Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
 | | 02/27/2003 7:48 PM |
| For some reason, there is a lot of restaurant activity recently. Some things to know:
1. The Red Hen Cantina, a popular Mexican style restaurant in north Napa is moving a little south on Rt 29 to the site where Pairs has been. Pairs will now stick just to catering.
2. Miramonte in St. Helena will close this weekend for several weeks and re-open as Cindy’s Backstreet Café. They will abandon their Latin American theme to serve more familiar foods like those that Cindy Pawlcyn did so well at Mustards. I liked the Latin stuff, but it didn’t really go so well with big reds (not that I stopped trying )
3. Napa Valley Grill has also backed off some of their innovative dishes for the more familiar.
4. Likewise, Brix is no longer focusing on Asian fusion.
5. Market (a Nick Peyton venture) will finally be opening in St Helena this week. Their plan is – no reservations. Personally, I think that’s a terrible idea, but we will see. I’ll report when we finally get in.
6. The Patina Group (which runs Pinot Blanc in St. Helena) is taking over Julia’s Kitchen at Copia. They’ve been having a little trouble making that a big name place.
7. Rutherford Grill is not charging for corkage – this may be old news, but I just discovered it.
\bob
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 02/27/2003 8:13 PM |
| Market not taking reservations is an incredibly stupid idea. Fighting through a line of tourists is not my idea of a good start to a fine dining experience.
I love how Opentable has picked up The French Laundry. I got reservations online in about 10 minutes. Could not be easier. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 02/27/2003 8:18 PM |
| Quote:
Btw, Market will also have Bobby Stuckey as the wine dude. His last gig was at the French Laundry.
Bobby set up their list, but he is really off doing a chain of wine tasting bars ( the Starbucks of wine???) | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 02/27/2003 8:19 PM |
| | Jones does Opentable allow reservations for Lunch at The French Laundry or only dinner? | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 02/27/2003 8:24 PM |
| | lunch Friday Saturday and Sunday | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15756
| | 02/27/2003 9:24 PM |
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I loved Miramonte for lunch. There duck enchilada was fantastic. I hope Cindy will still offer something like that on her new menu. Will be excited to try.
And I hope the Pinot Blanc people do a good job for Copia. The people there now do deserve better press. The food was very good. Are they planning on rearranging the layout. The best table in the house there is not a table. Sit at the counter just to the left of where you walk in. It is all but in the kitchen. A super experience that I hope they do not change. | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 03/04/2003 5:25 AM |
| We finally got to Market tonight. 4 of us arrived at about 6:45 and were able to get a table right away. By 7:30 there was a line. And, this was a rainy Monday night, off season. However, we had a very nice meal. We ordered a Forefathers 2002 SB off their list for $28. Starters were $5 to $10. My soup was excellent. Salads were judged good. Mains were from $10 to $15. Mostly ‘comfort’ food. Things like Chicken Pot Pie, Meatloaf, Fish & Chips, Pork Chops, Mac & Cheese, Hamburger. The 4 we had were all good, none to die for. I brought a ’99 Dutschke Oscar Semmler shiraz, which as always, was terrific. Corkage was $15, which surprised me given the other price points. At these price points, I think they will continue to pack them in. We will go back, but at off peak hours.
\bob | | | |
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Jeremy Matthew
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2067
| | 03/05/2003 10:41 PM |
| | Do many restaurants in the US refuse to take bookings? | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 03/05/2003 11:47 PM |
| Jeremy,
That's a hard question, if only because there are so many different kinds of restaurants. There are lots of places where you come in, order and take a seat. Your food is brought to you. There are also normal, order off the menu, places that are so big and have so large a turn over, that no reservations works OK. This particular place is small enough that I'm not sure this policy will last.
Personally, I am more annoyed with restaurants that take bookings, but over book so that you might have to wait an hour or more past your reservation time. Many of those places happily usher you into the bar to buy those high margin items while you wait.
\bob | | | |
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Jeremy Matthew
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2067
| | 03/06/2003 1:44 AM |
| By large off the menu places I'm thinking you don't mean Mc Donalds or the like!  - Only joking.
Over booking thats just plain rude in my book. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13711
| | 03/06/2003 1:45 AM |
| | I agree Bressler, but it seems to be the nature of the beast. The only time reservations seem to work well is to pay a good bit of moola to go to a really nice place. And even then ther eis no guarantee. | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 03/06/2003 1:49 AM |
| perhaps I'm just a hopeless optimist | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 03/28/2003 7:45 AM |
| Tonight we finally got to the re-born Miramonte, now called Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. Remember what I was worried about? We loved the food at Miramonte, but the service was dreadful. So, what did they do? They changed the food.
Well, I am pleased to report that the food was very good. But, the service was still a problem. I came in at 8pm and stood at the reception desk until 8:10 until someone talked to me. We were seated for 15 minutes before our waiter appeared. OK, let’s be generous. It is a new (again) restaurant, maybe they will work out the kinks.
They have an interesting corkage policy. The call it a ‘glass charge’. It is $2 per person for each bottle you bring in. Not unreasonable, just a bit different.
The food is quite good. It is more of an American type menu, but they have kept many of the spices they used in the Latin flavored stuff. One of my criteria is – are there many things I could order? Or just one. Here it is many things. The menu is divided into “Small Plates” ($5-10), “Salads” ($6-14), “Sandwiches” including the famous Duck Burger ($9-10), and “Large Plates” ($13-20). The portions were very generous and the food was prepared and presented well.
If you have liked any of Cindy’s restaurants, you will like this one too.
\bob
yea, yea, they also have hamburgers | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15756
| | 03/28/2003 6:25 PM |
| | Duck burger? Sounds great! How about the old duck enchilada? That was absolutely delicious. Is it still on the menu? | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 03/28/2003 8:12 PM |
| sorry, David, you can't even get part - let alone the whole enchilada. The duck main course is: Wood Oven Duck with crispy potato croquettes and citrus sauce.
\bob | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 10/27/2003 1:32 AM |
| In the never ending Napa Valley restaurant scene:
1. Pinot Blanc let go their (relatively) new chef. They felt that she just wasn't making a big enough splash.
2. The last time we ran into Lissa Doumani, she told Stacey that Terra was changing their menu and we should come in and try it. Stacey responded that it wasn't the food, but the attitude of the person that answers the phone. We will try anyway, maybe get a big enough group to try a lot of things.
3. As reported elsewhere, Pere Jeanty did indeed have a fire in the new restaurant, and they haven't said when they will finally open.
4. Kevin Kathman will be leaving All Seasons in Calistoga in a few months. He is really good, so he will be missed.
5. Market in St Helena is now taking reservations and will have one night a week with no corkage. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15756
| | 10/27/2003 6:11 AM |
| Mr. Jeanty is having his troubles.
Interesting stuff. Pinot Blanc; every time I went there I ordered the Veal Cheeks. How long has the gal that got canned been there?
And that is good new to me abobut Terra. I've thought that since they took over this place the food has been a little to fru-fru. What do you suppose the new menu will be like? | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4862
| | 10/27/2003 6:14 AM |
| David,
The chef at Pinot Blanc had only been there about 6 months. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I wish we had a great steak place in the valley. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15756
| | 10/27/2003 6:18 AM |
| | Well obviously a good steak place can't make it there. What more could one have asked for than a $200 steak and a free bottle of Opus. What? No it has good hamburgers, doesn't it? | | | |
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