Carolyn Tillie

I went to Cesar's after the Fancy Foods Show - for the second time (first time for cocktails only). My girlfriend, Kat, and I shared Salt Cod Cake that was a tad spicy for me, some lovely aromatic mussels in a bowl that was completely cleaned out with the crusty bread they served, shredded pork, and a variety of grilled vegetables. All were served with an endless supply of olives, which I appreciate. When I go back, I want to try this drink that I kept seeing prepared - the name of which escapes me at the moment (mint, rum, spritzer...) I also appreciate their selection of sherries, cognacs, and apperitifs. Not exactly SF, but in Napa there is Zuzu's which is charming, fabulous and I'm sure will be discussed by Melkor et al (I'll comment on it later as well...)

Gee... Everytime there is a "I'm giving a party thread," I keep suggesting the same thing... Soup. Why limit yourself to cold buffet (especially when it is so cold outside)? Three or four different soups can be made a day, two, or three ahead of time (and face it, what soup doesn't benefit from being a day old anyway)? Keep the big pots of soup on the stove with ladles available and a ton of bowls. I always do four: two vegetarian and and two meat - one stew-like, one creamy, one chili, and one brothy. Guests can help themselves and supplement the meal with a variety of breads and spreads, and antipasti (pate, pickles, compound butters, olives...) So easy and it ends up being very impressive. Very little work on the day of the party, either. You get to spend the time with all your guests while they serve themselves.

The whole scenario cracks me up - were it staged by Robert Wilson with music by Philip Glass, it could win a Pulitzer! But with the mindless sponges that America's brains are becoming due to the incessant influx of reality television, what should be ignored will probably be a huge success. I'm afraid.

And at Sattui, the grounds are only for paying customers. You have to be eating or drinking stuff you bought there -- I think they don't allow outside food, but could be remembering incorrectly. I don't believe that is correct. They advertise the fact that they are a picnic ground and it is obvious that many people dining there have their own baskets of goodies that weren't purchased inside. Maybe you have to buy their wine or something. I don't remember exactly, I just know there are signs all over the place and that I couldn't eat the lunch I'd brought. Too bad I can't remember what those signs said. Maybe I felt guilty (for bringing a lunch) for nothing! I could be wrong (although I brought MY food and don't remember signs)... I'll drive by and take a look on the way home and report back!

L'Orangerie in Los Angeles. They have a 2000 Caymus Special Select on their wine list for $325 that retails for just over $100. A half-bottle of 2000 Patz & Hall Hyde Valley is selling there for $78 when a full bottle is around $40. It is just terribly inconsistent. Some of their wines are barely 10% or 20% more when others are three and four times the retail.

And at Sattui, the grounds are only for paying customers. You have to be eating or drinking stuff you bought there -- I think they don't allow outside food, but could be remembering incorrectly. I don't believe that is correct. They advertise the fact that they are a picnic ground and it is obvious that many people dining there have their own baskets of goodies that weren't purchased inside.

...also isn't Duckhorn a little pricey for "nice"? Yeah, they make a number of Merlots: Napa Valley - $48.00 Howell Mountain - $65.00 3 Palms Vineyards - $75.00 Estate Grown - $80.00 These are all varying vintages between 1999 and 2001. I'll pay those prices for a Cabernet Sauvignon, but not for a Merlot...

I've been opening and impressing folks with GunBun's 1998 Merlot (I've cellared several cases and it is aging VERY nicely). Their 2000 isn't bad either. I've been taking nips out of the barrells of my weekday job, Ladera. They will be offering their first Merlot from a 2000 vintage which is already in a bottle, but the 2002 and 2003 which I barrell taste are pretty impressive!

BTW, here is our website: Ladera Vineyards Althought I haven't yet been added as part of the "Team".

I work at Gundlach Bundschu on weekends in Sonoma and agree -- at GunBun, we have a lovely picnic facility. In Napa there are quite simply ORDINANCES AGAINST IT! Silly, huh? I had friends who tried to picnic on the grounds of Chandon and were told they had to pack-up and leave. Other than V. Sattui, there are little or no areas allowed for picnics in Napa. Alex, if your friend is available for a private tour and barrel tasting on Friday, PM me and I'll give you my phone number. My weekday winery job is at a cult-cabernet producer on Howell Mountain and we are in the process of restoring an 19th century French chateau that produces wine in the gravity method. It is pretty amazing to see. (Right now, I and the Vineyard Manager the only ones up here and I don't want to come up on weekends - but Friday would be okay). I also disagree with the Sterling tour. The tram ride is fun, but the rest is very sterile and touristy.

I had a boyfriend who did exactly the same thing to a roommate of ours! We came home at 2:00 a.m. and was so furious to find not a single clean dish that he piled the lot of them in this guy's bed. He also got the picture (but there were some pretty heated words between the two of them!).

There are several existing threads on Napa. Here's a few: Napa Activities A debate between the CIA & Tra Vigne - which goes on to list other eating establishments. Bouchon Bakery - a MUST visit A neophyte travelling to Napa asks for advice. Hope this helps!

Wow! Breakfast in Reims was a personal favorite of mine... What's next for you?

Ah, yes indeed - slightly misinterpreted. I read "we have a local bakery" as "we are disastisfied with the local bakery's offerings and want to bake our own..." In that respect, I would obtain Friberg's book - but not through the club. The rest of the books are mostly for home cooks and translating those recipes to a professional's format could prove more difficult. BTW, do you subscribe to Pastry Arts? THAT would be better resource for new recipes and flavors, IMHO!

Although I like his two Cake cookbooks (the cookie one is kinda lame).

Brilliant.

This is exactly how I acquired my Friberg copy and I thought the same thing. It was only when I began to be inundated with additional offers and the fact that they sell your name to other catalogue companies that I realized the mistake I made. I seriously believe I was mailed a large tree's worth of pulp in junk mail and after I received my initial selection, I never could find another book worth buying - but I HAD to buy SOMETHING to comply with the terms of the contract signed. Also, bear in mind that the Friberg book is for Professionals - not necessarily your "home baking book." I still say, Caveat Emptor.

DON'T DO IT!!!!! Yeah, it seems like a deal, but 90% of those books are ones that can be purchased at a fraction of the price through companies like Half.com You will get sucked into spending way more money than you need to for books you probably won't ever really use because a lot of the really cool books that are out and on best-seller lists are ones that don't show up within these companies' offerings. Speaking from experience, here. I did it and boy, did I ever regret it. Now that I ended my membership, I am still inundated with "come back to us" offers. Just my humble opinion.

Truffles

When I lived in SoCal, I had tons of friends in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Whenever there was a potluck, if I didn't have time to cook, I would go to the Santa Monica Seafood on East 17th Street in Costa Mesa and pick up smoked albacore. It was always the first dish gone... Fabulous Fish!

Bourdain aside, I think the whole "tribe" thing is kinda weird. I started surfing that site and here is a tribe obsessed with the number 23. And they already have 119 members! What is weirder than that?

I'll let you know!

I've got a great relationship with my sushi chef. He doesn't care that I don't drink his sake because I always give him a glass of my Gewurtz. Gee, do I sound like a broken record here?

Curious about that site, I did a quick search... There is no Julia Tribe! I would join a Julia tribe...

Oh, I realize that Vancouver has excellent Chinese food. I was having difficulty with the line, "when we ran out of restaurants in the Bay Area." It made it sound like they only gave SF a week or two before heading up north and that the article didn't mention The Slanted Door. And with Japanese, I also go in for the Alsatian-style Gewurtz (less sugar) as well as Pinot Noirs from the Stags Leap and Carneros districts of Napa.