cmvnapa

If you go to New Mecca, bring cash. No credit cards, no ATM cards, no checks, and the guy with the little store across the street will charge you for getting cash back on a purchase. Everytime we go there, we approach with trepidation; the entire area looks deserted and a bit seedy. But as you get closer, cars abound and you're lucky if there's room inside. They are open extremely late though. Taco trucks: best to our taste in Napa is Tacos La Playita but I've stopped bringing food home. My husband says there's no substitute for eating as soon as the plate hits one's hands. There's a truck parked at the Lake Herman exit off 680 that he hits on his way home from Martinez. I had a burrito there recently and it wasn't too bad.

Try either Los Panchos over in Pacheco - strictly takeout - or New Mecca in Pittsburg. And have you tried any taco trucks?

There's a Chick-fil-a at the Solano Mall in Fairfield (NoCal) and has been there for quite a while. I've lived here for over 20 years and it may not have been here that long, but it's been around. Not open on Sundays, of course.

Melkor, are you talking about the already-made sandwiches? Everytime I get my hair done in Yountville (Moonlighting - great place!), I stop in to get a "ham and cheese on a baguette" sandwich with the little pickles and onions on the side. I think they've been offering these since my initial visit there in September. The cheese is so subtle that at first I thought they'd buttered the bread and left the cheese off.

This place appealed to us when we were in Bellagio for a day. We've not stayed here but perhaps on our next visit..... http://www.residencelalimonera.com/

I don't know if this is the easiest one, but www.trenitalia.com is one resource.

I like the caramels with almonds in them. But a Sees addiction is their cinnamon hot hearts, available only in the month or so leading up to Valentine's Day. My office can go through a bag a day of those little morsels.

I was at Copia in Napa a few months ago, and they had a great selection of cookbooks in their gift shop. Problem with Copia is that one must pay a day use fee just to get into the place. But if you know someone who is a member and can get in with them, they get a discount on their purchases. I picked up two books during that trip.

During my last trip to Italy, we stayed in Milan for several days and were escorted around the city by one of my cousins-in-law who lives there and works on Corso Buenos Aires. I marveled at his driving - kind of an intricate dance with the other cars, scooters, and pedestrians. He said he learned to drive in Rome which helps. Not having been to Rome, is it worse than Milan?

She's got a book deal - a really obscene book deal. The Julie/Julia Project

About 20 years ago, my brother introduced me to two Pepperidge Farm cookies - San Moritz and Zanzibar - which were promptly "retired" from their cookie line, dagnabbit. The San Moritz was a thin shortbready-cookie with chocolate bits and nuts strewn throughout, and the Zanzibar was pure coconut. We stuffed ourselves when we found them at Corti Bros. in Sacramento. Since then, not too much as had the same appeal. The new Oreo mint sammich cookies aren't too bad. I like making cookies - current fave is a version of a chocolate chip cookie but with chunks of Ghirardelli chocolate, sour cherries, some oatmeal, and a cup of Skor bits that melt down, making for one lumpy chewy cookie.

Another vote here for Coconut Almond Fudge Chip. It is available at most of the B&J stores, but I haven't seen it in a grocery store for about 4 years when they resurrected it for a summer. Baskin Robbins used to do a Coconut Almond Fudge Ripple. Both flavors are akin to eating an Almond Joy in a cone.

I like two bars that have ceased to be - Milkshake and Caravelle.

When strawberries are in season, I make milkshakes for the spouse about 2-3x per week using a blender and not adding malt - that's a malt, not a milkshake. Anyway, I fill the blender about 1/2 way with halved strawberries and add about 1/4 cup of milk and maybe a pinch of sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries. Blend that up and then add about 4 big scoops of semi-soft vanilla ice cream. Blend until few lumps remain; pour into a large glass and hand it over. Then he shares it with the dog.

Let's see Tony Bourdain do a show around this.

