Restaurant Hit List When I go to CA wine country

[tjaehnigen]

My wife and I will be heading to wine country next early April. Starting to think of possible restaurant ideas. I have some ideas...Would be interested to hear what comments you all might have about your top 5 lists -- one for blow out break the bank dinners and one for more 'reasonable' dinners.

Some places we're thinking of are--

The French Laundry

Terra

Bistro Don Giovanni

Bistro Jeanty

Glen Ellen Inn

Wappo (probably for lunch, been here before)

Taylor's Refresher (for lunch of course!)

Thinking about Domaine Chandon

Anyway, any comments on the list above? And what about your 'Don't Miss' places? Where would you go?

We'll probably have maybe 5-6 nights to do dinner, maybe 7. Depends on the trip length. One might be a meal we make on our own if we go the rent-the house route as opposed to getting rooms at an Inn/hotel/b&b.

[winesonoma]

All depends where your staying and how you like to drive.

[melkor]

I'd add the Martini House and Pere Jeanty to your list

[Carolyn Tillie]

Other additions to the list would be Pilar's in Napa, La Toque in St. Helena, and Sonoma Saveur in Sonoma.

[MsMelkor]

I haven't been to Wappo, Glen Ellen Inn, Pilar's, or Sonoma Saveur, so I can't comment on those. La Toque is good but very expensive, so that definitely belongs in the "break the bank" group. The rest of the places on your list are all wonderful. You might want to consider Zuzu in Napa - it's open late and has some good dishes if you choose carefully.

I haven't eaten much in Sonoma aside from a nice dinner at the Girl and the Fig on the plaza in Sonoma. In Healdsburg is the Dry Creek Kitchen, where I've had excellent food and so-so food (also belongs in the "break the bank" group). I've been meaning to try Bistro Ralph, also in Healdsburg.

By April, Rancho Gordo and I will be able to recommend some taco trucks in the area as well.

[tjaehnigen]

All depends where your staying and how you like to drive.

Probably staying in Sonoma (might try the house rental thing), but that is still open. Willing to drive for food. Absolutely.

[gwilson]

If you're around Santa Rosa, then there is a small steakhouse type restaurant that is really nice and not very expensive. I can't think of the name, but it's right off the highway in 'downtown'. (I'll have to get my notes out - I was in California for two weeks last October.) There's also a very very nice wine shop there called the Bottle Barn. Very informative staff, and since I live in the <insert numerous curse words> Bible Belt, I had to get them to ship the wine I bought back. They'll ship wine you buy elsewhere as long as you match the number of bottles with wine bought from them.

Also, if you're willing to travel, I would suggest going to San Francisco. If I remember correctly it's only 2-3 hours. There is one seafood restaurant that all the locals go to. It's not right on Fisherman's Wharf (the tourist trap), but a couple of blocks away. And there's also Citizen Cake. In my opinion, that is worth the drive there alone. They now have a full lunch/dinner menu, but I didn't try anything. I went after eating a small supper somewhere (don't even remember where now), and had four desserts there. It really is awesome.

-Greg

[samgiovese]

Just had dinner at Bistro Don Giovanni last night. This was my third experience there, the last rather unpleasant one being 3 years ago. I had hoped things had improved from my last visit...alas, I will not be returning.

I fail to see the popularity of this place, and why it's on everyone's "must visit" list. Even our local Bay Area critic seems under some spell when it comes to this establishment, as it consistently makes his "Top 100" list.

The food is passable, but there is certainly better Italian fare at other spots in the Valley (Green Vally Cafe, Tra Vigne, and even Piatti come to mind). Last night's main problem stemmed from the service. We were seated at 7:15 PM, and our cocktails finally arrived at 7:45 PM. In his defense, the server did bring us bread to tide us over, but a 1/2 hour wait on a THURSDAY night is inexcusable. The rest of the meal (salad, entree and coffee) took equally as long.

Another problem is the noise level. This restaurant seems to be a gathering place for every group that has spent the day over-imbibing at the local wineries. My companions and I literally had to hunch over our table and shout to each other to be heard. Perhaps the owners should consider removing a few tables or softening some of the surfaces in order to make the dining experience more pleasant.

As mentioned previously, the food is passable, but certainly not anything to rave about. Prices are fairly reasonable for Napa, and the wine list is quite extensive. There is a very nice bar, and the patio dining is also very pleasant. All in all, I would skip Bistro Don Giovanni unless I had an unlimited amount of time in the Valley and became bored with every other good restaurant around.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Samgiovese, I have to agree with you. I have eaten there three times now and while "pretty good," I have found it to be far from exceptional.

