Tag Archives: #NapaFood

La Toque Napa CA – Worth a Fork!

La Toque is a Michelin Star contemporary restaurant located in Napa California in the Westin Verasa Hotel. A Toque is a white chef’s hat. This restaurant has a large Toque outside waving around like a flag.

Inside is modern and classic. Diners in the main dining room can look into the kitchen with the windows in the wall.

The second dining room is decorated different and has tables set with tablecloths and heavy silverware.

It’s a high end place. They give you hot towels to clean your hands to start out with.

We ordered from the a la carte menu.

Then they started us off with this tiny amuse bouche that was so tiny but exploded with so much flavor (pistachio flavored). It was so amazing I could have eaten a bunch of them.

Next we were off with fresh baked crusty bread and butter with sea salt.

Our first appetizer is the koji cured hamachi with grapefruit leech de Tigre, serrano Chile oil, and compressed celtuce.

Compressed celtuce…….A fancy dancy celery without strings goes really well with fish and flavors that melts in your mouth….

Next they split the three cheese agnolotti with ramps, and vin jaune, and morel mushrooms.

All good here too….no complaints.

For my main I got the pan roasted Gulf Red Snapper with FENNEL MARMALADE (game changer) radishes and vermouth.

These flavors go magically well together. The fennel marmalade is amazing here…….(I’m going to steal that idea for my dishes)……..

My husband got the dry aged duck breast with fancy carrots, carrot puree, and this really amazing smoked duck fat confit potato and duck jus.

And of course we had to get one of La Torque;s amazing desserts.

This was an fantabulous chocolate hazelnut dacquoise with chocolate-amaretto ice cream.

I thought we were done and they handed each of us a little box of handmade sweets.

I have to say La Torque in Napa CA is –

Worth a Fork!

La Torque 1314 McKinstry St Napa CA

707-257-5157

www.LaToque.com

Everything is subject to change.

My 2022 Trip to La Calenda Yountville CA

Leave a reply

La Calenda is an Oaxacan Style Mexican Restaurant located in Yountville California. This restaurant is part of the Thomas Keller Group of restaurants and is only steps away from Bouchon, Ad Hoc/ Addendum and is a Michelin Guide recommended restaurant.

The last time I was here I was so blown away with how fabulous the food was I ate here twice. That was back in 2019 before the pandemic. The menu has changed since my last visit and La Calenda now also takes reservations now.

Here’s how it looks on the patio.

Here’s the inside.

They set you up with silverware by giving it to you in a crock with your napkins.

The drink menus are different too. Today I tried some sort of Negroni with smoked mushrooms and mezcal.

I think it’s delicious and really different with that smoked mushroom flavor. (and often I don’t care for smoked things…not all but many are too smokey for me)

We started with the mushroom tacos. We had mushroom tacos before here that we REALLY ENJOYED here pictured below.

They differed tonight. Pictured below. (they differ a little)

The habanero salsa is very flavorful and good but these mushroom tacos have less flavors than before……..still good ….same tortilla…..but not Fantabulous.

We also tried the ensalada de sandia (watermelon pepitas, radish, Chile piquin, salsa macha, and mint).

This was nice flavorful and very light……Actually I would enjoy this as a light dessert anywhere…It is savory but also is lightly sweet. We both like it…anyone would like it.

For my main I had something very similar to before. pescado zarandeado (fish of the day (both times branzino) this time grilled adobo marinated with greens.

It was very good. The fish seems so fresh and the adobo marinate taste really great. But that hoya leaf marinated branzino from last time popped more….(pictured below with avocado tomatillo salsa)

My husband also got a dish very similar to a time before. This time he got the enchiladas de mole negro con pollo (chicken enchiladas with mole negro and queso fresco).

I tasted them….The mole is good and flavorful….The white meat chicken is very soft and tender but just taste boiled. I don’t remember how the dish he had last time tasted but he preferred the green mole dish from last time that he got with pork jowl beans.

On another visit we were absolutely CRAZY of the tacos they offered before. (these are old presentations and most are not on current menu)

Fish tacos

Crazy about the sour orange anichote pollo and pollo pibil tacos they used to offer.

