JUSTIN

Dinner at Justin was memorable.  Has a star from Michelin, and here is what they said:

Make your way through winding roads to find this lush retreat nestled within the Justin Winery. This restaurant champions local product sourced nearby and from the property's own 150-tree orchard, edible flower fields, vegetable and herb gardens and apiary. Whether your table is on the patio or in the dining room, expect to be enchanted by views of rolling hills and vineyards and cared for by a team that is serious about hospitality. Chef Rachel Haggstrom and her team flex their creativity across a single tasting menu. There’s no leaving hungry, and recent highlights include apple and sunchoke velouté, warm gougères filled with mornay sauce, and Santa Barbara spiny lobster with salsify. Back vintages of the estate’s wines are amiably priced.

According to the chef:

"95% of the menu’s ingredients are sourced locally, be that from the 26-acres Estate garden which includes a 150-tree orchard, edible flower fields, vegetables, herbs and an apiary; or the community of Central Coast purveyors."

— Rachel Haggstrom

Nice decor and walk into the dining area:

Showed us the white truffes,

This was a $400/person meal with wine, beginning with appetizers like Waldorf Tort, Black Truffles with corn, Dungeness Crab with cilantro flower, and Mushroom  Pillow with Wagyu Farce and Garden Flowers.

We passed on that above white truffles and saved $160/person.  Not sure what this was, but it could have been the Halibut Crudo (meaning raw).  With Lewis Sauvignon Blanc.

Laminated Brioche.

Next wine was a 2015 Justin Justification.

Jarrahdale Squach Velouté.

Japanese A5 Wagyu Ribeye with 2012 Isoceles and 2012 Reserve JustinMalbec.

At this point, I got lost among the dessert, Caramel Automn Apple with 2022 Sunny's Block, and Petit Fours.

Yes, that is a lot gold.  The tea ceremony.

Our dinner table, with Kaili Ho from Hawaii, the sous chef, and above, Executive Chef Rachel Haggstrom.

I did not have a chance to ask, but I wondered whether Karli Ho was related to another sous chef, Heather Malia Ho, who died in the 9/11/01 in the World Trade Center tragedy.  Had a lot of memories about Cellar in the Sky, a special dining spot within Windows of the World.

The Dining Room at Justin is superb.  A tasting experience for three hours.

• This is the only winery restaurant in California with a Michelin Star., led by Executive Chef Rachel Haggstrom.
• She came from her family's citrus farm in Temecula.
• She enrolled at the California Culinary Academy-Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco.
• Then on to Thomas Keller's French Laundry, followed by The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton under Ron Siegel.
• Ah, Wolfgang Puck's Postrio was next, something straight out of The Bear.
• Went to the Balboa Bay Club, then Justin.
• Not only a Michelin Star, but a Green Star for sustainability, Forbes 5-stars, AAA Five Diamonds and Wine Spectator Best of award excellence.

So how was our experience?  Only fabulous.  We each was presented with a Justin tote bag and left happy and impressed.  What was in the bag?  If you had a million guesses, you would have failed.  A bottle of water and wildflower honey.  One huge disappointment.  We came to indulge in a Petite Sirah, but Justin does not do this wine.  So tomorrow, on to Daou.

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