Napa Valley Grille Welcomes New Chef

Napa Valley Grille has a new executive chef, and you might run into him at the Westwood Village Farmers Market.

Taylor Boudreaux took over the kitchen at the beginning of 2012 and plans to renew the restaurant's dedication to locally sourced food. He'll be making shopping trips to the markets in Westwood and Santa Monica.

Before starting at Napa Valley Grille, Boudreaux opened the Mastro's Steakhouse location in Beverly Hills, Hollywood's Citizen Smith, and was the corporate executive chef for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide.

Joseph Gillard, Napa Valley Grille's previous chef, is now the executive chef for Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood and Red Room and Wine Bar in Encino.

Boudreaux has added several new items to the Napa Valley Grille menu, including striped bass with cannellini beans, pancetta, tomato, watercress and lemon vinaigrette. A complete list of the new dishes is below.

“I’ve always thought less is more,” Boudreaux said in a press release. “When you are fresh out of school, you might think putting 19 things on a plate is great, but, to me, the soul of a dish gets lost. I came to understand that if you take a great cut of meat and season and cook it correctly, it will be amazing. It might be called ‘simple’ or ‘rustic,’ but it’s also about letting the food be what it should be.”

Also new on the menu:

• Belgian endive salad with mixed greens, fennel, pear, dates, bleu cheese, pomegranate, and cider vinaigrette
• Braised short rib sandwich with crispy onions, watercress, and horseradish cream, housemade root vegetable chips
• Bistro tender with parsnip purée, sautéed spinach in a red wine reduction
• Pork chop with roasted Yukon potatoes, sautéed mixed greens, bourbon applesauce 
• Blue crab cakes with tartar sauce, fresh herb salad, lemon vinaigrette
• Lamb Ragù with housemade tagliatelle, red wine, tomatoes, parmesan