As I’ve mentioned here before, my goal in life is to only eat well, whether that means cooking at home or dining out. With that basic principle in mind, I definitely try to document everything delicious along the way, although sometimes certain meals get lost in the shuffle. And sometimes I may repeat myself, especially when I have certain favorites that I’ll revisit when I have the chance. I’ve actually mentioned all three of these lunches in previous posts, but never presented a photo alongside the article (I only upgraded my camera last May). Eventually, I’ll insert these photos [... read more ...]
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The Culinary Timeline is a side-project that I've been working on since October. I'm hoping to have most of it complete by the end of January, with any luck. Until then, updates around here will be weekly, rather than twice weekly. Do stay tuned. • • •
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Cachapas Pernil, Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, Oxbow Market, Napa Though I had been to Pica Pica Maize Kitchen before, I hadn’t actually tasted the cachapas pernil (#7) until I attended the Napa Valley Chefs’ Market a few weeks ago. The yellow corn pancake is just sturdy enough to provide the exterior, with a flavor profile that’s slightly sweet. The cachapas pabellon (#3), which is shredded skirt steak with plantains, is also a tasty alternative. • • • Market Burger, Market Restaurant, St. Helena As far as cheeseburgers are concerned, the Market Burger is [... read more ...] As I’ve continued to explore the culture of breakfast and lunch here in the Napa Valley, I felt that it was certainly worthwhile to mention a few of the better pastry options out there. After all, even if you’ve enjoyed a large breakfast in the morning, pastries remain a great take-away item, especially if you plan to spend the day wine tasting, when lunch can often get pushed back, or pushed aside altogether. Without a proper lunch, that same cheese danish that may seem gluttonous in the early morning can actually become your salvation in the early afternoon (and [... read more ...] I’ve covered so much about food lately that I haven’t been keeping up with my wine tasting notes. The best wines that I’ve tasted recently were some older vintages of Chappellet Cab, but I’ll try to address those in the future. For the sake of staying a little more relevant to the here and the now, I do have a few notes from my recent tasting at Joseph Phelps Vineyards. I’ll cut to the chase and discuss the 2006 Insignia ($200) the winery’s flagship bottling, and a wine that has developed a loyal following over the years. Recent buzz [... read more ...] Almost famous. Only in New Orleans could a sandwich as glorious as the muffaletta take a backseat to the po-boy. In just about any other city in the United States, the muffaletta would certainly rank as a culinary claim-to-fame, earning a mention alongside the cheesesteaks of Philly or the towering deli pastramis of New York City. But even in the shadow of the more famous po-boy, the muffaletta of New Orleans boasts a loyal legion of followers (after all, one cannot exist on po-boys alone). With its roots at the Central Grocery in the French Quarter, the [... read more ...] There’s no possible way that I could ever review Terra in St. Helena without heavy bias: I know too many people in that restaurant — from the kitchen, to the GM, to the waitstaff — to maintain any semblance of impartiality. For similar reasons, I can’t really offer my unbiased opinions about Martini House, Auberge du Soleil, or Etoile at Domain Chandon, either. Of the people whom I know socially in the Napa Valley, most of them work at either of these three restaurants. But despite these personal connections, I don’t think there’s much harm in showing some pictures [... read more ...] The BioDynamic vineyard at Ehlers Estate comprises 43 acres in total. In order to help amend the soil for the upcoming season, rows of vibrant yellow mustard alternate with verdant rows of grasses, fava beans and vetch. With rain subsiding, these same cover crops will assume a monotone shade of golden brown over the next month or so. In some ways, it’s almost embarrassing to heap lavish praise onto my favorite Napa wineries. I often feel as though I might be coming across as some sort of Napa Valley rah-rah, gushing with unbridled hyperbole, as if I were [... read more ...] Chappellet Winery sits atop 640 acres on Pritchard Hill, nestled among the Napa Valley's rugged Vaca Mountain Range. Red volcanic boulders, excavated from the vineyard over 40 years ago, remain piled under the great oaks in the distance. Living in the Napa Valley, I’ve discovered over the years that I’m still perfectly capable of rampant tourism. Case in point: I recently hosted some friends from out of town and accompanied them to seven Napa wineries in just two days. That’s quite a bit of wine tasting, although hardly a personal record; when I first moved to the valley, [... read more ...] As I spent 2009 combing the Napa Valley for great wines (the one definite perk of living here and being in the wine business), I decided to pay special attention to the Cabernets that were priced at $50 or less, hoping to one day compile a list of favorites. In order to confirm their merit, I plan to eventually put all of these wines into blind tastings alongside a few of their $100 counterparts, just to see how they fare against the big boys (I suspect that many of these lesser-priced wines will easily rise to the top). But [... read more ...] I began taking blogging a little more seriously about a year ago, when I finally upgraded the Thirsty Reader from a static HTML page to a more fully functional website. Since then, I’ve attempted to keep pace with my own taste for the good life by sharing as many positive experiences as possible, whether it’s wine, restaurants, recipes, or books. The tricky thing about covering wine, in particular, is that new vintages can roll around in no time, and thus, there is an inherent pressure to not only discover new labels, but to also keep up with the old [... read more ...] |
 
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© 2012 The Accidental Wino |
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