Financial Times 03.7.2020

‘I haveneverbeen

toarestaurantthat

understoodits

customers’needsso

swiftly.NoEuropean

onecancompare’

W

earrivedoutside

SingleThread,in

northernCalifornia,

hungry,thirstyand

somewhatexhausted–having

spentthedaytrampingthrough

thenearbyvineyards.

We were greetedbyayoung

man,whowe informedofour

plight.“Well,Iguessyouare inthe

rightplace,”hesaid.Withinfive

minutesofsteppinginside,my

thirsthadbeenquenchedandmy

appetitestimulated.

Thelobbyhasaviewthrough

alarge,openpanelofanextremely

modernkitchen.Atacounter,

ayoungchefofferedusathin

porcelainmugcontainingahighly

restorative drinkmadewithgrains

andthymefromtheirgarden.

Meanwhile,thewaitingstaff

finishedoffourtable.Thisshowed

ahighlevelofthoughtfulness

fromtheowners,KyleandKatina

Connaughton.Ithadclearly

filteredthroughtoallthestaff,

sinceneitherofthepairwasthere.

Ihaveneverbeentoarestaurant

thatunderstooditscustomers’

needssoswiftly. No Europeanone

–evenwithitsofferofbreadoran

hesaid,andwewouldnothaveany

meatuntiltheseventhoreighth.

Here,however, Iwouldtake

issuewiththeConnaughton

approach.Notdivulgingfurther

detailsaboutthemenu–forwhich

eachcustomerispaying$264

plusdrinksandservice–tiltsthe

balanceofthemealtoomuchin

favourofthekitchen.Itcouldalso

makechoosingwinepotentially

problematic.Thankfully, assisted

by AndrewRastello,SingleThread’s

newlyappointedwinedirector,

we settledonAnthillFarms

DemuthPinotNoir2013and

Arnot-Roberts2015Syrah,which

couldnothave beenbetter.

Theparfaitofguineafowl

wasover-seasoned,butthatwas

justasmallpartofonedish.

Enoughquibbles. Thenext

course–amberjacksashimiwith

slicesofbloodorangeandasmall

pieceofthebellyservedwarm

andtoppedwithchrysanthemum

leaves–wasatreatbothforthe

eyeandthestomach.

Thenapotcontainingabroad-

beanplantwasbroughttoourtable

withtheexplanationthatthisisthe

covercropbeingusedonthefarm.

Alongsidecameachawanmushi,a

Japaneseeggcustardtoppedwith

Dungenesscrab,andawrapfilled

withmorecrab.

Otherhighlightsincludeda

nabe,aJapanesehotpotdish

containingpiecesofblackcod

withacaviarsaucelacedwith

kombu;plusourintroductionto

TimeMachine1712,adarksake

madeinJapanfromunmilledrice

by EnglishmanPhilipHarper,

whichwasservedwithaduck

livermousse.Thenourfinal

savourycourse,aninterpretation

oftsukemono,J apanesevegetables

preservedinbrine,served

alongsideashimmeringly

clearconsommé.

Ourdinnerendedwithanother

custard(thefarmmusthave some

veryhappychickens),thistime

incorporatingOkinawablack

sugarandjasmine.

Accordingtofriends,the

Connaughtons’focushasbecome

moreandmoreJapaneseover

time.SingleThread’sseafood,

hospitalityandcapacitytorestore

lifeinawearybody–thebasisof

anyrestaurant–couldnotbe

moreimpressive.

amuse-bouche–cancompare.

Ihaven’t evenencounteredthis

styleofserviceinJapan,themodel

forSingleThread.

TheJapanesebelievethat

customersneedtomakeatransition

fromthehecticoutsideworldto

theinnersanctumofapeaceful

restaurant,andthataneglected

aspectoftherestaurateur’s role

istohelpthemdosoquietlyand

effortlessly. Atbest,itshouldbe

achievedwithoutguestsreallybeing

awareofwhatishappeningtothem.

Insidethediningroom(which

opensontothekitchen),our

curiositywaspiquedbythelarge

andbeautifuldisplayoffoodon

ourtable.Thereweresmalldishes

ofJapaneseneedlefishwithan

intensewasabi;shallowbowlsfilled

withfinelycutroundsofwhite

asparagus;abowlofsuperbly

seasonedwagyubeeftartare;a

cauliflowerpannacottatopped

withsalmonroe;asmallpiece

ofJapanesemackerelandmuch

more,allservedonsomethinglike

adoll’sexquisitedinnerset.

Thentherestoftheshowgot

underway.Ourwaiterdescribed

theirapproachas“ka iseki”

instyle–thatisamulticourse

menu,comprisingarangeof

textures,coloursandappearance.

Therewouldbe11coursesintotal,

SingleThread

131NorthSt,Healdsburg

California 95448

singlethreadfarms.com

+1(707)723-46 46

SingleThread,

California

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ADASHI OF GRILLEDBONES. CHEFSATWORKINSINGLETHREAD’SKITCHEN.PHOTOGRAPHSBY JOHNTROXELL

Restaurant Insider

NicholasLander

FT.COM/MAGAZINEMARCH 7/82020 43