Thursday, December 01, 2011

Napa: Good Eats

All of these restaurant choices were based on yelp! Yelp is definitely my best friend when traveling.

Redd
We came here for my sister's birthday dinner. Getting reservations here was a challenge, especially Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but we ended up just walking in and was seated within 30 minutes.

We decided to order the five-course tasting menu. I always opt to go with this option, especially, at a restaurant I probably will only get a chance to try only once. There was five of us and every course we each got our own plate, but two different dishes were served among us. So to get the most out of it, we tasted each others dish if we wanted. For those with nut oil or nuts I passed on, for obvious reasons.

Bare with these photos, I took them with my iPhone in low light. I was a tad embarrassed to take out my SLR , especially because it was a pretty dim atmosphere.

First Course: 
Raw 
Sashimi of hamachi + sticky rice + edamame + lime ginger sauce
Yellowfin tuna tartare + asian pear + avocado + avocado + chili oil + fried rice + cilantro (not pictured)




Second Course: 
Sea
Carnaroli risotto + maine lobster + meyer lemon confit + truffle oil
Petrale sole + coconut jasmine rice + clams + chorizo + saffron curry sage



Third Course:
Poultry 
Roasted chicken + pinenut potatoes +  root vegetables + natural jus
Liberty farms duck breast + turnips + spinach + quince + huckleberry jus




Fourth Course:
Meats
Lamb (not sure what was in this)
Prime new york steak + shortrib + cannelloni + bone marrow crust + creamed spinach


Fifth Course:
Sweets
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Peanut butter beignets



Favorites are the Lobster Risotto, Duck, Short rib and of course, pumpkin cheesecake!

Brix
We came here for Lunch. I originally yelped this spot for Brunch, but when we got there I realized that brunch was only on Sunday. Whoops! But regardless, I enjoyed this restaurant, it had a pretty view of  the vineyards!
I will have to try there Brunch buffet another time, since it seems to be amazing according to yelp reviews.


Artisan Cheese Board / Apple wood bacon & fall mushroom flatbread

rustichella pasta bucatini / ginger creme brulee / pumpkin cheesecake

Favorites is the bohemian creamery capriago cheese and the pasta bucatini!


Wine Spectator Greystone @ Culinary Institute of America
We came here for our last dinner in Napa. My sister chose this spot. The Culinary Institute of America is gorgeous, looks like an old castle, I wouldn't mind going to school if it looked like that.

The food overall was pretty good, but definitely some dishes were on the WAY too salty side, luckily my main dish didn't suffer that.

On the Menu: 
Appetizers
Today's Temptations: small bites of different appetizers.
I wish I remembered what each are, but I know my favorites of this was the cream of mushroom soup and the duck bruschetta. 
Oysters on a half shell

Main Course
Seared breast of Sonoma Duck 
confit butterball potatoes + delicata sqaush + Bloomsdale spinach + fig red wine jus


Dessert
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake + Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
This molten cake was amazing! It wasn't too rich or bold. I think I ate 3/4 of it.







Of these three restaurants, I would recommend to most definitely try REDD. 

Enjoy! 

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