Archive for the ‘New in California Wine Country’ Category
Monday, August 9th, 2010
You know you’re in Northern California’s Wine Country when even fast food takes a Slow Food approach.
 Gott's Roadside Tray Gourmet It’s true: that’s fresh-picked lettuce atop your hamburgers, and those heirloom tomatoes are still warm from the sun on your BLT, when you dine at Gott’s Roadside these days.
In a very un-McDonald’s move, restaurant co-founder Joel Gott has planted his own one-acre garden directly behind the St. Helena property, with the plucked-from-the-earth ingredients now offered at all three Gott’s locations, including Napa’s Oxbow Public Market Annex (daily) and San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace (on weekends).
A few months after setting the soil then waiting for the seeds and starters to bud, chef Rick Robinson celebrated his first official harvest last week. Through the summer, you can snack on these additions to the Classic Americana menu:
Fried Zucchini – spears are dredged in flour and spices, then quickly fried to golden brown crispiness and served alongside lemon wedges and house-made ranch dressing. Since Gott’s — formerly called Taylor’s Automatic Refresher — is also one of the country’s only fast food joints to have a wine collection, try the appetizer with the 2009 Bieder Rosé from Provence.
Pesto Home Fries – made with Gott’s Garden ‘potato of the week’. A debut spud varietal of Yellow Finn potatoes and fresh basil pesto (also from the garden), pair nicely with a cool glass of Scarpetta 2008 Pinot Grigio or The Show 2009 Malbec.
Fried Green Tomatoes – Wedges of heirloom tomato are dipped in buttermilk and seasoned cornmeal and then fried until they’re crunchy-edged outside and juicy inside. Dunk them in spicy chili aioli and chase with an ice cold Trumer Pilsner beer.
 Gott's Ahi tuna poke taco As harvest heats up, Robinson will be rolling out other Gott’s Garden-Grown menu items every Monday on the restaurant’s Facebook and Twitter pages (@gottsroadside). It’s part of his new Unpublished “B-Side”: Ultra-Fresh Menu for Diners “In-The-Know.” These “you gotta know to ask for them” specials takes advantage of each day’s freshest ingredients for favorites from Robinson and are available until they sell out – if you’re not hooked into social networking, ask to see the under-the-counter list at each restaurant.
Other summer specials include Crispy Ahi Poke Tacos brimming with Hawaiian-style raw, marinated tuna, avocado, green cabbage, cilantro and spicy mayo tucked in crispy taco shells; Heirloom BLT as a hearty sandwich layered with Gott’s Garden heirloom tomatoes, bacon, mayo and romaine on toasted wheat bread; and spicy grilled chicken tacos of chili spice rubbed bird, jalapeño, Mexican coleslaw, lime-cilantro sour cream and avocado on warm corn tortillas.
Details: Gott’s Roadside Tray Gourmet. The St. Helena drive-in burger stand is on Highway 29 (933 Main Street), 707-963-3486. The Napa eatery is in the Oxbow Public Market Annex, 644 First Street, 707-224-6900. The San Francisco restaurant is on the Embarcadero in the Ferry Building Marketplace, Space #6,415-318-3423. gottsroadside.com.
Tip: Gott’s St Helena is a terrific place for private parties on its lawn, next to the garden. Gather a group of friends, set up a feast of summer food favorites and wine, and leave the driving to Pure Luxury.
Tags: Embarcadero, Ferry Building Marketplace, Gott’s Roadside, Gott’s Roadside Tray Gourmet, Joel Gott, Oxbow Public Market Annex, Pure Luxury, Rick Robinson, Scarpetta 2008 Pinot Grigio, Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, The Show 2009 Malbec, Trumer Pilsner
Posted in Food & Wine, New in California Wine Country, New in the Wine Counry, Sonoma restaurants | No Comments »
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Pinot Grigio poured in clear glass Dixie cups and paired with potato chips topped with dollops of domestic caviar? That’s just a taste of what visitors to Swanson Vineyards’ new Sip Shoppe have in store.
 Pinot Grigio + Hackelback Caviar + Potato Chips The tasting room debuted late July, heralded this weekend by a party at the Swanson family’s private estate in Oakville, where guests were invited to dress “curious and eccentric,” and celebrity co-architect Andy Spade mingled with revelers wearing folded newspaper hats while an opera singer serenaded.