Well our most recent visit to La Calenda was good so I can’t be unhappy. But my last visits were OUT OF BOUNDS FANTABULOUS. I don’t know if some menus are more delicious than other or if they have had some changes in the kitchen.

That was my 2022 visit to La Calenda in Yountville CA.

www.LaCalendaMex.com

6518 Washington St Yountville CA

1-833-682-TACO (8226)

Everything is subject to change.

Press Restaurant St Helena CA – Pretty but did I eat?

Leave a reply

Press Restaurant is an upscale Michelin Guide modern American restaurant located in St Helena California. The executive chef is chef Philip Tessier. He previously worked for Le Bernadin and most of the Thomas Keller Restaurants that include The French Laundry. I read a few reviews and looked at pictures of some of the dishes from Press on review sites. They differed from what I got……..

It’s on the masculine side looks wise inside.

Lots of wood inside and classic decor.

We tasted a lot of wine today so I went with a cocktail.

Tried a roadrunner. It’s made with mezcal, rum, Campari, amaro, and a brûlée pineapple. It’s strong but smooth and not too sweet.

They don’t start you out with anything. No amuse, no bread……

We started out with the ricotta gnudi ($24.) Our waiter suggested adding one more gnudi (4 gnudi instead of the normal 3) for sharing ($31).

The gnudi are light and delicious. They are packed into squash blossoms and are in an amazing very flavorful parmesan consommé. This was the one dish that truly was amazing. There wasn’t much of it…..The two gnudi are more than a half order…..Normally you only get One and one half gnudi per person.

My dinner was the yellowtail.

I had three pieces of mild fish topped with some pretty blue flowers, less than a teaspoon of fava bean tapenade, green almonds and in lemongrass nage. It was really good………. but it was more like a tasting. I guess each person would do better ordering two appetizers here or you get hardly anything to eat. There were no side dishes to order so all you can add on are appetizers………..I chalk the problem I had up to the service. I KNOW IF I WAS THE WAITER I would have suggested two appetizers a person. I wouldn’t want my guest to leave unsatisfied….

My husband got a slightly larger plate than me.

He got the Petrel sole.

It looks like this below if you take it apart some.

It’s described as dungeons crab, crisped pumpernickel, cara cara orange, and spring onions. My husband thought that the crab was missing. He told someone and it turns out that the crab is a very slight amount of liquid ( about a teaspoon of liquid foam) that is under the fish……that is also the seasoning but is not enough because the fish just taste plain…….Up top is a very evaporated piece of pumpernickel crisp topped with pretty flowers.

We had plenty of room to try dessert so we tried the one called brown butter maple cremeux.

I like the honey nut squash ice cream and the huckleberries. The little brown disc taste burnt to me so I don’t like them and the white creamy disc ….I’m not sure what it is………something called pain d’ epices (French Spice Bread?) we both really don’t like the taste or texture…….The manager notices that we don’t like some of this and offers to get us something else. We decline and find out latter that they generously took the dessert off the check.

(Maybe?) We would have had a better time if we knew that we should have ordered more appetizers……..(and ordered a different dessert).

Press for us was an expensive tasting of a few dishes and a dessert that was 1/2 good and 1/2 inedible. Your experience may differ.

Press Restaurant St Helena CA

Did I eat?

www.PressNapaValley.com

587 St Helena HWY St Helena CA

707-967-0550

Everything is subject to change.

Loveski Jew-ish (ish = fusion) Deli at Oxbow Market in Napa CA

Leave a reply

Loveski Jew-ish deli is located in downtown Napa California. It’s maybe the most unique deli in the country. It’s unique for several reasons. The chef is a James beard award winner and has worked for the impressive THREE MICHELIN Star restaurant The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa that unfortunately burned down in a fire. He also is a farmer and some products in the deli come from his farm. Not all but some of the Jew -…ish deli food has some Thai or Asian flavors added. Those flavors are added to honor the chef’s wife.

Loveski deli is located in the Oxbow Market.

Not a lot to see it’s just a small deli.

They offer breakfast, an all day menu, and takeaway. They offer a limited menu but make their own sourdough bagels, and pickled and fermented items. They cure their own meats. They do offer wine, beer, some soft beverages. I’m pretty sure that I saw Dr. Brown’s soda there.

