[Napa/Sonoma winery suggestions]

Thanks again for the continued suggestions--the more data points, the better!

Steve KLC--you make a good point of needing to think about lodging, wineries, and dining all together. I must admit, I've been a bit scared about looking for affordable places to stay, in that the quick glance I took made it seem that $200 is a baseline room rate during peak season. I think I will follow your suggestions and stay in Calistoga--a bit off the heart of Napa and easy access to Sonoma. Any lodging suggestions there?

As far as dining goes, I think we are going to definitely do the French Laundry one night (and will definitely heed the warning by the CA boards and call early) but haven't decided about the other nights. We will eventually make it down to the Bay Area and are also planning on dinner at Chez Panisse. We have one bottle left of 1990 Salon and bringing it to Chez Panisse would be so special. I can not wait for this trip! For lunch, I think picnics and packing our own is the way to go.

Steve P--Pride sounds great; I read a bit more about it and walking through the vineyards and tasting the grapes sounds very educational and fun; this is exactly what we're looking for.

[Joe's Shanghai]

I'm a huge fan of Joe Shanghai's in Chinatown, both of their soup dumplings (xiao long bao) and dishes.

cabrales, to answer your initial question, i think there is a big difference in quality between the Midtown and Chinatown locations. The Midtown soup dumplings tend to have a bit of a thicker wrapper and the filling seems a bit dried out to me. The wrappers in Chinatown are a bit finer but the soup dumpling itself seems ready to burst with the combined flavors of crabmeat, pork, and oil. I love them!

As far as the dishes go, my favorites there include the razor calms with black bean sauce and jalapenos (as mentioned before), the sauteed pea shoots, and the fresh savory tofu with crabmeat sauce.

The sauteed pea shoots are especially good here because they use the small, almost clover-like ones that are very difficult to find in Chinatown and flash-cook them with some oil and garlic in an extremely hot wok. The tofu with crabmeat is amazing because the pieces of tofu are so delicate that it's hard not to break on the way to the plate. But at the same time, they take on a good amount of flavor from the crabmeat sauce. A little pricey in comparison to the rest of the menu (I believe it's about $13-14), but it's so good I get this dish every time I go.

One last point, in regards to prices, I am pretty sure the Midtown location is $1-2 more expensive per dish than the Chinatown branch. Not surprising given the higher rents, but IMHO, quality downtown is far better.

[Napa/Sonoma winery suggestions]

Thanks, everyone--Such a bank of information!

Bux--I'm in the process of planning now, and am trying to get one or two of my local wine retailers (I live in NYC) that I have good relationships with to try and plan a private tour/appointment with some of the wineries. I'm not sure how well I'll fare, but from what I hear, it's worth a shot. I did not do this last time, as I was just a casual tourist.

Last time, we started the day in Domaine Chandon with some bubbly (very nice grounds and at the bottom of Napa so fairly easy to get to), Hess (Beachfan, you're right--beautiful art collection and I love how they mix in views of the wine-making and bottling rooms), Stag's Leap (small tasting room and winery, I think this experience would have benefited from an appointment), and Mondavi (Beachfan-I got to sample a bunch of the old cab.  reserves in the Tokalon Room, the best tasting experience I had in Napa).

Beachfan, your routes are extremely helpful. I am definitely going to do the Russian River itinerary. I know less of Rochioli but have had good experiences with Ridge, Rafanelli, and Ferrari Carano. At Ridge, can one taste vintages of MonteBello or is it more of the other labels (ie Lytton Springs)?

And your suggestions on the Silverado Trail are great, too. I hadn't even thought of Phelps but will try my best and make an appointment. I have literally no experience with their wines, so it should be great.

Thanks again, everyone... If in my planning I come up with something new/interesting, I will make sure to pass it on.

[Napa/Sonoma winery suggestions]

Hi there, Wine board!

I surfed around in here and in the CA board, and was surprised to see that a thread like this hadn't been started yet. I'm worried that maybe it's one of those topics that's beaten to the death like a dead horse, but I think I'll give it a shot.

