Camacho Watcho

Napa Valley

There is nothing like waking up in the morning to a wonderfully, home cooked breakfast. I’m not usually a bed and breakfast fan - typically the bed(room)s are too Victorian and the breakfast is an awkward event of eating in a common room with complete strangers. While I would say that eating with complete strangers is pretty much ineviable at a b&b, The Napa Inn really makes it worth your while. In preparation for our long day ahead of us, we enjoyed yogurt, fruit, granola, blueberry crumble and quiche. Yum! Breakfast is such an essential meal when visiting wine country.

To get to our first stop of the day we drove north, almost to Calistoga, to Sterling Vineyards. We were in pursuit of an aerial tram ride to experience, what we hoped would be, spectular views of Napa Valley. We were relieved that arriving early in the day meant that there were absolutely no lines for the tram and that the self-guided tour and the overlook balcony were scarcely occupied by other view-seeking tourists. What a way to start the day…standing high above the vineyards with the sun shining overhead…it’s truly lovely. While the tram is definitely worth the visit, my overall assessment of Sterling is that I highly recommend the tram ride and the self-guided tour, but the wines were just ‘okay’.

We had intended to head south to our next winery directly after leaving Sterling, but while we were enjoying the view from the overlook balcony we had noticed a huge castle just across the road. Honestly…it has turrets and everything…a true castle. Our curiousity got the best of us, so we immediately headed over to the castle to get the scoop. It turned out to a castle built by the Sattui family for their winery, Castello di Amarosa. Although we were interested in touring the castle the next public tour wasn’t scheduled for quite awhile, so we settled for a wine tasting. Interestingly, while I’m not usually a big fan of rose or dessert wine, I really enjoyed both at this winery. While this was not a planned stop, I do think it was fun to visit the castle and have some tasty wines. Oh, and also, there were rumors that Adam Sandler was there filming a movie. While we did see the trailers and other equipment, we didn’t see Adam himself…darn!

Lunch was on our minds as we left the castle and headed south. We aborted plans to go to V. Sattui to the picnic area, as even the overflow parking was overflowed, and headed into Yountville to see what restaurants were there. Lucky us, there was a father’s day car show in Yountville so it was completely crowded and there was quite a wait for any restaurant in the area. Despite this, we were hungry so we decided to wait it out. My crispy fish ‘n chips and beer were worth the wait.

Our plan was to end the trip at Artesa, a winery at the very southern end of the Napa area, in the Carneros Valley. We had visited Artesa on our last trip as well, and thought it was the most spectular building and view. Truly it is amazing to drive through the winding roads, not seeing a winery in sight, when suddenly you come upon Artesa. Parking in the lot, you’re still left wondering a bit about what you are about to see. But, climbing the steps lined with a trickling fountain and beautiful stainless sculptures, your imagination is put to ease and your breath is taken away. At the top are pools of water, shining in the sunlight. Abstract sculptures rise from the water, watching over the fruits of the valleys below. Simply beautiful.

We went inside, eager with anticipation, to taste a flight and then enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony. Despite this, we were sorely disappointed. The servers were unfriendly and hardly uttered a word to us beyond those necessary to ensure we kept on track with our flight. We quickly finished and asked to purchase a glass to head outside but were told that if you had drank a flight that they would not sell you any further alcohol. Huh? We did go outside on the balcony but left shortly after in search of a winery that stayed open passed the normal 5 o’clock.

We hit the jackpot in discovering the Domaine Carneros, a winery that specialized in sparkling wine, was both open late and located just across the highway from Artesa. Score! Ending the day with a flight of sparkling wine was simply perfect. I highly recommend Domaine Carneros for a truly relaxing wine experience with beautiful views.

The summary of our trip? Great friends, great food and good wines. I honestly can’t ask for more than that.

Posted on June 30th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Sonoma Valley

First of all, thank you so much for all the recommendations of places to visit in the Napa/Sonoma area. Although we could not visit them all, we did hit several and we had a great time!

Going to wine country can be daunting with so many wineries to choose from. We had been to the Napa area once before and spent most of our time in two valleys - The Russian River Valley and Napa Valley. We decided for this trip, we would focus the first day on Sonoma Valley and the second on Napa Valley.

