i like to eat.

I've surprisingly been going to Napa a lot more frequently this year (see related posts below). Hey, not complaining. I should go even more often, considering it's close and there are so many vineyards to discover.

Aki wanted to take her mom and friends to Napa since they've never been. We first went to Robert Mondavi and tasted some delicious reds and whites. I'm not much of a white wine person, but Robert Mondavi's Chardonnay was good, not too dry, but crisp. The crowd favorite was the muscat dessert wine. We all left the vineyard with a bottle each. :) It's the perfect and sweet - reminds me of summer.

Next, we went to my favorite vineyard, V.Sattui. I really love this place, but....so does everyone else. It gets way too crowded in the tasting room and picnic area. Luckily, we were there near the end of the day and most of the tourists were leaving.

I got a hot salami and provolone cheese sandwich with a dash of balsamic vinegar from the vineyard's deli. It was enough to feed two people, but I enjoyed half of it at V.Sattui's desirable picnic area. I love the simplicity of enjoying good wine on the grass in the warm weather. It's so relaxing.

We spent a good amount of time in the picnic area and then the sprinklers turned on (that's their way to kick us out). I was surprised that this trip to Napa didn't call for more wine tasting, but the company was great and I'll miss them when they go back to Japan.

                             

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092009_napa.zip (4091 KB)

Related posts: I Love Napa, Part 1,2,3 / Salad in Napa

I love weddings. They're fun, you eat good food, it's a reason to dress up and ahem, do I see an open bar? ;)

My cousin got married at the breathtaking Carneros Inn in Napa two weeks ago and it was a night filled with relatives that I haven't seen in years and enjoying each other's company with stunning Napa as our backdrop.

The quick ceremony was outside and then we trekked up the hill to the reception area for hor devours and dinner. I wasn't too hungry, so I didn't have any hor devours, but I saw tuna tartare and corn chowder - heard they were pretty good.

Dinner started with roasted beet salad that came with beet puree, oranges, aurgula and goat cheese crostini. The dressing was light with a hint of tangerine oil.

Second course was a large Dungeness crab cake that was sitting on avocado puree and topped with hazelnut vinagrette. I didn't taste the hazelnut, but it was still delicious and thinly shaved radishes were a precious detail.

Next came the entrees, which were served family style. I had a little bit of everything - beef, fish, potatoes and vegetables. The extremely tender prime filet of beef was moist and served with Bordelaise sauce. It was one of the best cuts of meat I've had.

The white sea bass (line caught, seriously? as the menu notes) was roasted with peppers, chervil and olive oil. It had a beautiful golden crust with a flaky interior. The fish was not oily at all, as sea bass most often tends to be.

I haven't had mashed potatoes in awhile, so I was looking forward to this. They were whipped smooth with hints of olive oil flavor. Yummy.

Lastly, we had sugar snap peas with wild mushrooms. The peas seemed a little over cooked, but had great flavor. Still, my least favorite item of the night.

Of course, you can't have a wedding without a cake. Everyone was served individual cakes by Masse's. There were two flavors, mango and hazelnut. I ended up with mango. It was a light and fluffy cake with mango mousse. I was so full from dinner and all the wine, I couldn't eat it all.

Speaking of wine, our glasses were never empty. We had chardonnay from Artesa and also a cabernet sauvignon from Edge in Napa. I'm usually not a white wine drinker, but the chardonnay was delicious and crisp. I'd definitely buy a bottle the next time I see it.

I've never heard of Carneros Inn before the wedding, but it is seriously luxurious. There are cottages you can stay at that run up to $2k a night! The cottages are super cute and it's like your own little home for the night or weekend, if you're lucky...and rich.

I had a lot of fun at the wedding and it was great to see many faces. I'm definitely staying at Carneros Inn when I hit the jackpot.

Congratulations Melodie and Ser!

               

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Carneros_Wedding_tag_parties_f.zip (1730 KB)

Source: 2-3

The finishing touch to our Napa extravaganza was Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. We were thankfully seated outside (didn't I tell you I love outdoor dining?) and enjoyed more wine (thanks to Hideki and Mark for purchasing the bottles) with good food.

I read about Bistro Jeanty's famous tomato soup in puff pastry, so I wanted to try it. The dish was gorgeous when it came to the table - in it's small porcelain bowl and puff pastry top. The puff pastry was light and it was fun cracking the top. It felt like I was opening a present, anxious to see and taste the soup.

