Cox: A lot of good grub at St. Helena’s Farmer & The Fox

The age-old question: “Where can I get a really good burger?”

The up-to-date answer: At The Farmer & The Fox in St. Helena.

In fact, you can get a lot of glorified grub at this seven-month-old restaurant in the Cairdean Winery Estate complex on Route 29 just north of town, in the shopping center where high-end outlet stores used to be.

Before deconstructing the burger, some context. Cairdean is a Gaelic word for friend, and reflects owners Stacia and Edwin Williams’ belief that wine is to be shared. She’s from the software industry in Massachusetts and he is an aerospace engineer, but their passion crystallized around wine, which they make under the Cairdean label.

On the site’s 50-acre parcel, they’ve created a multifaceted food and wine experience. Besides The Farmer & The Fox, there’s a beautifully appointed tasting room. Butterscots Bakery is a deli, bakery, and market, serving breakfast and lunch. For shopping, Rosgal Mercantile sells one-of-a-kind accessories. And in the Redolent Sensory Room, you can engage your senses in an educational wine awareness program.

So, back to the Burger ($16 ????). Two reasons it’s so good are Executive Chef Joseph Humphrey, formerly of Meadowood, Auberge du Soleil, Murray Circle in Sausalito, and Dixie in San Francisco, and his Chef de Cuisine Jason LaBue. If these heavyweight chefs can’t make a great hamburger, nobody can.

The ground beef patty is 100 percent grass-fed beef. It’s a good inch and a half thick and perfectly cooked to my specification of “just shy of medium.” I estimate its diameter at five and a half to six inches. Cheddar cheese is melted over the top and the bun is what every burger bun should be: light and richly flavored.

Two small pots accompany the sandwich. One is freshly made béarnaise sauce, the other a ketchup-y sauce of roasted tomatoes. Of course there’s lettuce and fresh tomato, too.

Also on the plate are what the kitchen calls “January’s pickle,” a house-made live-culture dill, at once crisp, salty, and spicy; and “proper chips,” meaning British-style French fries, larger than we make here in the U.S., crispy on the outside, potato-y on the inside, served with malted vinegar aioli and roasted tomato sauce.

The wine list is extensive but there are wines that won’t bust the budget. The 2012 St. Supery “Dollarhide Ranch” Sauvignon Blanc is $51, the 2011 Provenance Cabernet Sauvignon $57, and a 2010 Keenan Merlot goes for $56. Eleven different cocktails are $12 each and beautifully crafted. Corkage is free for the first bottle and $25 for a second bottle, although this is waived if you also buy a bottle from the list.

The décor is dim and intimate, full of black leather and ceiling spots, with a black and white marble floor in a checkerboard pattern. China and utensils are first-class: the knife, for instance, is Laguiole from France. Service is overly attentive; my satisfaction was checked after each dish was served.

A rectangular bar of Black Pudding - think blood pudding - with Fried Oysters ($15 ???½) made a fine pairing of savory, spicy pudding with four lightly battered and fried oysters, sitting in a peppery cream sauce.

Who could resist the Popover ($9 ????), fresh from the oven every half hour. You get one, but it’s big and steamy and bready and served with apple sauce.

Fried Quail and Barley Stew ($14 ??½) were two separate items on one plate. The stew was barley and vegetables, the quail breast and leg were cooked southern-fried style, and a lump of quail-liver mousse perched on the side of the bowl. The offal-y taste of the liver took the dish in a direction it shouldn’t have gone.

Continuing the Scots’ theme, there’s butterscotch soufflé for dessert, but Salted Caramel Apple Mille-Feuille ($8 ??½) sounded more intriguing. The crusty, multi-layered puff pastry was stuffed with raw apple slices loaded with way too much salt. However, a scoop of buttermilk ice cream seduced me into liking the dessert despite the mouthful of salt on the apples.

To sum up: The Farmer & The Fox is the perfect spot for a drink and a bite in an intimate atmosphere.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.