MEADOWOOD >

With a boundless depth of charm and just enough extravagance, the restaurant at Napa Valley’s Meadowood resort is a wonder. At the beginning of your meal, a chef comes out of the kitchen with a wooden crate of fresh produce and flowers, like a magician who shows you the inside of a top hat before doing magic. What comes afterward inspires similar oohs and ahs: The tasting menu features the most original presentation of ingredients you’re likely to encounter in a field already packed full of boundary-pushing culinary minds. Supporting evidence for the Bay Area’s reputation as a fine-dining hothouse can be found here, where the efforts of chef Christopher Kostow bloom into an experience that will have you singing the praises of dried kiwis and secret cheese for days.

At $350 per head, the tasting menu here is the most expensive one on the Top 100, and it’s quite a time commitment if you’re driving up from the city. At this price, you’re asking for a meal that doubles as an out-of-body experience — and Meadowood delivers. This is worldclass, thrilling food. The wine pairing is $300 per person (or $600 for the vault collection) and includes tastes of wines both local and far-flung, including treasures like a 1908 D’Oliveira Bual Madeira that may plunge you into a mortality crisis. The best place to sit: Pray that they seat you at a table with an extralarge candle. No spoilers.

Order: The $350 tasting menu changes often and varies from table to table. You can also experience a lighter menu for $150 at the bar, or a larger, 20-item one at the chef ’s counter for $600.

900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena. 707-967-1205 or www.therestaurant atmeadowood.com. Dinner Tues.-Sat. Reservations required. Credit cards accepted.

— S.H.