Napa Valley, California
|
Foods of the Napa Valley |
|
Napa Valley, California
|
Foods of the Napa Valley |
For information on specific Napa Valley restaurants, see our restaurant index.
It's fresh, it's artistic, and it's often a blend of cultures.
Most produce is locally grown, if not in the Napa Valley, then in Northern California. It's also frequently organic and often grown right at the restaurant.
Entrees can include anything from beef to fish to vegetarian. Most chefs tend toward the light side, without heavy sauces and large amounts of meat. However, there is currently a noticeable t.rend in many restaurants toward the heavier "comfort food."
Meals are customarily prepared to complement local wines, although with the variety of wines offered in the Napa Valley, it's likely you can find a bottle to go with any kind of food.
California cuisine is generally regarded to have started with Chez Panisse in Berkeley, although the Napa Valley was quick to join in. The legendary, and now departed, Diner in Yountville was the first in the valley to serve the lighter and fresher food now known as "California cuisine" or, more recently, "wine country cuisine." The still-famous Mustard's Grill was another early pioneer.
"Fusion" is a popular style where ingredients and seasonings from two or more countries are blended into a unique dish. "Pan-Pacific" is a popular subset of fusion in which chefs blend dishes and ingredients from various locations around the Pacific Rim, including Japan, China, the Philippines, Hawaii, Australia and South America.
Despite its strong ties with Spain and Mexico, the Napa Valley seems to have turned into "Tuscany West", although to be fair it was largely the Italians that established the modern wine industry in the valley. Tuscan-style wineries, homes and restaurants abound, and you'll have no problem finding Italian and Cal-Italia cooking in the style you like.
Prices are not cheap. While you can find "fair" prices, you'll have a hard time find inexpensive ones. IIn the majority of upscale valley restaurants, you'll be lucky if two of you can leave a restaurant—after having had an entrée, an appetizer or a dessert, and a glass of wine—for less than one hundred dollars, although it's possible if you stick to the low end of the menu selections. One hundred dollars and up is more common. But you'll more than likely have enjoyed an excellent meal with fine service and attractive surroundings.
We discuss restaurants in the various town sections of this book. We don't list them all, but we have tried to present the best known, most typical or unique. Not all aspire to be Yountville's French Laundry—considered by many to be the top restaurant in the United States—but almost all have highly trained chefs deeply committed to their art.
Don't hesitate to ask the locals for their restaurant recommendations. You'll find the staff of winery tasting rooms particularly helpful. They like to eat as much as they like to drink.
Food, food and more food. Buy The Food Lover's Companion to the Napa Valley: Where to Eat, Cook, and Shop in the Wine Country Plus 50 Irresistible Recipes
Currently there are no vegetarian-only restaurants in the Napa Valley, but there is such a focus on fresh fruit and vegetables at most valley restaurants, that it really doesn't matter. You should have no trouble ordering vegetarian dishes from the menu at almost any restaurant you visit. If you have any doubt, just ask your waiter.
Camp Napa Culinary
PO Box 114
Oakville CA 94562
707.944.9112 888.999.4844
Chef/cooking teacher Hugh Carpenter has written over a dozen popular cookbooks. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Cook's Illustrated and Bon Appetit. Carpenter and his photographer wife Teri Sandison conduct 6-day tours that include cooking classes and visits to wineries and private estates throughout the valley.
CasaLana
1316 South Oak Street
Calistoga 94515
707.942.0615 877.968.2665
A bed and breakfast inn that also offers hands-on cooking classes in a professionally equipped kitchen. Classes range from essential skills to advanced techniques. Personalized courses for groups are also available.
Cooking with Julie
P.O. Box 5412
Napa CA 94581
707.227.5036
Wine country cooking classes given at Churchill Manor in Napa
Copia - American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts (Napa)
Culinary Institute of America at Greystone (St. Helena)
Napa Valley Cooking School (St. Helena)
707.967.2930
www.napavalley.edu/apps/comm.asp?Q=29
Located at the upvalley branch of Napa Valley College. Excellent school offering a two-semester course. Graduates currently have 100% full employment rate.
Farmers markets are held throughout the valley from late spring through early fall.
Farmers' Market in St. Helena.
Calistoga
Farmers Market
1546 Lincoln Avenue (at the former Gliderport)
707.942.4343
Saturdays, June - September, 8:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Napa
Chef's Market
Downtown Napa
707.257.0322
Fridays, Late May - August. 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., music and food till 9 p.m.
Farmer's Market
Downtown Napa in the south parking lot of Copia at 500 First Street.
707.252.7142
Tuesdays and Saturdays, May - October, 7:30 a.m. to noon.
St. Helena
Farmer's Market
Crane Park
707.486.2662
Fridays, May - October. 7:30 a.m. - noon
DIRECTIONS: At St. Helena High School turn west off of Highway 29 onto Grayson, left on Crane.