Our first day was a short day, as we started in San Francisco by picking up some good friends from the airport and then made our way up north. Our first stop was Matanzas Creek Winery, located near Santa Rosa. It is, of course, a winery but it also is known for its lavender fields. This is actually why I wanted to visit Matanzas Creek, as I had read the lavender would be in full bloom during our visit. The setting is beautiful with the road winding around the lavender fields and then ending at the base of a beautiful wood building. Inside, we had our first flight in our wine country tour and also sampled the many lavender products. Although we didn’t buy any of the wine, we did purchase some cooking lavender, which I am looking forward to experimenting with soon.

After our wine, we took some time to wander through the lavender fields. With the lavender blowing slightly in the breeze and the sun shining bright, we all took a sigh of relief and realized that, yes, vacation had officially started.

Our next stop was to pick up some sandwiches at a nearby deli to take to Gundlach Bundschu Winery, located just east of downtown Sonoma. We really loved this winery. First of all, it is a sustainable, organic vineyard, which I think is really interesting. And secondly, it was such a laid back winery experience, which is such a breath of fresh air in wine country. We quickly side-stepped the tasting crowd, bought a bottle of Tempranillo and settled outside on a hill to eat our picnic lunch. Nothing can be better than drinking a bottle of wine and knowing that the grapes were grown and the wine was made on the very farm you are sitting on. Truly amazing. After lunch we took a walk down to through portion of the vineyards - no guide, no fuss, just a leisurely stroll amongst the vines. Lovely.

Once the crowd was gone, we went back to the tasting room to try more of their wines. I really loved that as you were tasting, they would take out a map of the farm and show you which plot the grapes were grown on that made the wine you were drinking. We decided on a couple bottles to buy and were pleasantly surprised when they packaged them in a Gundlach Bundschu bag. The bag holds up to six bottles of wine and is reusable or, if preferred, completely recyclable. These guys have got their act together.

After a quick nap at our B&B, we headed back to Sonoma to wander the plaza before dinner. Unfortunately the stores were closed, but I’ll have to make a note to do a little shopping there on our next visit.

Dinner reservations were at a restaurant just off Sonoma Plaza at The Girl and the Fig. Now, I know that I tend to get excited about food and restaurants, but I want to make something clear…All four of us left this restaurant agreeing that this was one of the best meals we had ever had. Ever. I know it was partly the combination of being on vacation in wine country with great friends, but we all agreed that from the setting to the food to the service, it was fantastic!

We were seated outside on a large patio with lush plants and blooming flowers throughout and two fireplaces and strings of lights that set the scene so perfectly. After much pondering of the menu, my friend and I decided to share several items. We started with steamed mussels with garlic, leeks and herbs and also a cheese and cured meat sampler. The mussels were so fantastic that after we finished them, we mopped the sauce up with the grilled bread and then wished we had more. Our next course was a fig and arugula salad with toasted pecans, chevre, pancetta and a port vinaigrette. Yummy! Our main entree was the flat iron steak served with green beans and a truffled goat cheese macaroni and cheese. I would have licked my plate clean if it would not have been impolite. Dessert (yes, we ate dessert after all of that) was shared among us all - a plum crumble and a chocolate tart. This was all washed down with two bottles of wine and some coffee. Two and a half hours later, we stumbled out of The Girl and the Fig. Bellies full, we were ready for a full night’s rest in preparation for our adventures in Napa the next day.

Posted on June 26th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Shout out to Ed K

Just a quick shout out to my friend Ed. Thought he would like to know there is a mojito in Sonoma named after him!

Posted on June 26th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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A Day in San Francisco

We spent a long weekend in California last week - visiting both San Francisco and the Napa Valley area. It was a much needed respite and a great time with friends.

Our first day was spent in San Francisco and, while I had hoped to do a little more sightseeing, the day got away from me due to work so I only had a little time before dinner to enjoy the day. The first stop for me was Chinatown. Last time we were in San Francisco, we spent a little time in this area, but really did not concentrate much on it. It was late afternoon, I was hungry, and I was determined to eat some good Chinese food.

