Over the weekend, I decided to take my sister-in-law, MaryBeth to Napa to experience one of the culinary mecca’s….Yountville and Thomas Keller. I made a reservation for brunch at Ad Hoc, which I had never tried either. I was really excited for our experience and was hoping for chicken and waffles on the menu. We arrived and were seated at a lovely table outside. Our waiter came and explained the menu and I cringed!!!! Biscuits and gravy was the chef’s choice for the day!
Little back story on Heather……I do not like gravy, I repeat, I srongly dislike gravy! Everyone who knows me well knows this and pokes fun at me every once in awhile for it. I think I may have gotten a can of gravy in my stocking for Christmas once. I’m not sure how I became traumatized to gravy, but I am. Potatoes and gravy, chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy all make me gag a little bit. So I was horrified that this was what was on the menu for the day.
If you’re not familiar with this particular restaurant of Thomas Kellers the name should at least give you a clue. Ad Hoc….meaning fashioned from whatever is immediately available. Other synonyms are ad lib, impromptu, unprepared, unrehearsed. The menu is a Prix Fixe menu every day with the concept being comfort food from whatever is in the pantry. Today was biscuits and gravy! Just my luck!
Our waiter could see we (meaning I) was distressed at this news! He offered to see if the chef could whip up a veggie dish for us. He returned to say they could not.
Here is where the customer service went off the charts:
Our waiter was apologetic and told us that he had taken the liberty of making a reservation at their sister retaurant, Bouchon, which was right up the street. He told us he understood our predicament and that we were welcome to stay or either choose to go to Bouchon. We thanked him and decided to depart. As we were leaving, the manager reached out to us and told us our reservation was ready at Bouchon and to let the hostess know we were guests of Ad Hoc. Perfect!
We arrived at Bouchon and were promptly escorted to a table. We received the best service from our waiter, Sergio! I got my chicken and waffles AND a wonderful, stress free day with MaryBeth!
What could have turned out to be a nasty experience turned into such a wonderful experience. The staff at Ad Hoc were so gracious and kind and went above and beyone the call of duty to get us a reservation, on the spot at their other restaurant. The Hostess Erica and our Waiter, Sergio at Bouchon were exceptional! I cannot thank either the staff at Ad Hoc or Bouchon enough or rave about them enough. They provided us with a magical experience!
I’m writing a thank you note to both of these restaurants and their staff as well. I’m not one to either complain or praise overly much but this I had to share!