Suffice it to say you can dismiss any ideas of a stuffy, ordinary wine tasting. Sip Shoppe is a whimsical, cheeky adventure, starting with the room of bold red-and-white striped circus-style fabric walls, and unrolling as samplings of Swanson Vineyards’ library vintages are presented in special 1.5 ounce pours mini Riedel Os. Sweet wines are served in charming crystal cordials, and the proprietary Angelica dessert wine arrives in colored cut crystal.
 Alexis Swanson Traina “We take our wines very seriously but are whole-hearted believers in a dash of decadence,” explained Swanson Vineyards’ Creative Director Alexis Swanson Traina, sporting a Chinese straw hat while she surveyed guest tables littered with lollipops and sweet-sour chews. Staffers, dressed as flappers, Mardi Gras queens and colorful ladies, helped lead guests through an elaborately carved door, set-up, most curiously, all by itself in the middle of the Swansons’ emerald green lawn.
 Candy store for adults The vision of some of the world’s finest talents, Swanson Vineyards’ Sip Shoppe partners include Kate Spade collection co-founder Andy Spade; renowned illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme; interior designer Thomas Britt; chocolatier Katrina Markoff of Vosges Haut Chocolate; singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton’s exclusive stationery line; avant-garde florist Torryne Choate; and renowned California painter, Ira Yeager.
Surrounded by faux stone gargoyles and Yeager’s paintings, visitors browse Sip Shoppe’s gift shop – but find no trite wine country-style dried floral wreaths or grape gee-gaws. Instead, shelves brim with clever, stylish gifts, such as a collection called The Newlywed Kit: six bottles of Swanson Vineyards’ special occasion wine “Just Married,” accompanied by an ostrich feather duster and a sage bundle (complete with instructions on how to clear out negative energy and create wedded bliss). Coming shortly…The Break Up Kit, The Stork Kit, The Please Forgive Kit.
 Sip Shoppe sundries Adding to the fun are the morsels for the Sip Shoppe’s tastings, including domestic caviar and chocolates, jellies and sorbets, offered in pairing menus such as the winery’s signature tasting, the Salonnière, featuring “Alexis” Cabernet Sauvignon paired with an Alexis Bonbon, followed by Swanson Vineyards’ sought-after dessert wine, Angelica.
“It’s about glorifying everyday rituals, every way we can,” Swanson Traina explained, as a French-style organ grinder played his music in the background. “It’s a celebration, to reinvent the rituals of the mundane, through wine.”
Details: Swanson Vineyards Sip Shoppe, 1271 Manley Lane, Rutherford. Open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are not required, but can be made at 707-967-3500 or by emailing sipshoppe@swansonvineyards.com. swansonvineyards.com.
Tip: If you’re visiting Napa, plan a day of eclectic eating and drinking the easy way, with Pure Luxury as your personal chauffeur. We can also recommend the best activities, restaurant and accommodations to make your trip extra-special.
Tags: Alexis Swanson Traina, Andy Spade, Angelica, Ira Yeager, Jean-Philippe Delhomme, Kate Spade, Katrina Markoff, Sip Shoppe, Swanson Vineyards, Thomas Britt, Torryne Choate, Vanessa Carlton, Vosges Haut Chocolate
Posted in Food & Wine, Napa wineries, New in California Wine Country, New in the Wine Counry | No Comments »
Monday, July 19th, 2010
It’s been called a mini Ferry Building Marketplace. And right before its grand opening in 2007, while supporters cheered that it would bring new energy for the railroad track area off downtown Napa, critics liked to suggest that the town wasn’t ready for such a high-end concentration of restaurants, wine bars, farmers market products and boutique treats.
 Welcome to Oxbow Nearly three years later, the votes are in. With the recent debut of a new restaurant and two more restaurants coming soon, the main Market Hall at Oxbow Public Market is fully leased. It’s quite an accomplishment for a 40,000 square foot, $10 million glass and brick barn-style destination that arrived in the middle of a recession.
 C Casa in Action At C Casa Innovative Taqueria, opened in May, the line-up features freshly made tacos, salads, small plates and rotisserie chicken, assembled by owner Catherine Bergen (previously known for her Made in Napa Valley gourmet food brand). The shop, which sits on the east side of the Market, offers indoor and outdoor seating facing the site formerly occupied by Copia.