I must say that the BEST visit I had a the Bistro was totally off-season and for lunch. In the late fall, during lunch, it is a lovely restaurant. But now that the valley is inundated with tourists, the wait and the noise keep me from really enjoying that place, especially when there are so many others that are on the same level (if not better, for the price!)

[melkor]

I've been to Bistro Don Giovanni a few dozen times, mostly for lunch - and mostly off season. The service when they are packed is less than ideal, but the quality of the food never really sufffers for it. I've had a few questionable experiences there, one of which included ordering 3 out-of-stock bottles from the wine list in a row - but I still much prefer their food and for that matter their service to what Tra Vigne provides.

I think overall, the reason people recommend Don Giovanni is because it offers as close to a storybook wine country experience as you can get - eating fish from a wood fired oven on the patio sipping a glass of sparking wine with a nice vineyard view. There certainly are worse ways to have lunch.

[KatieLoeb]

Doesn't anybody else but me love Ravenous Cafe in Healdsburg?? I thought it was quite creative and interesting. Very reasonable for the quality of preparation and service as well. Bistro Ralph was also good in that area.

Sondra Bernstein, chef/owner of The Girl and the Fig was guest chef here at Rouge for this year's Book and the Cook festival here in Philadelphia. She's a really cool lady and a very accomplished chef. I loved her preparations and have a copy of her cookbook that I'm working through.

[bilrus]

My wife and I had a nice late dinner at a place in St. Helena called Market. Doesn't get much mention among the other big names, but both the Fish and Chips and Mac and Cheese were among the best I've had anywhere.

Oh, and one other recommendation - don't go to Taylor's refresher in the afternoon if you are going to French Laundry that evening. My wife and I had a late lunch before a late FL dinner and it took us several courses into the FL menu to recover completely. Good food and a fun place, but I would have rather fasted before going to French Laundry. Or at least don't have the Chili Dog.

And no one's said it, but I would say French Laundry is on the "Can't miss list". This is probably assumed, but go for it if you can.

Edited July 30, 2004 by bilrus (log)

[russ parsons]

i hate to beat a dead horse, but once again, one of the best meals i've had in the wine country (particularly if you only include sonoma) was at the Farmhouse Inn in the Russian River Valley. This is a very serious restaurant, one of the best meals i had this year. finished food, but not fussy--kind of a cross between French Laundry and Bouchon (and, again, the obligatory proviso: a friend's wife's family owns it).

[Truffle]

I haven't been, but I have heard nothing but welcoming, delicious, sublime-with grace, about the Farmhouse Inn............

[samgiovese]

Bilrus:

Here's what I said on a previous thread about Market...I think it's great!

Had dinner at market 2 weeks ago...4th tiime eating there.  Their concept is basic food at moderate prices...including the wine list.  There is a section on the menu consisting of "American Classics"...such as macaroni & cheese, fish & chips, 1/2lb. hamburger & fries, fried chicken, etc.  Other dishes are more inventive and change seasonaly.  There is a $21.00 prix fixe 3 course dinner available every night.  On Sunday, they feature pot roast, and on Monday prime rib.

Cute gimmick for dessert is the s'mores served with a small hibachi at your table.  Another fun after-dining experience is the Flaming Groovy, again prepared and poured tableside.

Wines are marked up no more than $14.00/bottle...something nearly unhearad of in the Napa Valley.

[liamdc]

I couldn't find a "Cheap Eats in Sonoma" thread, so here's my contribution to that cause here:

Taqueria Guadalajara, 125 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg--at the south end of Healdsburg Avenue, just prior to entering southbound Hwy 101, in a small strip mall on your right. This place is an authentically Mexican taqueria, serving up inexpensive, spicy, flavorful dishes. During a recent trip to Sonoma wine country, my fiance and I shared a lunch consisting of a fish tostada, fish taco, carnitas and carne asada as well as some decent guacamole and chips. In addition, the taqueria serves some excellent drinks--we sampled the horcihada and hibiscus drinks. Both were yummy. This place is a convenient pit-stop on the way to or from the Dry Creek Valley or other wine regions near Healdsburg.

