Hedonism Ink

Flowers For My Valentine

2012-02-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

Nothing says "I love you" like fresh flowers on her opakapaka.

Chef Perry Hoffman knows what he's doing in this department. These hand picked blooms bring colorful whimsy and tenderness to a succulent opakapaka filet, served over green garlic puree with a medley of braised cardoons, sunchokes, and slivered picholine olives. The dish is the second course of the Sweetheart Menu being served at étoile today in honor of the holiday. Don't miss the unfiltered Newton Chardonnay pairing with this... one of the most dynamic pairings I've had in a while.

Other heart-melting delights from the prix-fixe menu include an enticing Dungeness crab salad with Moro blood oranges, Miner lettuce, and curry pickled crones; a well-endowed Liberty Farms duck breast with wild mushrooms, shaved asparagus, duck sausage and pickled onions; luscious La Tur cheese served with heirloom beets and chervil; and a three-way of Valrhona chocolate mousses doused in vanilla marshmallow fondue.

Best New Brunch Dish You Haven't Tried

2012-01-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

It’s time to share the first must-eat sleeper hit of 2012: brunchtime biscuits and duck confit gravy at the Ledson Hotel’s Centre du Vin.

The Centre du Vin just started serving Sunday brunches towards the end of last year, so most people haven’t discovered it yet… which means no wait list, and your choice of seating on the pretty sidewalk terrace or inside by the elegant fireplace (awesome for rainy winter mornings). Though most of the brunch menu is frenchy-french classics like quiche, omelettes, crêpes, truffle hollandaise and the like, you must not miss the delectable franglais of freshly baked biscuits swathed in confit-infused gravy. The delicate strands of ducky goodness are magic. Irrestistibly delicious magic.

The Centre du Vin chef confided that he eats one of these for breakfast every Sunday, but that hardly anyone else orders the biscuits. What?!? Help restore the chef's faith in humanity - and keep the dish on the menu - by following his tasteful lead!

Centre du Vin is on the Sonoma Square at 480 1st Street East (between East Napa & East Spain Sts.), in downtown Sonoma. Brunch is served Sundays only.

'Tis The Season To Be Truffly

2011-12-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

This post is sponsored by Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account!

December in Napa is a time of great feasting and celebration. It's also (rather conveniently) the height of truffle season, which means endless temptation and a dramatic spike in my dining out expenditures. This year, I branched out from my usual truffle snuffling routine and headed to Bouchon with six of my favorite gourmands for a Périgord-themed regional menu, only to find that the kitchen wanted to offer us a private, top-secret, one-night-only truffle menu instead. Mais oui, mon chef! We will accept. (Especially when you greet us with complementary bubbly!)

Note the truffles' sex appeal steaming up beneath the plastic.

Thus began an epic parade of decadence, not soon to be forgotten.

A sealed bowl of fresh black and white truffles -- protected from our lascivious hands by a sheet of plastic wrap -- appeared first out of the gate, as the platter for a round of silky foie gras mousse canapés.

For those who care, the little pebbles in there with the truffles
are coriander seeds, juniper berries, and black peppercorns.

With the foie devoured, they took off the cover and passed that bowl around the table for each of us to take a hit. It was all I could do not to bury my face in there and never come up.

Fortunately I resisted, because there was some serious caviar on the way. Oh, yes. Each little brioche toast round was piled high with delicate beads of delight, ready to burst in your mouth. Once again, the little bites hovered on an invisible floor above an iPhone that was live streaming the Bouchon kitchen-cam:

This was all BEFORE the dinner technically started... the séduit-bouches of the evening.

They did the trick. We were primed and ready for the main event.

Despite appearances, this is not Texas toast.

Our first course was a classic frisée salad with crisped lardons, fines herbes vinaigrette, poached egg, and buttery toasted brioche. With. White. Truffles.

This dish was everything you hope for in a French salad.

Crunchy, soft, hot, cold, tangy, meaty, earthy, fresh, silken, and altogether just a modest little bowl of awesomeness.

Not pictured: my individual sauceboat with another half cup
of the buttery nectar.

The ribeye steak with truffled béarnaise also hit a home run into the bliss zone. Gorgeous medium rare beef, well seasoned, and sliced just thick enough to let you feel like you had a mouthful without choking you: this is what's for dinner. Bouchon's béarnaise, however, will live forever in my memory as the embodiment of all that is rich and perfect in this world. If truffle butter manifested itself in cloud form, this is what it would be.
I wish I had packed up the leftover sauce and taken it home to bathe in.

The ultimate in sweet-savory desserts.

Truffle-themed desserts make one think of rich chocolate ganachey-type things, perhaps with a neat infusion of herb or spice or tea to mix things up. Our truffle dessert did no such thing -- this was a revelation. Classic choux pastry profiteroles were stuffed with an intense white truffle/vanilla ice cream, then doused with black truffle-infused salted caramel sauce. Several people commented that the combination sounded totally unappealing, but made perfect sense once you tasted it. The balance of sweet, salty, and earthy was spot on. Another memory to fondle for years to come.

After dinner, the uber-gracious staff let us peek backstage in the kitchen and meet chef Michael Sandoval, who seemed just as excited about creating our truffle menu as we had been eating it. Love him. He was especially pleased with our dessert... so here's hoping it becomes a regular fixture for Bouchon's winter menus.

While we were back there, we also got to check out the kitchen cams in other TK establishments, and spotted the man himself in the Las Vegas Bouchon kitchen (upper left window in the picture at right). It was the perfect end to a phenomenal experience.

The excuse we needed to spring for this over-the-top truffle junket was Serve from American Express, a new online payment system that lets you send money to other Serve users just by sending an email. It's designed to make settling up with your friends and family easy, instant, and awkwardness-free. Serve is encouraging people to sign up this month by giving away FREE MONEY with every new account... which certainly comes in handy this time of year, as my fellow truffle whores can attest.

One lucky reader of my blog will also win an extra $100 credit to their Serve account! Anyone who comments on this post in the first seven days of its going live gets one entry in the giveaway, so don't be shy. Skeptics can check out the full contest rules here. Note that you will have to share your email address with Serve in order to have the money properly credited.

Remember to sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found by clicking here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

A Mutinous Night To Remember

2011-11-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday night I was invited to hit the Third Annual Mutineer Magazine Red Carpet Party in downtown Napa, a one-night-only transformation of the Napa Valley Opera House's downstairs area into a bass-blasting underground club full of artisanal cocktail drinks, "beverage influencers," and the people that love them. A red carpet entrance, festive spotlights sweeping across the sky, and lots and lots of cameras brought extra flash and sizzle to a chilly Sunday night. The attendees dressed to match -- Mutineer Editor in Chief Alan Kropf was prancing around in tux and tails, the ladies sparkled in sequins and fur, and even the die-hard hipsters broke out their new suspenders in honor of the festivities.

The reason for the event? To celebrate the evolution of fine beverage culture in the Napa Valley, highlighting eight local bartenders in The King's Ginger Holiday Cocktail Competition, three local beverage entrepreneurs featured in the magazine's new Inspired Voices section, and Mutineer's success with the Clean Water Crusader campaign, in partnership with A Child's Right.

The King's Waes Hail; photo by Phil Jimcosky,
Mutineer Magazine

Thanks to event sponsors Chinaco Tequila, Luxardo, and Anchor Distilling Co. -- the parent company for Chinaco, Luxardo, The King's Ginger, Anchor Steam, and several other hot artisanal spirit labels -- the evening was not wanting in liquor. The eight Napa Valley bartenders took turns handing out tasting portions of their original King's Ginger cocktails (you can see the recipes online on Mutineer's blog "Previews" leading up to the event), while two imported SF mixologists crafted round after round of the savory juniper-scented "Just in Thyme" (with No.3 Gin) and the smooth, Chinaco-laced "Aztec Two-Step" with cucumber, grapefruit juice and bitters.

I would be lying if I said no one was taking palate-cleansing tequila shots in between rounds.

Photo by Phil Jimcosky,
Mutineer Magazine.

Anchor Steam beers, Dry Soda and blk water were all flowing freely too, but for once in Napa there wasn't a glass of wine in sight. (Gasp!) This was first and foremost the night of the cocktail.

In keeping with the theme, local chef Gary Penir and pastry maven Sara Wurst supplied cocktail-inspired passed hors d'oeuvres like the delectable agedashi & poached scallop shooters topped with King's Ginger foam, margarita spheres (Chinaco tequila margaritas spherified with calcium chloride in classic molecular gastronomist style), juniper and basil crackers with Luxardo limoncello mousse, and pork belly yakitori with Sangue Morlacco, which guests snapped up as quickly as the servers could offer them.

Photo by Phil Jimcosky, Mutineer Magazine.

For me, the highlight of the evening (other than breaking out my fur stole for the first time in years) was checking out The King's Ginger. I've been fascinated with this stuff ever since I learned the story behind it. In 1903, King Edward VII of England ("Edward the Caresser" to his friends) was living the good life pre-World War I with lots of carousing, thrill seeking, gambling, sailing, and riding around in his horseless carriage. This enjoyable lifestyle understandably worried his doctors, who created a ginger and lemon-based "tonic" (read: extremely strong alcohol) "to warm and revivy His Majesty" during his rousting about. Thus The King's Ginger was born.

It's strong stuff... 41% alcohol by volume... and has a spicy ginger burn, offset with a healthy dose of sweetness and lemon peel citrus notes. The most successful cocktails -- in my opinion -- were those that balanced out the sweetness with acidity and sourness.

The winner! Photo by Phil Jimcosky, Mutineer Magazine.

Bartender Michael Jack Pazdon of Solbar in Calistoga took home first prize with The King's Waes Hail: a frothy coupe of Calvados, lemon juice, Carpano Antica and Luxardo's Maraschino Originale, shaken together with an egg white, then crowned with a few drops of gingersnap spice tincture, Genevieve Genever-style gin, dehydrated apple chips, freshly grated nutmeg, and rosemary flowers. Phew. A lot of work to make, but a clear winner for the judging panel.

I never thought I'd see the day the Napa Valley Opera House hosted a hipster red carpet event, but I'm glad I did. Mutineer's millenial-generation energy is introducing something new to Napa Valley, and helping local beverage innovators reach a broader audience at home and around the country. This I think is fantastic.

Napa Valley Film Festival: So Close, You Can Almost Taste It

2011-11-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

The first annual Napa Valley Film Festival kicks off next week on November 9th, and -- as you might expect from a film festival event in an epicurean capital -- the movies are only one part of the draw.

Besides the 100+ films, there are tons of food and wine tasting opportunities, film-inspired dishes, cooking demos, and local celebrity chef-studded dinners to make it abundantly clear where you are. Lounges at each of the main festival "villages" around the Valley will be stocked with local delicacies and libations, and many local businesses are offering discounts to festival pass-holders venturing out on their own.

There's even a panel discussion about the "rise of foodie culture" on Sunday the 13th, in which I will be participating as the local food blogger alongside other far more famous people like Christopher Kostow of (3 Michelin-starred!) Meadowood. Obviously, food is playing a pretty strong supporting role in this production, so don't miss out.

For a rundown of the most exciting culinary goings on, check out the tablehopper 707 scout report (that's me writing there too):

A Food Lover's Guide to the Napa Valley Film Festival

For the complete festival schedule and descriptions of all the different ways you can get tickets, consult the festival website.

And I will see you at the [snacks before and after the] movies.

The Insider's Guide to Happy Hour In Napa: Part Two

2011-10-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

You know that the City of Napa has arrived when there are too many happy hour deals to fit in a single roundup article. So here we are again, with Part Two of the Insider's Guide. As in Part One, I'm not trying to do a comprehensive listing of all the discounts, just sharing some of my personal favorites for cheap drinks and snacks during that happiest of hours. As you may notice from my photo selections, I tend to fixate on the snacks... but really, the drinks are just as important for this shortlist. And here they are:

Bui Bistro. Anyone who reads my blog knows of my immense love for this place. Chef-owner Patrick Bui grew up and learned to cook in France, so his versions of Vietnamese classics have a Gallic elegance to them that suits the tasteful decor of his Pearl Street restaurant. He also pours plenty of well-priced Old World wines, chosen to show off the complex flavors in his cuisine. During happy hour Tuesday through Sunday, all wines by the glass are $2 off, and the appetizers are $3 less than usual. This means that you can order the swoon-worthy Saigon wings, 5-spice duck confit, or spring rolls for only $5 per order, and wash it down with a glass of Austrian Grüner Veltliner or prosecco for $6. And since happy hour runs from 5-7pm, this really could be dinner.

Bui Bistro's oh-so-succulent duck confit
infused with Vietnamese five-spice.

1313 Main. This sleek new wine bar at the north edge of downtown is gaining a reputation for its late night bubbles and beats on the weekends, but it's also well worth a visit during happy hour. Sunday through Wednesday from 3-6pm, a rotating selection of eight wines by the glass and five bottled beers are available two for the price of one, with mixing and matching allowed. Their selection of wines ranges from local cult cabs to quirky international producers, and changes frequently to keep things interesting. A short list of wine-friendly small plates created by Chef Sarah Scott (former executive chef at the Robert Mondavi Winery) can also be yours during happy hour for $5-6 off the normal prices. Think snacks like muhamarra, green herb pesto, and apricot raita. 1313 has a sexy vibe, and lots of different seating options (including a fabulous back patio), so odds are you can find a spot that suits you.

1313 Main's rabbit terrine with red curry mustard,
pickled fennel, toast.

Uva Trattoria Italiana. Just down the block and around the corner from 1313 Main, downtown veteran Uva has been packing the locals in for twelve glorious years. The music stage and dancefloor get put to good use on the weekends, but I prefer to go pre-music for happy hour in their spacious bar and lounge area. Weekdays from 4-6pm -- except Mondays, when they're closed -- a selection of draft beers is $3, house red or white wine is $5, and well drinks are $4 (yes! they have one of downtown's rare full bar licenses). To help line your stomach against the booze, check out the happy hour antipasti menu (all $5), which includes pizzas, baby back ribs, almonds & olives, and assorted other savory nibbles. Tuesday nights are extra happy with a burger & pint deal for $10, as well as the usual specials. On Sundays in November, you can score a classic margherita pizza and pint of beer for only $10, as well.

Uva's pesto arancini; photo by Jade R. on Yelp.com.