I tried the smoked whitefish sandwich.

It’s unique and delicious!

It’s on shaved white bread with smoked whitefish salad, crispy onions, thai chile, and mild horseradish mayo. We both think that the whitefish sandwich is the winner here. It really is great these flavors are awesome together. It just might be the best whitefish sandwich in the country.

My husband tried the Loveski reuben. (but with the kimchi and gochujang sauce on the side….he latter packed them into the sandwich after tasting them.)

How tasty! What a great twist to a reuben! I guess these flavors work because they used lots of restraint with the kimchi and gochujang…..Just enough so it’s there.

A few of the other offering are

Matzoh ball soup with lemongrass, Thai herbs and chilies.

Chickpea salad with fresh farm grown produce.

Mini potato latkes.

Cheesecake soft serve.

Loveski Deli is located in the Oxbow Market in DT Napa CA

www.LoveskiDeli.com

610 1st ST Napa CA

I haven’t found a phone number for Loveski Deli.

Everything is subject to change.

My 2022 Trip to Ad Hoc Yountville CA

Leave a reply

Ad Hoc is a family style full service restaurant by chef Thomas Keller listed in the Michelin Guide. They usually offer a multi course dinner for a set price. Additional menu items may be offered.

It’s not a fancy place but is always very neat and clean looking. You can sit at the bar or inside.

Tonight they started us off with crusty fresh baked bread and butter.

Next course was spring vegetable salad of snow peas, crisp English peas, fancy radishes, with creamy tarragon dressing.

Our main course tonight was the Famous buttermilk fried chicken.

It was seasoned to perfection…..It was incredibly moist and tender. It also was shattering crisp.

We also added on the additional Black Truffle Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

Maybe not 100% perfection but very good and better than most macaroni and cheese that you get out at restaurants. It does have a nice truffle flavor but I can taste flour in the sauce but maybe most people can’t.

Side dishes were green beans almandine.

Potato salad.

The potato salad taste like pickle juice..and mustard.

Incase you were wondering………

This was an enormous amount of food. We had to bring at least half back with us.

Not done yet there’s more!

One of the tastiest treats was the next course of Mahon cheese with pretzel epi and hot honey mustard……

Dessert tonight was called strawberries and cream…It was a parfait of pannacotta topped with strawberries that were topped with Chantilly cream.

That was my 2022 trip to Ad Hoc in Yountville CA

Some of the dishes we had here previously were- (pictures either were poor or I couldn’t find)

soda bread with honey butter

endive and watercress salad

corned beef with Guinness gravy (only dish I didn’t care for…it was more like beefy brisket)

cornbread stuffed quail

chicken and sausage Jambalaya

chateau

peanut butter ice cream sandwich

ice cream and Bailey’s laced brownie bites

The Current Ad Hoc Menu can be found on the Thomas Keller Website.

www.ThomasKeller.com

6476 Washington St Yountville CA

707-944-2487

Everything is subject to change.

Bistro Jeanty in Yountville CA is always Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

Bistro Jeanty is a charming multi award winning Michelin Star French Bistro located in Yountville California. t’s decorated with all kinds of knit knacks and old kitchen pots, pan, knives, old ceramics and other stuff. It’s busy inside.

Outside they also offer patio dining accented with lots of shrubbery. The menu offers classic French Dishes.You can find dishes like country pate with cornichons, duck liver mousse, escargot, quiche, coq au vin, croque madame, and filet au poivre. They also offer specials and here were what they were offering tonight.

Tonight we added truffle butter to the complimentary bread basket.

On our second visit this week we did start with the famous tomato soup in house made puff pastry.

(it’s delicious you must try it)

On a previous visit we did start with the truffled deviled eggs.

On our first night we got our favorites again.

Sole Meunière – pétrole sole with mashed potatoes in lemon butter sauce.

Cassoulet – baked beans, duck confit, sausage, Nueke’s apple smoked bacon.

On our second visit I noticed that the house smoked trout appetizer looked like enough for a meal so I got that.

My husband got the rabbit loin wrapped in pancetta with the rabbit’s braised leg and pappardelle in morel cream.

I’m usually too full to try the amazing sounding desserts but this one time I could fit in some lemon sorbet.