When I first heard about the tomato soup, I was skeptical. I was thinking, what's so special about tomato soup? Anyone can make it. But, oh my, Bistro Jeanty has perfected the creaminess and the flavors of tomato soup. It was amazing. I can eat it any day, with or without the puff pastry.

For entrée, I decided to deter from their regular menu and ordered the halibut special with ratatouille. The fish was cooked beautifully and the ratatouille reminded me of the movie, Ratatouille, with it's perfectly thinly sliced tomato, eggplant, onion, bell pepper and zucchini.

Unfortunately, the halibut and the ratatouille was nothing special. There was nothing that made my taste buds fly, a complete opposite from my previous soup experience.

Other dishes from the table I tried were veal kidneys with creamy green peppercorn sauce - very good, although I'm not that big of a fan of kidney, steak tartare - extremely fresh grounded steak, cassuolet (baked beans with duck confit, sausage and bacon) - delicious and flavorful, but a little heavy and steak with frites - excellent fries (they've won awards for them!) and delicious rib eye with a mouthwatering béarnaise sauce.

For dessert, I ordered a warm apple tart with creme fraiche that again, was nothing to write about. My friend ordered a chocolate mousse creme brulee that was excellent, I wish I ordered it. Another friend ordered crepes with orange butter that were pretty delicious, but I didn't feel like it was anything special.

I would recommend Bistro Jeanty for it's tomato soup. It is truly amazing. Unfortunately, I felt the other dishes I ordered were a bust. Although, the ones my friends ordered were quite good. After trying Bistro Jeanty once, I don't think I'd go back again (except for the soup!) because there are so many other restaurants in that area that I'd love to try (ahem, hello French Laundry).

PS. I just discovered they have the tomato soup recipe on their site! I have to try to make it!

                                 

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I_Love_Napa_Part_3_tag_napa_yo.zip (3856 KB)

Select photos courtesy of Rosa Chou.

Cliff Lede, a beautiful vineyard in Yountville, was the first stop. The trip barely started; I was already hot from the weather and needed something refreshing, so I ordered their sparkling flight.

                       

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I_Love_Napa_Part_2_tag_napa_yo.zip (2934 KB)

Select photos courtesy of Rosa Chou.

Napa is so close (45 minutes away), I don't know why I don't visit more often. With so many different vineyards waiting to be discovered, I should go up there every other weekend! :)
 
A few weeks back, a whole bunch of my friends and I went to Napa. Our trip immediately hit an obstacle when my friend's van started having problems. We were only twenty minutes away from sipping vino, when we had to pull over at a gas station.
 
While we waited for the tow truck and another friend to get a rental car, we devoured Mexican food from Tacos Garcia, a taco truck in the gas station.
 
It was somewhat early and my thoughts were to get something light and not too filling. Plus, who wants to get food coma and be bloated while
enjoying wine? Those thoughts were quickly brushed aside when I ordered a carne asada (grilled steak) super burrito. Whatever happened to my sensible thoughts?
 
Thankfully, I did NOT eat the entire thing. I can't ever eat it all, anyways. A burrito sounded so good at the moment and you just have to get the super version - an extremely large burrito filled with meat, cheese, rice, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. The non-super version doesn't come with sour cream, guacamole and salsa (at most places).
 
The burrito was decent. It had nothing on San Francisco's Mission district burritos, but it filled my stomach and I was ready for some wine.
 
An hour or so later, we were back on the road and anxious for some wine tasting.

       

Click here to download:

I_Love_Napa_Part_1_tag_napa_me.zip (905 KB)

My friend, Michele and I went to Napa a few weeks back and we planned to go to
Bleaux Magnolia for lunch. After many u-turns and back tracking, we failed even more miserably when we saw the empty restaurant and for sale sign. Why?! I was so annoyed because it took us forever to find the place, the last review on Yelp was only two weeks ago AND they still had an active website with no announcement of closing. Oh yeah, and it was insanely hot, we're talking 100 degrees.

I was disappointed since I had suggested this place. But, on the bright side, we were right next to Napa Town Center, an outdoor shopping mall. It was getting a little late (we still had to go wine tasting), so we quickly chose Gillwoods Cafe.

I was so hot. All I could think about was eating something on the cooler side. I ordered a chicken, apple and walnut salad that came with a curry dressing. The plate was piled high and I barely made a dent in it. The meal was not the best salad I had, but it filled me up and I was ready to jump into some tasting rooms with its AC cranked up.