zagat guides will recognize that we use the same categories as them. Here's where our scale differs: Each criteria is rated individually, on a 0-10 scale, and is rounded to the nearest quarter point. The food is obviously the most important thing, so it accounts for 70% of the overall score. Service can sometimes make or break a place (a place can have great food but if their service sucks, I won't go back), so it accounts for 20% of the overall score. Décor is not a dealbreaker, but it can definitely enhance the overall dining experience, so it accounts for 10% of the overall score.

The above sounds really confusing, so here's an example to illustrate what I mean. Let's say a restaurant scores 7.25 for its food, 8.00 for the service, and 7.75 for its décor. To get the overall score, multiply the food score by 7 (7.25 x 7 = 50.75), the service score by 2 (8.00 x 2 = 16.00), and the décor score by 1 (7.75 x 1 = 7.75). Add all of those scores up, and this restaurant would land squarely in the "good" category, with an overall score of 74.50.

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So, with that being said, let's get to the real review, shall we? On Saturday, February 16th, Shweetie and I celebrated Valentine's Day by having dinner at La Toque in Rutherford. Dinner was a five-course tasting menu, and was pretty affordable as far as prix fixe menus go, at a bargain price of $98.00 per person. Each course had two options, except for the fourth course, which had three options - meat, fish, and vegetarian. Shweetie and I always swap plates midway through, so we each ordered something different than each other for every course, so that we could sample everything on the menu (except for the vegetarian option). A cheese course was also available if we wanted it, for a supplemental fee, which was the perfect setup for us since neither of us likes cheese!

All of the food was very good and we gave it a score of 8.00. Every dish tasted great and was expertly prepared, and there were no disappointments. The only thing that kept our food score from being in the 9-10 range was that almost every dish was played very safe. There was only one dish that really stood out and made us say, "Wow! That was a really interesting combination." In the past, restaurants that have scored in the 9-10 range have had at least two or three dishes that were really phenomenal and inventive. Below are descriptions and photos of each of the items on our tasting menu.

First Courses

Celery Root Parsnip Bisque with Baby Root Vegetables and Fresh Black Truffle


Seared Artisan Foie Gras with Manila Mango, Medjool Dates and Spiced Apple Gastrique

Shweetie really did not care for the bisque, declaring it bland, but I thought the flavors were good. He thought it would also be better if the bisque had truffle oil in it rather than truffle shavings, to really give it that truffle flavor. La Toque's foie gras is their signature dish, and our waiter told us that some people declare it the best foie gras they've had in their lives. I could not make such a claim, but the foie gras was delicious. Unfortunately, the mango completely overpowered the taste of the foie gras, so I had to eat it separately instead of together as was intended. I also did not care for the brioche because it was crumbly instead of being 'toasty.' Shweetie pointed out that the consistency of the brioche was actually appropriate, since the foie gras was not spreadable, but I just did not care for the brioche.

Second Courses

New England Monkfish with Fennel, Green Garlic and Sauce Verte


Seared Sea Scallop with "Brandade de Morue" and Meyer Lemon

The monkfish and scallop were both perfectly cooked. We enjoyed these dishes but didn't have much to say other than, "That was really good."

Third Courses

Liberty Farm Duck Breast with "Lentilles du Puy" and Port Wine Green Peppercorn Sauce


Niman Ranch Pork Confit with Soft Polenta and North Coast Huckleberries

The duck was good and we especially enjoyed the lentils with it, but the pork confit really stole the stage, and was actually our favorite dish of the evening. The pork itself was soft and could be pulled apart with a fork, but the edges were crispy - so delicious! The huckleberry sauce around it was very interesting - it looked like your typical "meat sauce" but surprised you with its tanginess and sweetness. This dish was the only one that really stood out as being more daring and inventive. The polenta was good, I suppose, but I think I'll never be a fan of polenta.

Fourth Courses

Leek Crusted Scottish Salmon with Caramelized Onions and Merlot


Niman Ranch "Eye of Rib" Beef with its own "Hachis" and Rutherford Red Wine Sauce

Again, these dishes were perfectly cooked and very good, but didn't quite have the creativity of the pork dish before it.

Fifth Courses

Roasted Pineapple with Creme Fraiche Sherbet and Passion Fruit Pearl Tapioca


Gateau Concorde au Chocolat

The pineapple dessert was okay. It was at a serious disadvantage, though, because the last time I had a pineapple dessert on a tasting menu was at The French Laundry, and that dessert was so amazingly good that I nearly cried. Actually, I think I did cry. The gateau was dense and beyond rich - too rich, in fact, for Shweetie, but I thoroughly enjoyed it with my coffee. Its consistency seemed more like that of cheesecake, rather than the cake texture I was expecting. The chocolate-loving Hawk would have died for it. The coffee was not so good; Shweetie declared, "This is some weak-ass coffee." At least it didn't taste bitter.

Service was personable and not stuffy, and we gave it an 8.75. Our waiter checked on us with every course and joked comfortably with us. However, none of the courses was explained very well by the people who brought our plates (e.g., "Here are the scallops" - yes, duh, I can see that, so please explain a little bit more about what's on this plate), which was what kept the service from being in the 9-10 range. There was also a little bit of confusion with the amuse bouches at the beginning of the meal. We were each brought a crab salad amuse bouche. We were then each brought a foie gras mousse amuse bouche. Immediately after they'd cleared our second plates, we were brought a crab salad amuse bouche again and a duck rillette, by a waiter who said, "For your first amuse bouche we have a crab salad and a duck rillette." We were confused, but ate them. After those plates were cleared away, we were brought another set of amuse bouches - the foie gras mousse again and a cheese puff. We were still looking at each other confusedly (Why are we getting some duplicate amuse bouches?) when our waiter came up to us and asked if everything was OK. We explained what had happened, he went and checked with the kitchen, then came back and said he'd worked everything out with them and that this has never happened before. This incident did not in any way affect our experience there, but it was just a little bit strange.

Crab Salad Amuse Bouche


Foie Gras Mousse Amuse Bouche

As for décor, the dining room was comfortable and quiet, and decorated with a slightly countryish flair. We gave it a 7.50. All of the chairs were oriented towards the fireplace. We were sitting right next to the fireplace, so it felt a little bit weird with all of the diners in the room facing towards us. The chairs were also a dark green color, and Shweetie thought the color didn't seem to go well with the room, but I think the green was a nice touch that kept the room from being too monotonous. The other thing we noticed was that the tablecloths were all about two-thirds of the way to the floor, instead of being floor-length. I think the room would have looked a lot more elegant if the tablecloths had been floor-length, but I suppose that would have not been completely consistent with the country theme they seemed to have going on.

All in all, this was a good solid restaurant, with an overall score of 81.00. We would definitely recommend it and we would go back. Chef Ken Frank was also kind enough to pose in a picture with us!