MICHAEL BAUER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TWO CELEBRATED CALIFORNIA CHEFS TEAM UP?
Could the culinary rivalry between Northern and Southern California be reaching détente?
First, Daniel Patterson teamed up with food truck maven Roy Choi to create Locol, a fast food concept with the goal of offering good food in transitional areas of Los Angeles and Oakland.
Now Douglas Keane of Healdsburg’s bygone four-star Cyrus has joined forces with Sang Yoon, the Los Angeles chef who kickstarted the area’s gastropub trend at Father’s Office and gave a modern twist to southeast Asian food at Lukshon.
They’ve combined talents to open Two Birds/One Stone in the newly renovated 130-year-old Freemark Abbey Winery building north of St. Helena. The two chefs bonded a few years ago when they were contestants on “Top Chef Masters” and realized they have similar interests, especially surrounding Japanese food.
Two alpha chefs in one kitchen could be a challenge, but the chefs say the collaboration has been pretty painless.
“I’d say it’s like running it through a car wash when you start a dish,” says Yoon in a phone conversation after I’d completed my three visits. “I’ll do the windows, you’ll scrub the wheel. We randomly take different parts of it.”
One of the most fruitful collaborations is the Chips and Dip ($6), fried wontons coated with spices and served with a tangy Kewpie mayonnaise ($6). Originally Keane had tossed them with salt and togarashi. Then Yoon came up with the idea of freezing the spice mixture in liquid nitrogen and putting it in a blender. The warm chips are tossed in the seasonings and are coated with fine powder.
They also produced a winning combination with short ribs ($18). Keane came up with the Korean barbecue sauce and Yoon tweaked it. They then decided to slice the meat and tried about 10 different cuts to get the right texture. The chunks of Wagyu are first cooked sous vide and then grilled to form a sizzling crust.
The website defines the cooking as “Japanese ethos meets California inspiration.” The menu is loosely based on a yakitori-style restaurant, though it forgoes much of the more traditional skewered meats seen at places like Miminashi in downtown Napa.
Instead diners will find hybrids such as Tucker’s Daily Harvest ($13), a dailychanging selection of grilled and pickled vegetables pulled from the garden by Tucker Taylor, the culinary gardener at Kendall-Jackson. It might include skewers of radishes, onions and shishito peppers surrounded by turnips, beets, carrots in several guises — raw, shaved, cooked and pickled. They’re arranged in a black bowl with aerated tofu and a thick swipe of edamame puree.
This dish is something that could only be produced in Northern California. A similar focus on freshness also informs the cherry tomatoes ($5) where the bright red orbs are lightly cooked and melt into a blend of battera kombu, white soy and sesame. Sweet corn ($8) is creamed with white miso and loads of butter. You might not find the latter in a traditional Japanese restaurant, but it gives the corn a rich lift.
Many restaurants have okonomiyaki, but at Yoon’s insistence, Two Birds/One Stone simply calls it a “savory Japanese pancake ($15).” The puffy, browned patty is enhanced with duck and presented in a cast-iron skillet with bonito flakes fluttering and twisting on top. After seeing dozens coming from the kitchen, it became obvious the pancake is a top-selling item. Keane says they serve 40 or 50 a night, and there’s one person devoted almost exclusively to preparing that dish.
Chicken meatballs ($10) are another big seller, and for good reason. The skewered meat is light and moist with a delicately browned veneer, judiciously accented with hoisin sauce.
Every dish is open to interpretation, and I loved that the chefs updated the more common cabbage kimchi by using slices of lotus root ($6). Chawanmushi — on the menu as “warm duck egg custard” ($18) — has the expected creamy texture, but the flavors are unexpectedly bold with black truffles, uni and corn.
In many cases, two heads — or palates — may be better than one.
But sometimes the threads do not come together: Crispy wings ($9) were doused in a too-sweet chile-yuzu glaze; eggplant ($7) was simmered with too little soy and ginger; Jim’s dry-aged duck ($17) could have used more spicy tamarind to lift it from blandness; and the Iberico pork with spiced Vietnamese caramel ($19) couldn’t stand up to the harsh accompanying kimchi. Bambooaged sticky rice ($12) simply came across as a mushy mistake.
For dessert, the chefs feature an intense whiskey and chocolate custard ($8), plus several soft-serve ice cream flavors. The matcha soft serve ($7) is another example of the chefs’ collaboration. Keane put ginger into the mix and Yoon thought it was too intense. They compromised by taking the ginger out of the ice cream and sprinkling it on top. Yet, for me, the matcha was too herbal and needed another element to bring it to life.
The beverage offerings have depth and support the menu, including the cocktails. The Two Birds Whiskey Sour ($13) is made with rye, umeshu (a Japanese liqueur), lemon and yuzu honey. Enenra Elixir ($12) combines Scotch, lemon, galangal and lapsang souchong black tea for a peaty, complex flavor. There are also 10 artisan beers on tap and more than a dozen Japanese whiskey offerings.
Being in a winery in Wine Country, it stands to reason that the restaurant would feature an excellent wine list, and it is distinguished by 10 wines on tap served in 5-, 13- or 26-ounce portions. The blends are made exclusively for the restaurant and highlight local winemakers such as Steve Matthiasson and Andrew and Adam Mariani. Corkage is free on one bottle of wine per guest, if it comes from Sonoma or Napa.
Nick Peyton, who was Keane’s partner at both Cyrus and the still-open Healdsburg Bar and Grill, orchestrates the service. He is also a partner in this venture, and for the most part service is good, though it falls into the familiar trap of small plates. How does a diner get the most out of brothy silken tofu ($11) when the waiters don’t bring bowls for each diner? It’s not a major issue, but it becomes a bit annoying when restaurants don’t back up the shared plate concept with the necessary equipment.
Part of the reason Yoon and Keane decided to open Two Birds/One Stone together is because they fell in love with the Freemark Abbey building. With its rock walls and impossibly high ceiling, the interior has some interesting details. Thick, wood-grained tables are edged in metal and refined peach tufted banquettes contrast dramatically with the concrete floors.
The restaurant seats 130 and includes a private room and outdoor patio. While the visuals are exciting at first glance, they don’t translate as well when seated. The space is so massive that every table feels as if it’s floating in the middle of the room.
It feels like Two Birds/One Stone is still working to consolidate its voice. Keane and Yoon already have a fine pitch, but they may need a little more time to perfect the harmony.