Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

"Genuine. Sometimes I'm a genuine sweetheart. Sometimes I'm a genuine..." (author - me)

Jim Dine - Twin 6' Hearts

http://www.bgarch.com/portfolio.html

The fabulous architect of Poetry Inn. The single BEST architect whose work I have EVER encountered who thinks of ALL of the interior elevation details that compose luxury, thoughtfulness, comfort, view and privacy.

Who make efficient use of square footage, so that you don't notice how large the space you are in really is - it still feels intimate and romantic, while encompassing everything you might want to use within its dimensions.

Backen Gillam Architects create functional beauty.

Send prayers and *LIGHT* for me that one day I will be able to hire Howard J. Backen to design a home for me.

Here's my dream :

A one story farmhouse with an unobstructed view, 2 master bedroom suites

(Robert Louis Stevenson layout from Poetry Inn),

combined kitchen/family 'great' room (no formal living or dining room)

1 his-and-her office/library, powder room, outdoor living spaces,

 a 3 car garage with adjoining mud/double laundry room, and a detached guest cottage.

"Genuine. Sometimes I'm a genuine sweetheart. Sometimes I'm a genuine..." (author - me)

Bistro Jeanty, Yountville

It's a small, unpretentious, bustling space with colored concrete floors and rough mustard-colored walls, white paper tablecloths and ordinary flatware.

Dallas is my server, and like everyone else has been in the greater Napa area, he is swift, efficient and friendly.

Fresh pink lemonade is unexceptional.
Sourdough bread, while warm, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, is also unexceptional.




Things will get MUCH better soon - and stay that way.

I'm still in carnivore mode, and Filet au Poivre (7 oz. tournedos with a black pepper crust), green beans, button mushrooms and a creamy mushroom sauce sounds very good.

And it is. EXTREMELY good. Great presentation. Very tender, perfectly cooked, excellent classic peppercorn crust. The green beans and button mushrooms are garden fresh and also cooked perfectly. The sauce is delicious.

A side dish of cooked carrots in butter sauce are likewise fresh and excellent, perfectly cooked, with pretty presentation.

Crepe Suzette, with orange butter and Mandarine Napoleon, continues the excellence shown by the kitchen.

The crepe is hot, light, delicate and perfectly flavored.

Not a morsel is left, and I finish lunch happily, sated without being overful, delighted to find such wonderful food in a laid-back space.





Bistro Jeanty
6510 Washington Street
Yountville, California 94599
(707) 944-0103



"Genuine. Sometimes I'm a genuine sweetheart. Sometimes I'm a genuine..." (author - me)

Ubuntu, Napa

A soft modern design with high ceilings, yet warm with wood floors and tables.

Stone walls on the south and north side, with a wall of windows on the west side.

The open kitchen is on the east side.

It's a happy space, bright with color and casually comfortable.

Give you another feel for the restaurant ?
Quirky yet interesting, yes ?









My server's name is Ziva, and she explains how the menu changes daily, and the emphasis is on what is grown fresh. Service, is friendly, quick and efficient.
She brings me sourdough bread, cold but soft, and room temperature butter that spreads easily.

Iris sunchoke and ritual coffee veloute with sweet onion, 'hakurei' turnip thinnings and brioche.

Steaming hot temperature, and delicious, with a nice combination of crunch and softeness ; but so rich that 3 spoonfulls are enough. 
Good presentation.

Medjool date, compressed celery and comice pear salad, with toasted almond with wild celery, saba, miner's lettuce and parmesan.

Beautiful presentation, and an interesting combination of ingredients, very light,

Crunchy OCA marinated in local citrus and olive oil with fuyu persimmon, crushed avocado and greenhouse cilantro.

Beautiful presentation, very colorful and appealing.
Good combination of crunch and softness, and an interesting variety of flavors.

Vanilla bean cheesecake in a jar with sour cherry, verbena, teccino nut crumble.

Nothing I'd order again. The cream is smooth but tasteless, the cherries are too sour for my normally sour-loving palate, the crunch is offensively hard with this, the whole thing feels forced.

Lace cookies are outstandingly light and delicate, melting in your mouth for a quick second of sweetness.




Everything at Ubuntu is clever and fresh, but not necessarily great in taste.
Ubuntu is famous for their vegetarian offerings, yet I think other restaurants without that emphasis do even better with their soups and salads and desserts.

Ubuntu
1140 Main Street
Napa, California
(707) 255-6646
Chef Jeremy Fox



"Genuine. Sometimes I'm a genuine sweetheart. Sometimes I'm a genuine..." (author - me)

Etoile at Domaine Chandon, Yountville

The first word that comes to mind is lovely.

The restaurant is in an exquisitely green natural setting, and after you meander up the road and park, you come to a bridge...

A curving building of copper and wood and glass and stone harmonizes with the park setting of rolling lawns and trees.

Can't ask for a prettier view can you ?

My cousin's husband has joined me for lunch, and it is a treat to spend this relaxing meal with him.

Ryan is our server, and we are quick to make up our minds.







Cold, chewy-tough sourdough is not the greatest start - although the butter sprinkled with salt is an attractive touch. However, things are going to get a lot better quickly, and stay that way.

Despite my favoritism towards vegetables, at heart I crave raw meat every once in a while.

This happenned to be the perfect once in a while :)

Beef tartare with young ginger, allspice and gribiche is excellent, flavorful. Presentation is striking. This is worth ordering again. Ohhhhh, yes.

Cousin's husband raves about the moist, delicious smoked sterling salmon with fuyu persimmon, escarole and roasted mushrooms.
He thinks it is wonderful.

Presentation is excellent.

Roasted baby beet salad with candied walnuts, sausalito watercress and chevre is gorgeous to look at, garden fresh and nice to taste.

Carmelized Pear Mille-Feuille with brandied butterscotch and almond toffee is flawlessly delicious, cold, creamy, flaky, fresh pear goodness without being overly sweet.

And beautiful to look at.






This is a restaurant worth returning to. A relaxing beautiful quiet setting, an easily readable menu, excellent food in presentation, color, texture and taste. And the service was equally good - swift, efficient and friendly.

Definitely worth going to for the food alone, but my favorite time to go would be lunch because of the view.

Etoile at Domaine Chandon
1 California Drive
Yountville, California 94599
(800) 736-2892
http://www.chandon.com/




"Genuine. Sometimes I'm a genuine sweetheart. Sometimes I'm a genuine..." (author - me)