All of the restaurants in the Napa Valley area of Northern California make it a great vacation destination for food lovers, but if you’re like me, you probably still want to do some cooking when you get home from that vacation instead of just going out to eat! One of the great things about Napa and the surrounding areas is that there are lots of amazing kitchen stores that stock cool gadgets, specialty ingredients and anything else that you might want to add to your home collection. I visited quite a few on my last trip, so here is a rundown of some of the spots you might want to stop at if you’re visiting the area.
In Napa itself, you’ll find Shackford’s Kitchen Store. The shop looks unassuming from the outside and you’ll probably notice the big collection of cookie jars in the window before you go in, but you’ll be amazed at how much stuff is packed into this store. They have all kinds of equipment for professional bakers and cooks, as well as plenty of stuff for the home cook. I saw several people ordering restaurant equipment on my visit, people picking up several chefs coats, as well as a few people just checking out the cookbook selection or the latest Wilton pans.
+Continue Reading
The Napa Valley is a hot spot for foodies due to the high concentration of top notch restaurants ad wineries in the area. But in with all the big names are lots of smaller places that are easily worth a stop. I have to include the Bouchon Bakery in this list because, although the bakery is one of Thomas Keller’s eateries, it is often overlooked by visitors who focus more on The French Laundry and Ad Hoc when they come to Napa.
The bakery is in Yountville, just a few doors down from The French Laundry and next door to Bouchon. It started as a production facility, to produce the bread that is served in Thomas Keller’s other restaurants, but soon opened as a full french-style bakery in its own right. The bakery counter opens early in the morning, serving everything from freshly baked baguettes and croissants to cookies and tarts.
+Continue Reading
The French Laundry is one of the most iconic restaurants in the Napa Valley and one of the best restaurants in the world, with three Michelin stars to prove it. The restaurant belongs to Chef Thomas Keller, who has been serving a beautiful nine course tasting menu there since 1994, when he bought the building (formerly an actual French Lanudry, but operated previously as a restaurant) and opened his restaurant. The tasting menu changes daily and never features the same ingredient more than once, as it is structured to surprise you with new tastes as you are served each course.
I ate at the restaurant once before, back in 2004, and one of the things I regret about that memorable visit was that I didn’t take any pictures. I didn’t make that mistake this time, so I can share a peek at the wonderful meal I had there – and make sure I remember it myself! This post is photo heavy, so be patient if the page takes a moment to load.
+Continue Reading
Masaharu Morimoto is the highly skilled Japanese chef who has been featured on Iron Chef and Iron Chef America. He is highly skilled, but you might not know that he has several restaurants where you can actually taste some of the food that he has prepared in culinary battles on the show (as well as lots of other tasty dishes). The newest of his restaurants is Morimoto Napa, located in the new Riverfront complex in Napa California and I was able to meet up with some friends for a meal there on my recent trip up north.
The restaurant is a huge, beautiful space with lots of funky lighting and massive natural wood tables. It is relatively new to the area (and has only been open for a few months as I write this), but is clearly popular already. The food is Japanese fusion, and the restaurant has a sushi bar and a menu that features a variety of Asian and American-influenced dishes. We ordered quite a few things in the hopes of getting a good feel for the food.
+Continue Reading
Sweetie Pies is an adorable bakery on the Napa riverfront that specializes in American classics, like cheesecakes, cupcakes and cream-filled whoopie pies. The place is busy and if you sit inside for more than a few minutes, you’ll see quite a few people come through the doors and leave with goodies. One of their signature items is the Yodel. A Yodel is a cream-filled chocolate roulade snack cake made by Drake’s snack cake company (now owned by Hostess). You might not have seen it if you live on the west coast, but it is a lunchbox snack that will definitely be familiar to anyone from back east. I’ve had the classic snack cakes and couldn’t resist trying the specialty version.
The yodel at Sweetie Pies is huge – easily big enough to split between 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are or how much sugar you want in your system. It consists of a flourless chocolate cake that is rolled around a thick marshmallow cream filling and glazed with dark chocolate. The bakery also makes a red velvet version called a Rodel. The super sized snack cake is very moist and chocolaty, but also very sweet. I couldn’t finish one with two people even though it was quite tasty! Fortunately, the people at the bakery were kind enough to box up my leftovers so I could the rest of the cake to go with me.
+Continue Reading
