Recently in Napa Category

by Courtney Cochran

Brenda and Dylan had The Peach Pit. Rachel and Ross had Central Perk. Even Carrie and Samantha shared many a gab fest in the same sunny Manhattan diner (what was it called??).

Whether we're talking 90210, 10010 or right here in wine country, there's an undeniable fascination with dining haunts frequented by our favorite locals. And, lucky for wine country travelers, the spots in our own backyard are much more accessible than their fictional TV counterparts.

By Courtney Cochran
Leave it to wine country dwellers to divine a venue where you can master downward dog, realign your chakras and dine on sustainably farmed eats and drink all in one place.  At Napa's new Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio (ubuntunapa.com), a daily roster of classes including Ashtanga, Hatha, prenatal and Vinyasa techniques is complemented by - what else? - vegetarian-inspired cuisine crafted from goods sourced from local farms and the spot's nearby biodynamic gardens.

by Courtney Cochran

If the flurry of construction that's been underway along the waterfront in downtown Napa is any indicator, the once-sleepy city is on the brink of becoming a major tourist destination. And the Oxbow Public Market (oxbowpublicmarket.com) - at just three months' old one of the newest additions to the downtown area - may be one of the city's most promising new arrivals.  Read on for the scoop on our favorite purveyors in this venue that looks poised to become the next big thing in a whole new Napa.

By Courtney Cochran

You know how the saying goes: “they’ve got everything but the kitchen sink in there!” And though this is usually shorthand for the fact that “in there” is overrun with clutter and other useless artifacts left over from the year 1982, this couldn’t be further from the truth in the case of the brand spanking new Oxbow Public Market (oxbowpublicmarket.com ) in downtown Napa.

Oxbow is to Napa what the Ferry Building is to San Francisco:  a hedonist’s food and wine paradise, a meandering indoor/outdoor market fabulously chock full of retailers pedaling provisions befitting the gourmet lifestyle.  Goods available or on view at the $11 million marketplace include culinary antiques, an on-site micro winery (run by none other than Michael Mondavi), artisanal chocolates, olive oils, culinary literature, exotic bulk spices, and much, much more.  

There’s so much there, in fact, that you might even be able to score a kitchen sink.  I wouldn’t be surprised if you did.
Top Shops

• The Fatted Calf – Choice cuts abound at this Bay Area cult-popular artisanal charcuterie and butcher shop.
• Taylor’s Automatic Refresher – Yes, the St. Helena hamburger standout is present at Oxbow – and aren’t we glad it is.
• The Model Bakery – This outpost of the popular St. Helena bakery ensures the smell of freshly baked bread wafts throughout the market.  Thanks.
• The Oxbow Cheese Merchant – Just try to resist the goods at this shop run by Kate Arding, who helped start Cowgirl Creamery.

By Robert Farmer

One of the best additions of any kind to San Francisco (where I reside) in recent years is definitely the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. The public market, open every day and hosting an open-air farmers market three days a week, has simply revitalized the city’s waterfront. Now, I eagerly anticipate the same result in Napa, where the long-awaited Oxbow Public Market will make its debut Dec. 15.

Situated in Napa’s emerging Oxbow District the 40,000-square-foot marketplace on the riverbank will be a testament to the bounty of Wine Country. Dozens of tenants are already aboard—with more in the works—all of which represent the best in local food, wine, and artisinal craftsmanship for which the region is known and loved. Among the first-open tenants at the market are: The Olive Press, Anette’s Chocolate Factory, Tillerman Tea, and farm stands from Bera Ranch and DeSantis. The first couple weeks will bring in Folio Enoteca and Winery, Three Twins Organic Ice Cream, The Fatted Calf, Oxbow Cheese Merchant, and Five Dot Ranch, among others.

I will write much more about the Market as I get to know it better, but for now you can rejoice in the litany of mouthwatering goodness of it all.

Every now and then I have to be reminded just how great Mustard's really is. We have so many wonderful dining establishments in Napa Valley and I somehow tend to think of Mustard's Grill as a tourists' place (probably because it was one of the first places I went to when I was a tourist), so we just don't go to Mustard's all that often. I've always enjoyed this place, but it took the suggestion of friends visiting here from Southern California to bring me back to my senses - and a really fun dining experience.