Fumé Bistro. Fumé is like the north Napa version of Zinsvalley: friendly, non-fussy, comfort food with a twist. Their offbeat location alongside Highway 29 on Byway East (turn off 29 at El Centro Avenue to get there) lends a clandestine feel to the place, though, and it consequently has a cultish following of locals. Monday night is particularly famed for the "Five Dollar Burger" ($5.55) deal, which starts at 4pm and runs until closing. The rest of the workweek also has its discounts: from 4-6pm, a small menu of prime drinking foods (like margherita pizza, polenta fries, onion rings with chipotle barbecue sauce, and fried raviolis) awaits, for only $4.50 per plate. And from 4-6pm Monday through Friday, beers and well cocktails from their full bar are only $3.50.

For more happy hour suggestions, check out Part One to this guide, here.

The Handbook For Badasstic Country Ladies

2011-10-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I discovered a new consignment store in downtown Napa with a fabulous collection of historic toys, sports memorabilia, and random old books. The deceptively generic-sounding Napa Valley Buy & Sell is on First Street between Coombs and Randolph, and offers hours of entertainment to those willing to paw through the wares--particularly the books about food and sexuality. These two departments were spectacularly well developed, making it clear that someone in charge over there has a penchant for the fun stuff.

I scored two remarkable treasures on my first visit, for the princely sum of $4.32 total (including tax). The first was a 1961 hardcover edition of The Escoffier Cook Book, but the second was an even more exciting relic from another time and place: the 1888 edition of Maison Rustique des Dames, by Madame Millet-Robinet. This copy is in amazing shape considering its age, and came with a bonus prize inside: two carefully pressed four leaf clovers hidden within its 636 onion-skin pages.

Since this 1888 version was the 13th edition, I'm guessing the book was wildly popular back in the day. A quick perusal of the table of contents for this two-volume hardcover reveals why. (Note: this book is written in 1888 French, so forgive any inaccuracies in my 21st Century translations)

Part One discusses basic household maintenance, covering such essentials as how to hire your maids; how to put your kids to work on the farm; managing household expenses; bread baking; window washing; the care and cleaning of furs; preserving meats (including a subsection entitled "Method of killing and preparing the pig"); preserving vegetables; stocking the wine cellar; and an entire chapter dedicated to colognes and perfumes. Bien sûr. These ladies may have been in the country, but it seems that didn't stop them from living pret-ty darn well... the wines suggested by the author include such domaines as Romanée Conti and Lafite, for example.

Part Two is a Manual of Cookery, outlining different types of service style, basic knife techniques, and a wealth of presentation and garnish ideas. Distinct chapters on hors d'oeuvres, meat, game, fish, vegetables, purées (presumably so popular that they deserve their own chapter), fried dishes (same), doughs, desserts, pastries, and an authoritative "List of foods that may be served for lunch" provide invaluable guidance to the country hostess with the mostess.

Part Three, incredibly, includes a medical encyclopedia and covers topics ranging from what to include in the medicine cabinet, all the way to formal pronouncements of death.

Engraving 116: "Goat in harness"

Part Four delves into all the various types of gardens one might desire, and Part Five gets down and dirty on the Farm... articulating the essentials of farm buildings, staffing, and proper feeding of the staff (which the book stresses at length), as well as the care and feeding of an array of different breeds of chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, pigeons, rabits, cattle, dairy animals, sheep, pigs, goats, and bees. There's even a chapter on how to drive a horse-drawn carriage and tend your horse while traveling long distances in all manner of weather conditions. Tip: always light a lantern on your carriage right after sunset, or risk a fine of 15 francs if the police catch you.

The book is full of priceless advice like this. I'm thinking I need to translate and share the choicest passages and recipes on this blog to celebrate the pearls of wisdom Madame Millet-Robinet had to share with badasstic country ladies over 120 years ago. Who knows how much of it might still be invaluable to modern "ladies" in rural communities like the Napa Valley?

Choosing where to begin, though, is gonna be tough... maybe "Management of a Dinner Party," where all the rules of engagement and feasting are made clear? Or perhaps "Enraged or Venimous Animal Bites And Insect Stings," sure to be a thrilling read full of terrifying medical advice....

Regardless of where I begin, this quirky little tome contains an embarassment of riches, and I cannot wait to taste them.

Bivalve-Curious in Tomales Bay

2011-09-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Oyster eaters, it's true: our beloved bivalves taste much better at the source.

A recent pilgrimage to Tomales Bay opened my eyes and mouth to the most delectable mouthfuls of mollusk I have ever eaten in our country.

Those sweet, slick, and silky little creatures seemed barely out of the water every place we ordered them, whether at a random diner, a roadside counter, or one of the area's top tables. Such immaculate purity and undefiled virtue!

How many fabulous ways there are to ravish them.

Until this trip, I typically devoured them raw and naked, with just a glass of wine and some bread and butter for accompaniment. But here again, Tomales Bay prompted a revelation. It seems that superbly fresh oysters can indeed remain just as delicious after they're cooked--something I would have rejected as impossible before.

I certainly did put away quite a few of the naked variety on site, but found myself completely enchanted by all the exciting and original ways these beauties get dressed up on their home turf.

My first tentative step down the path of cooked oyster love occurred at Priscilla's, a tiny, no-frills, diner-like restaurant on the main drag in Inverness. The place did not look promising given its full page of traditional pizzas and scant handful of oyster based dishes. But appearances can be deceiving... these guys can rock the fried oysters like you wouldn't believe.

Crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and absolutely greaseless. Cue celestial chorus! (And do you see how fresh and beautiful that side salad is? So unexpected, and so delicious.)

In addition to these badasstic cornmeal crusted fried oysters, the place also offered Silvertap's Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc, which is a dead ringer for the Languedoc's addicting Picpoul de Pinet. And, like Picpoul de Pinet, this stuff was priced to drank. Unfortunately for us (or perhaps not), only eight ounces were left in their keg, so we had to switch to beer after a quick glass as aperitif. The Lagunitas Brewing Company's IPA we chose that day proved to be the go-to beverage with every oyster preparation we encountered.

Especially this one:

Oysters Kilpatrick. Life altering. Thank you, Australia, for creating this most miraculous of barbecued oyster recipes! Bacon + Worcester-based sauce + Oyster = bliss. The ones pictured above are at The Marshall Store, on the eastern shore of Tomales Bay in the town of Marshall.

There's a lovely view of the bay from the roadside counter where those desiring to drink alcohol are relegated (the Store has no permit to serve on their premises). Note that there's no roof over this area, so bring a jacket--the breeze off the water can be brisk-- and try to time your visit when the weather is cooperating.

Oh, and it's cash only there, so plan ahead. You'll need at least a dozen of the Kilpatricks ($13 for the half dozen, if memory serves).

Last, but certainly not least, we come to the oyster pizza at Osteria Stellina in Point Reyes Station. What must have started as a mountain of thinly sliced leeks is sweated in butter and enriched with cream, then slathered all over the delicate thin skin of the pizza crust. The raw oysters (out of the shell) are lowered into position, and into the oven it goes until the crust is cooked to a perfect golden brown, and those juicy little oysters are straining at their seams.

Thanks to the earthiness of the leeks, this pizza actually went beautifully with the non-vintage old vine Pleiades XXI, a quirky local red from winemaker Sean Thackrey. The light body and earth-driven character totally worked with this pizza--and absolutely every other seafood item we ordered. Magic.

Now that I've experienced what oysters can be just an hour and a half's drive away, I don't see myself ordering them anywhere else. Unfortunately, I can already feel the withdrawal setting in.

This is when I thank the bivalve gods that I bought a copy of the excellent book "Oyster Culture" by Tomales Bay resident Gwendolyn Meyer, which contains history, science, pictures, and (most importantly) recipes for the region's most famous product. Though my Napa versions will never taste as fine as the ones grown, cooked, and devoured within a half-mile of Tomales Bay, they hopefully will keep me going until my next visit.

Truffle Festival, Part Deux

2011-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

"Whosoever says truffle, utters a grand word, which awakens erotic and gastronomic ideas...."
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), preface to ‘The Physiology of Taste’ (1825).

"The truffles themselves have been interrogated, and have answered simply: eat us and praise the Lord." - Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870).

You see? We are not alone in our truffle depravity. There is in fact a long and glorious tradition of truffle worship, culminating in the Napa Truffle Festival and its wonderland of earthy delights. I had the great good fortune of getting to sit in on this hedonist's fantasy last year, for the inaugural event at the Westin Verasa. You can read my official WineCountry.com coverage of that experience here, and my unofficial trip down memory lane (with photographs) here.

The second Napa Truffle Festival promises to be just as much delicious fun as the first. This one will take place January 13-16th, 2012, coinciding with the kickoff of the 30th Annual All Truffle Dinner at La Toque. As with the first Napa Truffle Festival, there will be two thematic tracks from which attendees can choose: the Scientific, for those interested in becoming truffle cultivators, and the Culinary, for those intent on eating as many truffles as possible (not an exact quote from the sponsors).

Among the highlights: Barbara Fairchild, the former Editor in Chief of Bon Appetit magazine will be delivering the keynote speech; a Michelin-starred cast of international chefs will be cooking the outrageous multicourse Truffles and Wine dinner for Saturday night; daily truffle cooking demonstrations and truffle wine pairing seminars; trufflicious lunches at La Toque; and a guided tour of Robert Sinskey Vineyard's developing truffle orchards in Carneros.

For those poor souls who who can't afford the all-inclusive $1,250 pass (that's per person, yo), there are other, more moderately priced ticket options to the festival, and a mere $40 will get you access to the Napa Truffle Festival Marketplace, where truffly goods of all kinds (including les truffes themselves) will be available for tasting and purchase. Check the Festival's main page, or Facebook page for full details and updates as the date draws nearer. You can also https://twitter.com/NapaTruffleFest for up to the second news.

As we toil through the four torturous months remaining until the festival, remember that Whole Foods carries a very respectable brand of truffle butter (yes I know it's not the same as the real thing but it's still super tasty), which -- with some mood lighting and sexy music -- ought to get the job done.

The Insider's Guide To Happy Hour Deals In The City Of Napa

2011-09-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Being a person of French peasant descent (and modest income), I have always delighted in discovering great deals on food and wine. Living in Napa raises the difficulty level of this particular challenge, but also the satisfaction of finding a truly awesome happy hour discount.

The following is a totally subjective list of some of the best happy hours in town, chosen by yours truly because of their value, their accessibility (e.g., more than one day, continues past 5pm), and/or their quality of offerings. There are other worthy contenders out there, though! Let me know your favorites in the comments. À la vôtre...

Oh how I love thee, mushroom flatbread. With. Truffle. Oil.

Carpe Diem Wine Bar. These guys do happy hour RIGHT, which in my book means every day of the week. From 4-6pm, you get $3.50 draft beers, red and white wines of the week (one of each color) for $6/glass, and discounts on a short list of their favorite menu snacks, including my beloved wild mushroom flatbread ($6 during happy hour), truffle popcorn, and their wildly addicting harissa fries--made with the harissa blend from Whole Spice in the Oxbow Public Market. Carpe's space is cool and contemporary, and verrrrrrrry popular... so it can get loud. Arriving on the earlier side is advised if you aren't up for standing room only.

Grace's Table. Just down the street from Carpe, Grace's Table also rocks the daily happy hour from 3-6pm (3-7 on Wednesdays). Glasses of the house red and white wines are $5, as are the soju cocktails (normally $9). Their food menu offers a really great variety of meat, non-meat, seafood, and cheesey goodness priced between $3 and $6. It's rare to see such a broad selection of dishes and non-fried preparations on a happy hour menu that also contains fried pickles and semolina crusted onion rings. If the bar stools aren't calling your name, no worries--the discount applies in the restaurant area too.

Salt cod beignets/tater tots with harissa aioli.

Fish Story. Rounding out the pack of daily happy hour spots, Fish Story's deal runs from 3-6:30pm. During this luxuriously long time, full-size draft beers are $2.50 (!), signature and well cocktails are $5, and a half dozen of their wines on tap are also $5 per glass (the Morning Sun Sangiovese rosé from Sonoma Mountain is my vinous go-to). Foodwise, the $5 menu changes but typically includes oyster shooters, fish tacos, ceviche, clam chowder, and salt cod beignets. Discounts only apply in the bar area and on the pleasant front patio, aka the Octopus' Garden.

Zins' thrilling smoked salmon, goat cheese, caper pizza. Try
it with a cucumber gimlet for maximal enjoyment.

Zinsvalley. Holding court over the brick plaza on First Street, Zinsvalley is a spacious restaurant with plenty of shaded patio space as well as a fireplace-equipped bar. Zins does its well-known happy hour in the bar Monday-Friday (no weekends), from 2-6pm--except for Wednesdays, when the hours remain happy until closing at midnight. Three dollar beers, $4 well cocktails and house wine, and a discounted appetizer menu happens every happy hour night, but there are also special deals on Tuesday (half-price burgers) and Thursday ($6 you call it Martinis, featuring Ketel One). The vibe is casual, and the bar is usually full of locals.

Bounty Hunter Wine Bar. Bounty Hunter started its happy hour discounts in the dark early days of the recession, but the enduring popularity of these offerings has kept them around since. Deals run Monday through Thursday from 3-6pm, and ALL DAY on Monday until closing. During these happy times, draft beers (including Guinness) are 2-for-1, and Bounty Hunter wine brands (Streamside, Pursuit, Waypoint, The Vigilante, etc.) are 2-for-1 by the glass, or 20% off by the bottle. You can also get a quarter slab or ribs for $5, or a BBQ sampler platter with brisket, pulled pork, and ribs with a dollop of cole slaw (a full meal) for $10.

New bar tables and chairs moved into the wine bar space
in mid-September. Is a flatscreen next?

Whole Foods Wine Bar. Ok, this one is technically neither a restaurant nor a happy hour--it's a frickin' unbelievable value. The recently expanded wine bar located in the heart of the Napa Whole Foods Market is a wondrous place, open 11:30am to 8pm daily, where you can order beers like Four In Hand IPA or White Cloud Belgian White for $1.99, 5-ounce pours of Sancerre for $5, a half bottle of Veuve Clicquot for $30, cheese plates for $8, and/or any bottle in their wine department at retail cost, with no corkage. Thursday and Friday night wine tastings cost an impossible $2 per person... and we're talking flights of Rombauer Vineyards (9/22-9/23), Robert Sinskey Vineyards (9/29-9/30), and other totally legit producers. No joke. Check the tasting schedule for details.

For more of my favorites, check out Part Two of the Guide...

Savoring Summertime

2011-09-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Flipping through my mealtime pictures from the last few weeks, I am struck by how many delicious items I discovered for the first time this summer. Time for a roundup of the best stateside dishes of recent memory! (For pictures of France's prime offerings, check out my post from early August.)

Porchetta Arugula Pizza

Ca'Momi

I discovered this luscious beast at the Silver Oak Release Party pizza pairing contest, when it won my heart and first place vote among a field of worthy contenders. A chewy blistered crust, perfect tomato to cheese ratio, and glorious paving of succulent porchetta slices packs plenty of flavor right out of the oven, but then the whole thing goes to another level with a cool showering of fresh arugula and shaved pecorino romano. Perfection. It was spectacular with Silver Oak's Alexander Valley Cab, but it is also superbly satisfying with Ca'Momi's own house red, Rosso di Napa. And, if you hit Ca'Momi on Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday night, you can get a bottle of the house red and any pizza (including this one) for only $20. Total.

Grilled Watermelon Heirloom Tomato Salad

Fish Story

Gorgeous, juicy, and minimally dressed, this is summer on a plate. The hint of char on the watermelon brought a nice caramelized element to offset the sweet and tart aspects, but the stealthy showstopper of this salad was the creamy pine nut puree drizzled around underneath the peppery watercress and salty ricotta salata. Amazing stuff. I'm very pleased with the menu additions coming out of Fish Story under Kiwi chef Clint Davies, who took over from Stephen Barber in late June. Can't wait to go back and try some more of his repertoire.

Ham Biscuit With Peach-Borage Jam And Creole Mustard

Fremont Diner

Wow. As hard as it may be to believe, this thing tasted even better than it sounded, and even better than it looked. Salty, meaty Fremont ham. Sun-kissed peach preserves, with an unexpected herbal twist. Tangy, spicy, coarse-grained mustard. A perfect buttermilk biscuit enveloping it all like a fluffy golden cloud, if clouds tasted like butter. And ... all this artisanal farm-fresh goodness costs a mere $3.25. Get there early, because this divine creature is only on the breakfast menu.

Pork Chop With Agave and Malanga

Cielito Lindo

Cielito Lindo opened in the old Annalien space on Main Street in July. Another Mexican restaurant for Napa? Yes... but with an original concept, and plenty of dishes you won't find anywhere else in the valley. The menu salutes the cuisine of Jalisco, the Mexican region best known in the U.S. as the home of Puerto Vallarta. As you might expect, there is a lot of fresh seafood involved. As you might not expect, there is also a pork chop to remember. Thick cut, seared, and slathered in a sweet-savory agave and lychee pan sauce, this slab of pork is irresistible--especially perched on its starchy mash of malanga (a tropical tuber very similar to taro, with a nutty, earthy flavor). I loved it when I tried it in the restaurant, but I loved it even more when I stood in front of my fridge later that night, gnawing the leftovers off the bone.

Make Me Laugh, Tout Suite

2011-08-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

The esteemed tasting panel at Thursday's Tasting In The Dark.
Photo by Ashley Teplin.

Why are unexpected pleasures always the most delightful?

I was invited to visit the Tout Suite Social Club headquarters in St. Helena Thursday night to watch them film a blind pinot noir tasting and a tequila/taco segment with Jesus Padilla of Los Osuna Agave Azul spirits. Not having done my homework, I learned moments before the filming started that Tout Suite streams live broadcasts about interesting food and beverages out to its "social club" of followers every week, with two-way video that allows members to "call in" and interact with the live guests as part of the show. The goal is to get incredible products and producers into your living room, no matter where you live. Tout Suite launched on Bastille Day this year, and is presently in a kind of soft opening beta status while they work out the kinks and build up their online content.

Tout Suite's tasting commentators dissecting every
swirl, sniff, and eyebrow lift.
Photo by Ashley Teplin.

The shows have sassy names like "Tasting In The Dark" (their blind tasting competition), and "Meet Your Maker" (featuring producers of artisanal products), and an irreverent tone to match. The blind pinot tasting, for example, involved a panel of four serious wine lovers -- a winemaker, a wine collector, a somm, and a blogger -- tasting their way through six masked bottles of pinot noir, while out of sight commentators offer helpful background and narrate the blow by blow with hushed tones and golf-like intensity. Like real television commentators, they take enormous liberties speculating on the thought process behind every visible move, however minute or meaningless.

A random sampling to give you a sense:

He's really getting that wine all the way back into his mouth....

Did that come out of his nose there?

She's like a sweet rose between two thorns.

Look at that spit! What an impressive spiral motion.

As someone who loathes golf (and particularly televised golf), I found this completely awesome. Fortunately the shows are available to view after the initial live broadcast on the Video Vault portion of the Tout Suite website. Check it out! It's free to join the club.

Vacation Food P*rn

2011-08-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since my last post... largely because of my vacation in the Langedoc-Roussillon region of France. Though the vacation itself was only about 10 days, the pre-departure month-long cramming on, like, ALL of my paying jobs really cut into my personal blogging time and enthusiasm. And it seems that the same is true on the return side of the trip. Sigh.

To lament this sad state of affairs, but also celebrate the delectable reason they occurred, I give you some of the tastier scenes from Languedoc.

The coquillage platter from a Béziers fishmonger stand.

The teeny tiny clams are called "tellines."

Perfectly ripe Camembert. Vive la France!

Picpoul de Pinet, the local wine of choice with seafood of any kind.
Astonishingly cheap and delicious. (Note the plastic ice bag, also ubiquitous in the region.)

Another delicious local specialty, the "tielle"-- essentially a pasty stuffed
with finely chopped, tomatoey octopus.

Perfection in egg form, served with fresh marinated anchovies,
and the delectable bread below...

L'aperitif at the Pourcel brothers' casual spot, insensé (they also own and operate Michelin-starred Jardin des Sens). In Montpellier you get some kind of little snack like this anytime you order a drink. Very civilized.

Spring roll stuffed with local crab and julienned local veggies (zucchini, carrot, celery root), served with minted "guacamole," local honey, and a balsamic reduction. The Pourcels rock.

This is train food in France: buttered Poilâne bread, ham, gruyère.

The Languedoc-Rousillon is also the homeland of cassoulet... and it's the best cassoulet you have ever had.

The texture on that duck confit was INSANE. Drooling again at the memory...

Petit pâté de Nîmes... a delicious pastry-encrusted meat pate. There is also one filled with salt cod brandade.

Hands down, THE best sardines of my life. Salted, grilled, drizzled with persillade. It doesn't get better than this.

A whimsical chocolate and salted caramel "Rocher" and an adorable poppy flavored macaroon.

Check that luscious thing out. The salted caramel (salted with local sel de Camargue)

was swirled around the middle of the mousse.

Ile Flottante: poached soft meringue in crème anglaise, topped with roasted almond bits, caramel, and crack.

Feast on the Wild Side

2011-06-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hank Shaw hunting diver ducks; photo
by Holly Heyser, aka NorCal Cazadora

As someone who's always been fascinated by the hunting and foraging concept -- but admittedly more interested in the spoils than the chase -- I was stoked to hear from my friend Ashley Teplin that Farmstead Restaurant is hosting a wild dinner with foraging expert Hank Shaw on June 30, 2011.

Hank is the author of the new book Hunt, Gather, Cook- Finding the Forgotten Feast, as well as the James Beard nominated blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. He's been fishing and foraging most of his life, and has more than a few tricks to share in this book for gathering wild greens, selecting fishing gear, plucking pheasants, and gutting deer. He also delves into the procuring process and recipes for far less familiar edibles, like sea robins, daylilies, wild doves, and --yes, it exists!-- dandelion wine.

The dinner this Thursday is part of his national book release tour, and hosted by Hank's duck hunting buddy Sheamus Feeley (who sadly is leaving his position as Farmstead executive chef at the end of July to return to Hillstone Restaurant Group). The family style feast begins with passed appetizers at 6:30pm, and includes a book signing with Hank (and book purchasing if you like; $20 each).

The menu sounds prett-y darn exciting. Check it out:
All of this can be yours for a mere $50 per person, which INCLUDES the excellent wine from Farmstead's parent winery, Long Meadow Ranch. That is a steal.

Call Farmstead to reserve your spot, and be sure to specify it is for the Hank Shaw event. I scored my reservations this weekend, so there are still a few seats left. See you there, I hope!

Farmstead Restaurant, 738 Main Street, St. Helena, 707-963-9181.

Smoked sturgeon with crema and paddlefish roe
Wild boar meatballs with tomato marmalade
Cheddar biscuits with cured ham and apple butter
Grilled Venison with elderberry conserve
Mix of wild duck and wild boar sausages with mustard
Porchetta " Half and Half": wild boar loin, wrapped in a red wattle belly with salsa verde
Ramp and potato gratin
Sea beans with chile, garlic and honey
Purslane and black kale salad with chile pequin and toasted grana
Salad of porcini mushrooms with preserved lemon, arugula, Carmody cheese and celery
Roasted rock bass with wild fennel cioppino broth and aioli
Buttermilk panna cotta with Saskatoon berry gelee

A New Taste of the Himalayas

2011-06-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Napa is not known for its Asian food selection. In recent years, though, we have welcomed an influx of Thai, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Indian, and Japanese restaurants aiming to break out of the stereotypical mold for "ethnic restaurants" with modern ambience, original menus, and contemporary presentations. Taste of the Himalayas, which opened June 18th, is the latest addition to this restaurant category... and one I am supremely excited about.

The name is familiar to wine country folks--there is a Taste of the Himalayas on the Sonoma Square that has been quenching our curry thirst since 2003. This Napa outpost is something a little bit different. One of the original partners in the Sonoma TotH, Mr. Pemba Sherpa, put himself through culinary school and branched out on his own to open a more refined, contemporary Himalayan restaurant in Sausalito last fall; this Napa spot is his second such venture. With his girlfriend Tenzin Yangchen, he is pushing the envelope for Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine in the former Old Adobe building at the intersection of Soscol Avenue and Silverado Trail.

(Possibly) original 1860s wall painting,
with 1950s graffiti.

Sherpa says the building (Napa's oldest surviving structure) reminds him of the house he was born in, full of history and possibilities. Being 31 years old and a tad cash-strapped, Sherpa did much of the construction work himself on the space. He ripped out the stinky liquor and nicotine-stained bar, replaced most of the floor and walls with new materials, whitewashed everything anew, and installed modern lighting along the dark wood rafters. In the course of his renovation, he found lots of old wall paintings in various states of decrepitude. The best preserved one by the front door he kept intact, and if you look closely, you can still see the pencil-scrawled names and 5-digit phone numbers of former patrons... and the hospital.

The overall look is tastefully clean and contemporary, but still homey. Comfortable leather chairs, dark wood tables, and ornate Nepalese salt and pepper shakers strike a delicate balance between modern and traditional. Families, friends, and dates would all be equally at home here.

But let's talk about the food, because that's really the most exciting part. Like most Nepalese restaurants, the menu includes dishes with Indian, Tibetan, and Nepalese flavors. Unlike most Nepalese restaurants, the dishes are beautifully presented, free of artificial flavors and colors, and made with fresh organic meats and vegetables from the farmers' market. Sherpa didn't want to open just another cookiecutter Nepalese restaurant; he wanted to do something different, and raise the bar. He reinterprets many traditional dishes, enhancing the flavors as well as their visual appeal. The rice that accompanies all of the curry dishes, for example, is cooked with saffron, cardamom, bay leaf, and cinnamon to create a beautifully fragrant accompaniment that's just as desirable as the main event.

Samosa Chaat

In addition to the expected momos, (excellent) naan, chicken tikka, and tandoori dishes, Sherpa also wants to offer more unusual items like tender goat curry (which he conveniently de-bones in the kitchen), and his interpretation of Tibet's Churi Pama: ground beef with a blue cheese curry sauce, onions, garlic, and bell peppers. He also has created several original cold salad-type appetizers, since the Nepalese typically only eat salads of cucumber and tomato. One of the highlights of my first visit was another of his appetizer inventions, the Samosa Chaat--cut up pieces of potato samosa arranged to look like a mountain range, studded with chole (chick peas), julienned apple, and crunchy sev bits, and capped off with yogurt and a red onion tamarind chutney. We could not rest until every scrap was gone.

Tandoori shrimp with vermicelli salad.

The seafood is all wild-caught, which means that not everything is available all the time. The salmon tandoori (which Sherpa told me was one of his favorites) is being swapped out with butterfish for now, until he can find more of the beautiful salmon he had before. The shrimp tandoori was beautifully cooked, and beautifully presented (no sizzling/overcooking platters here) with a rice vermicelli salad seasoned with sesame oil.

Once he has earned diners' trust, Sherpa wants to start offering even more unusual items, like goat lung, pig feet, and other traditional dishes he grew up making with this father in Namche Bazaar, Nepal (also known as the "Gateway to Mt. Everest"). He also has plans to open a cafe in the front portion of the building in about six months, serving coffee grown on his family's organic coffee plantation in Nepal, beers on tap, as well as casual breakfast and lunch items like "naanwiches" and wraps. I urged him to consider "naanciatas" as well, topping the gorgeous blistered naan with a cool dressed salad... and please join me in this crusade, because it would be awesome. I feel like I need to take him to Azzurro for the BLT manciata later this summer.

Also on Sherpa's seemingly neverending list of ambitions, making and distributing his own tongba, the Nepalese sake-like alcohol made of millet. Until that day comes, the restaurant is serving wine and beer, including the Nepalese beer Mustang.

It's hard to imagine a more original addition to Napa. Get over there and show these guys some love.

Taste of the Himalayas is open seven days a week for dinner, and (for now at least) seven days for lunch; takeout is also available. 376 Soscol Avenue, Napa, (707) 251-3840.

Sneak Preview of Oxbow's Kitchen Door

2011-06-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I scored a fabulous sneak preview of Todd Humphries and Richard Miyashiro's Kitchen Door, which is slated to open to the public next Tuesday, June 14th. I'd previously spoken with the dream team behind this new restaurant while it was still under construction, and you can read all about the background in the resulting Tablehopper.com article.

The lovely and enchanting Beef Carpaccio

The menu has a lot of variety, from the legendary Cream of Mushroom soup ($7), Kobe Beef Burger with wine-stewed onions and Swiss cheese ($13.95), and Beef Carpaccio with Himalayan truffle puree, crispy potato confetti, arugula, and lemon aioli ($10.95), to the new Korean Style Short Ribs in Soya Glaze with spicy mushroom, veggie, and bacon fried rice ($14), and Alsatian Flammeküche flatbread topped with ham, onions, gruyère cheese, watercress, and frisée ($13.75). Fans of Humphries' mushroom soup should also check out the Hen of the Woods Mushroom Flatbread ($13.95), whose delectable blend of parmesan cream, provolone, mozzarella, starch, and mushroom is essentially a pizza version of the soup, and the ideal vehicle for gathering up any traces of shroomy love still in your bowl.

Juicy duck + tangy carrots and daikon + Sriracha mayo = WINNING

As a Vietnamese food fanatic, I was delighted to also spy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle soup (pho ga) ($12) and a Roast Duck Banh Mi Dip ($12.95). This version of the classic sandwich combined the usual magic assemblage of pickled veggies, rich meat, and spicy mayo with a little dunking bowl of tasty duck broth and perfectly cooked sweet potato fries. It all vanished in short order, with only a few drops of broth remaining.

Hen of the Woods Flatbread: one of the many tasty things
coming out of Kitchen Door's wood-burning oven.

Sides like 4505's Chicharrones (a.k.a. "Piggy Puffs" here) ($3.75), Roasted Shishito Peppers with lime and Korean chili flakes ($6.75), Charcuterie from Fatted Calf ($11.95), and Burrata with olive pesto and herb flat bread ($8.25) clearly take aim at the gnawing, ravening, rich-toothed beast within. This is comfort food at its best, with layers of sophisticated flavor and loads of satisfaction for your base, reptilian brain.

Desserts mostly center around the softserve ice cream from Straus (sundaes with tiny marshmallows, fudge, candied nuts; or dulce de leche and fried churros; or marinated strawberries; or espresso, $3.75-$6.50), but there's also a Candy Cap Mushroom Bread Pudding ($6.95), Panna Cotta with summer berry compote ($6.50), an assorted cookie plate ($6), and Napa Cakes Panforte ($3.50), loaded with nuts, fruits, and spice.

Looking towards the south wall.
The dessert station is where the Oxbow Wine Merchants' refrigerated
high-end wine room used to be.

In terms of beverages, I was loving on their Rosso Fazekas Sangiovese, which is available on tap for $8.00/glass, $17.00 for a half-liter (2/3 of a bottle). Balanced and earthy, this was for me the perfect food wine. A total of eight wines and four beers are available on tap, with 20 more bottled wines available by the glass, half-liter, or bottle, and nine more beers in bottles or cans. Every single wine is available by the glass, too, so you can truly order only what you want to drink.

Some might gripe that the wine selection is fairly simple, but Kitchen Door is not Martini House. This is supposed to be a place you can visit any night of the week, every week. A place for Tuesday night wine, not $75 Napa cabs. In my opinion, the list has a remarkable range of food-friendly varietals: Vermentino, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Arneis, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier, in addition to the usual big three whites; Tempranillo, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, as well as the obvious reds. And, the most expensive bottle is $42. That works just fine for me....

Kitchen Door is planning to be open for lunch and dinner every day of the week starting June 14th. I can't wait to go back... but I think it's safe to say the place will be mobbed. And deservedly so.

Three Places To Take (Or Score) A Hot Date In Napa

2011-06-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

The city of Napa has historically played a rather stolid supporting role for the glamorous Yountville and St. Helena wineries and restaurants people associate with "The Napa Valley," providing the county with essential civic stuff (courthouse, government offices, jail) and a cheaper place to live for working class folks who couldn't afford the tonier hamlets upvalley. Sexy it was not.

Now, however, downtown Napa is drawing even our neighbors from upvalley to its awesome and ever-expanding array of date destinations. Here are three of the hottest spots for seduction.

Carpe Diem Wine Bar. Steve, Stephanie, and Scott have created something beautiful at the corner of Brown and Second Streets. Modern decor, creative comfort food, and a quirky, ever-changing wine list proved to be the holy trinity that lures Napa's tasteful 20 and 30 somethings out of the woodwork. The bar area is packed every night of the week with happy hour revelers and later-night solo diners looking for love in the form of harissa fries, Cabernet-braised shortrib sliders, globally inspired soups and salads, charcuterie, and other wine-friendly snacks. My current heartthrob is the asparagus flatbread with caramelized onion, truffled parmesan, prosciutto, chili, and an extra sunny side egg on top -- but my other part-time lover is the ostrich burger with Zinfandel-cranberry and caramelized onion reduction sauce, Brie, and truffle fries.

1313 Main. This is the place to take sophisticated wine and beer drinkers for some intimate pre- or post- dinner refreshment when you want to hear each other talk. The sleek decor and sexy tableware might seem snobby at first blush, but the knowledgeable staff is more than happy to help guide you to something you will like. The menu spans a full range of price points, and includes both the famed (e.g., Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon) and the obscure (Bokisch Graciano, from Lodi), available by the glass, bottle, or 2-ounce pour for those who love variety. The selection of composed cheese and charcuterie plates exhibit the same attention to detail. I'm obsessed with the Mona sheep cheese from Wisconsin, paired with a salted fig compote, roasted almonds, and olive breadsticks from Panevino. All the cheese and charcuterie plates come with fabulously thin, bias-cut slices of baguette garnished with fresh thyme, another little touch that makes me very happy.

AVIA Hotel. Everyone loves the AAA Four Diamond AVIA Napa on First Street downtown. Even if you haven't booked a room here, you can enjoy the make-out options at the Riddling Rack lobby bar, and/or the rooftop-like Terrace on the second floor, which is fully equipped for all your needs with privacy curtains, a firepit, and swings. The suggestively lit Riddling Rack bar is a great spot to meet up for naughty conversation and international bubblies by the glass, but a tasteful selection of snacks and the full menu from the hotel's main restaurant are also available if you decide to park it there for the evening. During the summer, the outdoor Terrace hosts live music Thursday and Friday evenings, with drink and food service available; the rest of the year it's just a gorgeous spot to visit with or without drinks from the Riddling Rack. In terms of food: the cheese plate is always stunning, but if you want something a little lighter, go for the seasoned popcorn in your choice of truffle, parmesan, salt & pepper, or all three at once. They say it's more fun with three.

Lucky 13?

2011-05-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

A new wine bar called 1313 Main opened today in downtown Napa, after years of construction and anticipation--at least from me.

1313 Main in September, 2010.

I've been walking past the storefront for ages, watching and wondering as its sleek modern shape emerged from the rubble of the former Main Street Martial Arts building (see pic of that old Napa fixture here). I snapped the picture to the right last September when it looked like the wine bar was nearly ready to open, but nothing more seemed to happen until this spring. I spied people moving around inside, sitting at the bar, and lighting up the place, and now at last, with little fanfare, the wine bar is officially open for business.

It's strange to me that the place hasn't publicized its opening more. Napa Patch posted an informative piece about it this morning, describing the key players in the game, and an overview of the wine bar and retail operations. But other than that, I haven't heard a peep about it... which is completely insane. Any place that pours Kistler, Conundrum, and Caymus by the glass should be on every Napa wine lover's hitlist. Especially since they also have what sounds like a kickass selection of unique lots purchased by owner Al Jabarin at Premiere Napa Valley: Coup de Foudre, Cain, Larkmead, among others.

Al also owns CalWine the retail store, which he started as winezone.com in 1993 with an initial investment of $5000, and expanded to brick and mortar operations (at the corner of First Street and Silverado Trail) in 2006. 1313 Main is his latest creation, presenting a very different, very sexy new opportunity to enjoy wine. The space looks amazing, with a multitude of seating options to suit all moods. Cozy fireplace lounge, check. Counter seats at polished granite bar, check. Communal bar table, check. Private rooms for secretive high rollers and special events, check (x2). "Speakeasy" area with leather and wood bench seating, check. Back patio seating, ch-- well actually, that's not opening until later this summer. But open it will.

According to the website, 13 white wines and 13 reds are available by the taste, glass, and bottle, with 13 craft beers standing by for non-vinous refreshment. Local chef Sarah Scott, who recently collaborated with forager Connie Green on the excellent Wild Table cookbook, and who was the executive chef at Robert Mondavi Winery for 13 years (props for the team's ability to stick with this theme!), has created the food side of the wine bar menu. Plates of charcuterie and cheeses from wine country favorites Fatted Calf and Cowgirl Creamery will feature prominently here, but I'm confident Sarah will pull out a few original creations as well. Perhaps some porcini mushroom butter?

1313 Main plans to be open seven days a week, from 11am-10pm Sunday through Thursday, and 11am-midnight on Friday-Saturday. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Springtime for the Napa Marriott

2011-04-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

This year's weather has been so schizophrenic that I've been relying on my PG&E bill to tell me when we're truly out of the wintry woods. The 50% drop on March's invoice suggested that spring has finally arrived for good, and the gorgeous sunshine today confirms it.

Thus I found an unassailable excuse to have a Garden Gimlet with my lunch at the Napa Marriott's newly renovated lobby bar, Vin 11.

What's a Garden Gimlet? Grey Goose vodka, fresh-squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, and fresh basil shaken up all together... and a lovely match with the Macho Salad's avocado, preemie-baby tomatoes, pecans, dates, and smoked chicken.

The new Vin 11 restaurant at the Napa Marriott

The Napa Marriott had some serious work done this year, and I gotta say, she looks great. Vin 11 is the hotel's new restaurant concept, revealed just in time for the Future Marketers Social Media Workshop (#FMSMW on Twitter) that took place today. The restaurant menu features garden-fresh, seasonal American favorites with a Cal-Mediterranean bent, and libations hail from all over the globe. I almost got a glass of Austrian grüner with my lunch, but went for the springy basil gimlet for the first round.

The sun-kissed patio courtyard and its sleek new loungey couches are a fantastic spot for some springtime libations, and I foresee much more happy tippling in the very near future.

February's Four Delectable Dishes

2011-02-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few weeks! Between my inaugural 707 scout columns for tablehopper, a flurry of new release writing for one of my winery clients, and many fun events that drew me out of Napa into the far reaches of Sonoma and San Francisco, I haven't exactly been tending to my blog this month the way I ought.

But I have been eating some tasty things.
So, as my jump back into the saddle, I give you four delectable dishes I encountered on my culinary romps around the Bay Area this February.

Exhibit A: Spicy Duck Hotwings with Chili-dusted Jicama

from El Dorado Corner Cafe

Oh, decadent bliss. Imagine duck confit on a handle, wrapped in a crunchy, chewy, hot saucy crust. Despite the objective fattiness of deep fried breaded duck wings, the subjective sensation of these is remarkably clean, with fantastic textural variations and compulsively tasty inside and out. Just do it.

Exhibit B: Wild Mushroom, Chevre, and Truffle Oil Pizza

from El Dorado Kitchen/El Dorado Corner Cafe

I've eaten this pizza at EDK a couple of times, but fall in love anew each time I order it. The mushrooms have great wild forest funk and a delicate tenderness, which the fresh parsley and tarragon play up in a most delicious fashion. The flavorful crust is thin but sturdy, and the ideal vehicle for transporting the truffly target to your lips. Thanks to the new El Dorado Corner Cafe in Sonoma, this irresistible little item can now be had all day long (the EDK and its bar close down to a very small, pizza-less lounge menu for mid-afternoon), starting at 11:00 am.

Exhibit C: Nonna's Tomato-Braised Chicken

from Scopa

I trekked up to Healdsburg for the Golden Barspoon competition this year, and finally got to experience Scopa for dinner. This little place has been recommended to me time and again as the Italian restaurant experience you always wish you had in your neighborhood. The menu changes frequently, but this signature dish never disappears. So what is Nonna's secret? Succulent chicken, thick, richly seasoned tomato sauce, and dreamy soft polenta infused with fresh rosemary hiding just below in the adorable little cast iron brazier. Brilliant textures, fabulous flavors, and perfect in every way.

Exhibit D: Seared Scallops w/ Pastis Pan Sauce, Beet Greens, and Roasted Beet-White Truffle Puree

Valentine's Day dinner at my house

Who knew that beets and their vegetal trappings would be so delicious with Pastis, scallops, and white truffle? Another example of the whole being far greater than the sum of its parts. I share this one not to congratulate my cooking ability (this is not a techically demanding creation) but rather to share this revelation with the world. This dish was so good, we were mourning its being gone before we even finished eating it.

Rabid for Rabbit

2011-02-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for the Year of the Rabbit to start this Thursday. My reptilian brain thrills at the thought of seeing rabbit on every menu--and not just in "safe" charcuterie form. Show me some leg, people!

I admit, rabbit on every menu is probably a delusion hope, given that the meat isn't exactly available on the same scale as, say, chicken. But gustatory appreciation of cute little bunnies does seem to be gaining some traction with the larger food-eating public, and I'm hoping this Chinese Zodiac Year takes the movement to a new level.

Kindred rabbit eaters in the Napa vicinity should join me at Food Truck Friday the evening of February 4, 2011, for a special Year of the Rabbit party. My full article on this carnival of delights is on WineCountry.com, here.

Since the publication date of that piece, I heard that Mark's the Spot truck will be doing a polenta bowl with braised rabbit and mustard cream... and Dim Sum Charlie's will have rotisserie rabbit, rabbit "Kind Bowls," and rabbit dumplings, because co-owner Andrew Siegal is as much of a rabbit fiend as I am. Fork Catering from Sonoma will have the Rabbit Bolognese, and a new-to-Food Truck Fridays wood-fired pizza truck (not Crossroad Chicken, who apparently won't be there this time) will be cranking out rabbit-topped pies for the public.

Bring on the bunny! And happy new year.

Noble Rot Infestation Spotted In St. Helena

2011-01-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

I have been to a lot of wine tastings. Almost without exception, the focus of events described as “wine tastings” has been either the wine, or the drunken state of attendees. Before last Saturday’s Noble Rot event, I had never been to a wine tasting where the people behind the wine actually came first and foremost.

Not that the wine poured on Saturday was in any way undeserving of center stage—but the opportunity to chat with Hardy Wallace (of Murphy-Goode social media contest fame), Heather Munden (creator of St. Francis Winery’s single vineyard projects, as well as her own new label), and Christina Turley (former somm at Momofuku, and scion of Napa’s Turley family) about whatever came up in the casual, house party atmosphere certainly was a breath of fresh air.

The Noble Rot is a self-described “traveling wine saloon” that throws offbeat and irreverent wine tasting parties, combining (as the mood strikes) doses of stand-up comedy, theatrical flourishes, culinary riffs, and smartass coups designed to make you trust your palate and go with what you like. The two ringleaders of this NYC-based operation are “self-appointed Master Sommelier” Jonny Cigar, and “state-certified gentleman” Brian Quinn, who believe in the dying art of face-to-face conversation, and the power of wine to promote it. Tasting pours at Noble Rot events are not one ounce, unless you choose to pour your own. On arrival, guests were handed a warm-up glass of wine to help with pre-program mingling, and then provided a second pour (from different bottles, but—as was revealed later—of the same wine) to compare with the first as the three special guests of the evening took to the stage.

From L to R: Brian Quinn, Hardy Wallace, Christina Turley,
Heather Munden, Jonny Cigar

This “formal” portion of the event was deliberately brief, more of a primer on the three special guests than a substantive presentation. We learned just enough to intrigue us, and all questions had to wait until the end to ensure that you would go up and start a real conversation.

I'll post a link to the podcast they recorded when it's available (UPDATE: it's here), but for now you'll have to make do with my abbreviated account. The charming and indefatigable Hardy Wallace moved on from his six-month gig at Murphy Goode to work with The Natural Process Alliance, a hands-off, let nature take its course kind of group that produces fascinating, funky wines in resusable 750 mL stainless steel canteens, designed to be consumed young, alive, and within a 100-mile radius of the Santa Rosa winery facility. You can find these crazy canteens at Bay Area restaurants like Chez Panisse and Gary Danko, to name just a few. We got to sample the 2010 sauvignon blanc, and the 2010 pinot gris—which due to the skin-on, whole-cluster fermentation, turned out a striking orange color reminiscent of beer or cider.

Christina Turley’s dad Larry is the owner of St. Helena-based Turley Wine Cellars, known for its huge, intensely concentrated, over the top Zinfandels. He was famously quoted by The Wine Spectator a few years ago as saying that Cabernet people drink the label, but Zin drinkers drink the wine. After eight years in New York City working in the restaurant biz as a sommelier in her own right, Christina has returned to California to help her parents start a new wine brand… of Cabernet Sauvignon. Far from pretending Larry’s diss never happened, the Turleys have christened their cab brand “The Label” and are downplaying label-related bragging rights as much as possible with their minimalist bottle design. And, to further emphasize the restrained, old-school style in which the wine is made, they use the same flat-bottomed claret bottles that Napa wineries used in the 1970s, when Napa cabs could fool French wine experts in blind tastings. We got to try barrel samples of The Label 2010, as well as the 2010 Turley Wine Cellars Hayne vineyard Zin.

Heather Munden joined the St. Francis winemaking team as their Artisan Series winemaker in 2007, after years of working around the world in places like New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Puglia. She shared the trials and tribulations of making small-production single vineyard wines at St. Francis’ 400,000 case facility (she has her own mini-winery within the winery), and broke the news of her nascent independent label, called Fama. In Italian, "fama" means fame, reputation, rumor, and renown... or a woman with all of those things. (Hmm, Heather... what are you saying?) Since the seven barrels’ worth of Fama 2009 Chardonnay from her ex's well-known Carneros vineyards haven’t been bottled yet, she brought barrel samples for us in repurposed Carlo Rossi jugs. Rock on, sister.

I’m not really talking about any of the wines here, because the conversation was really the focus and purpose of the evening. Chatting in the kitchen about Heather's new outdoor wood burning oven and homemade charcuterie, commiserating with Christina about the culture shock of sleepy St. Helena after years in the city, and laughing about the distribution system Hardy “the Milkman” uses to get his canteens of wine to restaurants—he delivers them himself, packed into milkcrates in the back of his car—really made the night what it was. Tasting the fantastic and interesting wines was really more of a bonus... and yet, like the cheeses from Raymond Cheesemongers, the array of tasty crostini and passed appetizers, and the beautiful St. Helena home that hosted it all, completely essential to the experience.

This event on January 29 was the first west-coast foray for Noble Rot, but Jonny and Brian definitely have plans for more California mayhem... including a possible City of Napa event I could walk home from. You can follow their rollicking adventures and teasers on their website, via Twitter, or through their blog, Winetology.com.

Enough positivity! Time for a rant.

2011-01-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

I make a real effort to write food related articles that work positively for everyone involved. I emphasize the good stuff for restaurant-specific reviews, and avoid public discussion of things that I can't praise in good conscience.

But I got pissed off today at lunch, so I'm going to rant about it a little. You can tell me in the comments if you think I'm overreacting.

Restaurant X offers four different versions of a salady type dish for lunch. The pork, chicken, and vegetarian (with stir-fried bamboo shoots, red onion, and tofu instead of meat) versions are all the same price, let's say $11.50. The shrimp version is an extra $3.75. All of the meat versions come with a little side spring roll, included in the price.

I told my server I wanted the chicken version, but did not want the little side spring roll that came with it. I asked her if I could substitute something for the side spring roll. She told me the veggies from the vegetarian version were great, and that she thought the best version of this dish was the chicken bowl with the vegetarian veggies added. I said great, let's do that then, and thank you for the suggestion and substitution.

No reference to any additional costs associated with this substitution of vegetables for a pork spring roll.

A few minutes later, the expo arrives with my food, but he's brought me just a vegetarian version (tofu and veggies on top), with no side spring roll. I say to him, I ordered a chicken version of this with the veggies. He takes it back, returns moments later with the same veggie salad bowl topped with grilled chicken. All good. I'm wondering at the added tofu, but not concerned because it didn't really affect my ability to eat the dish.

When the bill comes--or more accurately, once they've run my card on the bill as presented--I notice that the server rang up my lunch as a vegetarian salad bowl ($11.50), with added chicken ($4). The only thing that looked as I expected was the fact that I didn't get a discount for foregoing the spring roll.

Not cool! If there's a charge associated with a requested substitution that's not disclosed anywhere on the menu, the server should tell the customer at the time they are ordering. Particularly when the server is the one suggesting the substitution. The server is the keeper of the restaurant's information, and it's part of the server's job to inform customers of off-the-menu details that may affect their enjoyment of the experience.

I didn't ask to have the veggies until after she'd told me that was an option for replacing the unwanted spring roll on the chicken bowl I did want. Had she told me of the surcharge when I was ordering, I might have chosen differently... or I might have gone ahead and done it the way I did... but either way, I would have had the knowledge I needed to make an informed decision and maximize my enjoyment at the restaurant.

But she never mentioned any surcharge. And, even worse, she rang up the dish in a way that maximized the extra charge! I asked for the chicken bowl. She rang up the veggie bowl, and added on chicken... which curiously was more expensive than the shrimp add-on... and, I suspect, more expensive than whatever a veggie add-on would have cost.

Seriously?

That kind of underhanded upselling really pisses me off. It's not about the money--I will happily pay an extra $4 to get what I want--it's the principle of the matter. Feel free to try to upsell all you can, but don't do it sneakily with undisclosed charges and strategic re-classification of the original order.

Was this whole thing an inadvertent mistake when she rang it up? Possibly... though the remarkable choice of the cheapest base item and most expensive add-on makes me wonder. Even if it was an honest mistake, though, the server should at the very least have pointed it out and explained the extra charge to me before I was asked to pay it.

I'm not identifying the culprits here, because this is more about principle than about that particular restaurant, or that particular server. But I have to say, I probably won't be back to Restaurant X any time soon.

Am I overreacting?

Short List for Napa Valley Restaurant Month

2011-01-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

January 2011 is the very first Napa Valley Restaurant Month, a full 31 days of promotions by local restaurants to get people dining out in this slowest month of the year.

The complete list of participating restaurants is excitingly long, but also peppered with copious amounts of fine print and limitations that are different for each restaurant. If you're like me, this makes for some slooooow dinner decisions.

And this is why, after spending hours looking into all of these offerings (and sampling the delights of a few), I wrote a primer to share what I perceived to be the absolute best deals of the lot.

You can read it on WineCountry.com's Napa Valley blog, here.

Contemplative New Year's Eve Post... For Once, Not About Food

2010-12-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Eve has long been one of my favorite days of the year. I love the notion that we begin each year with a fresh start and energized hope to create a better future.

The line dividing December 31st from the future rest of our lives is, admittedly, completely fabricated—but so is most of human happiness. Manipulating our minds into states that let us welcome joy, closeness, and confidence has helped people get through life since human brains evolved enough to experience sadness. As my younger, more cynical self learned in Social Psychology class, there’s nothing wrong with a little self-delusion to make you feel better about life. Lasting happiness and positive change require a whole lot of directed thinking, in fact.

So the artificiality of New Year’s doesn’t bother me. Its arbitrarily fixed date at the end of the calendar just operates as a periodic reminder for you to step back from your life and assess what you’d like to do with it. The end of the year timing makes it easier for you to ditch the attitudes and habits you’d like to shed, symbolically leaving them in the now oh-so-distant past of “last year.” Once you’re out of school, life is woefully lacking in that kind of forced chapter break.

So I make the most of the holiday and write my resolutions every year. Even if I don’t wind up fulfilling them, I still feel better thinking that I’m moving on to better things. And that’s more than half the battle.

The Miracle of (Truffle) Love

2010-12-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

It was an early Christmas miracle... my awesome friend and PR woman extraordinaire Holly Krassner scored me a pass to the non-feast portions of the Napa Valley Truffle Festival! And it was tremendous.

I sat in on the Saturday sessions, following the Grower/Scientist curriculum. The keynote speech by "Well-seasoned Traveler" Doug Duda kicked things off with fun tales of surly French farmers, overly friendly truffle dogs, and the people who squeal at every mention of the t-word. Some high notes from the speech and ensuing discussion:

video footage of the annual truffle Mass in Richerenches, France, as the congregation deposits fresh Périgord truffles in the collection basket, and the priest blesses the Eucharist with the truffles sitting right up there on the altar next to the chalice;
it is legal to bring fresh truffles home to the US in your suitcase, so long as all the surface dirt has been removed;
two of the best ways to enjoy fresh Périgord truffles are the classic truffle omelet, and braised sliced celery root topped with truffles;
are Scorpios truly more susceptible to the truffle's sensuous charms than other Zodiac signs? (A subsequent informal poll of the attendees proved inconclusive.)

Thanks to Todd Spanier, the Re dei Funghi (King of Mushrooms), Mr. Duda was able to brandish a real truffle as he delivered his concluding remarks. Incredibly, no one charged the podium--though many rushed Todd afterwards to pose for a picture with his enormous truffles and silky golden cloths.

The first seminar session I sat in on addressed the science of truffle cultivation, and was led by the shy guy with the German accent who sat next to me at the keynote. Dr. Alexander Urban, it turns out, is a full professor in the Department of Systematic Evolutionary Botany at the University of Vienna, and author of such sleeper hits as “Frontiers in Ectomycorrhizal Symbioses Explored with Molecular Phylogenetic Methods,” and more recently, “In vitro mycorrhization of clonally propagated woody plants.” Fortunately, his passion for truffle studies is infectious, which greatly helped the audience digest the dense information on mycorrhizal organisms he presented. I came away with what felt like a full college quarter under my belt, which I attempted to summarize here for WineCountry.com.

Much remains to be deciphered about the truffle fungus' life cycle, particularly the mechanism or process that prompts the fungus to "fruit" and produce the truffle we all want to eat. Dr. Urban ran through the long history of truffle cultivation attempts in Europe, and noted the key environmental factors essential for the survival of each of the three most desired species of truffles--Burgundy summer, Périgord black, and Italian white. He showed us wildly varying sites in France, Austria and the Netherlands that all have successfully produced Burgundy and/or Périgord truffles, stoking our lust to break ground on our own orchards, stat. Then he crushed us with the news that the Italian white, Tuber magnato, whose haunting fragrance and delectable peppery flavor command 4-5 thousand dollars per pound, has thus far resisted human cultivation of any kind. Woe were we.

Dr. Paul Thomas of the American Truffle Company stepped up to deliver a short overview of how his company helps would-be truffle farmers create, cultivate, and manage financially successful truffle orchards using lots of scientific monitoring and their accumulated research and experience from partnering with farmers all over the world. But, since he couldn't very well give away the milk for free, he was pretty tight lipped about the results of his new research into the hormonal communication between truffle fungus and host trees that may prompt fruiting.

After hours of this torturous foreplay, it was finally time for our truffle lunch at La Toque.

First course: a roasted chestnut and porcini mushroom soup, garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, truffled crème fraîche, and generous shavings of Burgundy truffles.

This dish was, quite simply, orgasmic. The chestnuts had a subtle caramel sweetness that complemented and punctuated the warm earthiness of the mushrooms and pumpkin seeds, as well as the sexy funk from the tender Burgundy truffle slices.

If only I could eat this every day. And by day I mean hour.

I'm providing a bonus close-up food porn picture for those cold and lonely nights.

The second course of truffle lunch was a juicy chicken breast roulade with black truffle slices tucked discreetly under the skin, and a wonderfully aromatic parmesan broth bathing a medley of black trumpet and chanterelle mushrooms and fresh kale. This too was delicious, but after that mind blowing soup, it was kinda hard to notice.

Dessert was a mignardise-type plate of chocolate covered almonds, white chocolate pumpkin seed brittle, and biscotti--none of which contained truffles, disqualifying the plate from appearing in this blog.

After lunch we were off to the brand new, just-planted Périgord and Burgundy truffle orchard at Robert Sinskey Vineyards' Ramal Road property in Carneros, which had been created in partnership with the American Truffle Company.

Sadly, even I must confess that a truffle orchard in its infancy isn't much to look at. Anticipating this lack of visual excitement, perhaps, American Truffle Company CEO Robert Chang had accompanied us to help explain the work that had been done, what was being done now, and what was expected in the future. Bill Collins had also brought his 6-month old Lagotto Romagnolo puppy Enrico Caruso (Rico for short) to cavort around in the mud and otherwise charm the assemblage with his antics. Lagotto Romagnolo dogs are the traditional breed used for truffle hunting in Italy, and based on the rooting and digging he demonstrated that day, Rico clearly has it in his blood.

As we learned about expected yields of truffle orchards, we passed around some extra truffle-inoculated baby trees that hadn't made it into the ground. Sinskey used two different types of trees for its orchard: live oak, which produces truffles more slowly at first but continues to produce for decades, and filbert (hazelnut) trees, which produce truffles faster than oaks, but also have a shorter productive life. We got to fondle both. The picture below is a baby filbert tree with truffle fungus in its roots, which costs about $20.

I was ready to buy one of those trees then and there, but wasn't sure I'd be able to raise my backyard's pH levels in time to get the tree in the ground before winter... and oh yeah, it takes 4-8 years for a tree to start producing truffles. So, not exactly the best impulse buy. I put away my wallet.

