DJ Hombre
Napa Valley, California
Barrel Filler
Posts:1355
 | | 07/01/2007 11:57 AM |
| | I'd rather see him open a butcher shop that was talked about a few years ago. | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/01/2007 6:14 PM |
| | WRT Ad Hoc: When you think about it, there are no menu choies, so they know exactly how much food to buy. They use the less expensive cuts of meat. They server family style, reducing overall staff requirements. That place must be printing money. Close it down? Not a chance. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 07/01/2007 9:29 PM |
| Posted By Bob Bressler on 05/21/2007 12:40 PM From this week's NapaLife: "In welcome news to his many fans,
Jerry Shaffer is back to re-open the popular Foothill Café and
Rib
House, resurrecting his restaurant that had closed after being open
only a short while under
new owner Mari Jennings.Shaffer, who was a chef at Masa’s, had developed a loyal following
among Napa residents
(especially winemakers) and knowing tourists who
could find the obscure location in a nondescript
shopping center on Old
Sonoma Road.. He’s hoping to open June 15."
It is certainly at the top of my list to go to again!
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/02/2007 2:07 PM |
| | Note the word "hoping". I think the current date is July 10th (although I've heard that they are doing take out now) | | | |
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Elkiholic
New Hampshire
Grape Fermenter
Posts:457
| | 07/03/2007 10:04 AM |
| Bob,
Any news on Stomp's reopening? Wasn't suppose to be in St. Helena at some point? | |
Mike Coutu
Addicted to Wine | |
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rjs3
NJ
Barrel Filler
Posts:1124
| | 07/03/2007 12:11 PM |
| | We'll be in San Fran and Napa during the second week in October. Need restaurant suggestions! I think we want to go to Terra, and I made a reservation at Slanted Door - the other electronic reservations don't open up until 3 mo. before. We're also trying to get FL. | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/03/2007 3:22 PM |
| Posted By Elkiholic on 07/03/2007 10:04 AM
Any news on Stomp's reopening? Wasn't suppose to be in St. Helena at some point?
From your mouth to the contractor's ear, or however that expression goes.
The building owners are still doing earthquake retrofits and have not yet turned the building over to the restaurant to being their outfitting. Hard to believe that at the current rate it will be done before the end of the year. Maybe even the Spring. Sigh. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 07/03/2007 4:11 PM |
| Posted By Bob Bressler on 07/03/2007 3:22 PM Posted By Elkiholic on 07/03/2007 10:04 AM
Any news on Stomp's reopening? Wasn't suppose to be in St. Helena at some point? Hard to believe that at the current rate it will be done before the end of the year. Maybe even the Spring. Sigh.
I'll see you in the spring provided I can get through the mattress.
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/04/2007 12:20 AM |
| | Dinner tonight at Cole's Chop House in Napa. I really don't know why we get here so infrequently as every dish was excellent. Yes, it is a bit more expensive than some other places - two salads, two vegetable side dishes, two fillets, two coffees and one corkage was $140 before tip. Bit that is steak house pricing for you. Both of our steaks were cooked exactly as we requested. Good service, good glassware. (Of course we always look - our wine was 2.25 times retail. I used to think that was outrageous, but I have seen so much worse.) | | | |
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Elkiholic
New Hampshire
Grape Fermenter
Posts:457
| | 07/06/2007 2:51 PM |
| Posted By Bob Bressler on 07/03/2007 3:22 PM Posted By Elkiholic on 07/03/2007 10:04 AM
Any news on Stomp's reopening? Wasn't suppose to be in St. Helena at some point? From your mouth to the contractor's ear, or however that expression goes. The building owners are still doing earthquake retrofits and have not yet turned the building over to the restaurant to being their outfitting. Hard to believe that at the current rate it will be done before the end of the year. Maybe even the Spring. Sigh.
Bummer... I was trying to find the place for a trip my brother and soon to be wife will be on this August... Maybe in time for their 1st wedding anniversary next July.
