Not far from our favorites on the Coastside is California’s wine country, and we recently had the opportunity to spend the night in Napa. We’re always amazed at how close it is and how much we enjoy our time there.
Our first stop was Yountville, a small town just 10 miles north of Napa, whose main street houses no less than 4 Michelin star restaurants, including the world famous 3 Michelin star French Laundry. It takes 2 months to get a table at the French Laundry (and a lofty $270 per person), so we decided to try Redd instead. It’s a modern and airy restaurant, with outdoor seating, a bar and contemporary California cuisine.
Yummy pork buns at Redd
We started with a goat cheese and beet salad and a hamachi and tuna tartare. Both dishes were light and delicious, and paired well with a glass of Chardonnay and dry Rose. Next was the butternut ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce which melted in your mouth, and their glazed pork buns with an asian slaw. Delicious!
We finished up with a butterscotch panna cotta topped with creme anglaise and rosemary pine nut cookies. Truly memorable dessert!
The service at Redd was professional and friendly, but perhaps a little rushed. The staff seemed a little light for a Saturday lunch service and by the time we left at 2:30, it was full and a line had formed at the door. We didn’t feel pressured to leave at all, but plates lingered a little longer than they should have and our glasses got empty. All in all, it was a fantastic lunch and we both felt quite satisfied with it, and the price was reasonable for the quality and quantity of food.
Cedar Gables Inn, Napa
We headed back to Napa and checked into the Cedar Gables Inn, in downtown Napa. It’s a turn of the century (ie. 1900) mansion that was turned into a great B&B. The owners, Ken and Susie Pope, bought it 7 years ago, leaving their hectic hi-tech jobs in the South Bay for the hectic jobs of B&B owners, but they love what they do and enjoy sharing their favorites with their guests and hearing stories about the various wineries and restaurants. They recently remodeled their kitchen (which looks stunning now) and started hosting cooking classes, which have become really popular. We haven’t been to a class yet but hope to soon.
Gables Suite at Cedar Gables Inn
We were able to check in at 3:00 and got right into our room and to nap off our lunch. The Gables Suite is a really comfortable and spacious suite at the top of the home, with a comfortable King bed, 2 person jetted tub, shower and seating area. It’s private and well appointed.
They serve wine, cheese and fruit at 5:30 downstairs in the library/bar, which is really comfortable. We had some wine and snacks, and caught up with Ken. We met two other couples there and discussed our evening plans. One couple went to Ubuntu, a vegetarian restaurant, which they said later was very good and had a huge variety on their menu. The other went to Celadon, which we had also visited on our last trip. They also gave it a positive review the next morning. Ken recommended Carpe Diem, a wine bar with food, ZuZu, a tapas restaurant, and Bounty Hunter, a bar/BBQ place. All three were totally packed when we drove by and will have to wait for another trip.
Angele Restaurant - interior
We had originally intended to go to BarbersQ, but changed our mind and called Angele, where we had been before and snagged a last minute table for 2. It’s a French restaurant with a refined French Country style and both indoor and outdoor seating. The room has a farmhouse look with exposed wood beams, which is charming but it can get loud. The night we were there they were playing music that was loud and out of place (Calypso in a French restaurant? Really?), and that made it hard to hear each other.
We ordered the soup du jour, which was a cream of cauliflower soup, a very seasonal choice. It was amazingly smooth and buttery (a LOT of butter), and was delicious. We also had the broccoli rabe, which had good flavor and spiciness, but was far too salty. For entrees, Jennifer had their parmesan risotto, which was underwhelming and without depth of flavor. I had the duck breast, which had a very nice crispness, with a bed of red chard and a reduction. Overall the meal was as expected, but didn’t blow us away, and the noise of the dining room took away from some of the charm the restaurant used to have.
Artisan food, wine, tea and chocolate vendors in Oxbow Market
The next day, we headed to the new Oxbow Public Market, which is on First Street, across the river from downtown Napa. It’s an up and coming place, which is rebounding from the disappointment that was Copia, the culinary center now 2 years bankrupt. There are numerous efforts to take over the Copia building and do something new, but nothing is actively happening. One rumor even suggests the Culinary Institute might buy it. For now, there are Farmer’s Markets in the parking lot on Saturdays, which we missed but I’m sure are a lot of fun in the summer.
World Spice - Oxbow Market
Oxbow Public Market is alive and well though, with artisan cheese, organic local meat, a fantastic spice merchant, tea, food, seafood, produce, chocolates and olive oil. It’s owned by the same person who remodeled San Francisco’s Ferry Building into a gourmet paradise, and it has that same great combination of stores that allow you to get everything you need for your next great meal.
We had a chorizo taco from Casa, and had a blast going through the World Spice store, with floor to ceiling jars of spices, chiles, salts, rubs, lavender sugar and curries. We also got chocolate truffles and sat outside at the huge outdoor seating area that overlooks the river. It was quiet for a Sunday, but it was February and I can only imagine how busy it must get in the summer. We’ll definitely be back.
Oxbow Market - outdoor seating area overlooking the river
Nearby they just opened a Gott’s Roadside, the gourmet hamburger and salad place well known in St. Helena as Gott’s and in San Francisco as Taylor’s Refresher (also in the Ferry Building, oddly enough). We were too full from our wonderful breakfast at Cedar Gables and the chorizo taco to grab lunch, but it was tempting. Also nearby are a few new restaurants and some wine tasting rooms. Oxbow seems to be up and coming for sure, and worth checking out on your next trip to Napa.
Just 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco, the Farallon Islands are home to a wide variety of birds, seals, whales and sharks. This sanctuary is a destination for wildlife but also for wildlife lovers, who trek out to the islands for whale and shark watching. There are tours departing from San Francisco every day, offering guests a ride under the Golden Gate Bridge and out to the islands named for their white “pillars” of rock.
Technically part of the City of San Francisco, although there are only a few researchers living there, the Farallon Islands are a protected wildlife area that is populated by 23 species of marine mammals, including 18 species of whales and dolphins. Commonly seen are grey, blue and humpback whales. A group of great white sharks visits there seasonally to eat the seals and sea lions. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can even pay to go diving in a shark cage and get up close and personal with a great white.