I wandered through the streets of Chinatown, enjoying the sights and sounds and stopping into a few stores. Interestingly, several stores were sensitive to cameras and would not allow pictures to be taken. In particular, there was an entire store of what looked like variations of ginger root and other assortments that I was interested in. But, as soon as the camera came out, I was chastised…so I left.

Searching for that perfect place to get a late lunch, I ran across several options. There were tea shops (both regular and bubble tea), food stands, and other traditional looking restaurants with many tourists enjoying a bite. The options that I went for, however, was the least visually appealing one that I could find. In fact, it was the one with large glazed birds in the window that apparently had done a great job driving away tourists, since I was the only one there.

Despite the lack of tourists, however, the place was plenty crowded. I walked in and was immediately draw to two large tables, filled with plates of prepared food, located near a food preparation counter. There was a woman sitting nearby as well who appeared to be “guarding” the food in some fashion. I could not figure it out. Although I was curious to find out the meaning behind this, I went ahead and sat down to order my meal. I grabbed a seat near the back of the restaurant, to get the best people-watching vantage. Observing this large display of food and seeing people come in and out of the restaurant, I had a sudden “ah ha” moment…it was a version of take out! The premise, however, is that each portion is served on a regular plate, so that when the to-go patron comes in, they pick the plate they want and go to the service counter where it is put in a to-go box and bagged up. Interesting! I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out, but well, it did.

Once this mystery was solved, I was free to observe the other patrons of the restaurant. One table that I enjoyed, in particular, was a table of 6 or 7 old men sitting near me. They were doing nothing much…sitting around, some casually eating a bite, some drinking tea, others drinking beer…some reading the newspaper, others staring into space. Occasionally they would say a word to each other, which would strike a brief conversation, but this would end quickly and each would return back to their own doings. I was amazed. It was apparent that these old men had been coming to this restaurant for such a long time and were so comfortable with each other’s presence, that it was just habit to be there reading the newspaper, drinking a beer, and not talking. I both found comfort in these actions and felt sad as well. I am certain that these old men were not sad or resentful of being there. Nor did they seem resentful that they were not talking, but it did make me want to get together with a group of my best girlfiends and spend time…only we would be talking, all as one group, to share everything that is current in our lives. I left Chinatown, excited for the upcoming weekend with good friends and more adventures to come.

After Chinatown, I walked along the Embarcadero, past several piers and watching the trolley cars until I met up with Kyle. From there, we decided to hit the Castro District, which is a predominantly gay neighborhood of San Francisco. We didn’t do much, but walk along the streets and enjoyed the livliness of the area and its distict flair and pride of its residents.

We didn’t have much time in San Francisco on this visit, but I enjoyed the hours that I did spend. Our last visit was much more focused on Alcatraz, Haight-Ashbury and the Golden Gate Park. This was a relaxing break from the touristy areas, but also allowed us an opportunity to explore some great areas in a city that is full of culture. I’ll continue soon our Napa/Sonoma part of the trip…pictures galore!

PS - I just re-read my post and realized I didn’t say much about the food! Imagine that! I did enjoy my meal in Chinatown (BBQ pork and white rice) although I do wish I had gone with the beef and vegetables since the next table was enjoying it so much! We had a great dinner that night at really cool place, so I’ll dig up the pictures and share soon as well.

Posted on June 24th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Salut Bar Americain

After a stint away from the Twin Cities, I am back! I do have a lot of posts to write about my recent trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley…those are to come.

While I was gone, a new restaurant opened on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Salut Bar Americain opened in the spot where Sydney’s used to reside. This is the second Salut Bar in the Twin Cities, the first of which is in Edina on 50th and France. To be honest, I didn’t know much about this place before we went. It was a recommendation from a friend. I didn’t care where we went to eat, I just wanted to relax and indulge on some food and wine. Done and done.

