debadair's Profile
Napa-Calistoga Trip Report
Just returned from a short jaunt up to wine country to attend a Failla winemaker's dinner in Calistoga. Had some good eats and good wines...and some that weren't:
Ad-Hoc, Yountville: Sunday brunch was fun, though more carb-tastic than we'd hoped. Started with a yogurt parfait with a citrus salad, vanilla yogurt, and home-made granola served with toasted banana bread and blackberry honey. The main course was "steak and eggs" with sous vide short rib and baked eggs with blue cheese. Tasty, but I think my stomach would have been happier if the egg was more cooked. Dessert was a chocolate cupcake with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yummy, but I would have liked a moister cupcake and less frosting. Neat concept and fun meal, but didn't quite live up to our expectations.
Flora Springs Winery, St. Helena: Elegant, lighter-style Cabernet and Cabernet blends that were a pleasant surprise. Refreshing to see them staying true to their own style. Don't get me wrong, they are far from thin or wimpy, they just aren't the heavy, overly-tannic monsters that somehow became synonymous with Napa Cabernet. Very pretty.
Peju Provence, St Helena: Targeted Peju for their Cabernet Franc. Unfortunately, the bottle they were pouring in the tasting room was slightly corked (not that anyone else noticed). Pretty disappointing until the pourer snuck us some of their estate wines when the other tasters weren't looking. Pricey, but good. (Which was our overall impression of the wines we tasted this trip--there are some absolutely fantastic Napa wines, assuming you're willing to spend $80-$120 a bottle. We didn't find much at all in the way of "bargains.")
Beringer Vineyards, St Helena: Even more Disneyland-like than we remembered, but we bypassed the crowds and headed straight for the Reserve Tasting. It didn't disappoint. Our favorite was the Spring Mountain, but the only bad thing about any of them was the price.
Mount View Hotel, Calistoga: The obvious lodging choice, since the Failla dinner was in one of the two hotel restaurants, JoLe. Renovated "spa" hotel with nicely-appointed rooms. Comfortable, nice pool area (not usually a consideration for us, but was a nice place to relax after an afternoon of wine tasting). Only real complaint is that they've fallen for the euro-style bed-making trend with no top sheet or blanket, just a comforter--which inevitably leaves me alternately sweating and freezing. Thankfully, we were able to acquire a sheet and blanket for the second night and slept much better.
JoLe Restaurant, Calistoga: One of two restaurants in the Mount View Hotel. Highly-recommended. Ate from the regular menu on Sunday night, and returned for the Failla dinner on Monday. The concept, ingredients, execution, and presentation was absolutely 5 star. Chef Matt Spector is no celebrity chef--he's actually the man in the kitchen ensuring every dish is perfectly prepared and presented. His attention to detail shows--the dishes are fresh and creative, beautifully plated, and (most importantly) they taste great. (The fish and shellfish really shows his mastery--the salmon, halibut, and scallop dishes we had were all cooked to perfection.) Loved the Spanish/Mediterranean influence and creative use of ingredients. The menu is designed so you can easily create your own tasting menu or share plates. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a "tapas" restaurant, though--JoLe is fine dining cleverly disguised as a neighborhood restaurant, with prices that happily more reflect the latter.
Barnett Vineyards, Spring Mountain: Had the pleasure of meeting owner Hal Barnett, who poured some very nice wines for us at their perch near the top of Spring Mountain. The caves, the views, and the Rattlesnake Hill Cabernet were all worth the visit.
Robert Keenan Winery, Spring Mountain: One of the wineries that sparked our interest in the Spring Mountain AVA. The tasting didn't disappoint, though we wished they had a wine club that focused on their "Mernet" and Cabernet selections.
Failla Wines, St Helena: What can I say, we're fans. For his own venture, Ehren Jordan seeks out cool-climate grapes and makes lovely Old-world style wines. (Well, except for the fact that they're impeccably clean.) He's truly a master at his art, able to vinify wines in radically different styles depending on what he has to work with and what the goal is. While we've enjoyed the big zins and fruit-dominated wines he's created for Turley, and the rich Syrahs he's made under the Neyers label, his own wines are clearly true to his own heart. Our favorite of the wines poured at the dinner was the Failla Estate Syrah. A beautiful, almost ethereal expression of Syrah. The Pinot Noirs didn't disappoint, either--the difference between the Hirsch and the Keefer Ranch was quite remarkable, but both were a clear expression of the best the vines had to offer. Chef Matt of JoLe put together a tasting menu that beautifully complemented the wines--as the wines similarly complemented the food. Definitely worth the trek!
Bouchon, Yountville: Our second Keller-restaurant experience. Top-notch service and well-executed bistro food. Honestly, kind of missing the "wow" factor we expected. We love bistro food, and expected to love Bouchon. In the end, we were feeling a bit nostalgic for Mon Ami Gabi in Las Vegas, of all places! (Their scallops gratin is to die for, and everything else totally hits the bistro mark--just ignore the "steakhouse" appendage in their name.)
Between the excellent food we enjoyed at JoLe, and the hype that surrounds anything that Keller is involved with, Ad Hoc and Bouchon were something of a let-down. Enjoyable meals that I'm glad we had the opportunity to experience, but we probably won't go out of our way to return. There are too many other great dining options.
Mail order source for Chimayo chile?