In a contemporary take on classics, dishes include ‘unique tacos’ such as the grilled garlic citrus prawns with corn relish, avocado tomatillo salsa and cilantro and ‘small plates’ like corn edamame salad with zucchini, red bell peppers, cotija cheese and Meyer lemon olive oil. Everything is made on-site from scratch, including house made white corn tortillas and chips, accented in upscale touches like micro-greens.
 Catherine Bergen with chefs Erasto and Pablo Jacinto While recipes change with the seasons, there is a theme of unexpected spark, delivered by chefs and brothers Erasto and Pablo Jacinto, who for many years worked with celebrated chef Cindy Pawlcyn. Grilled mahi mahi tacos are plump with avocado, broccoli cabbage, salsa picante and oranges, for example, while black beans are spiked with spicy chorizo and a flurry of goat cheese.
 C Casa's Terrific Tres Tacos It’s the perfect combination, meanwhile, at Ca’ Momi’s Enoteca, showcasing classic Italian pizza, pastries, and regional wines.
Scheduled to open later this summer, the café comes from owners Dario De Conti, Valentina Guolo-Migotto and Stefano Migotto. The trio is best known for their winemaking at Napa’s Ca’ Momi Winery, and those quaffs will take center stage on the menu. Yet there also will be wine “discoveries” from smaller regions and producers all across Italy.
“We will bring in wines from our friends around Italy, always looking for something different and interesting – something that we think captures the spirit of Italian life,” says De Conti.
For food, expect authentic nibbles, such as classic Neapolitan pizzas crafted in a wood burning oven, plus tramezzini (small tea-style sandwiches), and a pasticceria sending out crostate (tarts) and crostatine di frutta (fruit pies), baci di dama (cookies), tiramisu and biscotti.
The Ca’ Momi story, by the way, is pretty delicious, too. The name pays tribute to Momi dea Bionda, a Napa Valley character who was famous for his obsession with the house, his grapes and his wine. In his later years he liked to patrol his property in an old motorcycle, armed with a rifle, and with his blind dog riding in the sidecar.
When Graham’s Take-Away Foods opens later this summer, diners will find “locally sourced prepared foods coupled with convenience.” That’s a mouthful, but it translates to gourmet grab-and-go for breakfast, lunch and dinner, prepared by real chefs. Owners Graham and Andrea Zanow are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and chef Graham worked at the French Laundry.
 Farm Fresh at Oxbow Start the day with individual loaf cakes, French bistro-style quiches, fresh fruit salads and just squeezed juices, along with yogurt parfaits layered with Clover yogurt, house made granola, seasonal fruit and Katz & Company preserves.
At lunch, you can tuck into a Rocky Jr. curry chicken wrap, a Mediterranean tuna salad pita or a Diestel turkey sandwich on foccacia with smoked mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes and basil mayo. For vegetarians, daily specials may include Greek mezze platter, Caprese wrap on a tomato tortilla or a truffle and herb egg salad sandwich on brioche. The line-up also includes a selection from 50 different pasta, potato, veggie and grain salads.
For dinner, packaged ready to heat-and-eat comfort foods are the order of the day, including organic meatloaf with Boursin whipped potatoes and glazed rainbow carrots or classic roasted chicken with herbes de Provence roasted vegetables and pan gravy.
Details: Oxbow Public Market, 610 & 644 First Street, Napa, 707-226-6529, oxbowpublicmarket.com. C Casa, 707-226-7700, myccasa.com.
Tip: Oxbow is right in the heart of Napa wine country, chock-a-block with wineries ripe for the visiting. Plan a day of divine eating and drinking, with Pure Luxury as your personal chauffeur.
Tags: Andrea Zanow, C Casa Innovative Taqueria, Ca' Momi's Enoteca, Catherine Bergen, Copia, Culinary Institute of America, Dario De Conti, Diestel, Erasto Jacinto, Ferry Building Marketplace, French Laundry, Graham Zanow, Graham's Take-Away Foods, Katz & Company, Made in Napa Valley, Napa, Oxbow Public Market, Pablo Jacinto, Pure Luxury, Rocky Jr., Stefano Migotto, Valentina Guolo-Migotto
Posted in Food & Wine, New in California Wine Country, New in the Wine Counry | No Comments »
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Lean, mean and green. That could be the tag line for h2hotel, which opened last week in Healdsburg.
It’s lean: only 36 guest rooms on a postage stamp size property of 24,000 square feet about a block south of Healdsburg Plaza.
 h2hotel is luxe green It’s mean – as in priced right for modern day thinner-wallets – with rooms starting at $195. While hardly bargain basement, that’s still a value for this chic enclave of high-end restaurants, boutiques and posh bed-and-breakfasts.
