Napa Valley Eatings...

Last week Emmy and I took a 4 day trip to Napa Valley. This would be the first time that we actually spent a considerable amount of time in Napa versus the typical afternoon trip to visit the Mondavi Winery while vacationing in San Francisco.

I spent a good deal of time researching Napa Valley... from 'Things to do' to 'Places to stay' to 'Where to eat'. There's definitely plenty of things to do there other than wine tasting. For our trip, 'fine dining' was one of our main objectives. If you have ever desired to spend a few days in Napa Valley, we would definitely recommend these places to eat:

Bistro Jeantry - 6510 Washington Street, Yountville

Great French Cuisine... we had a light lunch there. Try their signature tomato soup. It is prepared sort of like a good chicken pot pie is prepared... kept real hot in a ceramic bowl with a thin flaky crust baked on the top that covers the entire surface.


Mustards Grill - 7399 St. Helena Hwy, Yountville

Definitely have dinner at Mustards. It is located right off Hwy 29 and is nestled right in front of a huge vineyard. The sun sets behind the restaurant and gives the vineyard a spectacular glow as it dips behind the nearby hills. Grab a glass of wine and sit outside near their fresh vegetable garden and enjoy the view.

As for the food... hands down, the grilled pork chop is the best. Mustards has sold about 1 million of these chops as the sign outside proudly proclaims. Also, we had a nectarine cobbler with blackberries for our dessert; Emmy says that it was the best cobbler that she's ever had.


Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen - 1327 Railroad Avenue, St. Helena

This happens to be the sister restaurant to Mustards Grill. They food is described as American comfort food. The decor in the restaurant looks like it was designed by Martha Stewart. Some of the dishes are similar to Mustards with a few differences here and there.

I did prefer the appetizers at Mustards, but my favorite main course during the trip was the Spiced-Rubbed Quails. Very, very tasty.

While we were there, a local winery owner went from table to table pouring free samples of his own small production wine. On that day the owner of the Judd Winery was there pouring his latest cabernet & syrah.


Bouchon - 6534 Washington St, Yountville

This is a Thomas Keller restaurant... but it is not the French Laundry. I admit that a big part of going to Bouchon was to see if it had even a minute similarity to its famous and expensive big brother. The vegetables were definitely fresh and tasty, but I think I set myself up for disappointment by trying to relate the two together when in fact they are so very different.

Despite the letdown, it is still a classy restaurant with some good food. My favorite appetizer was at Bouchon... deep fried Frog Legs. I also enjoyed the dish that Emmy ordered. It was their gnocchi dish... very delicious indeed.

Sorry Mike, I didn't take pictures of the food. But take my word for it, the Spice-Rubbed Quails and the Fried Frog Legs would have made for some hilarious photos.