Was in exactly the same boat and tripped across this thread. Just ordered 5lbs of chile over the phone from El Potrero Trading Post. Still no sign of a website, but they are happy to take phone orders. (505-351-4112)
How to cook a bushel of crabs outdoors?
Outside is definitely the way to go! We use a giant brew-kettle and a propane burner like those used for frying turkeys. Being on the West coast, we're talking Dungeness, which come out just fine boiled rather than steamed. While you can drop them in live, I prefer to cut them in half and clean them before cooking, they just taste better that way. (Especially if I can talk the guys at our local Asian market into dispatching and cutting them in half for me.) We bring the pot to a roiling boil, toss the crabs in, and cover. We leave the burner on for the first 12 or 14 minutes, then turn it off and let them "steep" for another 12-14.
We used to go with a variety of seasonings, but have gradually adopted a more minimalist approach: 3 cups of Kosher salt (to about 22 quarts of water!), a healthy dose of white vinegar (helps to release the meat from the shell), and a generous amount of cayenne or crystal sauce. As someone else pointed out, because you're dealing with such a large amount of water, you have to be pretty heavy-handed with the salt and seasonings to impart much flavor to the crab--especially if you're cooking them whole.
We do this several times a season & it's nearly foolproof. The timing isn't critical, as long as you remember to turn off the heat after the first 10 or 15 minutes. You can leave it on full until the pot comes back up to a boil after putting the crab in, but you'll want to back off on the heat at that point to so you've still got a good boil going, but it's not spewing all the cooking liquid onto the ground.
Darn. Now I'm craving crab. Unfortunately, the live specimens in the market tanks this time of year are generally in pretty sorry shape.
Seattle or Winslow Recs?
Good food, good wine, without too much fuss or drama. This is a very small, low-key family affair (table for 3)--lunch or an early dinner are both options. (We'll be taking a round-trip ferry ride.) Preference would be somewhere that features local ingredients/cuisine, lively is okay, but not raucous or noisy. A party atmosphere is not appropriate, but neither is terribly formal. Ideally someplace upbeat and casual, with the aforementioned good food and wine.
I'm from the Seattle area and the market, hill climb, and waterfront were my teenage haunts. I've been back fairly often and had way too much fun at Purple wine bar the last trip, enjoyed Campagne a couple visits back, but have never managed to make it to Matt's or Rovers. (Herb Farm, yes, which is in a category by itself...) As a quasi-local, I'm not especially interested in the "tourist" haunts--though did have a quite nice graduation lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront (albeit, quite a few years ago...)
Need lemon or caramel birthday (cake) ideas
It isn't much to look at, but I modified my grandmother's burnt-sugar (caramel) cake recipe last year for my dad's birthday. (Wasn't confident I could accurately reproduce the original, so gave it my own spin so it was intentionally different.) The cake is very dense, the frosting very sweet--a little goes a long way. My dad claimed it was even better than his mom's--which I doubt, but it was pretty yummy. Don't have time to copy the recipe over, but it's posted at http://winekitchen.jot.com. Just search for almond burnt sugar cake.
Shopping for Fresh Food on the Kohala Coast
Oh! One more thing... Any recommendations for Kona coffee plantations that sell home-roaster quantities of high-quality green coffee beans? Our last trip we were in town for the Kona coffee festival and only found a few that would sell green.
Shopping for Fresh Food on the Kohala Coast
We're returning to the Big Island in September and will be spending time in both Kapoho and Mauna Lani on the Kohala coast. Some folks collect postcards on vacation, we tend to collect new recipes, so food is a big part of any trip. We'll have a full kitchen in both locations and are looking forward to at least a few great "home-cooked" meals. We'll probably cook more in Kapoho to avoid the evening drive into town, but we'll definitely make it into Pahoa for return visits to Ning's and Paolo's. Since we've been there before, we have a fair notion of where to find great ingredients--and the owners of the vacation rental we're staying at have an organic farm and are happy to provide some of whatever happens to be in season.
Resort-ville on the Kohala coast is more of a mystery. Any recommendations on where to buy fresh fish and produce? We'll be at Mauna Lani Sunday-Thursday, so it looks we'll miss the Saturday markets. (Though we will be sure to visit the Pahoa and/or Hilo markets while we're on the other side of the island.)
I was checking out the recent threads on the Big Island restaurant scene with interest, too. Seems like the recommendations are similar to our last trip--is there any place new that we need to add to the list? We still haven't made it to Merriman's, but will keep that in mind for a lunch. We loved the Hualalai Grill our last trip--had to go back for a second night. We also had a great meal at Pahu i`a. We've dined at the Canoe House twice in the past. Our first visit was amazing--everything was absolutely perfect. The second wasn't as impressive. (Thought I do love the setting.) Since we'll be so close and the recent reviews have been positive, we might give it another go. We probably won't try to make it down to Kona-Keahou for dinner this trip, but I absolutely agree with the raves about Kenichi Pacific--we had to eat there twice the last trip, too. I also recall a sushi place in the Kohala area that had some awesome specials--the name escapes me. A great sushi place is always a welcome find...
Anyway, all advice and recommendations are very welcome!
Mahalo,
-deb
Recommendations for an inspiring lunch in SF?
We're finally going to make it to Gary Danko for a special-occasion dinner and will be staying in the city. From all accounts, it will be a hard act to follow, but where should we go for lunch the next day to top off our culinary mini-vacation? We don't often get to dine in SF, so are willing to splurge, as long as it's worth it. Suggestions?