Is Chris at another restaurant in the meantime? | |
Mike Coutu
Addicted to Wine | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/06/2007 3:19 PM |
| Posted By Elkiholic on 07/06/2007 2:51 PM
Is Chris at another restaurant in the meantime?
Not yet. It is sad. High quality cooking at reasonable prices. Oh, well.
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Elkiholic
New Hampshire
Grape Fermenter
Posts:457
| | 07/06/2007 10:00 PM |
| | Sad indeed... Both Karen and I really enjoyed Stomp when we went. Here's hoping for a speedy(er) fit up from here on out.... | |
Mike Coutu
Addicted to Wine | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/20/2007 1:03 AM |
| This week, we happened to have dinner in Napa 3 times. Every restaurant was 1/4 full at most. It is odd that upvalley restaurants seem to be packing them in while restaurants in Napa are struggling.
Tonight, we had dinner at n.v. The food was spectacular. Every course was prepared to perfection with unusual and delicious innovation (like Dijon Butter on the beef). I really hope they can hang in there. | | | |
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rjs3
NJ
Barrel Filler
Posts:1124
| | 07/23/2007 1:27 PM |
| | Where'd you go the other 2 times? | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/23/2007 1:37 PM |
| Posted By rjs3 on 07/23/2007 1:27 PM
Where'd you go the other 2 times? Kelley's No Bad Days Cafe - funky little place on Pearl St. Food is decent. Kelley is a hoot. (we were 2 of the 4 covers that night.)
angèle - somewhat inconsistent but often very good
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Randy Wigginton
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5365
| | 07/26/2007 2:13 PM |
| Bob -- Agree about Cole's. Everytime I've been there has been outstanding, but it is not "cutting edge", so I think it gets forgotten about. Angele is too inconsistent for me; as I no longer make it up there on a regular basis, I want to stick with places that are consistently excellent.
I'll plan on n.v. for my next trip. I've heard excellent praise all around for it. | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 07/26/2007 6:25 PM |
| | We had dinner the other night at Solage - the new Auberge resort on the Trail in Calistoga. Their restaurant had only been open for about a week, so I should not judge them too harshly (yet). We were 4 people and had 4 different starters and 4 different mains. One of each was very good. I had the beef tenderloin. I ordered it Medium, but the server told me that they take great pride in getting the temperature right, so how did I really like it? Good sign. I told her that I liked it pink through out. It was served cut into 1/2 in thick slices. All Well Done. I just looked at the server who whisked it away to be replaced. The replacement was only medium-well, but by this time the others had all finished their plates, so there was no way I was going to let this go. Maybe I'll try again in a month or so. Or, maybe not. | | | |
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Randy Wigginton
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5365
| | 08/05/2007 11:42 AM |
| | What is the current dining scene in Calistoga? Obviously Solage is a miss. Stomp is closed. Is there anything good there, or is all the action down in St Helena? | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 08/05/2007 4:02 PM |
| Posted By Randy Wigginton on 08/05/2007 11:42 AM
What is the current dining scene in Calistoga? Obviously Solage is a miss. Stomp is closed. Is there anything good there, or is all the action down in St Helena? There is still a lot of casual dining in Calistoga - just no fine dining.
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4771
| | 08/27/2007 6:44 PM |
| One of our favorite restaurants - n.v. in Napa - has closed. The cooking was superb, but I think it failed the "location, location, location" test. Downtown Napa is tough going these days. Lack of parking and lots of construction make it a challenge. Cole's Chop House across the street is still packing them in but they have been serving good steak house food for many years.
The one piece of good news is that Brix has recruited Chef Peter Halakis (who own and ran n.v.) and his staff to take over that restaurant. Brix, as you may recall, is right on Rt 29, next to Mustards. It is a very nice setting but the food has only been average and there have been service problems. With Peter at the helm, I am expecting great things. (Brix recently installed a nice wine display area built by Paul Wyatt who has done cellars for DavidN and for us.) | | | |
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