Napa Food Part Three

We spent the latter part of the trip in Sonoma since I was competing in the Francis Ford Coppola Perfect Your Pizza competition.  Spoiler... I won.  

We stayed in Healdsburg, which was such a cute town.  I could have spent a few days there exploring all of the shops and restaurants.  One of my favorite activities we did was renting bicycles from our hotel and cruising through the town on a bike path.  

We stumbled upon this sushi spot called Otoro and had a great meal.  The food and company were great, and the atmosphere was more chill and relaxing than some of the other restaurants we went to.  

I only took one picture, but we had the Jalapeno Bomb, which was fried jalapenos stuffed with spicy tuna & crab.  These were delicious and the texture on the jalapenos was really interesting (in a good way).  They must have been blanched and then lightly breaded and quickly fried.  We also had Galbi, a tempura veggie roll, and another roll that my husband ordered... I think it was a Fire Rainbow roll but I honestly don't remember.  I was hesitant to eat anything raw since I had the competition.  

The next night we dined at Studio Barn Diva in Healdsburg - a Michelin Recommended casual fine dining restaurant.  The vibe in here was interesting; I'll say that.  The menu puzzled me a bit because it seems kind of all over the place, but I think that's what they're going for.  

I had the Crispy Chicken with green chermoula, tahini, garlic dressing, and naan bread.  This was delicious.  I feel like the sauce could have been on the bottom, though.  I wanted more sauce to dip my chicken and bread in!

My husband had the Roasted Mt. Lassen Trout with soubise, shaved fennel & pea shoot salad.  He said it was his favorite dish he had on the trip.  I tried it and it was very good - I especially loved the soubise.  Raise your hand if you've never made soubise before!

On the evening after the competition, we celebrated and went to Lo & Behold; they're known for their global comfort food and cultivated cocktails.

I ordered the beef brisket tacos with chile negra, refried white beans, asada onions, and consommé - Let’s just say a beef brisket taco hates to see me coming.

My husband had the Pollo a la Brasa - blackened chicken thighs with aji sauce and fries. I think I actually preferred his dish over mine. Honestly, I could have eaten both meals that night since I didn’t eat much the day of the competition.

And that just about sums up our culinary adventures. It was a delicious journey through wine country!

Napa Food Part Two

I didn’t plan it, but the inn we stayed at in Yountville happened to be right next to Bouchon Bakery! I knew it was nearby, but I didn’t realize just how close. Two mornings in a row, we started our day with good coffee and delicious pastries from there - the almond croissant and sticky bun were especially memorable.

Right next to Bouchon Bakery is Bouchon Bistro, and just down the street is the French Laundry.  While we were in town, I overheard someone refer to Yountville as "Kellerville" and I'd have to agree.  My husband and I debated going to the French Laundry, but we couldn't justify the splurge - I'm sure it would have been an unforgettable experience.   

We did, however, enjoy dinner one evening at Bouchon Bistro.  They sent out a little bread, butter, and pistachios while we sipped our (once again) negronis.  Who goes to wine country and orders cocktails?  Apparently, we do.

Comically, once again we couldn't quite make it to our 8:00 reservation but luckily snagged a spot outside at 6:00.  Unfortunately, we were sitting under a red awning and a heat lamp so my pictures are beyond terrible.  

We began with the Salade Lyonnaise with escarole, frisée, bacon lardons,  poached egg & Palladin croûtons with bacon vinaigrette.

Followed by the Poulet Rôti - roasted chicken served with pommes Lyonnaise, caramelized onions & chicken jus.

Shortly after came the Steak Frites -  pan-seared flat iron steak, caramelized shallots & maître d’hôtel butter, served with French fries.

I know, I'm making your mouth water with this amazing food photography. 

Everything was delicious, but unfortunately I didn't have much of an appetite because I was missing our boys so much.  This was my first time away from them and I was not well.

Another standout meal was at Gott's Roadside, which I cannot recommend enough.  Think: the burger of your dreams, cheesy fries, and a relaxed outdoor setting.  They had milkshakes, chicken sandwiches and salads; everything looked amazing.  

The morning we left Yountville we drove through downtown Napa and stopped at the Oxbow Market, which was really cool.... I could have spent a few hours in there just shopping and eating.  We had everything bagels from Loveski with fermented onion cream cheese, and coffee from Ritual.  I've never had a fermented onion before, have you?

Afterward, we strolled through the gardens at the CIA at Copia, right next to the Oxbow Market.  It looks like much of their produce is grown on-site.  How fun would it be to go to school there?

Napa Food Part One

Ah, such a simple title for this blog post - but that’s exactly what we’re talking about today: the food I ate in Napa and Sonoma.

I’m not counting the food we had in Yosemite, because let’s be honest - chicken tenders, fries, and a heavy-handed margarita from the hotel restaurant (which did help me forget about the dead scorpion in our room) don’t exactly qualify as “culinary highlights.”

My husband and I aren’t really “three square meals a day” people. We’ll usually have a big breakfast/lunch and then dinner, or just snack our way through the day until dinner. My parents were the same way when I was growing up, and I never understood it. How could my dad survive on a palmful of pistachios and three cups of coffee? Now I get it.

Thankfully, we’re not three-meal-a-day people - because Napa is expensive. Sheesh.

Our first restaurant stop was Bottega, and it was fantastic. The service was great, and the food was delicious. Either we’re getting old or the time change really did us in, because our 8:00 p.m. reservation was not happening. We walked up at 5:30 (yes, 5:30) and thankfully they were able to seat us. I’m pretty sure I would’ve been asleep by 8:00 otherwise.

We started with one of our go-to cocktails - a negroni, served alongside freshly baked sourdough bread with a parmesan dip.

Then came the Calamari - Crispy arborio rice crusted Monterey squid with a grilled meyer lemon,and aioli nero (black garlic).  It was good but probably our least favorite dish of the night.

Next up was the Bistecca alla tartara - Prime round steak tartare, mustard, capers, shallots and bone marrow canoe with fresno chile gremolata.  I'm sure this was my husband's favorite.  He loves bone marrow and steak!

Our pasta course was Carbonara al Carbone - Activated charcoal chitarra pasta, with guanciale, Parmigiano Reggiano, and farm hen egg yolk.  I keep thinking about the texture of the pasta.  So good.

For our final dish, we had the Costolette di Manzo - Smoked and braised short rib in espresso agro-dolce, creamy ancient grain polenta with Calabrian peperonata.  I think this was our favorite course of the night.  

Since it was our anniversary, the staff sent out a little dessert plate.  I was way too stuffed by then, but I did manage a bite of everything.  

We had a wonderful time at Bottega, and it felt special to visit the late Chef Michael Chiarello’s restaurant. I remember watching him on the Food Network years ago - so it was a full-circle moment in the best way.