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.

                             

Click here to download:

092009_napa.zip (4091 KB)

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

Before heading over to the Fox Theatre to see Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Jason surprised me with dinner at Townhouse in Emeryville.

As we pulled into the rear parking lot, I kept saying "seriously? THIS place?" I've driven by the building before and it looks like a shack. I even remember my dad distinctively saying, "wow, that's a rundown place. You wouldn't want to be here at night."

When I got out of the car, I could see an outdoor seating area. As I slowly walked closer, I was surprised and relieved that the interior looked decent and this rundown shack was actually an operating restaurant. Jason definitely shocked me by picking this random place.

The interior was quite large with exposed beams, an open kitchen, long counter bar and even an area with live music. Nice. Not what you expect from the exterior.

I ordered the chicken picatta with mashed potatoes and broccolini. The chicken was tender, moist, smashed thin and smothered with a savory lemon, caper, white wine sauce. I was craving for some mashed potatoes and these hit the spot - extra fluffy with olive oil. The grilled broccolini was really good too, not bitter at all.

Jason was craving for a burger and ordered one. He said it wasn't bad, but nothing that special. The fries, on the other hand, were so good - fresh, extra crispy and thin.

We enjoyed our dinner with a bottle of Argentinian red wine, Malbec. It was really good - full bodied with soft tanins, similar to a cab. I've never had Malbec before, but I enjoyed it very much. This variety is certainly going into my wine repertoire.

Although dinner was rushed since we had to go to the concert [ partly my fault - a girl takes awhile to get ready! :P ], I thoroughly enjoyed the surprise (both dinner and finding this hidden gem). As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. :)

Thank you Jason!

     

Click here to download:

Surprise_Dinner_tag_townhouse_.zip (549 KB)

Source: 1

I came home to a vase full of hydrangeas and a super cute card from Jason on my birthday. I had no idea what was in store for me, so I was anxious for him to come home.

His surprise was a fully cooked meal of steak, potatoes and spinach.

Jason thoughtfully bought his and hers steaks - New York strip for me and rib eye for him. My steak was flavorful and had a delicious seared crust.

He made potato salad from scratch that had all the right flavors, but unfortunately, the potatoes were bad. We had two potatoes in our kitchen that have been there for a month and we thought they were ok to eat, but they already went bad.

The creamed spinach was yummy and a great compliment to the steak.

Of course, you need a bottle of red when you eat steak. ;) We've been into Italian wines recently and he got a Chianti. This one was ok, I like my reds bolder, but it was still nice with the meat.

Thank you so much Jason!

               

Click here to download:

082009_home.zip (2054 KB)

Jason and Jeff came home from a bike ride and were starving. I already ate, so they made themselves burgers.

It looks pretty gross, now that I look at the picture. hahaa. They each had two large, greasy, beef patties, a slice of bacon and a thick slab of cheddar cheese in between a bun. Oh yeah, some tomatoes too (we didn't have any lettuce).

They drenched their thirst with what else? Two buck Chuck. Classy. ;)

Apparently, the cheeseburger wasn't satisfying and they felt disgusting after eating it (I think I would too, by the looks of it).

So, the next night (part two of their date), they cooked rib eye steaks. Since I was at a wedding while they enjoyed steak, I don't have any pictures. But, I remember coming home to the smell of steak (all the way from the elevator) and the two boys looking very relaxed, satisfied, stuffed from steak AND Fenton's.

   

Click here to download:

JJ_Date_Night_Part_1_tag_food_.zip (434 KB)

Double date with Michele and AJ led us to Pizzaiolo in Oakland. I was excited to try Pizzaiolo because I've heard great reviews and it sounded like my favorite place, A16 (see post) and also another highly recognized restaurant, Pizzeria Delfina (see post).

We started with steamed mussels that came drenched in a creamy sauce. The Prince Edward mussels were large, meaty and full of flavor. The four of us also split an avocado, tomato and fennel salad with a sweet dressing. Both of these appetizers were delicious, but nothing out of this world.

For pizza, we ordered a house made sausage with marinara sauce. I horribly added A LOT of salt onto my first slice, thinking it was grated cheese (it was dark!). Needless to say, it was extremely salty and I couldn't wait to finish it. I had to gulp water after each bite - dummy! The second slice was yummy, a good ratio of sauce, cheese and sausage.

And my favorite part, dessert. A creamy and soft panna cotta with nectarines, strawberries and shortbread cookie. The panna cotta was so good, maybe even better than A16's (oh!).