And it’s green: The hotel owners are striving for a LEED gold certification for the property’s construction of solar heating, a living roof planted in sod, an underground water cistern, and sustainable and recycled materials used throughout.
 Sweet h2hotel suite For what used to be a dilapidated gas station, it’s certainly an architectural coup, where designer David Baker’s sleek modern aesthetic meets wine country retreat. From the undulating roof planted in ultra-low-water-use succulents, to the balconies in scrolled Cor-Ten steel that weeps rust as it weathers, to the reclaimed gymnasium wood flooring that now occupies the hotel’s meeting space, this is high eco-style with a touch of funky Japanese wabi-sabi.
H2hotel charms as much for what it has, as it doesn’t. There’s no parking, for example. In this first hint of what hotel marketing director Circe Sher calls a “DIY” (do-it-yourself) mood, most amenities are self-serve, allowing guests to choose what luxuries they want to pay for. Valet is available, but frugal drivers will take advantage of the ample free street space nearby.
 Circe Sher There are no mini-bars or room service, but there is a “stocking station” in the lobby, for custom treats like homemade chips and roasted nuts or full picnic meals. Rather than gouging guests for bottled water, each floor has an h20 bar, offering complimentary hot and cold water in sparkling or still, and ice. A bike rack holds high-end cycles for free loan.
 luxurious bath Just don’t expect bare bones. This is the sister property to the luxury Hotel Healdsburg just up the street. So mere steps from the Foss Creek riparian area that runs directly behind the hotel is a solar heated lap pool. Elegant utilitarian rooms are done in bamboo floors and feature enormous bathrooms with heated floors and ofuros, bamboo-planted balconies or courtyard patios. At check-in, the clerk offers a fresh-brewed espresso from the zinc-acacia wood coffee bar next to the computers.
The lobby is a work of art to itself, as a tribute to urban-eco design, art and functionality in walls of board-form concrete, eclectic Christopher Loomis furniture, and a fireplace from artist/fabricator Leonidas Kyriakopoulos that looks like an arching sparked shock of wheat.
 Scott Beattie The space also hosts a full bar and sophisti-casual restaurant called Spoonbar, named for a spectacular fountain sculpture by artist Ned Kahn with thousands of espresso spoons that create moving water mosaics.
Here, chef Rudy Mihal (formerly of Gramercy Tavern, Cafe Boulud, Fiamma and Zuppa) sends out southern Mediterranean-inspired fare complemented by celebrity bartender Scott Beattie’s (Cyrus) luxe-cocktail “farm-to-glass” cocktails.
 chef Rudy Mihal Lean? For this marvel of mixology, not hardly. The bar list spans nearly 30 pages, from California and Mediterranean wines, to spirits, to cocktails by the glass and pitcher that, while perhaps not green, are entirely, most deliciously mean.
Details: h2hotel, 219 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, 707-922-5251, h2hotel.com. Hotel Healdsburg, 25 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, 707-431-2800, hotelhealdsburg.com.
Tip: Planning a visit to Healdsburg? Contact Pure Luxury, a certified “Green” ground transportation company, for your private chauffeuring during your stay. We provide round-trip airport service, and our concierge can even help you plan all your activities (we’re experts on the best Healdsburg wineries and destinations). Make it a glamorous “Green Getaway!”
Tags: Cafe Boulud, Christopher Loomis, Circe Sher, Cyrus, David Baker, Fiamma, Foss Creek, Gramercy Tavern, h2hotel, Healdsburg Plaza, Hotel Healdsburg, Leonidas Kyriakopoulos, Ned Kahn, Pure Luxury, Rudy Mihal, Scott Beattie, Spoonbar, Zuppa
Posted in Food & Wine, New in California Wine Country, Wine Country Hotels | No Comments »
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Goulash from Transylvania. Schnitzel from Germany. A Budapest meatball sub, and Hungarian chicken paprikash. It’s hard to believe we’re eating this in quaint downtown Sonoma.
Yet here, amid the endless wine boutiques and phalanxes of Cal-cuisine cafes, John and Heidi Cowles have just opened a restaurant called LoKal. It’s a concept they’re calling “European Soul Food,” and it’s some pretty unique cuisine for the North Bay.
