vday

Location:

Napa

Best meal I ever ate:

I don't know about "best ever", but . . . Steak, spinach salad, sauteed mushrooms, "hash browns" at Cole's Chop House in Napa is hard to beat and is my favorite honest "local" meal lately. I loved the "flying vegetables" at a small place by that name in Bangkok. I have had amazing meals prepared by my students from Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Mexico, and North Africa. (The common key ingredient being some sort of fresh chile, and then plenty of spices!)

My current drink of choice:

I had a great pomegranate margarita recently. I don't drink much, but enjoy an occasional cocktail, or an icy cold pear cider (the kind with 4-5% alcohol) fresh from the freezer.

My "Go-to" dinner party dish:

Wild salmon served on a bed of Asian influenced purple cabbage slaw.

My favorite comfort food:

carnitas soft tacos, enchiladas or a great chile relleno. Or potatoes au gratin with braised something alongside.

My top 5 favorite restaurants:

too tough to answer, but I tend to gravitate toward unpretentious places that put out top quality and consistent food. I like restaurants that pay attention and are focused on excellence, even if it's "just" a falafel plate. That reminds me that I love "Small World Restaurant" here in town for that reason, as well as Villa Corona. Cole's and Martini House also fits that category for me, though they're obviously a lot pricier. So many great places like these are sprinkled throughout the greater Bay Area.

My most tattered cookbooks:

Julia Child, Jaques Pepin, Judy Rodgers, Rick Bayless, Cindy Pawlcyn are a few cookbooks I keep going back to . . . more for inspiration than to follow recipes.