"family style" news and stories

Ad Hoc is the name of Thomas Keller's comfort-food restaurant in Yountville, California, just down the street from Keller's other restaurants, French Laundry and Bouchon. The restaurant opened about six months ago with the intention of providing a "Sunday dinner atmosphere" to diners, with a focus on seasonal ingredients and comfort foods, as opposed to the seasonal by upscale offerings at the French Laundry. It offers only one fixed price menu and everything is served family style. When it opened, Keller declared that the restaurant would be temporary, as he really wanted to open a burger restaurant in the location and needed something to occupy the space while the plans for that upscale fast food venture were ironed out. Ad Hoc has become so popular, both with diners and with staff, that Keller has decided to lengthen its stay. Permanently.

He is not, however, giving up on his "burgers and bottles" idea of a gourmet fast food restaurant that complements its offerings with high quality wines from the surrounding vineyards. He is simply looking for yet another location in which it can be realized. For the time being, Keller says that he might add a burger to the menu at Ad Hoc just to get the ball on the idea - which Keller has been keeping on the back burner for 15 years - rolling.

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