 John and Heidi Cowles Fearless? Perhaps. Flavorful? No question. The intrepid duo works with chef Rick Edge (formerly executive chef of Plumpjack Café) to serve up Old World recipes from John’s Hungarian mom.
It’s a new undertaking for the Cowles, who, for the last ten years, owned No B.S. Couriers in San Francisco. This is their first restaurant. Yet John said switching careers seemed a natural choice. He grew up with his mother, Eniko Matskassy Cowles, creating the recipes she took with her when she left her Hungarian hometown of Budapest in 1956.
Heidi has a German heritage, thus the combination of both Hungarian and German cuisines.
 Welcome to LoKal “LoKal translates in German to ‘pub’ or local spot to eat, be seen and have a drink,” John explains. “We tried to find a Hungarian word people could get their heads around, but due to the extremely unique Hungarian language, we decided LoKal would be more suited.”
Then, of course, there’s the more obvious “local,” with the Cowle’s relying on Northern California bounty. Neighborhood purveyors include
Vella Cheese, Basque Boulangerie, Three Twins Ice Cream, Caggiano sausages, Clover Stornetta Dairy, Sonoma Springs Brewing Company, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, and an array of area wineries.
Still, the heart of the restaurant beats for Hungary. Paprika, tarragon and other spices uniquely found only in Hungarian dishes are imported and applied with a generous hand.
 Delicious chicken paprikash The result is delicious. Laszlo’s Transylvanian Goulash ($14) arrives as a big bowl of stew-y love, brimming with slow-cooked beef, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and onions. Chicken paprikash ($14) is so tender it can be cut with a sharp glance, swimming in a toothsome, savory mélange of Anaheim peppers, tomatoes, carrots and sour cream gravy, dolloped with more sour cream and sopped up with huge, doughy dumplings.
Then there’s chicken schnitzel ($16), in a portion fit for a lumberjack. A slab of breast meat is pan-fried golden brown, then splayed over tender cooked red cabbage alongside a mound of homemade spaetzle. The chicken stays moist, while the cabbage and spaetzle add a pleasing bit of tang and texture.
More schnitzel stars in an inventive take on a Reuben ($12), the sandwich stuffed with juicy pan-fried pork loin, crunchy housemade pickles and fresh sauerkraut. The thick bread is toasted with plenty of butter, and the plate is piled with a bright salad of Little Gem lettuce and roasted beets in a tart herb vinaigrette.
 Hungarian Reuben In a refreshing twist, there’s no shtick here. No oom-pah-pah music, but contemporary tunes spun on real records from a stereo behind the bar. No schmaltzy travel posters, but a stylish décor of natural wood accents, flagstone floors, and a cozy patio out back set with weathered wood picnic tables.
It’s easy to linger, working your way through a satisfying stuffed cabbage ($12) that’s plump with wild rice, mushrooms and lentils ladled in lecsó, a thick ragout of peppers, tomato and paprika. Your server will bring you another beer, perhaps a German brew like Spaten Lager, as a frosty pint ($5). Or you can save her the trip by ordering your suds in a clever, 2-liter glass boot ($24).
 Fill that boot with beer To finish, it may be difficult to find belly space for dessert, but Ella’s almond cake ($6) is worth the effort. As with most of LoKal’s recipes, it’s a simple arrangement – eggs, almond paste, flour, sugar – yet the dense confection tastes like home, served warm and topped with rhubarb cooked down to a chutney, sweetened with a touch of honey and capped in billows of fresh whipped cream.
Is Sonoma ready for such unexpected soul food? From the increasing crowds converging on the small eatery, it appears so. On a recent Friday lunch, LoKal was overrun with so many customers that John had to race out and restock his kitchen before dinner.
He took it in stride, and smiled. “Being a new restaurateur is hard,” he said. “But it’s not as hard as being a Hungarian.”
Details: LoKal, 522 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-938-7373, lokalsonoma.com.
Tip: Feeling like a nap after a European comfort food feast? Sleep it off in style, with a ride home in a Pure Luxury limo.
Tags: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Basque Boulangerie, Caggiano sausage, Clover Stornetta Dairy, European Soul Food, Heidi Cowles, John Cowles, LoKal, Plumpjack Café, Pure Luxury, Rick Edge, Sonoma Springs Brewing Company, Spaten Lager, Three Twins Ice Cream, Vella Cheese
Posted in Food & Wine, New in California Wine Country, Sonoma restaurants | No Comments »
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