Napa Welcomes You... The Insider is all about promoting Napa and Sonoma. In the wake of the wildfires, it’s imperative to let people know, even though the fires were devastating, most of Napa and Sonoma counties weren’t affected by the fires thanks to the awesome First Responders's actions. So the Insider set out to do a day tour of each area to [...]
Best of both worlds... It never fails. Everyone is enthused about going to a Japanese place and sharing some plates, but inevitably someone squawks, “I can’t eat raw fish.” “You got it,” Napa’s Eiko’s GM Allison Hallum, laughs. “ It was the vision of my father and his biz partner Makurma to create a restaurant that combined Roy’s grilled food [...]
Authentic Japanese Dining and Decor ... The Insider loves Asian culture and food. Not so much the music. As Anthony Bourdain wrote, “Jeesuuss. Sounds like a cat being tortured. “ It was cool to sit down with Kenzo Napa restaurant’s GM Tomonori Iwao before their dinner rush. Tomonori was a modest and soft spoken gentleman from [...]
Angèle Earns Its Raves ... In my time of writing about the Napa/Sonoma food scene, chefs keep saying they like eating at Angèle if they’re going to dine out. So if chefs are digging it so much, the Insider, already a big fan of classic French cuisine, had to check it out. The Insider enjoyed [...]
Up, Up and Away... If you live in Napa Valley you’re inevitably going to see some hot air balloons passing over you in the sky. The experience looked so inviting the Insider couldn't resist contacting Napa Valley Aloft and since the Insider had done a bungy jump, white water rafted, scuba dived, etc…he was totally [...]
Chef Ensures A Great Time... Had a blast and a half at Del Dotto Family Wineries & Caves party for its wine club members. Wow! Man, do they know how to throw a party!!! It starts from the top, having Joshua Schwartz, as their Exec Chef, a Thomas Keller protégé who had 10 years’ experience at [...]
Bartender, not a hockey player... I’ve always loved talking to bartenders. If they’re not too busy, late afternoon, after the lunch crowd and before the after work rush hits, is a good time. They’re usually smart, funny and know where to go. So it was when the Insider strolled into the Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery. The man behind the taps, Green Lafleur, easily [...]
Leslie Was Delightful... To the T-Vine Winery we go where Leslie Sbrocco, host of PBS’ Check Please, is hosting a tasting of Calistoga Wineries finest. A Petaluma resident, don’t know if this should go under Napa or Sonoma, ha ha, doesn’t matter… But it was fun to get the ebullient TV host to do the [...]
Fine wine, BBQ and Country Rock... To the Priest Ranch Wines tasting room we go to on Yountville’s main drag on Washington St. They collaborated with Tips-Tri-Tip trolley. If you like barbeque you can’t go wrong with the Tri-Trip Sando sandwich of a ½ lb of tri-tip, coleslaw, with chipotle sauce on a toasted roll. And for entertainment, Miracle Mule kept [...]
Meat, Meat and More Meat ... It wasn’t a good time to be a vegetarian in Napa this past weekend. Blues, Brews and BBQ hosted live blues music from some of the Bay Area’s best blues musicians, including Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, over 30 hard to find micro-brewed beers in a large beer garden, [...]
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