The Restaurant at Meadowood

Reviews 3

AL

Al Kitt

This restaurant violates the labor laws of California by paying a "stipend" to its interns instead of the minimum wage. Please dont patronize them until they do. ........................................................................................................ For-profit employers must pay the minimum wage--not a "stipend"--or they will be sued by the Department of Industrial Relations! Internships Are Not Free Labor! What many job seekers and employers do not realize is that, unless a job meets certain conditions, to their interns under federal and state rules (not a "stipend," whatever that means!). The recession, and the resulting loss of jobs, has prompted people of all experience levels to apply to companies for internships. Often they are willing to work without pay. While many private-sector employers offer paid internships, others, inadvertently or by design, do not treat interns as employees. Instead, they label them as trainees, assistants, or learners and provide little or no pay for the work they perform. (Some offer "stipends," whatever that means!) Federal Criteria The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) defines an employee broadly as "any individual employed by an employer." The FLSA definition of employ includes "to suffer or permit to work." In 1947, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the FLSA definition does not make employees of all persons who, without any express or implied compensation agreement, may work for their own advantage on the premises of another. (Walling v. Portland Terminal Co., 330 U.S. 148.) This may apply to interns who receive training for their own educational benefit if the training meets the following six criteria (see U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet #71): --The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment; --The internship is for the benefit of the intern; --The intern does not displace a regular employee, but works under close observation of existing staff; --The employer that provides the training from the activities of the intern and, on occasion, the employers operations may actually be impeded; derives no immediate advantage --The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the completion of the internship; and --The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship. The U.S. Department of Labor has consistently applied these factors in response to questions about the employment status of student interns. Whether or not student interns at your organization are employees under the FLSA will depend upon all the circumstances surrounding their activities. What Employers Should Do In general, employers must comply with all FLSA provisions and with state laws that are more restrictive in favor of the employee or require higher pay. Employers who are planning to hire unpaid interns must review carefully federal- and state-law criteria for determining whether a worker is an employee. If an intern should have been paid as an employee, the employer may be liable for not only wages, but also for any overtime pay, employee benefits, meal and rest periods, and penalties.

NE

Nei Ng

This was my first Michelin 3 star experience, and the dinner was really good overall. After a few amuse bouches, our meal started with surf clam (gwai fei pong at Chinese restaurants) with avocado and lardo. I loved the flavor combination as avocado and lardo added a nice richness to the clam. My only complaint about this dish is that the surf clam was minced up. I really think it wouldve been more interesting if the clam meat was cut into large, thin slices, because the surf clams natural firm texture wouldve created a nice contrast with the softer avocado and lardo. The little mini brioche that accompanied the clam was also pretty fantastic. It had a rich and buttery flavor, but it was still soft and fluffy. Mmmm so good. My favorite dish of the night was the abalone on smoked peppers and eggplant. The abalone was perfectly tender and not rubbery at all. There was no hint of fishiness, and its delicate sweetness was complimented by the fragrant smoke in the peppers, eggplant, and brothy sauce. I really enjoyed the execution of the dish as well. The crisp sides of the abalone with the soft eggplant and runny sauce created really deep layers of textures. I kinda wish the dinner was just multiple servings of this course. The poultry and vegetable broth was also surprisingly good. While some thought it was too salty, I liked its boldness, and it had a strong umami flavor. The vegetables gave it a balanced sweetness, but Im not sure if the bee resin did anything. Ive never had bee resin before, so I wasnt sure what to look for. What would really take this broth to the next level would be a little ginseng. Maybe its my Chinese taste buds, but I think just a hint of ginseng bitterness wouldve added some more complexity and balance to the broth. Regardless, it was still really tasty. I think the only other memorable dish was the brillat savarin cheese, which was the last of the savory courses. Its very rich, creamy, savory, slightly salty, but not very sour which I liked. I cant say I cared that much about the handmade rye bread (Tartines country loaf tastes better), but the cheese was delicious. The rest of the dinner was either weird or underwhelming. There was this strange cereal dish in the middle of the meal that felt out of place. It was various grains in Oaxacan corn flavored milk. Maybe Im just not sophisticated enough to appreciate its inclusion, but I didnt like it. The pork collar and squab courses also didnt feel very special. They were served with their typical complimentary fruits like figs and berries. I thought the seafood courses were way more delicious and creative. While not everything was perfect, there were some very memorable courses that made the experience worthwhile. Yay Meadowood.

BU

Buddy Dillenberg

I want to warn you all, my fellow fine diners, about my horrible experience at Meadowood. With so many fine dining and casual dining options in the Napa Valley, I strongly urge you all to look elsewhere for your culinary needs or else risk the same problems I had during my visit and subsequent communications with management. In a nutshell, my wife and I went to dinner with our friends [another couple] and all of us disliked EVERY COURSE of food. Nothing was even close to appealing except the tea cookies that came with one of the dessert courses. For over $1400 for the four of us without any alcohol, this is simply unacceptable. Please bear in mind that we frequent Michelin starred restaurants and understand how great food tastes [we had been at the French Laundry the night before which was tremendous and also Epicure in Paris three weeks earlier which was also marvelous - as any establishment with THREE Michelin stars should be]. The fact that not one of us liked any of the numerous courses of food is almost hard for us to believe and we left the restaurant in shock that we all felt the same way. After reflecting on our evening, I had my travel concierge reach out to the restaurant’s management. Meadowood’s assistant director, Chitra Samanta, proceeded to tell him that my group was intoxicated and argued with each other outside. Yes, you are reading this correctly - instead of addressing the bad food - they went after us personally. After some simply questions from my concierge, Chitra admitted that her staff said we had not had any alcohol with our meal, that they had not addressed the alleged intoxication with us, and that we had not made any staff or restaurant guests uncomfortable. They just “felt that way” - basically trying to cover up/divert from the issue at hand. At this point, I called Chitra and spoke with her myself. I calmly relayed our disappointment and addressed each of their unfounded issues with our party [it is ridiculous that we were put in this situation in the first place when it was a problem with the food!]. She agreed to speak with the head chef and restaurant director about what she called “your side of the story.” A few hours later I received an email [not even a phone call] stating that they were not going to do anything about our negative experience. Instead, the email insituated that our palettes were not up to par with their food!! Unbelievable! It is clear to me that Meadowood cares more about keeping our money than doing ANYTHING to resolve this horrible situation. They insulted our characters with baseless claims of intoxication and poor behavior, which are totally false. FOOD LOVERS BEWARE! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY AT MEADOWOOD!