The basic doughnut has been elevated to an art form at many of Napa Valley’s bakeries. In fact, all manner of pastries, including the undecorated croissant becomes the stuff of dreams. But it is the cakes that push your senses into the realm of fantasy. If you don’t believe us, you just have to drop by one of the places on WineCountry.com’s top bakery list. But hold on to your wallet and your diet, once you stand enthralled before the pastry case, you will throw common sense to the wind. Starting south, and heading north:
Sweetie Pies: Located in the Hatt building off south Main Street in Napa, this sensuous little bakery has a wide array of cakes for all occasions, cookies, and other baked delicacies. If you go for lunch (between 11 and 2 all days, except Sunday) try their Caprese panini. This pesto, tomato, and mozzarella sandwich is delicious, fresh, and leaves you room for a little something more. 520 Main Street, Napa, CA 94559 (707) 257.8817
ABC: In business for more than a decade, ABC, or Alexis Baking Company, practically started the gourmet bakery craze in Napa Valley. On Sunday morning, it is still the place to see and be seen for the up-and-coming crowd. And if you haven’t had one of their Pistachio cakes, you don’t know baking in Napa Valley. 1517 Third St., Napa, CA 94559 (707) 258.1827
Butter Cream Bakery: If it looks like Butter Cream is straight out of the 1950’s, it is. Pink vinyl banquets, an old-fashioned grill and counter, waitresses dressed in uniforms and a price list for doughnuts that still leave change in your pocket. 2297 Jefferson Street , Napa, CA 94559 (707) 255.6700
Bouchon Bakery: Superstar chef of Yountville and world, Thomas Keller, opened this tight little bakery right next to his Bouchon restaurant. If you can pass up the breads that this wonderfully aromatic place turns out, you have enough will power to conquer the world. 6528 Washington Street, Yountville, California (707) 944-2253
Model Bakery: The open glass windows of St. Helena’s main street bakery give you a birds-eye view of both the shopping action outside, and the pastry cases inside. If you love people watching with your tarts, coffee, and newspaper, this is a great place and on any given morning you are bound to see an upvalley vintner or two. 1357 Main St., St. Helena, CA 94574 (707) 963.8192

Sweetie Pies and Bouchon are a featured treat in these WineCountry.com Exclusive Experiences:

http://www.winecountry.com/exclusive-experiences/offers/PG00003/
http://www.winecountry.com/exclusive-experiences/offers/UW00002/

By Kimberly Wilson

Do you have an eight?
Nope, go fish.
Do you have a three?
Nope, go fish.

Remember this game? I'm sure you do. One could spend hours and hours playing. I particularly enjoyed it because for some odd reason I had a knack for beating my brother every time we played. There's a certain pleasure in telling someone to "Go fish". That being said, don't roll your eyes when I tell you to "Go Fish" on your next trip to Napa Valley.

Cindy Pawlcyn, chef and name behind Mustards Grill and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, has added another restaurant to her empire - Go Fish. Go Fish is a sushi and seafood restaurant located in St. Helena right off Highway 29, next to a local's hangout A&W. Whatever you do, make reservations or you might find yourself eating at the bar because there's not a table available until 10 pm that night.

FOOD
The food at Go Fish is prepared simply with the focus on quality of seafood, freshness and light seasonings. As a result, the fish actually becomes the focal point of your dining experience, as it should be.

Start off with a couple of sushi rolls or sashimi. The specialty Dragon roll (shrimp tempura wrapped with eel and avocado) - though a whopping $20 - was delicious and would definitely order again. However, if you are strictly a sushi roll fan, the choices are few compared to other sushi houses you might go to.

Be sure to order from the small plate's menu. My party ordered the salt encrusted gulf prawns accompanied by a sweet and sour sauce which was a fun diversion. Our request for the Peruvian Scallop Ceviche Inca corn was met with "Go Fish". Perhaps next time.

Venture into the fish selections featuring salmon, sturgeon and my personal favorite at most restaurants who dare to serve and prepare right - striped sea bass. Go Fish did not disappoint. The sea bass was cooked to perfection - wood-grilled, flaky, melt in your mouth lightly seasoned with a saffron vin blanc sauce. One is allowed to go fishing in any way they like - choose your own method of cooking (wood-grilled, steamed, or sauteed) and choose your own sauce ranging from a lemon caper parsley butter to curry inspired sauce.

