Exploring downtown Napa - one bite at a time

Continuing our practice of learning about a city in a culinary way, we signed up for what was advertised as a "fun foodie tour" with Gourmet Walks.  It was a dark and stormy morning, but that was not going to prevent the tour from taking place. 

The meeting spot and start of the tour was the Oxbow Public Market.  Our guide, Swan, was fantastic!  Personable, humorous, accommodating and organized.  (Let's just say she was a bazillion times better than the tour we had with different company in San Fran.)

The first stop was Ritual Coffee Roasters.  Micha, the owner, explained their process (from procuring the beans to filling the cup) and poured us samples of coffee from three different locations (Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia).  No need to add any cream and sugar!  These coffees were very smooth.

Each cup of coffee is prepared at the time of request.

 The next stop on the tour was Oxbow Cheese Merchants.  They don't make cheese, but sell a tremendous amount of it.

We were treated to three very different cheeses - from bottom to top: 
 soft brie-like goat's milk cheese; an aged cheddar-like cheese; and a very soft, washed rind, odoriferous cheese.

While learning about the different cheeses, our "educator", Thalassa, pointed out a familiar face.  We were all very surprised to see Kevin (from The Office) enjoying time in the Market.  (He's the one wearing the blue LA hat.)

"Kevin" from The Office.

 After getting over our celebrity sighting, we moved to The Olive Press where we tried many different oils, vinegars and tapenades.  (My favorite - the Peach Balsamic Vinegar!)

We were still inside the market and moved to Hog Island Oysters.

 Wow!  Those oysters were amazingly fresh, cold and delicious!  But what made our sample so tasty was the Hog Wash.   

Skip the cocktail sauce and horseradish, bring on the Hog Wash!

 Our next visit took us outside the Market building, down the street and around the corner to the Fatted Calf Charcuterie.  (You'll notice that it's not raining!)

Tasty salumi, pate, chorizo, bresaola, cornichons and marinated olives.
 (Just might bring a vegetarian back from the dark side.)

 We needed a little walk after all these treats and Swan obliged. On our walk she gave a history the downtown Napa area, affect the rivers and rising flood waters have had as well as pointing out many of the architectural nuances (old and new) and historical buildings.

There are many tasting rooms in downtown Napa, but she led us to THE one named by the French Laundry sommelier as the top choice for Napa tasting rooms - Vintner's Collective!  Vintner's Collective is home to twenty of the most experienced and talented winemakers in the Valley. It's a place where wine lovers can taste the wines of some of the best winemakers in Napa Valley, and where smaller wineries without their own tasting room could showcase their wines and introduce them to consumers

Andy was a wonderful host and turns out he spent some time in Tampa!  We were able to try 4 different wines but because we were such great participants (our humble opinion), he treated us to a most delicious, limited edition cabernet. 

Thanks, Andy!

Some of the local children doing a little Christmas performance in the square.

What better way to follow a wine tasting than with a chocolate tasting at Anette's!  The brother-sister team create chocolate treats, truffles, sauces and syrups.

Where all the chocolate magic happens.

Wall of sauces, many of them made with local wines and artwork from the original building.

Good thing those are all behind glass!

 Our tasting at Anette's here included truffles, homemade ice cream with several different syrups and sauces, and brittle. 

A little more walking and we ended up at Sweetie Pies where we were promised the opportunity to sample a whoopie pie.  (Still no rain.)

Wow!  Rich chocolate cake with a cream cheese-marshmallowy filling.  :o)

As soon as we sat down to try the whoopie pies, the skies opened up and the wind howled!  Oh to be stuck inside a bakery during a storm but we were up for the task!

Frank made arrangements for a cab to take us back to the Market and no sooner than the cab arrived did it stop raining.  (It was ok....would have been a very wet walk.) 

You would have thought with all the sampling we did on our tour we would have been full (and we probably were), but Allison and Andrea spied C Casa, a taqueria, when we were in the market earlier.  And you can't leave California without having had a fish taco! 

Thank you Gourmet Walks and Swan for a terrific tour and introduction to downtown Napa!

"The family that drinks together....stays together!"

It may have been a dreary, rainy Saturday in Napa, but today was all about wine tastings!  We hit the bricks early, with the destination being Calistoga.  

Our first stop traveling north on 29 was Grgich Hills Estate.

Frank and I got to know Grgich on a previous trip and have enjoyed their chardonnay. As luck would have it, they were open and we were ready to start tasting! Michael was very informative and we learned quite a bit a what it means to be organically certified and what they do. We tasted an amazing Fume Blanc. (Needless to say, there will be a few bottles waiting for us when we get home.)


We continued our drive and a little while later, reached Calistoga.  Not really a lot to do, but we did walk around the town for a bit.  Afterwards we decided to have lunch at the CIA. 

Frank enjoyed yummy mashed potatoes and boeuf bourguignon in the cutest Le Creuset pots!