When I first met the man who is now my spouse, we went to the festival (he's from a town near Gilroy) 9 years ago and for a few years after that. I'd recommend that you go on Friday, not on the weekend, and get there when it opens. It's in a hot, dusty bowl of a place. There are several stages for music and several beer arenas. And the food is glorious. At one point, I had garlic essence oozing from my pores and felt a burn all the way down my esophagus, this after sampling about 5-6 different garlicky dishes. The garlic ice cream was interesting. And there's usually some enormous grill action going on. There's also a place where you can get an apricot smoothie which helps with the burn, they give away some kind of breath product, and seek out the misting tent, if it's hot.

Vichon Winery (there's an old name for you) actually had a White Cab at one time. It was pretty bad. And then a great novelty, for one vintage only!,was "Le Petit Faux Pas" from Stags Leap (the Winiarski version) when some cellar rat mistakenly mixed some of their best Cab with some Chardonnay.

I have a sister-in-law who lives in Bakersfield with her family. I spent the night there last October; we ate at Appleby's. There is a Trader Joe's on Coffee & Stockdale. I'd think they'd have some decent taco trucks, so she might be on the lookout for those. You can still get an amazing house in Bakersfield for little moolah, but what's the point?

Model Bakery used to have a lemon curd tart, in several sizes, that was ambrosial. It was the first place where I tasted a Morning Bun. I just talked to someone in my office about the MB, and she thinks it's gone downhill. Maybe it's just familiarity, as is the case with ABC...we've become jaded. I need to find someone with whom to go to Bouchon; mabe I can con my spouse into going. I've heard raves about their steak frites - the fries done in duck fat?

Does Model Bakery still make that fantastic lemon tart?? Last time I was in there, I spotted Eleanor Coppola noshing on some goodies. Nugget Market -- wonderful place. My spouse loves the salsa bar. Sweetie Pie's is about 2 blocks away from my office; we had some ambrosial cupcakes from there recently for a bridal shower. ABC used to be the only game in town; they still have decent bran muffins but Sweetie Pie's has 3-4x the amount of sweet offerings. And I have yet to go to Bouchon - it's over the fence from the place where I get my hair(s) done in Yountville, and the most wonderful aromas come wafting through the windows. Add bread to that equation and it sounds like I can no longer avoid the place. (Vallerga's = 3 stores. )

Favorite semi-local place for Mexican is Los Panchos over in Pacheco, between Martinez and Concord. Strictly a take-out place in a tiny strip mall. Address is 5872 Pacheco Boulevard. We first got hooked on the carnitas; an order consists of big chunks, not that shredded stuff, rice, beans, tortillas, and a scoop of wonderful, medium-heat salsa fresca. Reminds me of my first carnitas at a place in Tijuana near the dog track. Lately I've turned my attention to the chicken enchiladas; Los Panchos has a red sauce that is so smooth, so velvety, that I'm tempted to suck it up with a straw. My husband keeps encouraging me to get a weekend job there so I can learn the secret. I wonder if they add a soupcon of sour cream to the sauce. They offer free bean dip if your order is over a certain amount. But their prices are so reasonable that we never reach that amount. It's usually about $14 for the two of us, and I can make two meals out of mine. I've heard of a place over in either Pittsburg or Antioch called New Mecca that is supposed to rival Los Panchos. Might have to do a field trip one of these days.

Next time I drive up that way, I'll take notes. Used to be nothing there but the Dixon Fruit & Nut store, then the Cattlemen's restaurant, both on the right side as one is driving east, with some distance between them. And there was a Stuckey's on the other side of the freeway. Back in the 70s, used to be an X-rated drive-in right past Davis. I remember seeing a John C. Holmes flick there in 1978.

If there was a Carls Jr. nearby, the CJ web site shows the Dixon location at 125 Gateway Plaza. The map link indicates the off ramp is Dixon Avenue W. Is this the off ramp with all of the fast food locations plus Mary's Pizza Shack plus an IHOP?

Update: Per the wait staff at The French Laundry, they will be open in Yountville through the end of the year and will start the New York restaurant hiatus in 2004. Lunch there on Saturday was beyond my expectations, and after lunch, as we were ogling the gardens between Washington & Hwy. 29, Chef Keller came out and graciously signed menus for those of us who asked. A great experience.

I dunno - I just talked to somebody who has worked with some FL staff and she feels they would've made enough dough over the years to be able to take the time off. She also offered up the possibility that he might be taking some of the staff along with him to NYC.