food & fun in napa valley!

oh my goodness, this vacation was absolutely wonderful & perfect & lovely & amazing.  first off, napa is ridiculously gorgeous.  all week long we were oohing & ahhing over the beauty - mountains & vineyards & trees & the beautiful blue sky.  gorgeous homes & wineries & quaint little towns.  it was cold in the mornings & hot in the afternoons.  & it was oh so peaceful.

when we arrived in san fransisco, we decided to cross the golden gate bridge, as that was the one thing i really wanted to do that we didn't do last time we were there.  it was gigantic & really neat.  the views of downtown san fran & alcatraz & the bay are so pretty.

after traveling all day, we were starving.  so where did we stop to eat in lovely california?  in-n-out burger, of course!  man, california knows how to do fast food.  burgers & fries, animal style.  so good.  confession: in addition to this being our first meal in cali, we went back for it to be our last meal there too.  yummmmmmm.

we stayed in the adorably quaint town of calistoga, which is on the northern end of napa valley.  it's tiny with one main street of shops & restaurants, the one grocery store, & surprisingly, two coffee roasters.

calistoga roastery made a very tasty americano, while yo el rey roasting was more of the hipster vibe i love.  {of course i went to both!}

as you know, eating is blakey & my absolute favorite thing to do on vacation.  & we certainly did a great job of it in napa.  these little towns have some fantastic restaurants, from tasty little breakfast diners to fancy chefy dining to a man's dream of meat & craft cocktails.  & we did them all -

our favorite breakfast was from a deli in a train depot, called palisades cafe.  we ate three meals here.  all delicious.  blake had the best breakfast burrito he's had outside of oklahoma.  & my salmon, cucumber, & cream cheese bagel was fantastic too.

my absolute favorite meal of the entire trip was at a place called farmstead in st helena.  it's a beautiful rustic restaurant at long meadow ranch that showcases seasonal & local ingredients.  they grow their own fruits & vegetables, raise grass-fed beef, & create wines & oil olive.  if i could have eaten here for every meal, i certainly would have.

to start, we shared the carpaccio with their own steak, arugula, shaved san joaquin gold cheese, citrus, beets, & toasted almonds.  it was fabulous.  blake, of course, had their cheeseburger with a fried egg, cheddar, arugula, & delicious herb potatoes.  i enjoyed a fantastic 12 hour pulled pork sandwich with bleu cheese coleslaw.  i am totally recreating the bleu cheese coleslaw idea.  a beautiful meal on a gorgeous patio in napa valley with my wonderful husband.  what more could you ask for?

we had to stop by the one & only bouchon bakery in yountville.  {ok, so they actually have more than one.  but you know what i mean.  & this was the first.}  this delightful little bakery has many beautiful treats, including many kinds of macarons, tarts, pastries, & cookies.

my coffee macaron was delicious & everything a macaron should be.  blakey loved his pecan sticky bun.  it might have been his favorite thing he ate the entire trip.

one afternoon, we stopped in at barolo for happy hour drinks & appetizers.  this italian kitchen had arancini, which are little rice balls & one of blakey's favorite apps.  they were filled with mozzarella & pesto & fried.  you certainly cannot go wrong with that.

jole is a fancy little farm to table in calistoga, where you can tell the chefs have fun making beautiful & creative dishes.  blakey & i enjoyed a fabulous 10-course tasting menu - from grilled corn fritters & lobster ceviche with popcorn to pork belly & tempura shrimp & flat iron steak & lamb tongue & the most delicious scallops i have ever eaten.  a fun evening with very fun food.

goose & gander must be the definition of blake's dream meal.  the restaurant is dark & rustic & oh so manly.  the craft cocktails were creative twists on delicious originals.   that beauty up top is a cucumber collins with pickled cucumbers & little huckleberries floating around.  it was so tasty.  & the food.  oh, the food.  we started with a fantastic charcuterie plate with the best sopressata.  we shared the two entrees recommended to us by our fun waiter - the grilled flat iron steak with creamed spinash, bearnaise butter, paprika mushrooms, & crispy onion rings.  & the goose & gander burger, get this, with bone marrow on top, gruyere cheese, house smoked bacon, & duck fat fries.  it was amazing.  absolutely amazing.  if blakey could only eat one meal the rest of his life, this one might win.

an incredible week of eating.  & so much more to come.

love love,

kjp.