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Pizzaiolo. It was like the love child of both A16 and Delfina. A16 seems more sophisticated than the two (it IS in the Marina), while Delfina is like your regular pizza joint filled with hipster employees (in the Mission - hmm, location could be the reason for these ambiances). Pizzaiolo had the balance of casualness and some sophistication with its very own set of hipsters.

Out of the three, who would I choose? Still have to go with A16. You never forget your first love, no?

         

Click here to download:

Love_Child_tag_italian_food_oa.zip (1207 KB)

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!

                                 

Click here to download:

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.

                       

Click here to download:

I_Love_Napa_Part_2_tag_napa_yo.zip (2934 KB)

Select photos courtesy of Rosa Chou.

Oh, Press Club (Yerba Buena x Market), tauted as "wine country in the city." So shi shi, posh and out of my element. I do love wine, but I'm no connoisseur when it comes to that stuff.

I went to the wine club/tasting room a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed several different types of wines. I don't even remember the names, but they were all good. But hey, they better taste good at ~$6 per tasting! You get a plastic card that is swiped each time you get a tasting, so be careful, you can easily loose track of how many you've had.

Press Club is a cool experience with knowledgeable staff and gorgeous, modern interior (I wish my place looked like that!), but it's not a place I'd suggest. Maybe because I don't "appreciate" wine as much as my wine crazy friends, I didn't think Press Club was that great in comparison to them. I'd much rather go to Napa any day.

After Press Club, we were all pretty starving so we headed to California Pizza Kitchen (3rd x Market). My boyfriend and I split a California Club on honey wheat dough. The pizza had bacon, chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella and was topped with chopped lettuce in mayonnaise and avocado. The lettuce had a little bit too much mayonnaise, but overall, it was really good. Something about CPK..every time I go there, it's good. I'm surprised that I enjoy a franchise this much.

       

Click here to download:

Shi_Shi_Club_CPK_tags_wine_dri.zip (796 KB)

I don't even remember how we ended up at Skates on the Bay in Emeryville again (see previous post). But, the same posse - Jason, Mike, Neel and I, went there for dinner.

Everyone got the house burger since Jason and I were raving about it last time. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we remembered. This time, the waiter did ask how I liked it and I told him medium-well, but it was overcooked and wasn't juicy enough.

Maybe the experience wasn't as good as the first time because it was too soon since we went back or like many say, the first time is always the best. OR, the chef could have just sucked and overcooked the burger. I'd prefer to think it was the last excuse. Either way, it was a little disappointing not having the same experience. The first time was, just, so, good.

     

Click here to download:

16_Burger_Wine_Part_2_tags_foo.zip (712 KB)

My friend, Mike, out of the blue, felt like cooking so he gathered mutual friends and threw a party at his place. He wanted to cook and drink wine? Do I even need to give a second thought if a friend wants to cook for me? I'm there!

It became sort of a tapas party. We started off with cold cuts, smoked salmon and crackers brought by Bruce. Pate on crostini with proscuitto was Mike's first starter. My contribution was Manchego and Mt. Tam - both excellent cheeses for red wine. Jason cooked his famous steamed mussels in tomato. We also had an abundance of wine coming our way.

The host of the party, cooked this amazing lamb slider with roasted red pepper sauce. It was damn good. If you've been reading my blog, you should know that I'm iffy with lamb. Maybe it was because it was ground meat (btw, first time having it this way) or I had too much to drink already (which I highly doubt), but the sliders did not have that gamy taste of lamb that I hate. I think I scarfed down about 4 of those bad boys.

Mike also made paella which was OK. The rice was undercooked and needed a little bit more time, but it wasn't horrible. The building of the flavors smelt so good. The mixture of chorizo and calamari....delicious! One thing I didn't know was that saffron made the paella red. I always thought it was tomato..... Learn something new everyday. :)

Oh yes, how could I forget my other contribution? Ube/taro/purple yam - whatever you want to call it - ice cream. It seriously comes in that bright, neon purple color. My mom bought it for me from the Asian market and it tastes like popcorn. OK, that sounds a little bit nasty, but it kind of has that taste. It's definitely a unique flavor and incomparable.

The party continued on with beer pong. Of course, we're at Mike's! We have to play beer pong. :) Beer pong, beer, beer pong, beer after already many glasses of wine, and finally the boys ordered pizza while I passed out on the chair.

Ahh...what a great night. Mike should throw these more often. ;) Thank you!

                                         

Click here to download:

Party_at_Mikes_tags_food_dinne.zip (5407 KB)