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Redd Wood

Posted on May 14, 2012 by bayareafoodie

Famed chef Richard Reddington has opened a casual Italian eatery in Yountville down the street from his Michelin star restaurant REDD.

We arrived early on a Friday night and the restaurant was pretty empty except for the mini bar area which was standing room only. The tables around us seemed to be filled with locals as they knew the staff and brought plenty of their own wine. We were seated in a cozy corner booth that had a view of the entire restaurant. We decided to get a sampling of eats to share. We started off with the grilled artichokes with balsamic & Parmesan cheese which was crazy good but messy. I wouldn’t recommend ordering if you are on a first date. The balsamic glaze ended up all over our fingers and dripping down our arms (but maybe this just happens to us 🙂 ).

Next, potato gnocchi w/ duck leg, rosemary, olives & pancetta. There was no real sauce just the natural juices from the duck. LOVED this.


Of course we had to try one of the wood fired pizzas. We went with the basic fresh mozzarella, tomato & basil. I was expecting this to be my favorite part of our meal but it wasn’t. It was good but the crust was a little over-charred which left a burnt taste in my mouth. Minor mishap.


We finished with the chocolate caramel tart w/ praline & sea salt which was highly reccomended by our server. It was super rich so we had a hard time finishing it. If you are a chocolate lover this dessert is for you!

I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived since the reviews I had read were hit and miss but I really enjoyed the food, service and vibe so I will definitely return.

Rating: 

Website: http://www.redd-wood.com/

Redd Wood on Urbanspoon

Filed under: Napa Valley, Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Morimoto Napa

Posted on May 11, 2012 by bayareafoodie


There are a bunch of cool spots that have opened on the Napa river over the last couple years…Morimoto is one of them. Because this was a sushi restaurant run by an Iron Chef I admit I had some high expectations. Morimoto himself was not in town on our visit but that was okay as we’d seen him in-person before.

Our meal started out on a super high note. We decided to order the hot appetizer called kakuni – a ten hour pork belly w/ rice congee and soy-scallion jus. It was melt-in-your-mouth good. Next, we had the tempura calamari salad which had a fantastic white miso dressing. The calamari was a tad over battered for my taste but Mike enjoyed it. We followed this up with some sushi rolls (soft shell crab,eel avocado,spicy tuna) which were…sushi rolls. They were not at all imaginative. They looked and tasted just like the take out I get at the spot down the street from my house – just slightly higher priced. We probably should have gone with one of the menu entrees. Oh well, lesson learned.

We still had a little room in our stomachs so we split the kabocha squash sticky toffee cake w/ buttermilk ice cream and asian pear. This was a pleasantly sweet ending to our night.


Next visit, it’s all about the OMAKASE (the tasting menu). I’m sure it’s as mind blowing as the price.

Rating: 

Website: http://morimotonapa.com/

Morimoto Napa on Urbanspoon

Filed under: Napa Valley, Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Blue Line Pizza

Posted on May 2, 2012 by bayareafoodie


You’ve heard the rave reviews about Little Star Pizza in San Francisco, well, it’s now available in the South Bay (Campbell) but under a new name — Blue Line. Mike and I have been twice since the February opening and I have to say it’s my favorite deep dish in the Bay Area.

Here’s how it compares to other popular Chicago style pizza joints in the area…

signature deep dish “blue line” pie

Not too thick (like Patxi’s) which means it’s not overly filling and a shorter time to wait for your pizza to arrive.

Not too saucy (like Zachary’s) which means you can taste the toppings which also happen to be really fresh. You can tell they don’t skimp on the ingredients.

We tried a couple salads but our favorite was the bacon & blue cheese which was huge, super fresh and the blue cheese was tangy good.

Note: no reservations. Get in early (b4 6:30pm) or be prepared to wait.

Rating: 

Website:http://www.bluelinepizza.com/

Blue Line Pizza on Urbanspoon

Filed under: Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, Silicon Valley (all cities) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »