Top Secret Oenotri Pizza Annex

Last weekend I had the great good fortune of wandering into pure Cru Wine Experience in Napa's West End.  This contemporary tasting room for  Mitch Cosentino's pure Cru wines opened in July in the Napa Square business complex on First Street, just across from the former AVIA Hotel (now Andaz). 

"Purety" is a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend,
yours for only $22/bottle. Purety awesome.

With its comfortable leather seating, this place looks more like a wine bar than a traditional tasting room -- think leather armchairs, bar tables, tall barstools, and a flatscreen behind the bar.  The menu also lends itself to more of a wine lounge experience, letting you uncork any of the red and white pure Cru wines to drink there by the bottle (at retail cost!), and offering nearly all of them by the glass for $8-17.  Small $5 plates of mixed nuts, chocolate truffles, and my beloved Castelveltrano olives round out their offerings.  Since they're open from 11am-9pm Wednesday and Thursday, and from 11am-11pm on Friday and Saturday night, they're also an awesome option to consider once the rest of the tasting room world has shut down.

But as the title of this post may have given away, pure Cru also offers guests sitting in their comfortable leather chairs the sublime culinary stylings of Oenotri restaurant -- pure Cru's deservedly famous and perpetually packed Napa Square neighbor just fifteen steps away. 

That's right... you no longer have to reserve weeks in advance, or battle a barful of canny locals to sample the legendary pizzas, antipasti, and charcuterie from Curtis Di Fede and Tyler Rodde.  Just score a seat at pure Cru during Oenotri's open hours, and you're good to go!  Obviously the restaurant's full menu is not available there -- and neither is any of their wine list  -- but you can enjoy enough of that Oenotri poetry to make a fabulous rustic Italian meal.  And, by another stroke of divine intervention, winemaker Mitch Cosentino happens to make several delicious Sangiovese-based blends under the pure Cru label that should pair outrageously with those pizzas and cured meats.

THIS IS HUGE, folks.  I'm completely obsessed with Oenotri's pizzas, but unless I can time it just right at the bar, I rarely manage to score one any time I want to.  But since pure Cru just opened recently, it pretty much always has seats available... at least for now.  This Oenotri collaboration is a new thing, and may put an end to that easy availability in a hurry.  Until it does, though, I plan to take full advantage of this top-secret Oenotri pizza annex, and I urge my loyal readers to do the same.

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

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. 
TRAGIC UPDATE OCTOBER 3, 2012:  Restaurant staff told me today that they have discontinued happy hour... please help me lobby to bring it back!  Keep asking for these awesome deals.

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.