Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/674905
68 / the tasting panel / may 2016 Fred Dame: Here I am in the hospitality capital of California, Mountain View. Actually, the way that the Bay Area is growing, who is to say where the boundaries are. Chez TJ is an oasis of Michelin Star cuisine and wine in the midst of a city. For how long? James La Mar: Believe it or not since 1982. The house itself was built in 1894, it was the home of the head of the Mountain View Farmers Association and is an important piece of history for Mountain View. We have had at least one Michelin Star since Michelin began rating restaurants in the South Bay Area in 2007. This was the home of our owner, George Aviet, before its transformation, and is named after our founding Chef Thomas J. McCombie, who passed away in 1994. We've had as Executive Chef Chris Rastow of Meadowood and Joshua Skenes of Saison. A Conversation with James La Mar WINE DIRECTOR, CHEZ TJ, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA Fred Dame, MS, VP/Prestige Accounts for American Wine & Spirits (a division of SWS of CA), and James La Mar, Wine Director of Chez TJ, located in Mountain View, CA. photos by John Curley