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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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 ...]
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 ...]
End-of-the-year recaps present a great opportunity to “re-purpose” some old content (I learned this valuable euphemism during the dot-com era). Here are 10 dishes that I really enjoyed this year, in no particular order. I’m not saying this list comprises my top 10 dishes for the year, but some of them could definitely qualify. Clicking the photos will transport you back to the original article — and perhaps, a much simpler time and place.
Crispy shrimp with ginger and onions @ Huong Tra, Richmond.
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Flounder special @ Yuet Lee, San Francisco.
Up front: Chicken and nettle dumplings; In back: Biscuit with ham, mustard, and blueberry preserves.
I’ve been an early adopter of the Fremont Diner, having made my first visit there sometime in the summer of 2009, on the way out to a wine-tasting excursion in the Russian River Valley. Since then, I’ve covered their menu extensively within these pages, and my favorite dish remains the black-pepper brisket hash. My recent lunch of chicken and dumplings, pictured above, ranks somewhere in the middle of the pack, which is good indication of the Fremont Diner’s overall consistency. It’s a nice [... read more ...]
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.
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Market Burger, Market Restaurant, St. Helena
As far as cheeseburgers are concerned, the Market Burger is [... read more ...]
Yolk so shiny, it picks up the ceiling fan.
One of my favorite breakfasts in wine country is the black-pepper brisket hash at the Fremont Diner in Sonoma Carneros. Earlier this week, I made a specific point of ordering this dish on my way out to Mendocino County, a road trip that usually pushes lunch back to the late afternoon. This brisket hash is a 100-mile breakfast if there ever was one. The potatoes are crispy, yet tender, and cooked with fresh herbs, while the brisket features a smoke-and-black-pepper pungency that I would best describe as addictive. Of [... 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 ...]
Knife optional.
I first became acquainted with the Fremont Diner’s smoked black pepper brisket when I ordered their breakfast hash a few weeks ago. That particular plate of hash was just heavenly and it’s definitely in the running for the best breakfast in the Napa Valley, although I’m not ready to bestow any lofty titles just yet. I have many more breakfasts to consider in the meantime, and I’ll delve into the specific greatness of the Fremont Diner’s brisket hash when the time is right. For now, I submit the lunch version of their smoked black pepper brisket, [... read more ...]
Southern style.
There’s not much of a breakfast culture here in the Napa Valley, at least compared to the dinner scene. I think that mornings tend to be reserved for sleeping it off from the night before, or else having a little “hair of the dog” at a Napa Valley tasting room at 10am. Bouchon Bakery does a brisk morning business, of course, but I don’t consider that breakfast. For one, there’s no bacon at Bouchon Bakery, and eggs are merely an ingredient, not a main course. But there is breakfast out there, and I’m going to cover [... read more ...]
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