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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Roast Duck Banh Mi Dip @ The Kitchen Door, Oxbow Market, Napa.
Having worked at Martini House back in 2007, it would be impossible for me to offer an unbiased opinion of the newly-opened Kitchen Door at Oxbow Market — truthfully, I know too many of the staff, and in some cases, I already know the food (a handful of the Kitchen Door dishes, including the mushroom soup, are vestiges of chef Todd Humphries’ former Martini House menu). That said, it’s worth leading off this most recent photo purge with a snapshot of the Kitchen Door’s [... read more ...]
The family-style seating area at the Kitchen Door. Two-tops and four-tops are located on either side, along with some bar-style seating.
If you were ever a fan of Martini House in St. Helena, the first thing you need to know about the Kitchen Door at Oxbow is that the mushroom soup is back. Good thing, too. I developed a lasting taste for that very soup when I used to cook at the Martini House — in those days, I ate a little mushroom soup almost every night, ladling the last remainders over cubes of left-over walnut bread, which [... read more ...]
The Bear Burger @ Jodie's Diner, Albany Village. I think that's the name of this burger. Jodie's has dozens of off-menu items to choose from, and this burger is one of them. Regardless of its proper name, it's the cheeseburger at Jodie's that comes with a fried egg, and it can definitely compete with the Bay Area's best.
I just finished up Mother’s Day lunch and dinner service, which makes for a long but rewarding weekend in the kitchen. Before that, I found a few good things to eat, and they’re pictured here for your perusal.
The Cheeseburger @ Super Burger, Santa Rosa. I snapped this picture at sunset, and the burger itself looks like the setting sun.
If you’re like me, then you’ve seen “Pulp Fiction” dozens of times, and you may have wondered, at some point, where the set designer sourced the film’s infamous Big Kahuna burger. As far as I know, having lived in Los Angeles for years and years, there is no actual Big Kahuna Burger. Too bad, because the burger does look mighty tasty on film. And so the question remains: if, in fact, Big Kahuna is fictitious, then [... read more ...]
Breakfast Sandwich @ The Fremont Diner.
Working nights in the kitchen can have its perks, such as being able to go out for breakfast any day of the week. With an old college buddy visiting the Napa Valley recently, a morning session at the Fremont Diner presented the obvious choice. Personally, I’ve already covered most of the Fremont Diner’s menu over the past couple of years, but it’s always fun to see someone marvel at all of the restaurant’s great, down-home selections. Besides that, I hadn’t been to the Fremont Diner in a while, so I was actually [... read more ...]
As I’ve alluded in my sidebar over there on the left, I’ll be journeying into the Crescent City in less than two weeks for a 10-day po-boy and gumbo bender. As such, I haven’t been the prolific blogger recently that my readers have come to know and love. Like an athlete training for a key event, it is now time for me to back off and rest up, so that I’m able to eat five square meals per day while I’m in New Orleans. In the meantime, I’d like to do a little campaigning on behalf of a friend [... read more ...]
The Mother of All Tortas: The Torta Cubana.
In the spirit of late-night eating, Bistro Sabor’s torta cubana has been carefully constructed: Ham, carnitas, frijoles, cheese, pickles, onions, mustard. These aren’t bashful flavors, by any means. The sweet potato chips, paper-thin and perfectly fried, offer a delicate counter-point to the dish, and although this sandwich can make for a terrific lunch, the torta cubana can sometimes gain its appeal as the night progresses (as comfort foods tend to do). Not to worry, on Fridays and Saturdays, Bistro Sabor is open until 2am.
Sharing is [... read more ...]
Chicken & Waffles @ the Boon Fly Cafe (blue plate) and the Fremont Diner (white plate): It's always nice too see an upward trend in the Southern-fried sector. Images can be super-sized with a click.
Unless I’m missing something, the Napa Valley offers just two reliable versions of chicken and waffles, both of which are located at the very southern end of the valley, along the scenic Carneros Highway, separated by just a few miles of rolling hills and perhaps one or two stoplights. Of course, the Boon Fly Cafe and the Fremont Diner are the two restaurants [... read more ...]
After breaking the news late last year regarding the October closure of the Martini House, I had also reported that Paul Fleming of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse had planned to move into the newly-vacated space. However, just a few weeks after this news broke, I soon learned that the Fleming deal had fallen through. Now, with the old Martini House property in turn-around, I’ve recently discovered that Hillstone Restaurant Group has apparently stepped in, and the new owners will allegedly be moving forward on the project rather quickly.
Hillstone, of course, is the same entity behind Rutherford Grill, and is also the same [... read more ...]
Quintessa features a unique and creative set-up for wine-making: The grapes are sorted and destemmed at roof level, then gravity-fed into the winery via the skylights. The custom-made conduit, pictured above, funnels the grapes from the skylights into the fermentation tanks below (click the photo for higher resolution).
I scheduled a wine-tasting session at Quintessa last week, and if there’s one thing that I appreciate about Quintessa’s format, it’s the rare opportunity to taste a three-year vertical of premium Napa Cabernet. At the moment, Quintessa is pouring its 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages, and I carefully evaluated all [... read more ...]
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