Mr. Chang told us that Sinskey's was the first truffle orchard planted in Carneros, but noted mysteriously that there is another one in the works "near Kenwood," and that several other property owners "in the area" were also starting up some truffle farms. He was optimistic about Carneros' prospects for truffles, but also very favorably inclined to the Calistoga area. We shall see... in a decade or so.

The following day, I swung by the Festival's Epicurean Marketplace to check out the wares. You may recall that this was the $15 portion of the event, but I have to say that this experience was worth far more than the price of admission. The King of the Mushrooms was there with his queen, who live just a short drive away in San Mateo and who were full of advice on what to do with your real, fresh truffles. They had set out an assortment of truffle samples they had made, from truffled white polenta squares to truffle infused San Francisco Vodka--a brilliant idea, by the way, that tasted as good as it sounds. They also were selling fresh truffles right there on the spot... so I bought one. It was my first, and it was beautiful.

You may be afraid to ask what I did with it, but I will tell you. First I shaved off its tough outer "bark" with a paring knife to expose its tender, moist interior. Did I toss these bark-like shavings? Yes, directly into a bottle of fresh vodka to steep for a few weeks. I have big plans for those cocktails, and not a scrap of truffle went to waste.

So there it was, my denuded and fragrant little beauty. I rubbed it in butter to protect it from the air until I was ready to chop it up and use it for my decadent dinner of buttery soft scrambled eggs, full on French baveuse style. Once the eggs were almost set into their gooey custardy perfection, I julienned half the truffle and stirred the slivers in to heat through as the eggs hit their last minute of cooking. I cook eggs this way a lot using truffle butter to finish them, but this was a totally different experience with the real thing. Muskier. Dirtier. A sordid delight unlike any other. When it was over, my girlfriend and I both needed a cleansing shower.

On the advice of the Mushroom King, I preserved the other half of my naughty little truffle beyond its natural two week freshness window by chopping it up and covering with cooled clarified butter, then storing in the freezer. I will be breaking that badboy out at Christmas dinner. Oh, yes I will. Whether anyone else in my family gets some is another question entirely.

Snuffling Towards The Inaugural Napa Truffle Festival...

2010-12-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has engaged me in social conversation for more than five minutes--or read this article I wrote about Truffle Camp last year--knows of my intense passion for truffles. I rave about them at the slightest opportunity, usually in highly charged and inappropriate language. I insisted upon a full day, driving rain, middle-of-nowhere detour on my trip to New Zealand so that I could spend the night on an isolated truffle farm and meet the crazy English dude trying to farm these musky miracles--and even though I didn't get a single truffle out of the experience (not a single one had grown that year), I was cranked up like a fiend the whole time.

Not surprisingly, then, I freaked out when I heard that Napa was going to host its very own Truffle Festival December 10-12, 2010 at the Westin Verasa. An entire weekend of rooting around in truffle farms, truffle cultivation seminars, truffle cooking demos, truffle & wine pairing experimentation, and truffle eating benders prepared by a bevy of Michelin-starred chefs within stumbling distance of my home was almost too much for my reptilian brain to process. But reality struck with the publication of the ticket prices... which made it abundantly clear that I would not be attending any of the main rooting, fondling, or gorging events--or indeed, any part of the festival besides the Epicurean Marketplace.

Oh, to have $595 for the "cheap seats" Grower-Scientist Festival pass! Or, since I'm dreaming, the full $925 for the could-it-be-more-perfectly-named-in-my-honor Truffle Gourmand pass, which entitles the bearer to play scientist and hedonist, with access to ALL of the festival events... including the seven-course truffle orgy at the hands of a team of celebrity chefs 13 Michelin stars strong. If ever there were a time for me to find a patron willing to sponsor my art of unbridled truffle lust, this would be it! Alas, with only four days left to liftoff, I suspect I will have to continue "creating" on my own dime.

I want to hate the organizers for pricing the passes so high--and seconds later grovel at their feet to let me into their weekend of blissful delirium--but then they had to go and donate a portion of the ticket sale proceeds to Feeding America and The Hunger Project, and make me feel totally guilty for my selfish gluttony. Doh! But good on you, Lexus and The American Truffle Company.

If anyone reading this does get to attend the Festival proper, please take lots of pictures, share them here so I can live vicarious through them, and... please, please... smuggle out a pinch of real Perigord truffle dust for me to nuzzle.

(UPDATE: Divine intervention! I got to go... check out my later post for the story of how cool the festival actually was.)

Napa's Food Truck Friday Shifts Into High Gear December 3

2010-12-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

Downtown Napa is not the only part of town that's buzzing these days. The tight-knit Oxbow District on the east side of Soscol is bringing a totally different type of block party to town this Friday. Capitalizing off the success and excitement of the first Food Truck Friday last month (aka "Circle the Wagons"), these trailblazing entrepreneurs have conspired to take December 3rd's event to a whole new level.

As before, the event is BYO wine and beer, and fabulous reusable Go Vino cups are available to purchase for a nominal charge. That fact alone should be enough to get you to the party, but in addition, all the guest trucks from November's event are returning to rabble rouser/visionary Dim Sum Charlie's parking lot home this month, which is located at 728 First Street just a half block from the Oxbow Public Market. (See my previous post on these guys if you're not familiar with them.) You'll have another opportunity to peek inside Crossroad Chicken's truck to check out its wood burning oven (yes!), in which they cook chickens, pizzas, and whatever other tasty items they feel like. Also don't miss Mark's the Spot, sure to be rocking the crowds again with their fried chicken sliders, chili-spiked French toast kabobs, and other "fine foods, prepared slow, served fast." And Napa's very first non-taco food truck, Phat Salad & Wraps, will be dishing out tasty chargrilled meats and salads in their signature phat style.

But as I mentioned, this Friday will have even more love to go around, because the Napa trucks will be joined by their cousins from the next wine valley over. Santa Rosa-based Street-Eatz will be dishing out their globe-trotting menu of international favorites--think agedashi tofu, chile rellenos, pulled pork with jerk sauce, chicken pesto sandwiches, and more. Their fellow Santa Rosan truck Chicago Style Hot Dogs is bringing their Vienna brand beef franks and poppyseed buns piled high with tomatoes, peppers, onions, yellow mustard, celery salt, pickle spear, and electrifying green relish--or other creative combinations for those not seeking the classic Chicago dog.

And, Napa will also get a fix of some much-needed Karma. After nine years of business as an old-school (permanent location) Indian restaurant in Cotati, Karma Bistro took to the streets of Sebastopol and Petaluma this year, peddling a delectable assortment of fragrant curries, samosas, and chaat out of their roving truck. Before you ask, yes, the chicken they use in all their dishes is Sonoma County's own free range cluckers.

Last, but certainly not least, Gott's Roadside is joining the party at 9pm, with live music by Mad & Eddie Duran, $3 pulled pork sliders, $4 ahi sliders, and free seating to Food Truck Friday patrons with the purchase of a beverage from Gott's (note that before 9, it's business as usual). Although Gott's doesn't have a truck, they do have a roadside--and that's where the eating gets done.

Rain or shine, the Oxbow will be rockin this Friday, starting at 5pm. I think everyone knows where they'll be.

Figgling with Delight

2010-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

Figs are the truffles of the fruit world. Musky. Intense. Highly suggestive. Over the top. The object of animal lust and cultish devotion. Disturbingly delicious. And, lamentably, only available in their prime for a brief period of time each year....

But that time is now, fig lovers! Lusciously plump juicy Mission figs are falling off the trees in Napa right now, into the slavering mouths of their admirers. I've been remiss in my fig worship this year, probably because of the late ripening, but I finally got to stuff myself with them reently at one of the Soup Week dinner parties. And the inspiration for this post was born...

While officially the evening was celebrating soup (Chef Robin White's carrot soup with blood orange and ginger cream, to be exact), I was caught in the thrall of the chevre-stuffed neighborhood figs the hostess had roasted as a pre-dinner snack. The roasting had amplified the rich caramel sweetness of the fruit, and massaged the flesh into a state of delectable submission, barely able to constrain the warm cloud of goat cheese within. A teasing drizzle of honey and quick cuddle with the rosemary sprigs brought them over the edge... and right into my mouth.

I like to believe that no one knew how two-thirds of the figs wound up in one-tenth of the visitors' stomachs (until now), but I suspect I was not as stealthy as I imagined.

The final one-third of the figs, with which I had studiously avoided eye contact throughout the meal, turned out to be the star of our impromptu do it yourself dessert, dashing my (very tiny) inner Puritan's prayers that there would be no more depravity that night. A pint of vanilla ice cream, a pile of spoons, and the surviving figs--which by this time had been bathing in their honeyed fig juices for well over an hour--proved to be all we needed for an outrageously delicious and satisfying finale.

Despite the spartan figginess of the picture above, this dessert was a fig-lover's dream. Step one: scoop modest mouthful of vanilla ice cream onto individual spoon, ideally in fancy quenelle-shape. Step two: select a succulent cheese stuffed fig and nestle it into the ice cream on the spoon, being careful to ensure no honey/fig juice is lost in transit. Step three:

Unhinging one's jaw isn't strictly necessary, but it certainly helps accommodate overeager ice cream scoops and girthy figs. Plus it makes for good party pictures.

Thanks, Linda and Quent, for indulging my figgish ways at your house. Call me if you get another crop of your neighbor's figs... I've thought of a few more things I'd like to try.

Dim Sum Charlie's is open... and they will love me long time

2010-09-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 23, 2010: NBC Thursday's season premieres of Community, The Office, and new show Outsourced; and, just as exciting to Napa residents (if not more), the night Dim Sum Charlie's opened its serving window to the public.

In case you missed my earlier post about this awesome place, Dim Sum Charlie's is Napa Valley's first Asian food truck. It's also Napa's first dim sum eatery. And Napa's first food truck that's actually an Airstream trailer.

This 22-foot, classic 1958 Airstream has tortured dim sum loving locals like myself since it was spotted parked next to the railroad tracks at 728 First Street near the Oxbow Public Market. Who is Charlie? Why is he never there when I stop by at lunchtime? When will he start doling out the dim sum and loving us long time?

Some of these questions remain unanswered, but the guys behind Charlie are Andrew Siegal and Clayton Lewis. The idea for the late-night dim sum social scene was hatched on one of Andrew's trips to London, when he visited a rockin nightlife hotspot called Ping Pong Dim Sum, a place people gathered to socialize, drink, and snack on dim sum late into the night.

Andrew, the finance guy, hatched a plan to create what he describes as a "Route 66 meets Bladerunner" dim sum operation for downtown Napa, which until very recently has been utterly devoid of nightlife activities outside private homes. He procured the battered Airstream and found the perfect property near the Oxbow Public Market on which to park it. The Airstream and the dining area are set back off of First Street, and conveniently just east of the intersection with Soscol. Yes, that is right next to the ongoing construction, which is currently limiting them to serving only after 6pm on weekdays (they open at noon on Saturday and Sunday, however, for your dim sum brunch needs). Stylin sail shades protect the long row of picnic tables from the sun, and decorative light strings and an outdoor fireplace keep things lit up after dark. The location is entirely visible from the street, but feels delightfully secluded.

Clayton Lewis is the funky glasses, chef-side of the Dim Sum Charlie's equation who helped Andrew restore and remodel the trailer into a shiny and fabulous dim sum steaming machine, and who now controls the kitchen operations day to day. The entire menu is steamed to order (so all you fried lotus ball lovers like my mom are SOL), and uses 100% organic ingredients. To ensure top-notch dim sum quality, they've partnered with one of SF's dim sum house elite--which shall remain nameless--and also plan to start collaborating with Napa rockstars like Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller of Fatted Calf.

In the four days they have been open to the public, I've been twice, and others have been there daily. Obviously, it's an instant addiction. Tender rice flour coatings are neither too thick nor too thin, with just the right amount of chew and transluscency to please the eyes and the mouth. Seafood, veggie, and meat fillings are pristinely fresh, perfectly seasoned, juicy, and truly delicious even without the standard condiment accompaniments (which are of course available on every table). And, delightfully, the menu changes frequently to keep you coming back for more.

Clockwise from top left: scallop-garlic, shrimp-pea sprout, and lobster-sea bass-shrimp

Some of my favorite things--so far--are the Country-style Shrimp Almighty dumplings, the Scallop and Garlic dumplings, the White Fluffy BBQ Pork Bun, and the mysteriously named Barbecue Pork Rice Noodle "Snotty." I can only guess at the origin of the Snotty's name, but I will say that the slippery, goobery texture of this layered noodle item is deeply satisfying. And the barbecued pork has just enough naturally caramelized sweetness to carry the dish without requiring an off dry wine as a beverage choice.

BBQ pork bun says, "We love you long time!"

Speaking of which, what wine DO you drink with dim sum? The Napa Twitter community certainly had a lot of pairing ideas this past week, and will be putting those ideas to the test this Thursday night (September 30th) for a Dim Sum Charlie's tweetup party coordinated by the Tweetup Queen herself, @CordairGallery---a.k.a. Linda Cordair of the Quent Cordair Fine Art gallery in downtown Napa. I'm inclined to bring a dry Riesling or new world sparkler, but I may just grab a bottle of Mahoney Albarino from the neighboring Taste at Oxbow wine bar for something a little different... or maybe I'll just bring a six-pack of Tsingtao.

Definitely RSVP here if you plan to attend this Thursday's tweetup, though, because the dim sum has been selling out every night since they opened, and is sure to vanish in a flash unless you let Andrew and Clayton know in advance how much food to prepare. So RSVP, now. And don't fret if you can't come after you've said you would, because I will eat your share for you.

For the time being, Dim Sum Charlie's is BYO with no corkage, and they sell waters and a couple of sodas--including Jarritos Tamarindo. No bubble tea in sight, though.

If you can't make Thursday's tweetup, Friday October 1st is the Grand Opening party, and I'm sure much delicious merriment will be had that night as well.

The Airstream opens for business at 6pm WEDNESDAY through Friday, and at noon on Saturdays and Sundays (closed Mon-Tues) for now. Follow @DimSumCharlies on Twitter for more updates, and to stoke the fires of dim sum lust until your time to get some arrives.

