The Fried Dough Ho

This is sort of a Part II report of Michael Chiarello’s restaurant Bottega in Yountville. Part I was from the same meal, but was a Savory Offering of Fried Dough. It was actually sort of funny. My darling hosts and I had finished our meal over a serving of assorted biscotti when we saw an adjacent table being served a sweet version of Fried Dough and as I had been showing them my newly-created website, Ron called out to the waiter and ordered the additional dessert. Wow – I was really touched. I mean, we had just finished dinner AND a pretty decent dessert, but Ron insisted; The Fried Dough Ho needed a complete report!

Here, we are eating a classic dessert presentation, inch-long warm fried dough rolled in granulated sugar and served with two sauces, a lemon curd and a raspberry jam. How much better can it get for a die-hard Fried Dough Ho to have two different servings in one spectacular meal? My only complaint about the doughnuts was the predominant use of a large-granule sugar which hardened to a point of flaking off in large sheets when the doughnut was bit; that meant there was a significant amount of grease still on the doughnuts when rolled in the sugar. One had to bite through large sections of sugar. This could have been rectified by rolling the freshly-dried balls in less sugar or possibly sugar that is more refined. Don’t get me wrong, they tasted great, but the sugar “sheets” did not adhere to the doughnuts when bit into but chunked off in the mouth.

The accompanying sauces were quite lovely and well-made as well. I am curious why two sauces would be offered but one in more quantity than the other? I suppose the obvious answer is that they are supposed to go with the curd more with the raspberry being an after garnish, but being a raspberry fan, I actually preferred that sauce over the curd, but the combination of the two was really exquisite. What a fabulous evening it was, having two Fried Doughs in one meal!

I admit it — I get pretty psyched when I see savory versions of fried dough. Well, truth be told, I’ve only written about one version and so far, I experienced a total of three that I can remember. It was an unexpected surprise when some darling friends took me to dinner at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega in the Napa Valley (Yountville, to be exact) and I was directed towards a fried dough appetizer. I didn’t even recognize it as such when I read it on the menu: Organic Prosciutto “house cured”, pasta fritta, Lambrusco

“Fritta” means fried and it slipped by me until Ron described it. Well of course I had to have it… Served on a large platter were four massive fritters; pasta dough studded with rosemary, deep fried, and then rolled in Parmesan cheese. These warm globules of goodness were served alongside paper-thin slices of prosciutto which had been drizzled with olive oil and topped with a few chunks of mango.

What threw me was the bowl of Lambrusco. When the platter arrived, I hadn’t remembered everything that was written and I thought the bowl was some form of dipping sauce. Ron was the one who told me it was to drink and I felt pretty foolish, dunking the tender, cheesy wonders in the bubbly cold wine. But when a bite of the fritter and prosciutto were taken and followed by the Lambrusco, I had the “ah-ha” moment. The lightly bubbly wine was clean and bright next to the rich sharpness of the cheese coating to the dense, succulent dough.

I give great credit to Chiarello and his team on this dish. It would be easy to make a dough that is leaden and heavy and these were not. It would be easy to under cook them and there was no detection of a gooey, raw interior.  A traditional “dipping sauce” might seem an easier complement but by pairing it with meat and wine and fruit were inventive and original. Kudos are deserved and this Fried Dough Ho couldn’t be happier.

My last meal at The French Laundry was over two years ago. But my memory of their Coffee and Doughnuts offering rings as the benchmark against which all other haute cuisine restaurants’ doughnuts must aspire to. Reservations for The French Laundry are some of the most difficult to acquire. The meal lasted well over six hours and was more than twenty courses. And yet now — after all this time — what do I remember most? The white truffle supplement (because the truffle was larger than a billiard ball) and the Coffee and Doughnuts.

You must understand, it is not ordinary coffee which is served with this perfection of golden fried dough, but a coffee pot de crème topped with a light cream foam. And the doughnut? Warm, yes. Lightly dusted with Baker’s Sugar (a bit finer in texture than its Granulated Sugar counterpart). A miniature doughnut hole nestled perfectly atop its ringed cousin. The dough is rich and moist and cakey. In a word, Perfect. The roundness of the doughnut was Perfect. The doughnut hole was Perfectly round. It was not served too hot, nor too cold. There was not too much sugar on it, nor was it too sweet.

Rumor has it that this is no longer a standard offering on the tasting menus, but must be requested. I can’t confirm that but if you go, you should make sure to ask about it as in their famous Salmon Cornets, it is a classic French Laundry offering which should not be missed, even if it is not on the menu.

And to my great joy and bliss, I was sent home with a small box of doughnut holes… Because that is what they do at The Laundry: They make their customers as happy as they can…

6640 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 944-2380