[Marina Chang]

A few years ago, we relocated from the Washington, D.C. area to just outside of Santa Rosa, and have sampled a variety of eateries in Napa and Sonoma Counties. Here are my two-cents worth:

In the town of Sonoma, for my money the two best restaurants are both very small places, and both just off the central plaza - Cafe La Haye (on Napa St.) and La Poste (teeny tiny place on Broadway). A lot of people love The Girl and the Fig, which to my mind serves technically well executed dishes, but uninspired dishes, and has never knocked my socks off. At The Lodge (hotel) - Carneros, is a large airy, California style restaurant. We last ate there about a year ago, and every dish was wonderful; however, it hasn't been consistently so, but it might be worth a visit if only for appetizers/drinks or dessert. Saveur has a great duck burger, and the style of a modest eatery, but serving lots of duck and foie gras, the prices don't match that modesty. For a good reasonable sit down lunch, we enjoy the Swiss Hotel. Not too fancy, but good food, and a nice back patio.

For a budget meal and real local experience, Juanita, Juanita, has excellent burritos as big as your head (or my head). It's located on Arnold Drive almost halfway between Sonoma and Glen Ellen.

I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to drive to the three block town of Glen Ellen for a meal. We dined at the Glen Ellen Inn a few months ago, and while the menu had high aspirations, the food was pretty average. However, if you happen to find yourself in Glen Ellen at meal time, both The Cellar Cat (live jazz on some nights) and the Fig Cafe (affiliated with The Girl and the Fig) are two very good moderately priced restaurants.

In Healdsburg, The Dry Creek Kitchen will help you burn some cash. The dining room opens onto the plaza, and is attractively spare and spacious; the food is quite good and the service can be quite pretentious. We enjoy eating at a small place called, The Charcuterie, also on the Healdburg Plaza. Delicious southern French style dishes, and a dining room filled with a piggy collection that I covet. We had a dreadful all-around experience at Zin and I will never return (short of the furniture falling apart, you name any aspect of a dining experience and it was bad -ridiculously bad).

In Napa, we have enjoyed several lunches at Angele, located on the Napa River, with a very attractive dining patio. 'California' cuisine that lean toward the French style. Almost next door is Celadon, which we have heard is excellent, but haven't yet tried. Terra is one of our favorite restaurants, which we would go to more if we lived closer to Napa. Don Giovanni seems to me to be well prepared Italian comfort food, which I enjoyed. But, my bias is that I could eat Italian food every day. We last ate there about a year ago, and I can't remember what the service was like, but we did sit outside where it was quieter. Have no plans of ever eating at the French Laundry, as I don't care to wade through the extensive reservations process.

Lastly, one of my current favorite restaurants in this area is in Petaluma (where they filmed American Graffiti). Central Market is located on the main drag (Petaluma Blvd?) and is continental California cuisine. The menu changes seasonally, if not daily or weekly. Prices are not bad and everything is wonderful (I've never had even a mediocre dish). In European style, the owner and chef, Tony, makes the rounds to all the tables during every meal.

Those are my initial thoughts. Hope it helps.

[marie-louise]

... Some places we're thinking of are...

Taylor's Refresher (for lunch of course!)...

←

I was recently up in the wine country as part of a cross-California 25th wedding anniversary trip. We ate at Terra, which was as perfect as Chez Panisse, IMO, but the next night we ate DINNER at Taylor's Automatic Refresher. In it's own way, it was as memorable as any other dinner we had: it was a warm summer night, we ate on a picnic table on a big cool grassy area under the trees and drank beer (on tap, I think) with our burgers. The hills and sky were pink from the setting sun and the food was wonderful.

Personally, I get bored and restless eating elaborate meals and sitting in restaurants for hours a day when I'm traveling; it's sensory overload after a few days. I enjoy the nice meals more when they are balanced with casual ones (picnics are perfect.)

[Jon Tseng]

tra vigne in st helena for braised smoked short ribs...

[tanabutler]

After everything I've read about Pilar's, I would absolutely put that on my list.

[melkor]

After everything I've read about Pilar's, I would absolutely put that on my list.

←

Pilar is worth a visit for lunch, there are half a dozen places I'd rather have dinner.

[nanuq]

Just back from a weekend in Sonoma, mainly the Healdsburg area, excellent dinner at the Farmhouse Inn, highly recommend this place. Also very good food at Willy's Wine Bar - small plates to share and great wine by the glass. Try the Inman Family Pinot Gris.

Also a good lunch at Ravenous, though service is a bit slow. They make a great burger and BLT.

At Taylor's, make sure you have a milkshake.