I am an amateur wine collector and visiting Napa/Sonoma for the first time in a long while this summer for 3-4 days. I'm looking to plan out our days in a organized way and try to be as proactive as possible so we have a great time and taste a bunch of great vino.  Admittedly, I know much more about European wine than American (I know, how unpatriotic of me).

I'm looking for wineries that are very open to eager tasters, great people, a beautiful layout, and great wine that ideally would be on the more difficult side to find in an East Coast wine store. I've been doing some brainstorming and have thought Rafanelli, Ridge, and Silver Oak would all fit this category. Any suggestions (or comments on those that I'm thinking about) would be more than appreciated. You guys are the best!

[Babbo (First 6 Years)]

I've been a reader of the site for months now, but just never find a good time to post but thought this Babbo post would be a good way to get back into it.

Tommy, hope that I can be a bit of assistance here. I love Babbo! It's one of my favorite restaurants in the city for its casual atmosphere, great food and resourceful with all the great ingredients that other city restaurants sometimes fail to showcase (ie tripe, headcheese, etc.), and its price/quality ratio.

Anyway, onto the food! The website is a great place to start, but it seems to miss out on a lot of the seasonal ingredients that Batali incorporates into the menu. Two weeks ago when we were there, the menu was flush with morels, spring peas, ramps, soft shell crabs, wild striped bass, young garlic, and the like!

Here's my philosophy on the menu; I feel Batali does a better job with braised meats and game birds than he does with seafood. While I've had the grilled octupus, whole branzino, and most recently the soft shell crab secondi, I feel that the dishes are either a bit overcooked or just too plain for my taste--lacking the extra layer of complexity and seasoning that I find in the non-seafood dishes there. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for shortribs!

Apps: I love the tripe parmigiana--the ultimate comfort food and with that great tripe texture. Totally different than how I usually enjoy it down in Chinatown, and that's why I really like this one. Also, the lamb's tongue vinagrette and quail's egg is utterly rich and buttery. Another favorite of mine.

Primis: This is my favorite part of Babbo (though I've never tried the pasta tasting menu). Bucatini amatriciana is one of my favorite dishes in the city--the hollow pasta is perfectly al dente, the sauce is nice and spiced up, and the guanciale (cured pork cheeks) are incredible. I've tried to recreate this myself at home but I can't seem to find guanciale that tastes the same way; the last time I ran into Mario, he mentioned that they'll soon sell it at Italian Wine Merchants. Other great pastas include the beef cheek ravioli. Personally, I think the mint sauce in the lamb with mint love letters it much too overpowering, but I know a lot of people love this dish.

Secondis: Again, I'd reiterate the recommendation for braised meats and game birds. The short rib here is so tender and well seasoned, I think I could have it every night. The polenta is extremely creamy and the sauce and horseradish adds just another layer of flayor. Another favorite is the quail; for the life of me, I can't remember what the side dish was but something like pasta with a tangy pomegranate sauce sounds about right. IMHO, the shoft shell crabs with ramps were a bit too salty and nothing too impressive or unique about the dish. The braised lamb chop will make you feel straight out of the Flinstones as it is this gigantic, bone-in chop.

Desserts: The assorted gelati and sorbetti in what looks like egg cups are very good and extremely flavorful. If you're not too stuffed, I'd think about that or the assorted cookies and biscotti with an espresso shot. Both are great!

Have a great time and apologies if I started rambling on!

[Connecticut Restaurants]

While it's been over a year since my days in New Haven, all your memories of the dining scene have brought me back to my bright college years.  Some other notable dining options that haven't been mentioned:

1) BAR pizza - while not as good as Sally's or Pepe's, more of a hip scene, a good bar with different microbrews, and much better than average pizza. And while you're there, don't forget to get their famous mashed potato topping which is definitely worth a try.

2) Royal Palace - one of the newest additions to the recently developed Ninth Square district (near the train station and old Coliseum), great Chinese restaurant with surprisingly fresh ingredients.  Hopefully the quality hasn't fallen off since I left...

3) Book Trader Cafe - Has one of the best blueberry muffins I've ever had and very reasonable, homemade sandwiches.  A nice lunch spot and outdoor seating, too.

Take care, everyone!