We ate, we drank, we ran from the rain...we ate some more. This is San Fran/Napa Valley March 2012 in pictures...did I mention no baby? Leo graciously sent us off smiling, knowing he'd be spoiled rotten by Grandma.
We begin in San Francisco, Oakland to be more specific. Hanging out for a couple of days with our friend Kathryn at her impossibly cute place (that's her palm tree!) in what is a surprisingly adorable city. Oakland! Who knew?!?!
Saturday night it was off to Incanto in the city. Chris Cosentino and crew know what the heck they are doing, as evidenced by the following:
Bone marrow with cured tuna heart (think tuna bacon bits). Amazing. I think Jay cried.
Followed by asparagus with pecorino and a beautifully runny egg; pasta with wild mushrooms, nettles, green garlic and pecorino (my favorite, besides the marrow, of the night) and another pasta dish with more of the salty goodness that is tuna heart along with another runny egg;
"pork and beans" - braised pork shoulder and rediculously creamy white beans and lastly, a pistachio cake with rhubarb. The dessert was sort of the clunker of the night. Great flavor, too dry.
Sunday was spent eating our way through the Ferry Building. Meat cone anyone?
Also had really awesome Korean food in Oakland Sunday night. Monday it was off to Yountville!
First stop, Pride Mountain Vineyards. Barrel tasting inside their cave = very fun. I have to say, they're known for their Cabs but it was the Merlot that really knocked me out.
Monday night was Ad Hoc. Cue angels.
Oh where to begin. First off, we had no rez so we sat at the bar. When in doubt, always sit at the bar. At one point Jay and one of the bartenders were discussing DIY immersion circulators. So yeah, these are our people. And the food, in a word - flawless. Monday's menu (it changes daily) started off with an endive salad with fava beans, prosciutto, some pickled stuff and I think pistachios. I don't even care what was in it, it was the best salad of my life. Period. A salad.
Next came the brisket. I can't even begin to communicate the lusciousness of the meat, the flavor of the little fat cap - yes, the FAT had flavor. And it just melted immediately upon hitting your tongue. It wasn't grissly or greasy. It was an essential flavor component to the dish. FAT. Genius. Oh and it was served with a broccoli salad that was tossed with creme fraiche, almonds, red onion and literally I think that was it. Broccoli salad. Raw broccoli. IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME.
After we stopped weeping over the brisket it was time for the cheese course. It was aged Beecher's! Hooray for Seattle! And then lastly it was dessert time. Monkey bread. Yes, the stuff that every home cook, grandma, church lady, FoodTV host makes - MONKEY BREAD. It was silly. After dinner, we relaxed atop our inn. Enjoying what would be the last sun of the trip...
Tuesday was, apparently, the end of days based on the rain. So why not spend the day driving up and down the impossibly twisty Spring Mountain road? We braved the monsoon and headed back up to Spring Mountain for visits to Keenan and Smith Madrone. Below is a shot of Keenan's space. We didn't get any pics at Smith Madrone since it was all we could do to get from car to indoor structure. But we had a grand time talking for two hours with winemaker Charley Smith at Smith Madrone. He looks like the Gorton's fisherman and has great stories. And the wine is fantastic.
Lunch at Farmstead in St. Helena was lovely. Pork rillettes and roast chicken...mmmm. And look, those look suspiciously like the same shelves Jay did in the kitchen before we put in our cabinet boxes! The Roulstons are trendsetters. That's all.
Tuesday night, a perennial favorite: Bistro Jeanty. Salade aux lardons and steak frites for me, beef stew for Jay. Love this place. Prior to dinner, however, we had an afternoon snack at ReddWood. Asparagus, telleggio, prosciutto pizza with a farm egg on top. This *may* have impacted my ability to actually eat my dinner that night. Oh well, it's vacation!
After dinner on Tuesday night we discovered the very fancy Bardessono Inn/Spa and Lucy Restaurant that are located directly across the street from where we stayed. First impression was that this was going to be douche-bag central. Beautiful, over the top modern, LEED Platinum building, note the wall of airplants, etc., etc. We were pleasantly surprised to find it very low-key and comfortable. Run by a Seattle management company no less. Yummy bar food (lamb meatballs shown here), awesome wine list, generous bar staff who took great care of us, AND, the bathrooms have automatic toilets. We could not stop laughing. We went back the next night. And the last day for breakfast. Oh and it was here we had a deconstructed sweet potato pie for dessert one night. Black sesame ice cream, kaffir lime marshmallow and japanese sweet potato...never had anything like it. Outstanding.
Wednesday we did a drive-by through Sonoma county, had lunch in Healdsburg and then headed back to Yountville for the afternoon. Spent time in the coolest tasting room ever. Maisonry is a combination art gallery and tasting room. Started by the owner of Blackbird wines. NOT pretentious at all. And it is here that we had the best Sauv Blanc we've ever tasted. We may have purchased a few bottles. After Maisonry we were out walking and I swear to you that Thomas Keller was picking herbs in the French Laundry's garden. Jay claims no, but I'm just going to believe that it was he. Apparently he and Eric Ripert were out and about in town just the week prior. The silver aardvark! The rest of the valley may, at times, suffer from tourist overload and over-the-top wine country cheesiness, but Yountville = heaven on earth, IMHO. After Maisonry we had a snack at Bouchon before dinner at Bottega.
Wednesday night was dinner at Bottega. It was VERY good. It could not, however, match Ad Hoc. That said, the raviolo with black truffle was gorgeous (and surprisingly subtle given the load of truffles), and Jay's shortrib with spaetzle was luscious. My duck three ways, however, was just OK. The confit was perfect, the pate was also tasty (and there was an amazing rhubarb sauce that brightened up everything) but they didn't render the skin properly on the breast so there was a little too much fat left. Yes this is a nit, overall it was a really excellent meal. And Michael Chiarello himself stopped by to say hello! How cool! Beautiful space, gracious chef, solid kitchen. But at the end of the day, we had better food elsewhere.
This brings me to the end of our trip. Thursday we headed out of town and made our way over to the coast to pick up Route 1 and head down the coast to San Fran and the airport. Look, the ocean! Golden Gate Bridge! The fog was, how to put it, dense. But a beautiful drive nonetheless. Our bellies are full, our wine "cellar" is replenished and we continue to dream about the brisket.
Ain't no party like an HP party...well you get the idea. HP Party at the Shanghai Museum of Glass. Complete with stilt-walkers and drum dudes.
Again, why we live here.
Thanks Aunt Stacey and Uncle Mark!