It’s very good but a word of warning…It’s borderline not sweet enough.

Bistro Jeanty is always Worth a Fork!

Bistro Jeanty

6510 Washington St Yountville CA

www.BistroJeanty.com

707-944-0103

Everything is subject to change

Addendum in Yountville CA – (Chef Thomas Keller’s Fried Chicken) – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

Addendum is a picnic area that serves boxed lunches behind Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc Restaurant in Yountville California. Addendum means to add on and Addendum is an add on to Ad Hoc. Addendum is only open Thursdays threw Saturdays 11:00-2:00. The limited menu offers Thomas Keller’s Famous Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Pork Ribs and Pulled Pork Sandwiches that come with two changing sides. On the day of my visit they were also selling chocolate chip cookies and brownies. You can pre-order your lunch online or wait in line. The day I was there it wasn’t busy at all but that was on a Thursday.

You let them know that you are here at that shack and in a while they ran our order out to us.

Drum Roll………….Here it is!

We got two different chicken boxes. I got a breast, a leg and a wing. My husband got a thigh, a leg and a wing.

The Chicken is hot but not soggy at all. It’s sprinkled with fresh rosemary and fresh crushed salt of a good quality.

It’s VERY CRISP with incredibly moist chicken. It sure is delicious. It’s like there isn’t any skin. It’s just crunchy and flavorful. The chicken has a somewhat silky texture to it and is super moist and delicious. Then after a piece you want to try the sides.

Both sides are creamy today. On the left is very creamy Cole slaw. I can taste a lot of celery seed in it. It also taste more sour creamy than mayonnaise-ee. On the right is red skin potato salad. It is also very creamy and it also has a lot of celery seed in it. Neither salad is drippy. Both are well seasoned but heavy with celery seeds.

Back to the chicken it is just delicious and I can’t stop eating it.

It’s still hot and not oily or soggy anywhere……agian it seems like skinless chicken but I know it isn’t.

Going to try the corn muffin. It’s sweet……It’s like a pound cake mixed with a corn muffin but more the texture of pound cake. I’ll save it for the end.

I really did enjoy the Addendum’s (Thomas Keller’s) Fried Chicken……the only down side was that I was too full to enjoy a dinner later.

Addendum is Worth a Fork!

www.ThomasKeller.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

Gott’s Roadside Napa California – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

Gott’s is a small group of casual restaurants located in California. They offer burgers, other sandwiches, salads, sides and some specials in a semi fast casual environment. You order at the counter-

Then you pick a table outdoors or indoors.

In reasonable time your pager goes off and your off to the counter to pick up your order.

Today we tried the double cheeseburger, the ahi grade seared tuna with Asian slaw, ginger wasabi mayo, cilantro on an egg bun, fries with cheese jalapeño sauce and off the special menu fried Indian Style cauliflower.

The stand outs had to be the Ahi Tuna Sandwich and the Indian Style Cauliflower…..Nothing was bad about the cheeseburger or fries but they seemed average after the others. The burgers at Gott’s get cooked medium well but still turn out juicy. The Tuna Sandwich and the Cauliflower were full of bold exotic flavors. The tuna had ginger, wasabi and crunch from the slaw. It was spicy but delicious. Sure wasn’t an average burger. It was refreshing but it also woke you up. The Indian Beer Battered Cauliflower also had many great flavors going on with it….turmeric, ginger, chili and the dipping sauce was on the sweet side but very refreshing.

Gott’s uses Sir Kensington Brand Ketchup and mustard. We both never tried them before and I have to say WOW! They are great! That ketchup has so much more tomato flavor than the Heinz Brand I usually buy. That mustard is also delicious too!

I have to say Gott’s Roadside is Worth a Fork!

www.GottsRoadside.com

Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

Acacia House by Chris Cosentino in St Helena CA – Worth a Fork

Leave a reply

The Acacia House by Top Chef Master Chris Cosentino is located in the Las Alcobal Hotel in St Helena California. The cuisine served is Californian Style that is bold yet refined. The restaurant is in a restored victorian mansion with a wrap around porch. Inside is modern and and with tones of mostly grey.

Today we were here for the Three Course $29.00 Lunch.

We both started with the sweet gem lettuce, bagna cauda (Italian anchovy garlic dip), crispy boquerones (marinated white anchovy), grated cheese and olive oil croutons.

