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Frog Princesse in Santa Rosa, Napa Valley, Point Reyes (2018 edition)


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 You have taught your daughter well.  :)

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

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I ended up eating a good amount of steak because it was a bit large for my 12-year old daughter. No complaints because it was delicious and I love a good steak, but I fell into a slight food coma after this. Wisely I decided to resist ordering the cheese plate or one of the many digestifs options.

 

Bistro Jeanty

 

Bistro Jeanty

 

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Ditto.  I really want that pig foot and the salad using beautiful butter lettuce.

i make a trotter spring roll from Happy in The Kitchen which is what it sounds like...those are a lot of work...taking the 30 odd bones out of the foot.

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In a moment of weakness, I decided to get the pruneaux a l'armagnac (prunes soaked in armagnac). Typically it is a smaller dessert and works double duty as a digestif, so it seemed like a reasonable choice. It arrived with a ginormous scoop of ice cream. I think they were happy that someone ordered it, because that dessert is a real sleeper according to our waiter. 

 

Bistro Jeanty

 

I did my best to eat all the prunes and retrieve all the juices (a very generous dose of armagnac).

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By some miracle my daughter decided she was still hungry as long as chocolate was involved. So she got the chocolate mousse crème brûlée. The best way to described it is to imagine a classic crème brûlée topped with chocolate pot de crème. It was wonderful. Again it was quite large so I had to help her finish it. It was a tough job... not really! 😉 

 

Bistro Jeanty

 

Bistro Jeanty

 

Edited by FrogPrincesse (log)
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After all these adventures, we headed back north for a wine tasting at Silver Oak. We had a Cabernet flight. Nothing blew us away so we came out empty handed.

 

Silver Oak

 

A little further north we also tried Miner family winery. We bought a bottle of their 2016 viognier.

 

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2 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

A local chocolate store that makes sushi-inspired chocolates

 

When I first read this, I flashed on Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from the Harry Potter series. 😨 It appears from your photos that the sushi inspiration is the shape. That sounds much better than fish-flavored chocolates.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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20 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

When I first read this, I flashed on Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from the Harry Potter series. 😨 It appears from your photos that the sushi inspiration is the shape. That sounds much better than fish-flavored chocolates.

Hahaha. Yes it looks like it’s only the shape (I hope!). 

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Everything is Drool worthy.  Thank goodness all that didn’t catch on fire with last catastrophe in the area.  May I ask what the wine tasting fees are like?  I’ve heard they are quite pricey compared to what is charged around the Okanagan.  Fees here are usually $5 for 3 to 5 wines to try and it is almost always waived if you purchase a bottle.

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Thanks for taking us along on this trip, @FrogPrincesse!  I've been enjoying it!

 

14 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

May I ask what the wine tasting fees are like?  I’ve heard they are quite pricey compared to what is charged around the Okanagan.  Fees here are usually $5 for 3 to 5 wines to try and it is almost always waived if you purchase a bottle.

 

I'm also curious as I haven't been to Napa in a while. I recall that Opus One charged $25 for a single taste, though you can see it was a fairly generous pour:

IMG_0629.JPG.thumb.jpg.089d2056467d374c2dfc8f29031c5520.jpg

A number of the Napa wineries we visited were open for tasting by appointment only. Not sure how common that is.

 

In Santa Ynez and Paso Robles, wineries tend to charge $5-$10 for tasting, also credited to the cost of a bottle.   The # of wines on offer varies widely.  There are a few who still do free tastings and some have an official charge, but don't seem to pay much attention to it. 

 

 

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There are about 35 wineries along the 15 kms between us here in little Naramata and the larger centre of Penticton.  All but one are open around 10 am daily during June through to end of September.  There are 

loads of tour operators with 12 to 15 seat buses.  They stop in at four or five wineries in an afternoon and often stop at one for lunch.  Getting to be BIG business.  When we moved here in 2005 there were 15 wineries so tremendous growth.  At first no tasting fees but with so many people touring the fees were necessary.  Winery owners do not generally like the tour buses because their patrons usually do not buy.

 

$25 for a couple of ounces seems a bit much and $5 for multiple tastes seems low.  Weird.

Edited by Okanagancook (log)
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1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

Everything is Drool worthy.  Thank goodness all that didn’t catch on fire with last catastrophe in the area.  May I ask what the wine tasting fees are like?  I’ve heard they are quite pricey compared to what is charged around the Okanagan.  Fees here are usually $5 for 3 to 5 wines to try and it is almost always waived if you purchase a bottle.

We saw the areas where the Tubbs fire had been outside of town in the wooded areas, but overall there was less damage than we feared. 

 

The tastings fees were around $25 a person (for 4-6 wines depending on the winery), waived if you bought a bottle (or a subscription). 

Edited by FrogPrincesse (log)
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Tasting fees are pricy in Napa/Sonoma compared to the Sierra foothills about  30 minutes east of me.  They actually started charging a few years ago.  Lots of nice reds.  My stepdaughter has lived in Napa for several years and worked at a few wineries.  She has arranged some very nice tastings at great wineries over the years. Thankfully they’ve all been comped.

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My daughter used to live in a duplex on  a side street of the French Laundry. I’ve wandered into the garden at night with my own glass of wine and watched the chefs thru the large kitchen windows.  It was great just to walk around Yountville and stop in for a drink and food at any of these great places.  If you are still in Napa and interested in a winery called Etude, DM me.

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6 minutes ago, Jacksoup said:

My daughter used to live in a duplex on  a side street of the French Laundry. I’ve wandered into the garden at night with my own glass of wine and watched the chefs thru the large kitchen windows.  It was great just to walk around Yountville and stop in for a drink and food at any of these great places.  If you are still in Napa and interested in a winery called Etude, DM me.

 

Maybe one too many glasses but I think you mean "PM".

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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