melkor

The Martini house is your best bet. Don Giovanni is also excellent for lunch but it's a 20 some minute drive from St Helena.

It's fairly easy to sharpen your own knives... there's a class on it in the eGCI - I use a $5 waterstone from an asian market.

While I've very much enjoyed each of my visits to the French Laundry, I'd have to say that the worst part of the experience is waking up in a food coma the next morning.

an MSR stove and whatever is the lightest food I can pack, anything tastes good in the middle of no-where after a day of hiking.

The meal was more or less what I expected, it's much more of a neighborhood restaurant than a culinary destination - the neighborhood just happens to be nob hill so it costs $100+/plate to eat there. There are far worse places to eat in SF for the same or more money, I would sooner return to CNH than Boulevard or Fleur de Lys. Overall, I would say the meal I had at CNH was worth the price, the service was acceptable, and the space while very dimly lit is pleasant (except for the mirrors on the wall which are in need of cleaning). On the bright side, the wine list is reasonably priced, with a surprisingly good selection of 1/2 bottles. I found several of the dishes to be quite good and was only disappointed by the mint lime granite.

Excellent point, I would leave some in the middle of the plate as well.

Where in the valley are you looking to stay? There are nice bed and breakfasts scattered all over the valley - they are likely to be your best bet for price and location. The Napa River Inn in Napa itself is nice and reasonably priced but it's a fair drive to the wineries themselves.

Bah! I'm apparently still asleep. (It's morning out here) In NY I'll have to trim my list down to just Foo-foo-le-poos.

soft boiled eggs cured anchovies a perfectly cooked steak espresso wild pacific salmon french fries and the $250 white truffle tasting a Foo-foo-le-poos

Several friends have been there, none have reported it to be outstanding. I can't get motivated to go there when Terra is down the block.

Domaine Carneros is a very comfortable place to start your day. Mumm isn't bad either. I almost never buy any domestic sparklers, but both places are nice to visit.

La Toque sounds amazing. Can you give more details about your meal there? La Toque only rivals the French Laundry in price. I haven't found it to be significantly cheaper, though the food and service isn't anywhere near as good. If you can't get a table at the French Laundry it's a good backup plan, but the food isn't even in the same ballpark. The one advantage La Toque has is that they offer wine pairings with their tasting menu.

A very knowledgeable foodie friend of mine ate at Tra Vigne 2 weeks ago and pronounced his meal very disappointing. I've only been there once since Chiarello left and wasn't very impressed either. Perhaps some other locals can chime in, but for now it's not on our summer list like it was in the past (the outside patio can be wonderful on a summer evening) Tra Vigne is a waste of time at this point, there are too many restaurants in the area serving better food with better service.

For lunch I'd recommend Bistro Don Giovanni and ZuZu. For dinner check out Pere Jeanty, The Martini House, and Terra.

If there's too much liquid in the pan the rice starts to fall apart and it won't get a nice creamy texture - I've got no idea why, but I've screwed up enough risotto that way to know what happens.

I've had a few meals there, it's a nice place. I don't think it's worth a long drive to get to, but if your in the area it's an excellent choice.

I think your chances are pretty good once you manage to get through - just keep calling until someone answers.

Yep.

They are always happy to serve you a few things from their by the glass list, but they certainly aren't cooking the dishes with that specific wine in mind. For a table of 2 the wine pairings are far better at La Toque than they are at The French Laundry - if you have enough people at your table to go through 6 or 7 bottles in a night, you can do better at The French Laundry.

Frightening.

The hearts were practice for Valentines Day for the lovely MsMelkor. I've since moved on to flowers: In a 6oz cappuccino: In a 2oz macchiato:

I hear that it's true..... Bah. Grand Poohbah is one hell of a stretch. I can make some pretty good drinks and I'm a reasonably competent home roaster, but that's about all I'm willing to lay claim to.

I've only eaten at La Toque once, but the meal I had was very good - The French Laundry serves better food, as does Gary Danko in SF. La Toque offers wine pairings with their tasting menu which TFL doesn't, and the tables have a lot more space between them. It's an excellent choice if your not going to eat at TFL. The biggest drawback to La Toque is TFL being down the road.

I hear people say ex-press-oh all the time...

s-press-oh is how I pronounce it.