Bouchon, Yountville, Ca

Oh boy....very behind on my updates, BUT, here I go, starting with today...I am working backwards- lunch at Bouchon....we end up here because I was checking the 2010 Michelin guide and noticed that Martini House was no longer on "the list." So we decided to try Bouchon again, as we weren't that impressed on our last visit, and they maintained their Michelin star rating....hmmmm. So where do I start? First off, we did not have reservations and were told that it would be a 20 minute wait....no problem! We did not have a res.....but we were not asked if we wanted to be seated outside.....after a few minutes, we asked if there was a wait outside, and the gal said, "no! We will seat you right away!" Ummm, it was only about 75 degrees outside.....I am not sure why those tables are not offerred as seating?! I guess she assumed that because all the other elder non-heat tolerant patrons did not want outdoor seating, that we would not want outdoor patio dining either. Wrong. We were seated immediately....bottle of Sancerre, Frank ordered the Bibb lettuce salad and I had the watercress and endive salad. Delicious. Then we shared the ham and cheese/with poached egg sandwich, quite delicious, and a sauteed gnocchi....all very good, but certainly not worthy of Michelin star rating for food or service. Service was amateurish, they kept asking if we were done with our frites (which were quite good and came with the sandwich), but other than that, were not Michelin caliber servers. They are getting their star rating because this is a Thomas Keller restaurant....a shame, because we much have preferred Bottega and Bistro Jeanty, both left off the list this year. I will choose one of these other restaurants next time we are in Yountville.