And Napa’s Finest Diner…

Words like legend and classic get a bit bandied about too much, but I always wanted to have a chat with Napa resident, 40-year legend chef Cindy Pawlcyn at her classic diner Mustards Grill right on the Hwy 29 across from Piazza Del Dotto Winery & Caves. But every time I finished a tasting there, I would run across the 29, I’d find Mustards packed with diners and fine food aromas floating thru the place, but never Cindy. 

So finally, I went thru the proper channels and got an email from Cindy wondering what I wanted to chat about? Told her to check out my site and we’d do the NSI quiz. Could tell she was very shy and modest, but she showed up for our early lunch appt and gamely did the quiz on her restaurant patio. And when we finished the quiz, I joked, that wasn’t too painful was it? And she laughed, no, not at all, in fact it was fun. Cheers and enjoy.. 

What was last night’s dinner?  I had a few friends over and we had halibut with ginger, tomato sauce and broccoli. 

What’s your favorite music? The Stones. Gimme Shelter is my favorite song and Goat’s Head Soup is my favorite album. 

What’s your favorite drink? Oh, there’s so many. I love good red and white wine, well-aged Champagne and tequila.  

Favorite restaurant in Napa? I like Cook St. Helena for their classic Italian fare and Angèle in Napa for their classic French. 

Favorite thing about living and working in Napa? What’s not to love? I came here in 1979 from Minnesota and fell in love with the place. Just so beautiful, this is paradise. 

What makes a great restaurant? The staff. If you don’t hire the right people, you’re dead. (Side note when the web gal and I had lunch following the quiz, we were impressed how much extra staff she had on hand to handle the overflow.) 

Any brush with celebrity? I consider Yefim Bronfman, a classical pianist, a friend and I cooked for Nureyev.  

Any wine, restaurant or place on your bucket list? Just did a tour through Edinburg, Scotland and would love to taste some of the sparkling wines that are coming out of the south of England now. 

Final thoughts? Eat well. Life is short. 

Cindy had an appt in Napa, but she encouraged us to stay for lunch. The web gal ordered the fresh fish of the day, the fish was very tasty but what really knocked her socks off was the accompanying vegetables, saying they were the best she had ever tasted. And pour moi, I loved my Mongolian Pork Chop, grilled to perfection with a little pink in the middle, with sweet and sour cabbage and house made mustard. Mustards has a huge wine list that says Way Too Many Wines at the top, too hard to pick one, so I had a couple of IPA’s with my meal. You got it Cindy, life is short, so we ate well. Cheers!