WOW! What a great salad…..it’s like an extra special Caesar salad. the croutons are so light and tender and seem buttery but they are buttery from olive oil. the bagna cauda is the dressing and the boqurones are like tasty prizes in the salad.

For my main I got the avocado toast with smoked salmon, salad option instead of fries and $4.00 add on of salmon caviar.

It’s a knife and fork sandwich made on multigrain toasted bread. It’s dressed with a generous amount of creamy avocado that’s topped with silky thinly sliced salmon, shaved radish, salmon caviar and horseradish watercress. It all goes together well and doesn’t seem too heavy. There’s different textures going on with the sandwich. There’s crusty, creamy, silky, crunchy, herbal and popping. It’s all very good. The salad is lightly dressed with a slightly sweet almost creamy dressing that is slightly refreshing with the sandwich.

My husband goes for the pasta of the day that is rigatoni with 24 hour braised pork sugo.

He received a generous plate of well made rigatoni dressed with tender flavorful braised pork that was embellished with grated cheese and herbs. I just kept hearing…”this is REALLY GOOD!”

As great as that all was then we are gifted with really great desserts.

This is an example of a perfect lemon meringue. Everything about it is delicious! The thin crust is delicious. The meringue is delicious and charred……and doesn’t taste like egg white. But it is the lemon that really makes it. This is PERFECT….the right amount of lemon taste. Just the perfect tartness and not too sweet….It’s perfect.

We also share what they called a chocolate mousse.

It’s a very generous portion and it’s very detailed. Besides the mousse there’s a fennel pollen cream mixed with creme fraiche. Theres biscotti and a crunchy chocolate cookie. The mousse is very creamy and thick….to me it seems like a chocolate pot de creme and seems laced with something sort of fennel-like.

WOW the Acacia House by Chris Cosentino knocked it out of the park!

The Acacia House by Chris Cosentino is WORTH A FORK!

www.LasAlcobasNapaValley.com

Every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

Where The FORK I’ve Been – NAPA CALIFORNIA #WineCountry – Just a little taste of where I’ve been

Leave a reply

I tasted and drank the MOST FORKING AMAZING things in Napa California. I’ve been to Napa many times over the years and have been to many of the restaurants and many of the wineries. But Napa doesn’t stay the same. Wineries and some restaurants come and go. Many smaller wineries are getting sold to large wineries. I also noticed that there is a new more hip Napa now. Tasting have gone up dramatically in prices in Napa. Not all but many tasting rooms now are lounges with servers instead of bars you taste at.

This isn’t your grandpa’s Napa Tasting Room (The Prisoner). They seat you here and serve you some dip with crackers. (tasting was around $45.00)

Even old school wineries like Trefethen have converted to the new hip modern way.

(Clos du val)

Some tasting rooms are also show rooms for goods. We did a tasting at a Ralph Lauren Showroom. I did my tasting sitting on a $7,605.00 leather chair. (Trident Wines)

But not every tasting room is multi million dollar building.

The finest wine I tasted came from this bare bones shack and it was called Pina. Not only was the wine the finest the tasting fee was also the cheapest ($20.00 a tasting)

The Food

Protea a casual Caribbean-Latin-Global order at the counter restaurant with a daily changing menu.

Torc – a new American restaurant. Highly recommended by the locals but what drew me in was that truffles were on the menu.

The Silverado Trail is without restaurants so if one is doing those wineries chances are that you will do a stop at the Oakville Grocery.

Bistro Jeanty serves classic French Foods.

The Acacia House by Top Chef Master Chris Cosentino is in a renovated victorian mansion. They serve Californian Cuisine that’s bold yet refined.

La Calenda is a casual Oaxaco Mexican Restaurant that is part of the Thomas Keller Group.

Gott’s Roadside is a casual American Eatery with several locations.

Bottega is an Italian Restaurant by celebrity chef Micheal Chiarello.

Addendum is only open Thursday – Saturday for lunch (11:00-2:00) and is by Chef Thomas Keller. They only serve three different boxed lunches with changing sides. It has been said by many publications that the fried chicken is the best in the country.

That was just a taste….here are some pictures to savor.