Fish Story

2010-09-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a seafood junkie. Unfortunately for pescophiles like me, Napa Valley is not known for its fruits de mer--something entirely natural and obvious when you consider that the best local wines are reds with a good bit of backbone and bite. Local menus tilt to the meaty side here, with maybe one fish option... unless you're at Morimoto or Go Fish, of course, in which case you're either ready to drop a ton of cash, or upvalley. I don't find myself in either position very often, which is why the arrival of Fish Story at Napa's downtown waterfront is this fish fiend's dream come true. High-end cooking, medium-end prices, and low-end pretension make it feel like the seafood restaurant I've always wanted in my neighborhood. Especially because Stephen Barber--who was the chef at MECCA in San Francisco when I lived in the neighborhood--is running the show kitchen-side.

Naturally I had to check it out on opening night, along with my partner in crime and hundreds of other curious folks from near and far. When I checked Open Table at around 11:45 that morning, there were still table reservations available at all prime dinner times. When I arrived at the restaurant at 7:00, though, the hostess told me that they were fully booked for the evening. Over two hundred and fifty seats reserved on a Monday night?!? Well done, Napa. Times they are a-changing.

Since my PIC and I prefer barside dining anyway, we hadn't bothered with reservations and just installed ourselves at the 10-seat horseshoe bar. The bar/lounge space is very distinctly separated from the dining area, as if they are two unrelated restaurants. The bar portion has over 20 seats inside--8 or 10 tall stools at the bar counter and another 10-12 seats at smaller two-tops--and probably another 10-15 seats outside on the front patio for those who want to drink outside and not necessarily commit to any food. A quirky/freaky octopus fountain is on hand to charm and delight the denizens of the front garden area, and a well-stocked overhead bar challenges the indoor patrons to spot their liquor of choice based solely on bottle shape. From what we could tell, the opening night bar crowd was a mix of curious locals and lucky tourists who happened in just in time to score a seat. The bar was full by 7:15, and the staff had to bring out extra barstools to accommodate the parents of one of the servers.
If the full bar and cocktail menu don't suck you in, Fish Story also brews its own beer right there in the restaurant. The shiny tanks are installed behind glass partitions on the way to the main dining room, to demonstrate they're truly the brew pub they told the ABC they are. Fish Story ales are available on draft, as are a surprisingly large selection of local wines. GM Treg Finney told us that the wineries provide the restaurant with special pressurized "kegs" of wine that keep the product totally fresh to the last drop. There's also a pleasing selection of wines by the more traditional bottle and glass, from California as well as more distant lands.

But on to the fish, because that's why we're here.

The favorite dishes of the night were the lobster roll, the scallop portion of the scallop dish, and the tuna tartare we ordered as an afterthought. Tuna tartare is so ubiquitous and overdone that I almost never order it in a restaurant, even though raw tuna is one of the great loves of my life. EVERYONE does a tuna tartare, and it's usually decent, but not particularly challenging or exciting. Fish Story's interpretation, however, totally rocks the boat with unexpected textures and unusual flavors: crispy toasted hazelnut bits, hazelnut oil, and a microscopic brunoise of serrano peppers and citrus zest. The menu description also mentioned asian pear, but I was too enthralled with the surprise hazelnut crunch (not mentioned on the description) to notice that sweetness. Great stuff. It went fast and I will definitely be back for more.

The lobster roll, that classic seafood house staple, was styled after the New England original--a buttered, toasted, split white bread bun with a Maine lobster salad filling, housemade potato chips, and a side of cole slaw.

I am not generally a fan of mayonaise-based salads. Fortunately for me, this lobster salad was made with a lot more than mayo--fresh chopped parsley, thinly sliced celery, and a bright lemony punch took this one up to a completely different level, and was gorgeous match with the Chablis we were drinking at the time. The cole slaw was also surprisingly tasty and refined, thanks to the fine angel-hair strands of green and red cabbage, and the light tangy dressing that seasoned, rather than drowned its target.

But damn, we couldn't keep our hands off that butter-kissed bun. Even after the lobster was gone, that toasty gift from god rocked the party. Not a single crumb survived.

Our other favorite bites of the night were the seared scallops that came as part of the "Day Boat Scallops and Kurobuta Pork Belly with fresh black eyed peas and Swiss chard" entree. These luscious creatures were perfectly seared and seasoned, succulently moist with that incomparable oceany minerality... and of course gone in a flash. You'll notice from the picture at right that the dish appears to come with four scallops. But as you cut into one of the darker scallops, you realize that the kitchen has not in fact made a collossal error of overcooking, but rather... the thing you thought was a scallop is actually a huge piece of pork. Pork belly. Cleverly disguised as a scallop. As someone who has never loved big slabs of pork belly on a plate, I would have prefered these pork pucks cut up smaller and cooked in with the peas, leaving the scallops alone (perhaps with some scallop reinforcements) on top of the porky beans. But that's me. The Kurobuta pork had great flavor, and pork belly lovers would probably cream their pants tat the opportunity to eat these massive hunks. But. For me, the two true scallops stole the show, and I will rave about them for many days to come.

Fish Story has a ton to offer, and I'm dying to get back and try their fluke ceviche with espelette pepper, olives, and Meyer lemon olive oil, as well as their chili-roasted Dungeness Crab, as well as their Tombo Tuna with grilled artichoke, olives, and onion relish. I'm also tempted to go for their "Hook Line & Sinker" prix fixe menu, which (the night I was there) consisted of a cup of chowder or Little Gem salad, choice of grilled Idaho trout or shrimp and grits, and a butterscotch pudding for $27. An embarassment of riches. I'm sure their lunch menu--once they start serving next week--will have many other irresistible items as well.

Opening night hiccups must be forgiven, and brand new restaurants always need a few months to find their sea legs. I'm utterly convinced that Fish Story is destined for greatness on the Napa waterfront, and I am beyond stoked to have been there at the beginning. It will only get better from here.

PS: check out this chicken purse we spotted next to us at the bar... I think its owner is a local so keep your eyes peeled for another sighting... AWESOME.

The Sweet Taste of Anticipation...

2010-09-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

There are few things I love more than anticipating delicious things in my future. (Obviously one is experiencing said delicious things, but the ratio of anticipated to actual is only rarely 1:1.) I am a notorious stalker of not-yet-open restaurants and bars, constantly walking by in slow motion to peer into still-shuttered windows, searching the internet for clues and news about their future, browsing online menus, and the like. I spend a ridiculous amount of time on such activities.

And so this past week has flown by in a delicious haze of new restaurant lust, thanks to three Napa spots currently in the works, and to the actual opening of one of these objectified eateries tonight... I speak of course of Fish Story, the Napa venture of the Lark Creek Restaurant group. But first, a description of the other tantalizing ventures that will continue to haunt me with their unattainable edibles and ambience.

Dim Sum Charlie's catered the rehearsal wedding for a friend of friends last weekend, to glowing praise. As Napa has NO acceptable dim sum anywhere, let alone from a food truck, the positive report (from Diane of Napa Farmhouse 1885) sent all asian food lovers into a tailspin trying to find out where, when, and how soon we could get our mouths on some local har gao. The where proved easy: the battered Airstream trailer has taken up residence behind the flood building on First Street just east of Soscol Avenue. It has a lovely little dining area with picnic tables and shade just outside the service window (see picture). When and how has proven more challenging... the website says only that the grand opening is "coming soon," and multiple plaintive email requests (not all from me, thank you very much) have met with no response. The mysteriousness is both torturous and delectable.

Since Charlie wouldn't give it up, I turned my attention to the construction job on Main Street just north of Azzurrro Pizzeria. I have been walking by this place for months (since my girlfriend moved to the neighborhood), and witnessed first-hand its razing, regrading, and rebirth into a stunning example of contemporary architecture.

Ok, I admit, I didn't really get excited until the "NO PERSONS UNDER 21 ALLOWED" sign went up in the window. But after that, I was enthralled. I peered in almost daily. And finally one day I was able to accost one of the construction workers as he was taking out the trash, and he told me the place was going to be a wine bar... named Cal Wine.

Fortunately, the address number had also been posted so I could look it up on the ABC License Query system to confirm the name. Not so fortunately, the construction worker was correct--1313 Main Street in Napa, California will soon be home to a wine bar named Calwine. But I'm not going to hold the generic name against it--when it opens, I'll be there. It seems I'll have to rely on my own meanderings to figure out when that will be, though, because the internet silence on this place is deafening. Do you know something about it? Please share.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Fish Story. Sustainable seafood, full bar, raw bar, swanky digs, and one of my favorite Bay Area chefs at the stoves had me hooked with the first press release last year. Its prime location at the corner of Third and Main in downtown's new Riverfront building has required me to walk by countless times on my way to Angèle, Celadon, and Morimoto Napa (see my report on that awesome newcomer here). With ever-increasing excitement, I watched the installation of funky glass lighting, the construction of the rounded bar, the addition of a tiny outdoor dining garden, and just last week, the stocking of the bar with actual liquor bottles--the surest sign that opening was nigh.

And indeed it is! Tonight's the night... and I will be there to realize my fantasies and feast upon the glories of Stephen Barber's cuisine. Kinda makes me want to shave my legs and put on sexy underwear.

Pork and Buns

2010-09-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend and I recently checked out Solbar for the first time (shocking, since it's been open for more than 30 days) and grazed through their lounge menu. We totally wanted to order their cha siu bao pork buns, but our waitress talked us into getting the pork cheek tacos instead. Those tacos were pretty fantastic with their tiny pickled Thai chili peppers and ripe avocado, but our pork bun craving remained in full force. When we found ourselves at Redd's bar for dinner before the Charo concert in Yountville a few days later (an event that deserves its own post... ah, Charo), I took it as a sign from god that we should be eating pork buns that night.

Redd's renowned open-face buns are only available at the bar, so you have to squeeze your way in among the drunken visitors and locals on the prowl to experience this porcine bliss--but it's well worth the effort. Instead of the usual barbecued mystery meat, Redd uses smoky pork belly for the filling, diced into 3/4 inch chunks, crisped to a delicate crunchy perfection on all sides, and then glazed in hoisin sauce. The steamed rice flour "bun" is more accurately a tender, toothsome pillow that cradles the ambrosial belly, soft taco style, capturing every drop of the bacon-laced plum sauce. The accompanying pile of crisp julienned veggies in tangy rice wine vinegar makes a perfect foil for the rich morsels of sweet meaty delight. We both piled the vegetables on top of the pork, folded the cloud-like bun around the assemblage, and inhaled. Pure ecstasy.

With two five-inch buns per order, sharing this dish is probably best... but you have to really like the person you're sharing with. There's no way I would have given up that second bun to anyone less worthy. Keep this in mind when you plan your own pork bun pilgrimage to Y-ville.

Napa Burger Battle

2010-09-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

One week ago today, a small cadre of expert eaters assembled on the west side of town for an epic battle of beef, bun, and cheddar. With nine contenders and seven categories of scoring, this contest was an all-day affair, requiring exacting standards, keen attention to detail, and some serious eating stamina (I should confess here that we only made it through seven of the nine nominees, as our stomachs began to beg for some winnowing of the list after about 3:00pm.)

Each burger was to be ordered medium, topped with cheddar cheese, and any other items the restaurant normally presented with the burger by default. Each burger was then rated by the panel of judges on Plate Appeal (up to 5 points), Bread (5 points), Cooking Temperature (0 or 1, depending on whether it made it to medium or not), Meat Texture (5 points), Meat Flavor (5 points), Overall Tastiness (up to 10 points), and Extra Credit (up to 5 points) for particularly great things like value for money, or special bonus features. The most any burger could score was 36 points. The nominees were all located in or around downtown Napa, with all but one located within walking distance of one another.

Our journey began at Andie's Cafe, the small shack next to the carwash just off 1st Street west of the 29 on/off ramps. Most people associate this place with frozen yogurt, but many know it for its extensive burger menu. The 1/3 pound basic cheeseburger here arrived promptly and colorfully, loaded with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup on a toasted potato bun for $6.29.

The veggies were remarkably fresh, but the judges found the overcooked patty texturally unimpressive and without beefy wow factor. A decent start, but with plenty of room for other contenders to seize the lead.

Next up, we drove into Napa proper and ditched the cars to complete our burgerous trek on foot. We headed to Alexis Baking Company (aka ABC Bakery) to taste a truly fresh ABC potato bun. Tons of local restaurants use this bun for their own burgers and sandwiches, and for good reason. It is soft but chewy, with a delightful tang and pleasing exterior texture even when untoasted.

The $11.95 cheeseburger we ordered "with everything," however, arrived with mayonnaise and mayonnaise alone... for which several of the judges docked the burger a few extra credit points. The burger did come with a fresh Caesar salad and medley of pickled peppers, etc. that proved able palate cleansers, so some of that may have been recouped. But from the burger standpoint, the best thing about the one we received was the bun. Well past medium, the patty's tasty factor edged past Andie's by a slight margin, but still left a lot of room at the top. And because of the messed-up order, we had nothing else to go on.

With two non-revelatory burgers behind us, the judges seemed peevish and restless. We beelined for Celadon to experience the first "restaurant-style" burger of the day... and naturally, a round of cocktails from their excellent full bar to wash it down: Strawberry vodka lemonade made with local berries, a Spa-tini made with house-infused lemon-cucumber vodka and ginger, and the Treetini composed of Veev acai liquor, muddled basil leaves, and sweetened lime juice. All peevishness melted away.

And then the burger arrived... a glorious 7-ounce patty of American style Kobe beef chuck from Masami Farms, topped with shredded cheddar (per our request), sun-dried tomato mayonnaise, mesclun lettuces, ripe tomato, red onion, and a side of tarragon shoestring fries. Hello, lover.

It was delectable, and--at last!--still pink and juicy. So juicy in fact, that it juiced all over the bread, the plate, and the eaters' hands. Chef-owner Greg Cole stopped by to explain the details of his burger masterpiece, including the provenance of the spectacularly good potato-pepper roll that soaked up the juice with such ease. Panorama in San Francisco produces these wonders with their absorbent but light interior, perfect toasty textures, and enough heft to stand up to a nearly half-pound chunk of meat. With the use of premium meat, creative mayonnaise, and the large fries portion, Celadon's burger racked up a slew of extra credit points on top of the high scores for flavor and presentation. And all for $14.

Elated by this delicious discovery (new to all judges present), the burger posse moved the 100 yards to Angèle, which was in the throes of lunch rush. Once installed on the shaded patio, we again ordered the house burger with cheddar cheese, which comes with Angèle's deservedly famous and beloved fries for $14.

As at Celadon, the burger arrived thick, pink and juicy. The ABC potato bun was perfectly toasted on all sides, producing a textural variety that the untoasted version only hinted at. The choice of white cheddar met with mixed success at the judging table--some thought it was too mild, others loved its subtlety.

