Wine and Dine: Napa, California

Now, I want to get this out in the open: We like the food. We enjoy the wine. And we like to enjoy the food and wine together. Considering it rained almost the entire time and considering we were staying in Downtown Napa, we took advantage of our close proximity to all the wonderful eating spots. So this post will be essentially a photo journal of us stuffing our faces. Alrighty?! Here goes...



We passed this place, Zuzu, on our way to our first stop at Downtown Joe's for a little beer tasting. Beer is not really my thing, however  it is definitely my husband's thing, so I thought I'd oblige him. After the beer I was in need of some food and we agreed to hit up this quaint little place for lunch, Zuzu: Tapas and Paella



Before diving into our four tapa selections we split a lovely bowl of mixed greens tossed with walnuts, Pt. Reyes Blue, and red wine vinaigrette.

Crispy Chicken Croquettes with Thyme, Caramelized Onions and Spring Garlic Aioli. Each bite was a wonderful  combination of textures. The crunch was perfect and the chicken, tender.

Bacalao: Salt Cod drizzled with White Truffle Oil, served with Garlic Crostini. Josh and I both agreed there was just too much of this. the flavor was okay, and it could have served a table of four if served with  a bit more Crostini.

Sonoma Coast Lamp Chops with Moroccan Barbeque Glaze, Mint and Curry Oil.  Very nice. Full of flavor.

Sardinian Couscous, Spring Peas, Favas, Majorero Goat Cheese and Meyer Lemons. This was such a nice surprise, the couscous was much larger than expected giving each bite a nice chewy texture and the peas and goat cheese were just divine in this dish.

 After Josh finished his Pliny The Elder Double IPA he decided that he must join me with a glass of  Salentine "Mendoza" Malbec from Argentina. This wine was excellent with each of our tapa selections.



Here is the place we rested our heads, the Napa River Inn. What a lovely little Inn set at the end of Main Street in Downtown Napa. They have complimentary bicycles that you can take to peruse the little town. Unfortunately the rain took that little opportunity away from us. Maybe next time?



Our little anniversary gift from the Inn. Delightful.

Our cozy little room.

I love a place where I can melt right into the bed. I took an hour long nap in the afternoon, which for me is amazing, as I tend not to be the best sleeper in foreign lands.

Our balcony.



Here is our view from the balcony. What you don't see here is the little auto dealership that's directly to the left.  Not quite the "view" that I was anticipating. Thankfully, the views to the right and to the left of the Inn were much more desirable.



The most delectable goodies were on display here at Sweetie Pies. This place was just a few feet away from where we stayed, thus labeled VERY DANGEROUS. This place was also the bakery that provided us with breakfast delivered to our door the very next morning.

After our nice long nap that followed our delicious lunch, we needed a pick-me-up which included:

The Nutter Butter  (Josh ordered this for himself. And as it turned out, for me as well.) and ....



The BEST cappuccino I've ever had. The right amount of froth makes for a very happy woman. I ordered two during our stay.



The man I married eleven years ago. Greatest decision of my life.

After our sweet treat we look a gander at the grounds. This beautiful fountain was the backdrop to the patio area adjacent to the Napa General Store. The store had wine tasting available and we would have have lounged on  the patio with a glass of wine if not for the drippy weather. Sad face.

The drippy weather I spoke of and the two complimentary 2 oz. wine tasting coupons given to us by the Inn took us to the Bounty Hunter. 

This was a nicely fashioned smokehouse, very stylish and elegant inside, serving what could be considered Josh's favorite genre of food. We settled in for a few flights of wine, leaving our appetites alone to make sure we would make it to our dinner destination hungry. 

Carpe Diem Wine Bar offers the best tasting cheese that has ever graced my lips. I inquired about the cheese and our server told us that it's imported from Spain. I might just have to track down where to buy it because oh my goodness me. TO DIE FOR.

That's it, right there! The Buenalba. We also tried the Five Year Aged Gouda, delicious as well.

After Carpe Diem we strolled back to the Inn to freshen up for dinner (I know, the eating NEVER stopped, we're hardcore folks!) We passed this old and creepy abandoned building along the way.



The clouds were rather ominous. It was quite entertaining watching the sky as the banks of clouds loomed overhead.



 Don't worry, I made sure to do this in a window of an unoccupied storefront. Already being the nerds that we are for taking the picture of us in a storefront window, I didn't need customers on the inside looking at us and rolling their eyes. 

Ready for dinner!



Dinner at Angele. This asparagus soup was creamy, not too thick with a slight drizzle of olive oil. Simply wonderful.

I feasted on the bacon-wrapped hen, while Josh savored the rib-eye. The accompanying items left something to be desired for each of us, I'm not sure if it was our lack of appetite or  that they busied the dishes too much. Yeah, the hen and rib-eye were great, but the fried squares of  I-cant-even-remember-what were just, "eh".

***


The next morning I awoke at 6:30 to the guest on the floor above us making quite a racket. In order not to disturb Josh while he was sleeping I slipped out to take a few pictures of the grounds. 

This was quite the relaxing little getaway all in all. The rain hindered our exploration of the wine soaked hills of Napa, but that shall come another day. 



 



The river front.