Yountville
Farmer's Market
Parking lot of Compadre's Restaurant, 6539 Washington Street
707.944.0904
Wednesdays, June - September, 4 - 8 p.m.
Napa Valley Convivium
Slow Food began in Italy in 1986 as a reaction to (and protest against) the primarily American fast food industry, which has contributed not only to fast, mass-produced meals but a fast, mass-produced society in most developed countries. Slow Food's manifesto states that it is a "movement for the protection of the right to taste."
Slow Food supports and encourages quality foods and beverages, and supports local growers, chefs, winemakers and others who share their goals. Slow Food USA's mission is to "rediscover pleasure and quality in everyday life precisely by slowing down and learning to appreciate the convivial traditions of the table." It does this through local chapters called "convivia" that organize educational, cultural and, most important, gastronomic events.
There is an active Slow Food group in the Napa Valley. It has monthly events focusing on small food producers and the chefs who use their products.
Man does not live by fast food alone. In fact, not at all. Buy Slow Food: The Case for Taste by Carlo Petrini (founder of Slow Food Movement)
Rancho Gordo
1755 Industrial Way #26
Napa CA 94558
707.259.1935
Specialty produce organically grown (but not yet organically licensed) to support "rancho" cooking, a blend of Mexican, Native American and California cooking. Tomatoes, chile peppers, beans and corn, tomatillos, squash and cucumbers, amaranth, Persian cress, culantro, quelite, cilantro, chard and other Mexican herbs, greens and grains. Also available at farmers markets in the area.
People don't drink just wine here, particularly in the summer. In fact, everyone will admit that the beverage of choice for people working during the harvest is beer.
The Napa Valley currently has three microbreweries.
Downtown Joe's
Napa
Napa Valley Brewing Company (Calistoga Inn)
Calistoga
Silverado Brewing Company
St. Helena
Long Meadow Ranch
P.O. Box 477
Rutherford, CA 94573
877.627.2645
Grass-fed Highland beef. No growth hormones or artificial supplements. Order online. Buy at Napa's Oxbow Public Market.
Goat's Leap Cheese
3321 St. Helena Highway
St. Helena CA 94574
707.963.2337
Currently produces four varieties of goat cheese, available at fine cheese shops throughout the Napa Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. Not open to the public.
Skyhill Napa Valley Farms
2431 Partrick Road
Napa CA 94558
707.255.4800
Produces goat cheese and yogurt at its farm in the Carneros hills. Retail outlets include Trader Joe's and Costco. Not open to the public.
Anette's Chocolate Factory
Napa
Vintage Sweet Shoppe
Napa
Woodhouse Chocolates
St. Helena
Do you need an excuse to cook with chocolate? Of course not. Buy Great Chefs: Chocolate Passion (DVD)
The history of the gift from the gods. Buy Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light
Truly interesting. Buy The True History of Chocolate
Love is sex is chocolate. It's all the same, isn't it? Buy Chocolat (DVD)
Some of this information is courtesy of the University of California, Small Farm Center. The center publishes Napa Yolano Harvest Trails—a map and directory of farms, wineries, trails, bed-and-breakfast inns, and parks in Napa, Yolo and Solano counties.
University of California, Small Farm Center
530.752.8136
Family Farm League
Grass-roots advocacy group whose sole purpose is to encourage food production in the Napa Valley.
Forni Brown Gardens
900 Foothill Boulevard
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6123
Forni Brown provides vegetables to some of the country's finest restaurants. Not open to the public, except for their annual Spring Garden Sale every April, but you can phone in advance for special orders throughout the year.
Harms Vineyard and Lavender
Hoffman Farm
2125 Silverado Trail
Napa CA 94558
707.226.8938
Open daily August-November.
DIRECTIONS: On the west side of the Silverado Trail, 1/4 mile north of Trancas Street.
Twenty-three acres of prunes, pears, persimmons and walnuts. You can pick yourself if you wish.
Marshall's Farm Honey
American Canyon
Omi's Farm
4185 Silverado Trail
Napa CA 94558
707.224.0954
Located on the Silverado Trail 3.5 miles north of Trancas Street. Open year-round, by appointment only. Sustainable family farm offering seasonal produce, eggs, walnuts and berries. Also sells sheep and Australian cattle dogs.
Rutherford Gardens
1796 South St. Helena Highway
St. Helena 94574
877.627.2645
Open Thursday through Sunday when produce is available.
Directions: Located on the east side of Highway 29 across the street from Grgich-Hills Cellar, just north of Rutherford.
The property has been producing vegetables at least since the 1930s. This 5.8-acre property was recently acquired by Long Meadow Ranch, renowned for its organic produce and other foods, including olive oil, wines and Scottish Highland cattle. The roadside stand currently offers a wide variety of heirloom tomatoes, sunflowers, basil, melons, figs and sweet corn. In the fall, visitors can pick a potential jack-o'-lantern from over 2.5 acres of pumpkins.