Dessert, dessert, dessert....don't be foolish like the couple next to me and dismiss your server with "We'll stop in Yountville for dessert". Stay and try the out of this world roasted banana-rum ice cream sandwich. Paired with a cup of peppermint rose infused tea, desserts in Yountville will have to wait for your next dinner out.

WINE: Great wine selection - by the glass, by the half bottle and pages and pages of full bottle choices. If at a loss, try the Navarro 2004 Gewurztraminer with its slightly sweet, faint effervescence that nicely compliments the lightly-seasoned fish dishes.

PRICE: Expect to open your pocketbook a little wider than usual. Sushi ranges in price from $8 to $30. Entree selections range from $16 to $24. Add on some appetizers, side dishes, a bottle of wine AND dessert. My party of two barely escaped with a $150 tab.

To sum it up, GO FISH if you want a seafood experience to remember.

NAPA—After four days at Auction Napa Valley, I'm officially partied out. Every glass of wine has been drunk, every hand shaked, every plate cleaned, and my party dress is ready for a long soak—along with my aching feet. It's grueling work, all this festivity.

Each year, hundreds of patrons converge on the valley for the party of the year. They come from across the country, from Texas, the east coast, Los Angeles as well as nearer locales—Woodside, Sonoma, Napa and Palo Alto. And they're here for one main reason: the wine. (Okay, that and charity; the auction benefits health and youth services throughout the valley.) It's an exclusive club, really, only a few hundred tickets are sold. The lucky attendees then have the opportunity to bid on mind-boggling lots of equally mind-blowing Napa wine sell for thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars—even a million dollars. Names like Staglin, Grace Family and Screaming Eagle and so many others command top prices at the event, setting records each year for amounts spent on Napa wines and re-enforcing Napa's top-tier placement in the world of wine.

A newcomer to the event, I spent the weekend trying to learn the ropes. On my first night, Thursday, a well-meaning veteran had this advice: pace yourself. I failed to listen. We drank through ten glasses of incredible Merlot at Duckhorn Vineyards, paired with food from Auberge du Soleil, with several dozen other guests out on the veranda, watching the sun set. Pacing was not in the cards that night. Nor the next.

Friday night, at Gargiulo Vineyards, just off Oakville Cross Road was even more festive. Despite the mosquitoes nibbling my ankles, we drank through much of the family's incredible collection of sparkling, Rose, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet and "Super Oakville" Blend (a local version of Super Tuscan). Afterwards, Jeff Gargiulo passed out cigars and guitars from his personal collection for late-night-revelry. At 11pm, I was ready to head for home. My date stayed well into the night. Pacing, I thought, is for wimps.

But Saturday's auction, which this year raised a record $8.4 million dollars, is the big event of the weekend. And by then, I was tired, hot, sunburned and hung-over. I suddenly realized the advice of Thursday was more than well-intentioned: they were words to live by. Dragging myself to the massive tent set up at Meadowood, I arrived just in time to hear the Staglin lot sell for over a million dollars. Inside the tent, sweat rolling off my forehead and arms, I overheard someone say it was well over 95 degrees inside. The excitement was palpable, despite the heat. As bidders raised and lowered paddles, lots continued to go for $40, $50 and $60,000. I suddenly realized that the charities of Napa Valley, who receive this money, were in for a windfall again this year. Pacing, be damned, I was ready to celebrate with this incredible group of patrons and winemakers (Mike Grgich brushed past me as I entered, wearing his trademark beret). Geena Davis and Ryan Seacrest (of American Idol fame) were here…uh, somewhere. Friends from previous nights' dinners, old acquaintances and new introductions were made. We sweated, smiled and sipped through it all.

Exhausted, I crawled into my bed on Saturday night reminded once again of the words of my friend on Thursday night. Pace yourself. Next year, I thought. Next year.

NAPA—Top Chef, the reality cooking show on Bravo, came to Napa last week for its penultimate episode, and here's what we've learned:

-Lamb is nice, but not thrice. Contestants were given $250 to spend at St. Helena's Sunshine foods for ingredients for their dishes, which were cooked in the kitchens of COPIA for an all-star panel of Napa chefs. Three of the four made lamb dishes. By the time the third (and ultimately losing) contestant Lee Anne Wong served up lamb, yet again, the panel was lamb-enting having to face another round.

