Photos by Huge Galdones
As much as I love living off the bounty of sweet vegetables from my garden in the summer, I could not wait to feast on the succulent and smoky wood-fired meats at Cochon Heritage Fire on Saturday.  The event took place on the wooded, riverside lawn behind the River Terrace Inn in Downtown Napa under near-perfect 75 degree weather.  Cochon Heritage Fire is a branch of Cochon 555, a nationwide series of consumer events and a professional culinary competition of “snout-to-tail” cookery using heritage breed pigs.
Chochon is such a delectable word, …

Our tiny valley has some of the best restaurants on the entire West Coast, but what jump starts our days of touring vineyards and wineries?  Here are some picks for great hot and hearty breakfasts in Downtown Napa.
BISCUITS
What’s better than freshly made buttermilk biscuits with house made, seasonal spreads?   When they’re smothered in sausage gravy and topped with eggs over easy!  The “Cowpoke” below is one of their popular breakfast items.

I had mine with a side of fried green tomatoes.  The tangy herb dip with chipotle sauce was great …

Opening day for the Napa Farmers Market always feels like summer.  It’s sunny, people stroll around leisurely in their shorts and sandals as if on vacation.  We’re lured out of hibernation by the colorful selection of the season’s first crops, the scent of flowers and by the taste of a juicy strawberry.  But the farmers market is much more that just a ‘market’, it’s a communal experience where everyone cares deeply about one thing:  local, sustainably-grown and flavorful food.  It’s a chance to engage with growers and producers and to …

 
Ubuntu Executive Chef Aaron London learned about his James Beard nomination for Rising Star Chef, not from a phone call, but on Twitter – nine simultaneous tweets from friends.  This young 27-year old CIA Hyde Park alumnus already has back-to-back Michelin stars for Ubuntu Restaurant under his belt, and several years working at renowned restaurants in France, Canada and the U.S. including Daniel and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, but he has only just begun.
Ubuntu is a restaurant that focuses on vegetables as a culinary specialty, using …

For those of you touring Napa Valley wine country, it’s sometimes nice to spend one day in one place, without a car, but still get the complete food and wine experience.  There are others of you visiting San Francisco who only have a day or two to spend in wine country.  Downtown Napa has more than 20 tasting rooms, wine bars and wine lounges to get a taste of Napa Valley wines, at your convenience.  While the local wine tasting rooms owned by Napa Valley wine producers pour their own …

Oenotri, Downtown Napa’s latest restaurant, combines the essence of Southern Italian simplicity with the purity of local ingredients.  On a recent Wednesday night, the restaurant was packed by 6:00 p.m. and buzzing with energy.  The casual venue is modern and spacious, with re-habilitated wood tables and an open kitchen.   In Oenotri, owners and chefs Curtis Di Fede and Tyler Rodde have created a restaurant that will appeal to locals and visitors alike.
The menu is very focused, featuring authentic Southern Italian flavors achieved the traditional way,  with wood-fired oven, house-made salumi, pastas, oils and vinegars and the freshest local …

Norman Rose Tavern is not your stuffy, dark English pub.  It’s a modern space with stainless steel touches but with all the warmth of recycled sun-washed wooden beams and doors and tufted leather banquettes.  Based in the heart of Downtown Napa in the new Napa Square at First Street and Franklin, the eco-friendly gastropub feels like it was meant for the location, with the dramatic windows and corner patio drawing the neighborhood and travellers inside.  The gastropub will seat about 100 guests including 18 seats on the patio and another 18 in the private dining room.  There will …

Chef Ken Frank’s three-course, French regional dinners for $29 per person at Bank Café and Bar is austerity chic at its best. Bank Café is the casual but hip restaurant adjacent to Chef Frank’s Michelin star restaurant La Toque in the Westin Verasa in Downtown Napa. The setting at Bank Café is modern but relaxing, perfect for intimate dining.
The concept for the themed, prix fixe dinners began earlier this year and has been refined to the current dinner series which features a different French regional cuisine every week. This week, …

There are few opportunities for the home chef to learn the culinary art of smoking, curing and salting meats, a craft practiced around the world for centuries to preserve, flavor and economically utilize all parts of an animal. Taylor Boetticher of Fatted Calf Charcuterie teaches enthusiasts what the various charcuterie are including salami, sausages and pate, and how to make them from butchering, preparing and cooking the dishes. Classes also include butchery and roasting of flavorful cuts of meat, such as porchetta.
Boetticher introduced these classes this past summer, offering courses from …