Stewart's Farm
Silverado Trail at Deer Park Road
St. Helena CA 94574
707.967.8360
Open daily May-November.
A roadside stand that sells produce grown on the site and at nearby farms. Depending on the season, you'll find zucchini, squash, cherries, apricots, green beans, pumpkins, tomatoes and corn.
Wild Boar Farms
707.225.5757
Heirloom tomatoes. Located just over the county line in Suisun Valley.
Napa Valley Naturals
Napa Valley Products
707.224.3444
Napa Valley Traditions
Napa
Tulocay's Made in Napa Valley
Wine Country Kitchens
Salute Santé Grapeseed Oil
Food & Vine Inc.
68 Coombs Street Suite I-2
Napa CA 94559
707.251.3900
Marshall's Farm Honey
American Canyon
Salami Lady's Cash and Carry
1964 Iroquois Street
Napa CA 94559
707.257.2274
Although their honey comes from just over the county line in Solano County, the bees don't care about government boundaries and work both sides of the line, so you're getting honey whose anti-allergenic properties work in the Napa Valley as well.
It's not from the Napa Valley, but who cares? It's very San Francisco—and delicious. The It's-It is an ice cream sandwich consisting of vanilla ice cream between two oatmeal cookies covered with chocolate and then frozen. (They come in additional flavors now as well—chocolate, strawberry or mint.)
The It's-It was invented in 1928 by George Whitney, owner of the now sadly-departed—it closed in 1972—Playland at the Beach amusement park in San Francisco. Fortunately the It's-It survived. You can find them at various grocery stores around the Napa Valley.
Napa Valley Wine Jelly
800.492.4760
Napa Valley Lamb Company/Wooly Weeders
4320 B. Old Toll Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6957 Fax 707.942.8852
The company provides succulent lamb to local restaurants. In addition to becoming the entrée at your restaurant table, the flock also doubles as agricultural consultants. They're hired by local vineyards to remove weeds, keep crop cover down, and fertilize.
NapaNuts
707.226.6083
A large number of new olive oils have appeared on the California market in the last few years. Olives are becoming an important, although still small, crop in the Napa Valley. For a complete list of U.S. olive oil producers, see www.oliveoilsource.com.
Extra virgin olive oil means the oil has less than one percent free fatty acids, a standard set by the International Olive Oil Council. No chemicals or heat can be used in the extraction process.
An olive tree can produce 2/3 to 4 1/2 gallons of oil per tree. The entire fruit is crushed, including the pit. Oil should be stored in a dark, cool area and used within one to two years of pressing.
According to the Council, a certified olive oil will have the following positive attributes, and will have no negative attributes.
POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES
Fruity - perceived directly or through the back of the nose
Bitter - perceived on the back of the tongue.
Pungent - perceived in the throat
NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES
Fusty - results from olives stored in piles, which have undergone anaerobic fermentation.
Musty - moldy flavor resulting from fungi and yeast
Winey-Vinegary - resulting from aerobic fermentation
Rancid - oil has oxidized
Other negative attributes include heated/burnt, hay/wood, greasy, briny, metallic and cucumber.
You'll find olive oils at stores and wineries throughout the Napa Valley, including these olive oil producers:
Araujo Estate
Atlas Peak Olive Oil
Big Paw Grub
Organic olive oils and vinegars infused with wild herbs and mushrooms hand-foraged from the wilds of the Napa Valley. Really.
Cakebread Cellars
Dutch Henry Winery
Long Meadow Ranch (St. Helena)
Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufactory (St. Helena)
Regusci Winery (Silverado Trail)
Round Pond (Rutherford)
Silver Oak Cellars (Oakville)
St. Helena Olive Oil Company (Rutherford)
Vine Village
Perfect Purée of Napa Valley
Hayward Enterprises
2700 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Suite L
Napa CA 94558
707.261.5100 800.556.3707 Fax 707.261.5111
Natural fruit purées to be used as a base for soups, sauces, soufflés, sorbets, marinades, glazes and mixed drinks. Nearly 40 flavors, including Berry Strawberry, More Mango, Passion Fruit Concentrate, Red Raspberry and Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit, Positively Pomegranate, and Roast Sweet Yellow Pepper. Most are certified kosher.
Drink the Leaf
Napa
707.255.1057
Loose leaf teas from around the world.
Napa Valley Toffee Company
Family owned business creating hand crafted toffee.
You'll also find vinegar at some of the Olive Oil producers.
Sparrow Lane
1455 Summit Lake Drive
Angwin CA 94508
707.815.1813
Premium varietal vinegars include Cabernet Sauvignon, Champagne, Balsamic, Zinfandel, Golden Balsamic.
