Jolē - CALISTOGA

If JoLe's demographic region was based somewhere random sub-urban throughout US, this restaurant would have shine for me. By comparison to a flock of Michilin 1-3 stars restaurants in this region, JoLe didn't work out for me and my family. Duck breast was undercooked and fish was overcooked. Perhaps the chef had a bad day.

We came here for our 1 year anniversary dinner and it was very good. Both my husband and I had the 4 course meal and we only got 1 dessert. The dishes we had are the following: 1. Steak Tartar/Spicy Prawn Sambal: Steak Tartar was great. My only complaint was I thought it was a little odd to have it already on hot bread. Spicy prawn dish was a little too spicy. Both my husband and I like spicy food, but this lingered for a long time and the sambal was all we tasted. 2. Potato Gnocchi/ Duck Confit: Gnocchi was my favorite dish. These were perfect. Duck dish was also very good with the mushrooms and the apple sauce was a great accompaniment. 3. Grilled Spanish Octopus/ Grilled NY Steak: Octopus was great and so was the NY Steak. The steak was my husband's favorite dish. Cooked perfect. This was also a huge amount of food. 4. Quail/ Meyer Lemon Dessert: The quail dish was our least favorite. The skin was not crispy and just came off the bird kind of rubbery. The avocado didn't add anything to the dish and all I tasted was the sauce. The meyer lemon dessert was a great ending because it tasted very fresh and light. I had the wine pairing and everything was perfect. Learning about the wine was actually my favorite thing of the whole night. I would recommend this place.

As vegetarians eating in non-specialty restaurants we always keep our fingers crossed until after the presentation and first taste. It's easy for instructions to get lost between the table and kitchen. We had two great dishes the night we ate at JoLe, a salad with curried pumpkin seeds and a deeply flavored and comforting gnocchi. Unfortunately, we did have an issue with bacon added to a risotto dish we were promised would be vegetarian but the staff recognized the error (and resultant upset) and took the time talk with us. I wish we'd had more time in Calistoga to go back to JoLe and try them again. Despite the mix-up, we were impressed by the food and the staff, especially compared to other restaurants we tried in elsewhere in the valley.

The food was wonderful! We ordered the 4 course tasting menu with wine which was more than enough for 2 hungry diners. The gnocchi with kale was fabulous, my husband raved about the foie gras, and the duck with persimmons was inspired. Everything was mouthwateringly tasty. Chocolate mousse with ancho chili was a great meal ending. All of the food really felt like the chef was imaginative without being silly. The wine was also well matched with each course. The sommelier was really entertaining while describing where the wines came from and how they would complement each food course. We were there on a very busy night tractor parade right outside the door but service was still timely. It's kind of pricey but worth it for a special dinner.

Cocktails and the 4 course tasting menu with dessert were absolutely perfect: Brussels sprout, ceviche, rabbit, pork belly, prawn and clam dishes all distinctly prepared and delivered by a personable, welcoming wait staff. We will be back!