Our Trip to Napa

So I got back from LA this past Thursday and was suppose to start my first day in San Francisco on Friday. However, the Chef that will be training me was on vacation the whole week so I got the weekend off as well! Andi and I decided to take a trip and headed up to Napa, CA for a couple of days. Napa is only about a 50 minute drive from our front door in Berkeley so it's real convenient. We came up Friday afternoon, found a cheap pet-friendly Motel 6, and headed out to grab a quick bite to eat.

We found a small Japanese sushi shop and ordered several things on the menu but only two really stuck out. Above is "Sushi Biscuit." They tempura battered nori strips on one side only and fried them. Then they added spicy tuna, sriracha, and spicy aioli inside of the pockets and served it on a bed of diakon radish "noodles." It wasn't much to look at but damn tasty!!

Beef Yakisoba! Delicious!!

The next day we headed out early because Andi wanted to do some clothes shopping. We ended up at Ross and while see was shopping I stumbled upon.....

"Footloose" pint glasses! We're these really necessary to be made?!?!

After shopping I surprised Andi with a facial and manicure at

 The Silverado Resort and Spa.

 

Their resort across from the spa is huge!

 We then headed to a winery called Clos Du Val....

....and did a little wine tasting.  

 Their vineyards are right outside of their front door.

They even have a great little patio you can sit at and picnic if you like.

 After wine, we drove up the road to the small town of Yountville. It's a very artistic little town where we saw several cool pieces of art like the "chef" above.

Small rock "mushroom" garden.

Yountville is also home to three of  Thomas Keller's restaurants. Above is his first and most famous The French Laundry.

Across from his restaurant he has his own huge garden!

Each row is labeled with the item, it's variety, and it's Latin name.

He also has his own chicken coop.

Mmmmmmmm....Thomas Keller chicken!!

Bouchon with the bakery on the right. Huge line out the door!!

A quick drive-by shot of one of his newest places, Ad Hoc.

Our next stop took us to dinner at Kitchen Door which is located in downtown Napa. It's a great little home style comfort food spot by Chef Todd Humphries. The music on the website has some amazing blues!

We started off with herb flat bread and duck liver mousse. The small ramekin has a thin layer of fat on top with savory duck liver mousse underneath. You spread it on top of the warm flat bread where it melts like butter. Out of this world good!!!

Andi ordered grilled salmon with warm asparagus salad, fried capers, and hollandaise sauce. Simple yet elegant.

I went with the house-made bratwurst, pierogi's filled with farmers cheese, and grated apple "saurkraut." With the addition of some whole grain mustard, it was amazing!!

The next morning we made one last stop at Boon Fly Cafe for brunch.

We both got "Poppa Joe's Eggs in a Hole." Sourdough bread with two fried eggs in the middle, home style hash brown, and chicken apple sausage.

 As Andi said, "totally an American breakfast!"

And that was our Napa trip! :)