The best (damn) meal I’ve ever eaten

To do this, Kelly often leaves her post in the kitchen to recommend wine pairings to customers, welcome new guests and even offer some of her inside techniques to those who ask. At the end of the evening, she might spend as long as 25 minutes just chatting with patrons-turned-friends.

“Some of our regular customers are like family, they’re like friends, so if I hadn’t come out from the kitchen to talk to them, I would have never had the opportunity to meet them and hear their stories and hear where they go to eat,” she explains.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TraeAyhfwug[/youtube]

But before she reaches my table to chat, I smile because I see Marie.

Holding my three layer chocolate cake.

The woman from the other table was right ⎯ it is almost orgasmic. Without any impeding filler flavors like syrup or caramel, each layer of chocolate acts as an anchor to the next. That, combined with the fluffiness of the mousse and the richness of the ganache, creates a dish that is both delicious and sophisticatedly simple. But its straightforwardness is not surprising. “That’s probably what I’ve learned from Jan the most,” says Kelly’s sous chef, Clayton Cass. “For the most part, it’s just basic simplicity.”

While she often credits the freshness of her ingredients for her dish’s fantastic taste, there is no denying Kelly is as talented as she is modest. Engel says that delicate balance is a requirement for the successful restaurateur ⎯ and is something many chefs lack. “She’s very humble, but beneath that, I think in our profession, we have to have a balance of so many different things,” he says. “There’s certainly an artistic creativity, but there’s certainly the business side and the nuts and bolts of technique. She has all of that, and that’s really rare in a chef.”

Eating at Meritage is a fresh awakening — pun intended. Unlike most restaurants, it lives up to its hype and its chef’s creations are sure to lure you back for more. First-time patron Steve Lawrence says right before he walks out the door, “That was the best meal I’ve ever had in my life.”

Ditto.