ad hoc at home

    Kelly and I were at Green Hills Mall the other weekend and made our regular stop into Williams-Sonoma to drool over expensive kitchen equipment, when lo and behold, a sales associate asked us if we would like to see Thomas Keller and have him sign a cookbook when he's in town in a couple of weeks.  As we were picking our jaws up off the floor, I managed to squeak out a 'yes'. 
    For those not in the know, Thomas Keller is thought to be one of the greatest chefs alive.  His restaurant, The French Laundry, is one of the most highly acclaimed eateries in the world.  If you have read my earlier stuff, this is the restaurant I was thinking of when I mentioned dropping a mortgage payment on a dinner for four.  Some would say one must envoke a higher power just to get a reservation.
    The woman went on to explain that he would be in town signing copies of his new cookbook ad hoc at home.  I signed up right away.  We gleefully skipped out of the store with a flyer in hand to remind us of the event.  When I got a chance, I tweeked a few things on my calendar just so I could be close to Green Hills near the time of the signing.  To make matters a little cooler, when I checked my mailbox the next week at the office, my new copy of Wine Spectator was waiting for me with none other than Thomas Keller on the cover!  How cool is this?  All that week, the big question was where he might eat while in town.  Everyone had an opinion.  Could it be here, could it be there, no one knew for sure.  My best friend in Napa knows him a little bit and says he's most likely to fly off the radar and hit maybe a small BBQ joint or something.  That's cool because we all know those are my favorite kind of places too.
    The morning of the event I felt a little giddy, great chefs are cooler to me than most celebrities, and I'm getting ready to meet the king.  I got there a little early with my Spectator in hand and picked up my preordered copy of ad hoc at home.  The line was starting to grow when my favorite local chef gets in line right behind me.  It was good to see so many people paying homage to TK.  This chef also was there to deliver a platter of food for him at the request of Williams-Sonoma, which I thought was great.
    They shuttled us into the store in groups of five while Thomas chatted up the staff at W-S.  Finally, it was my time to go.  I walk up to the signing area and Thomas gets up from the table and walks around to greet me.  "Hey, thanks for coming out, I'm Thomas."  I was a little starstruck, I must admit.  He signed my book and Wine Spectator.  We chatted a moment about mutual Napa friends and he asked if I would like a photo with him (obviously for HIS scrapbook), but this whole time all I really wanted to know where he was going to eat.  I was like Ralphie trying to ask Santa for a Red Ryder BB gun, except I never got the question out.  Some elf just booted me down the slide.  I didn't even realize I forgot to ask him until about two hours later.
     None the less, I now have a personalized copy of what looks to be a killer cookbook.  I can't wait to cook out of it!  Good thing we have people coming in town this weekend so I can use them as guinea pigs for some new recipes.  Look out!

Ciao down,
Penn