This is a momentous blog entry...it's my 1,000th entry! When I first started this adventure, I thought it would last a few months and then I'd get bored of it. But now, almost 8 years later to the day I started this blog I'm logging my 1,000th write up. Thank you to everyone who has read and encouraged me to continue.
I hemmed and hawed over if I wanted to do something special for my 1,000th review but it was kind of nice when it happened when I was on vacation with close friends. After a lovely day at the Osmosis Day spa on Friday and being a bit jet lagged, my friends and I spent the next day hiking around Sonoma which was great. We ended our hike with lunch at one of Neera's favorite cafes right in the middle of the Square. I can see why it's a favorite - it's a California cafe at it's finest. Everything on the menu sounded healthy and delicious and in true California style seemed to have avocado or some kind of green slant to it. The breakfast menu looked heavenly with hearty sounding egg dishes, but we were getting take out so I figured a salad might be a better way to go. I got the kale and sausage salad ($15) since it sounded healthy and full of protein.
The one major downside of this place is that it's always packed. The line to order was so long and it took a while for the food to actually come out. There isn't a great place to stand and wait for your food but everyone waiting around was super nice and also looked like they just got out of a hike.
As for the food, the salad was fantastic. I know it seems weird to rave about a salad but I really enjoyed this one. It came with organic kale (of course), cannellini beans, sausage made out of duck and pork, and a perfectly hard boiled egg. But what made it especially tasty was the lemon vinaigrette. All mixed together it was a hearty but healthy tasting salad. It made me want to re-create at it a home but let's be honest, I probably won't. I also loved that it was high in protein as well - my nutritionist would have been proud. I can see why this place always has a long line and I would definitely wait in line again for it. I would love to come back here with a book (or really an iPad), order a ton of food and people watch. If you're taking a hike by the Square, this is a definite must stop.
Photo Credit: Yelp
Mustards Grill 7399 St Helena Hwy, Napa, CA 94558 4 Forks
After spending some time in Sonoma, we thought we'd fancy it up and spend some time in Napa as well. Even though they are both wine country and not that far from each other, Napa is definitely more bougie. In fact, we got turned away from a few wineries (including my favorite Cake bread) because we didn't make a reservation in advance. Boo!
Mustards Grill is right near many of the wineries but it's a fairly laid back place. They have a cute little farm/garden next to the restaurant where they source lot of their vegetables and it's a nice place to visit if you have time to kill while you're waiting for your table. The menu is pretty typical Americana - pork chop, steak, chicken, pasta and burgers. We started with the onion rings for the table ($9.75) because they were famous for it and the corn tamales ($13) to start and I got the grilled ahi tuna burger ($17.95) for my main. They had this awesome sounding dish called Truckstop Deluxe which they described on the menu as "always meat, often potatoes, rarely vegetables." I would have loved to get it but I was trying to be good. Unfortunately it's been over a month since I ate here, so my memory is a bit fuzzy on what else everyone ordered.
I was all excited for the onion rings because I don't have them often but when I do, they're generally so addictive. Sadly, this one was not the kind I was expecting. It was shoe string style which I hate. I feel like shoe string is such a cop out because you are rarely able to a true taste of what it is because it's so skinny. I wanted thick, crunchy onion rings where you can see the onion. This felt like I was eating fried nothing. It could have been of something totally other than an onion and I would have never known the difference.
Luckily my tuna burger was better. It came with basil aioli and pickled ginger - it could have been a little bit more rare but overall, it was a solid tuna burger. But what really made this meal great was the dessert. Since we were here to celebrate Neera's birthday, we had to go big with the dessert. We ended up getting 3 ($11 each) - butterscotch pot de creme, lemon-lime tart, and some kind of chocolate tart as well. The butterscotch pot de creme was out-fucking-standing. I didn't want to be a piggy but I really could have eaten the entire dish myself. It was silky smooth and creamy like a pot de creme should be. My 2nd favorite was the lemon tart, which was basically a large lemon meringue pie. It was sour and delicious as well.
While many places in Napa can be crazy expensive and intimidating, dinner here felt intimate but casual. It was a nice way to end our trip and spend some quality time with friends. Obviously it goes without saying that they have a fantastic wine list - so there is no reason why you can't have a great meal here with at least wine and dessert! It had been a while since I had visited this part of CA and I was so happy that we didn't cancel our trip. While I often poo-poo domestic travel, this trip reminded me that there is so much to appreciate in the US. Total bill: $441 for 5 people with tax, tip and drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