-Never tell a French chef that you don’t like using butter or cream. D'oh! Contestant Howard Dieterle made the massive faux pas in Chef Philippe Jeanty's presence when he served up a plate of lamb, spinach and sunchokes, telling the crowd that he really preferred the creaminess of the chokes to using butter and cream. Jeanty cried foul, saying, "I'm French. I'm all about butter and cream." Ouch.

-Hold the black pepper, or you might just get flattened by Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen chef, Cindy Pawlcyn. Underdog contestant Dave Martin was given the moniker Pepper Monkey for his overzealous use of the spice in his truffled macaroni and cheese. Double ouch.

-Nice girls finish…last. The last woman standing at the end of the evening is perhaps the nastiest chef known to man, or woman kind. Hard as nails contestant Tiffani Faison says she isn't on the show to make friends. Good thing, cause she isn't.

-When serving a rare wine like, say, Shafer Vineyards Hillside select it's probably a good idea to make sure you dish pairs well. Especially when the company's chairman, John Shafter is sitting at the table. Several of the dishes had trouble with their flavors not bringing out the richness of the wine. Rookie maneuver.

-The "front of the house" dining area of Julia's Kitchen at COPIA may be a great place to eat, but the "back of the house" (restaurant lingo for the kitchens) are incredible to behold.

-Cooking for a room full of chefs is a wickedly difficult task. Contestant Howard got nailed for gritty mushrooms, while the "gummy" texture of Tiffani's gnocchi being discussed was, well, cringe-worthy. Featured Napa valley chefs included: Phillippe Jeanty of Bistro Jeanty; Keith Luce of Press; Greg Cole of Celadon; James Devitt of Budo; Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill; Victor J. Scargle of Julia's Kitchen at COPIA; Doug Keane of Cyrus; Todd Humphries of Martini House; and John Ash of John Ash and Co. (who we never saw).

NAPA--One of the questions I get asked a lot is, "Where should I go to eat in Napa?" I usually answer by stammering, hemming, hawing and saying, uhhhh..... for about 20 seconds before the mental Roladex starts turning. It's such a hard question to answer without knowing a price range, occasion, food likes and dislikes, etc.

Scanning through our bulletin boards for inspiration the other day, found a "Where to Eat?" post that seemed answerable:

"We will be visiting Napa for three nights in August for our honeymoon. Since we live on the east coast and have never been to Napa, we are at a lost as to which resturants are "must" visit places. We are looking to stay around $10-20 an entree.

Ahhhh, young love. Ahhhh, the post wedding-budget. A few thoughts...

Frankly, the best place for breakfast is your bed. Hopefully our honeymooners are staying at one of the local Bed and Breakfasts in Napa. I've found that many of the local proprietors are closet chefs, making amazing Wine Country food. For brunch, we've got it on good authority that Brix (7377 St. Helena Hwy., Yountville) has an amazing spread. A little more intimate is the Boon Fly Cafe(4048 Sonoma Hwy., Napa). They've got really reasonable prices, dogs sitting on the porch, and a generally local clientele.

So, onto lunch. Grab a sandwich at the amazing Genova Delicatessen (1550 Trancas St., Napa). It's an authentic Italian deli with wonderfully fresh mozzarella, antipasti and the best homemde cannolis I've had since I left Brooklyn. Take a picnic out to the vineyards along Silverado Trail.

Dinner in Napa for under $20 a plate--at least at the "big" restaurants might be a stretch. If you really want to experience a top-tier restaurant like Redd, Pere Jeanty or Terra, sometimes making lunch reservations gets you in the door for an amazing experience for a lot less money.

Think about some of the less obvious choices for dinner. Places that are romantic and quiet...local...
Here are some of my favorites:

- Angele (540 Main St., Napa) has incredible outdoor seating in the summer
- Pilar (807 Main St., Napa) has amazing fresh, local ingredients in a bistro-like atmopshere
- Bouchon (6534 Washington, Yountville) comes up on my favorite list a lot. Amazing seafood.
- Martini House (1245 Spring St. St Helena, CA) is super romantic
- Julia's Kitchen (500 First St., Napa) I love Julia's, because its where you'll find the locals eating, along with many chefs. Classy, upscale food in the heart of COPIA.
- Zare (5091 Solano Ave, Napa) is also a lot of fun, with a focus on Mediterranean food.

What are some of your favorite romantic Napa restaurants? Tell us. Happy Eating!