The fries, as expected, were a smash hit, and vanished quickly in between bites of the juicy burger (which for me scored a 5 for 5 on meat flavor, and 9 out of 10 for overall tastiness--on a par with Celadon's).

Originally we had planned ot take a wine break at Trahan and Olabisi's tasting room after this burger, but since we'd already started drinking and were feeling spry, we powered on to Norman Rose Tavern without a moment's hesitation.

Over a round of beers, we examined the Norman Rose Five Dot beef cheeseburger, loaded with four slices of cheddar cheese, and garnished with a thick slice of green tomato for $10.95. As at Angèle, the cheese prompted some dissent among the learned judges. Some rejoiced in the luxurious volume of gooey tangy goodness, while others (buzzkills) felt it overwhelmed the burger. The bun also met with mixed reviews, with some liking the fluffy texture, and others not so much.

It was a perfect illustration of the power and importance of subjective preference in the burger realm.

Moving past our differences, our team rounded the corner to Grace's Table for the "Hand formed Meyer's Ranch chuck, housemade pickles, fries, and whole-grain mustard aioli." The menu did not mention that the pickles were actually a medley of cruciferous and non-cruciferous veggies grown at the chef's house, or the possibility of getting half fries and half onion rings, or all salad if such was your desire--but we figured that out with no problem thanks to our server.

For $12, this was an enormous mountain of food, overflowing the large plate on which it arrived. We dove in to the sixth burger of the day with gusto. Fresh veggies, homemade fries, nicely cooked beef, and lots of burger juice prompted positives from all the judges. The mustard sauce added a pleasant tang to the mix, and the pickled veggies refreshed our beef-bloated palates.

But then we hit the wall. Six burgers in five hours, sweltering heat outside, and bellies full of beef and booze conspired to bring us down. We resolved to eliminate a few stops from our remaining hitlist: Cuvee, which didn't open until 5pm (still over an hour away), and Bounty Hunter, which only serves its cheeseburger once a week and thus should not perhaps get to be included in this roundup. We piled into an air-conditioned car to drive the half mile to the Oxbow Public Market for our final cheeseburger of the day at Gott's Roadside.

The place was cool and quiet, a welcome haven from the inferno outside. One judge bravely ordered a chocolate shake to wash down the burger, but after a few sips the scope of our overgluttedness became clear. "I've never wanted a cheeseburger less," said another judge. A sad and shameful moment for all the members of the panel.

With stamina taxed beyond human limits, the judges could not see past their personal peculiarities with the Gott's cheeseburger ($7.99). The Niman Ranch beef chuck patty is topped by default with American cheese, which dismayed some who had grown accustomed to the cheddar topping of the day. The iceberg lettuce on the bottom of the bun brought structural integrity and textural variety to the burger, but some disliked the warm lettuce factor. The presence of homegrown homemade pickles and secret sauce (which contains relish) pushed the pickle limit for certain judges, while others enjoyed the vinegar and salt. The seventh cheeseburger of the day was not the favorite, but I can't help but think it would have done better had it been consumed earlier in the day.

Lessons learned: (1) eating back to back burgers is a great way to compare beef texture, flavor, bun quality, and value for money; (2) eating more than five burgers back to back is a hideously bad idea; and (3) the company you keep during a burger orgy is critical to your ultimate enjoyment of the experience.

Thank you to my phenomenal fellow judges for an awesome day of unbridled gluttony in the name of science, and thank you to all the nominees for indulging our little contest with grace and hospitality.

Can't wait for the Pizza Battle.

Patrick Bui is my hero

2010-08-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

My banh mi blowout last week chez @Ish and @kristysf triggered a serious flare-up of my Vietnamese food obsession. Thank god Patrick Bui opened a restaurant in Napa last year, so I can actually get a hit of authentic Vietnamese flavor without having to drive to the East Bay. I've been there several times in the last couple of days to get my fix, most recently today for an early lunch with my honey.

As always at Bui Bistro, the food was spot-on, swoon-worthy, and so impossible to stop eating that I devoured every bite of our 11:30 lunch despite having had breakfast only 2 hours earlier. Today's crack arrived in the form of banana blossom salad with chicken, and the grilled pork vermicelli bowl.

I have fond memories of grilled pork vermicelli bowls from my summer of bar exam classes, when my best gay buddy and I used to walk into the Tenderloin in SF for cheap, awesome, feel-good Vietnamese lunches every day. This Bui Bistro version was even better than those, though---it had fresher more flavorful veggies, and pork that didn't require a major suspension of disbelief to have it taste like pig meat. The sweet, fish sauce-y marinade had caramelized into an enticing mahogany crust, and little crispy bits of black char at the edges of each piece confirmed (once again) that pork carcinogens are the finest tasting in all the world.

Even the delectable banana blossom salad with finely shredded cabbage, bosc pear, thai basil, and delicate paper-thin slices of chicken breast paled in comparison with the pork noodle bowl. We ate all the salad too, of course, but the vermicelli went first.

If anyone hasn't been to this place yet, go there NOW. The menu has an impressive range of different flavors and presentations, ranging from classic pho, rice plates, and noodle bowls at lunch, to 5-spice duck confit (A MUST ORDER), Saigon sweet and sour wings, shaking beef, caramelized claypot fish, and eggplant chicken at night. The ultra-fresh, delicious salads are fortunately served for both lunch and dinner. On my next visit I want to try the Vietnamese cabbage salad with calamari, which our waiter accidentally delivered to us today instead of the banana blossom salad. And perhaps the claypot fish, one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes of all time.

Food aside, though, I love this place because it is the ONLY restaurant in Napa where you can get French, German, Italian, and Austrian white wines by the glass (all $10 or less), one of which is an excellent gruner veltliner---my favorite varietal to pair with Vietnamese food. The bottle prices are reasonable, and the selection is refreshingly different from every other place in town.

Bui Bistro knows what it's doing, and I know that I'm hooked. Can't wait for my next hit.

Nom Nom for everyone

2010-08-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

I've been watching a new show on the Food Network lately called "The Great Food Truck Race." Each week, the food truck competitors travel to a different U.S. city, with an empty pantry and three (generally emotionally unstable) people to man the truck, and try to sell as much food as possible in two days using the uniform budget given them by the show. The team with the lowest profit is eliminated. So far, Nom Nom the banh mi truck from L.A. has been annihilating the competition. Last Sunday in Santa Fe they had almost double the profit of the next-best team, and didn't even bother to create a new menu item in order to compete with the others for immunity--they really didn't have to. This, in a city with an Asian population of only 1.3% (according to the 2000 Census).

Anyone who's ever had a good banh mi finds these results completely unsurprising. Banh mi are, quite simply, phenomenal. For the uninitiated, a banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich consisting of: a 6-8 inch piece of fresh baguette (true Vietnamese versions use shorter baguettes made with rice flour for added fluffiness), split lengthwise and spread with paté or mayo, then topped with a modest portion of warm sliced meat, sliced jalapenos, and--the pièce de résistance, a color, flavor & textural wonderland of tangy julienned veggies (usually carrot and daikon, sometimes cucumbers) and fresh cilantro.

My favorite type is the 5-spice chicken banh mi, and I seize every opportunity/excuse to make it when I'm cooking for more than a few people. It's easy because you can do 99% of the prep ahead of time, and just grill and slice the meat when it's time to eat. Also because the leftovers (if any) can all be thrown together into one container for consumption in salad form the next day.

Watching Nom Nom kick some food truck ass inspired me to make my banh mi for some Napa friends at a dinner this week. Eating the banh mi at said dinner inspired me to post the recipe here so that others may delight in it as well.

I like to serve this with a Vietnamese cabbage salad and NZ sauvignon blanc, but do what you want. New world pinot noir also works well, particularly if it has a sweet spice character to it. I also once had an awesome dinner party where every guest brought a different bottle of bubbly to pair with the sandwich, and there wasn't a bad match to be found. This is truly one of my all-time favorite staple recipes for barbecue season, and I haven't yet found someone who doesn't love it.

5-Spice Chicken Banh Mi
(serves 4-6, depending on gluttony levels)

The Bread
2 French baguettes with light, fluffy texture
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or more if you want)
1 T 5-spice powder

Combine mayo and 5-spice powder, and refrigerate until ready to use. If you want to thin the mayo out and make it a bit less rich, add the juice from 1/2 lime and stir it in before serving.
Cut baguettes into even lengths--I like to cut each one into 6 pieces if possible so you can eat a greater number of sandwiches and feel more decadent. Split each piece lengthwise and toast.

The Meat
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 T fish sauce (nuoc mam)
1.5 T sugar
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 T five spice powder
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 4 thighs and 2 breasts)

Combine the first five ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Put the chicken in a solid ziploc bag and pour the marinade over, making sure it coats all the pieces thoroughly. Refrigerate 2-10 hours, whatever is convenient. Leaving it in longer makes the soy sauce flavor more pronounced, which may be too much if you're using all thighs--their greater relative surface area makes them more sensitive to marinade flavors than thicker pieces like breasts.
When you're ready to serve, take the chicken out of the marinade and barbecue over medium high heat. Let it rest a few minutes after cooking, then slice them into thin, 1/8 inch slices and serve warm.

The Veggies
1.5 cups julienned carrots (I buy the pre-julienned bag from Trader Joe's)
1/2 peeled seeded cucumber, julienned
some julienned daikon radish if you want--I usually skip it
2 T sugar
3T rice wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients, mix well, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Drain off liquid before serving.

The Finishing Touches
1-3 (depending on your heat tolerance) fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced thinly
1 bunch of fresh cilantro sprigs (about 5 sprigs per sandwich is a good estimate)

Construction and Demolition

Letting everyone build their own sandwich avoids problems of including too much/too little mayo or jalapeno, or having a cilantro hater reject dinner altogether (offer mint as an alternative to these people). Spread the 5-spice mayo generously on the toasted baguette, top and bottom. Layer the sliced meat on the bottom half, then add sliced jalapenos to taste, then a layer of the veggies, and finish with cilantro sprigs.

To preserve the roof of your mouth from brutal laceration (and to better appreciate the texture and punchiness of the sandwich fixins), hold the baguette with the smooth bottom side facing up as you eat it.

Thrill of the day... so far

2010-08-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

I just met the planning committee for "Sex On A Plate," a full-frontal, pan-sensory food and wine experience to be held in Napa next April. The culinary masterminds behind Gilded Fork have combined forces with Napa social maven Linda Cordair and Linda's army of local friends and associates to produce a three-day celebration of the sexier side of cuisine.

Hotttttt.

Tap into the mounting excitement (heh heh) via Twitter by following @foodphilosophy @ChefMark and @CordairGallery

Gott Tomatoes?

2010-08-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Last night my friend Ashley invited me and a group of other local bloggers to tour the vegetable gardens of Gott's Roadside in St. Helena.

This garden is a new project for the Gott's team, having only been planted earlier this year, but it's already generating a lot of excitement as the first summer harvest rolls into the restaurants. Every week, Landy the baby-faced garden meister sends out pounds and pounds of whatever is falling off the vine into the capable hands of Rick the Executive Chef, who transforms them into "tray gourmet" specials for the three Gott's locations. So far this summer, we've seen zucchini fries, Szechuan green beans, fried green tomatoes, home fries with basil pesto, and homemade pickles from the garden cucumbers, all plucked from the organically farmed garden behind the St. Helena Gott's location.

Bloody Butchers.

The focus of last night's garden feast, though, was tomatoes... the long-awaited, late-summer love apples that ruin you for tomatoes the rest of the year. Landy introduced us to the 350 tomato plants that had provided the evening's entertainment, and let us taste the punchy, marble-sized "Bloody Butchers" that were just ripening, as well as a few other random sun-warmed veggie crudités calling out to us as we strolled the garden rows.

Landy harvesting snacks for us.

Back at the picnic area, Chef Rick had devised a parade of dishes celebrating the timeless, universal romance of tomatoes and bread. Here's the lineup: Pa Amb Tomaquet, the primally delicious tomato-rubbed toast from the Catalan region of Spain; Tomato "Gottzpacho" inspired by the Andalusian classic; Tomato Cucumber Panzanella Salad from Italy; a Tomato, Zucchini and Chèvre Tart riffing on the savory staples of Provence; Scalloped Tomatoes, an updated version of the classic Southern Sunday dinner gratin; and the Kitchen Sink Tomato Sandwich, so named for its ideal eating location.

Every dish was a delight to eat. Choosing a favorite among these was no easy feat, but I have to say my heart belongs to the Pa Amb Tomaquet. Second only to the sliced tomato-Duke's mayonnaise-Wonder Bread Tomato Sandwich in simplicity, this soggy toast gets my vote for best taste of summer.

For his version, Chef Rick gilled sliced levain bread from Model Bakery on his barbecue til it was toasty and slightly charred, then ran a cut garlic clove across one side of each slice.

Chef Rick grilling levain.

Next, you "grate" each cut tomato half (Rick used beefsteak, but any ripe juicy variety would work) against the garlicked side of the bread to shred and juice the flesh.

Once the tomatoes are worn down to their skins and the erstwhile toast is soaked with juice, you season the sodden mass with sea salt flakes, fresh ground pepper, and a drizzle of excellent olive oil. Messy, juicy, and totally awesome.

This dish is only as good as the quality of its ingredients, though. Toothsome, tangy, charred artisanal bread... the warm allium bite of garlic...the seasoning and crunch of high quality salt and pepper... the round buttery mmmm of good olive oil... the sweet, sun-warmed juice from the tomatoes... and the fresh aromatics of any torn herbs you may feel inspired to toss on there, combining seamlessly into one of summer's finest snacks. Napkins optional.

It's a major craving-inducer when done well... so damn you, Rick! And thanks.

Thanks also to Ashley Teplin for the great photos!

My fellow tomatavore attendees also posted on the glories of last night's feast. Check 'em all out, because these chicks rock:

Literary Legacies
Napavore
Napa Farmhouse 1885
Inspire Your Lifestyle
The Nest
Healthy Napa
I Heart Napa

A Blog of One's Own

2010-08-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

What to say on the inaugural post? Should I attempt to explain/justify this blog's existence, and its further cluttering of the online world? Should I try to explain what kind of vision I have for this collection of random musings and subjective commentary? Should I explain how this blog differs from my writing on the Food, Wine and Travel blogs of Winecountry.com?

Probably. But I'm not going to go there.

Why this blog of my own?

Why not?