 After lunch, which included various "fruit juices" (*wink-wink*), we hopped back into the car and crossed over to the Silverado Trail.  We had a few tasting passes and were ready to try a sparkling wine.  What better place than Mumm!  

We got the opportunity to try several sparkling wines.  And I was always under the impression sparkling wines were white.  But Oh.My.Goodness!!!  Red sparkling wine is delicious!!  (Especially the Cuvee M Red!)

Clockwise from the top:  Cuvee M Red, Brut Reserve, Demi Sec, Sparkling Pinot Noir

After enjoying all those bubbles, we were invited to visit the art gallery where work from Art Rogers (Yesterday and Today) and Ansel Adams were on display.

We were scheduled for a Blending Session at Crushpad.  Unfortunately, there was a hiccup with communication on their end and unbeknownst to us the session was cancelled. Oh well, their loss. 

Not wanting to end the day with sour grapes (yes, pun intended), we dug out a few more tasting passes and headed for downtown Napa.  Bounty Hunter, a tasting bar, was where we would have an opportunity to try several different brands of wine. 

So many glasses!

 While at Bounty Hunter, they had a display of wine bottles in various (and some ginormous) sizes.  We tried to identify them and Andrea threw out the name/word, Nebuchadnezzar.  (And she surprised herself when she looked at the list of wine bottle sizes and it was there!)

A fun day, followed by dinner at UVA Italian restaurant.

Tomorrow's adventure:  Gourmet Walks - a walking food tour.  (See the theme of our trip yet??)

San Fran - by the Wharf, at night and beyond

It was our second day in San Francisco and we wanted to spend some more time sightseeing.  We visited the Fisherman's Wharf area first.

 Because of a tour we planned late in the afternoon/early evening, we decided to have a late lunch at Boudin Bakery, home of sourdough bread. 

Inside the Boudin Bakery.

Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, French onion soup with a sourdough crouton,
with a basket of sliced sourdough bread.

Alcatraz

Golden Gate Bridge

A view of wharf-area from the Pier.

Obligatory wharf cat.

 We thought it would be fun to see the holiday lights in and around San Francisco.  Mr. Toad's Tours offered the type of trip we were looking for. 


One of the green vehicles in the Mr. Toad's fleet.



While the vehicles were open-air, we were prepared!  Plus they had the heat on full-blast and provided blankets.

Ghirardelli Square at night.

 Unfortunately, these pictures don't do any justice to many of the lights we saw.  (The tour was 90 minutes and covered a lot of territory.  I was hoping we would go through neighborhoods that traditionally went "all-out" with their decorations and lights.  We saw lots of pretty lights, just not the over-the-top quantity I hoped.)

Palace of Fine Arts in the Presidio area.

Union Square - Christmas tree, ice rink and lots of lights.

Every window has a big wreath with white twinkle lights.

After the lights tour, we made our way down the Embarcadero to the Fog City Diner for dinner. 

 Having seen a segment on TV about it, and we were going to be in the area, we thought we'd give it a try. The food was pretty tasty (mac and cheese, fish and chips but especially the calamari with chili lime sauce.)

 On Friday morning, we all packed up and headed north, with Napa being our destination for the evening.

Very steep Divisidero St! 

On the Golden Gate Bridge.

Houseboats.

 Andrea suggested we take a tour of the Cowgirl Creamery.  So we signed up for a Cheese 101 class.  Fortunately, they do the class at their Point Reyes location which was on the way to Napa.

Checking the temperature, pH level and "readiness" of the curd.

 Our cheese educator, walked us through the history of the Point Reyes area, how the company started, where they get their milk as well as the process of making cheese.  We took the "speedy version", stirring the milk in one direction, quickly adding the rennet, reversing the stirring (one turn).  It was amazing how quickly the pasteurized milk coagulated. 

This is the milk with the rennet added.

Cheryl cuts the curd into larger pieces and puts it into a strainer to separate the curds from the whey.
She cut another batch into smaller curds and put them in another strainer.

 We tasted so many yummy cheeses!  Some fresh and some aged!  (My favorites were the Mt Tam and Wagon Wheel.)

 By the way, the "curds and whey" Miss Muffet was said to have been eating before the spider scared her away was probably what we know as cottage cheese.  :o)

After our informative and tasty cheese class, we ate lunch at the creamery and then continued on our trek towards Napa.  When we got to the hotel, we learned Hess was going to offer a free wine tasting in the lobby.  (That was a bonus we weren't expecting!)

The tasting hostess suggested a few restaurants and we were able to get a last minute reservation at Morimoto.  (Yes, THE Morimoto from Iron Chef fame.)

 We weren't sure what to expect and had a million questions for our waiter.  Each was patiently answered.  (I was pretty sure we'd get a little portion for a big price, but was pleasantly surprised when the portions were quite large!)  The service was outstanding!

Frank ordered the crispy fish.  Kind of scary looking but he reported it was very tasty.

The weather has been rainy the whole day and we expect more of the same tomorrow.  But we aren't going to let that deter us from exploring Napa and all it has to offer.