Upon arriving, I noticed that Salut Bar had extended the former patio space of Sydney’s, which I think is a great decision. Despite the new large outdoor patio area, however, there was an hour wait to dine outdoors, so our group decided to forego it and eat indoors. With a floor to ceiling liquor display in the bar area and the open kitchen in the main indoor seating space, I loved the indoor space as well. This is why, when we continued to walk through these spaces and into a small, walled off area near the back, I was puzzled. Why in the world did they put a wall up to shut off ten tables from the rest of the beautiful main dining area? It baffles me.

We opened the menu and searched among the French/American items of fresh seafood platters, sandwiches, and grilled meats. Almost immediately I was drawn to the ‘ze salut steak sandwich’, which was served with pommes frites. These pommes frites are noted on the menu as ‘award winning in the Twin Cities.’ Sounded good to me. The verdict? I really liked my steak sandwich. The carmelized onions and the tender steak were perfectly paired with a soft white roll. The pommes frites? Well, they were good but I would not go out on a limb to say they would win any awards from me. Perhaps they have some improvements to make at this new location before they should tout their fries as award winning.

All in all, I did enjoy Salut Bar Americain. Although the server seemed to be new, evidenced by some difficulties with menu items and major fumbling to open the wine bottle, he had a fantastic sense of humor. Sometimes a good steak sandwich and a good sense of humor can really make a meal.

Posted on June 21st, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Pizza Nea

There is something about brick oven pizza…I love how the crust is so crisp and a little blackened and how the cheese is meltingly rich. The toppings with a brick oven pizza stay crisp, allowing each flavor to come through and stand out among the crust and cheese. That is, of course, only if the brick oven pizza is made well.

When I think of brick oven pizza, I think of Pizza Nea. Located in NE Minneapolis, Pizza Nea is such a gem. In the small space located across Hennepin from Surdyk’s, Pizza Nea serves up salads, pizzas, and calzones that are guaranteed to exceed expectations.

Kyle and I visited Pizza Nea recently, sitting at the bar to watch the pizzas being made. The two men tending to the oven moved like a duet. It seemed effortless that they made the pizzas, moved them around in the oven and then took them out at the perfect moment to allow for the crispy crust with a little blackening.

We ordered our standard…caesar salad and a Diavola pizza to share. The caesar salad is fantastic, as I’m not an anchovy fan and this is one of the few caesar salads in the city that doesn’t use anchovy in their dressing. The Diavola is a fantastic pizza with salami, kalamata olives, peperonchinis and basil. The blend of ingredients on this pizza is a salty, sweet, spicy combination that I just can’t get enough of.

Posted on June 15th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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DQ Craving

I wish I could say that it’s officially summer and that is why I’ve been craving ice cream, but I think we all know that that is just not the truth. The fact is that I want it to be summer so badly that all I can think of is ice cream. So on a chilly, rainy day I gave into my cravings and went for it…I had my first Dairy Queen of the season.

I know that DQ is open year-round but the problem is precisely that…it’s open year-round. Who can’t resist the creamy soft serve ice cream mixed with candies, nuts, chocolate, strawberries? Because of this, my rule is that I only eat DQ in the summer. The summer is the perfect time to go to the local DQ and order up your favorite Blizzard or shake. Sitting at the red picnic tables, trying to eat your sweet treat before it melts is such a wonderful thing.

Now, I do realize that I’m talking about DQ and I do want to acknowledge that I know quality ice cream when I eat it. There are some amazing ice cream shops in the Twin Cities area that would meet this criteria: Cafe Crema, Izzy’s, Grand ‘ol Creamery, Sebastian Joe’s, just to name a few. These ice cream shops are all amazing, but in a completely different way than DQ.

When I think of DQ, I am reminded of summer nights as a kid when a trip to DQ after dinner was such a treat. The whole family would pile into our station wagon and drive downtown to enjoy the cool, sweet treat. If we were really lucky, we would also go to A&W for dinner beforehand, which was connected to the DQ. The A&W in our hometown was the best, as it was all outdoor and had an old-fashioned, outdoor counter. We loved sitting high on the plastic red stools that you could spin around and around in. And it was always such a treat when your food was ready; the window right in front of you would slide up and your hot dog and fries would appear.

So while I know I can get good ice cream in the Twin Cities, I do have to put DQ on my list of treats that I crave in the summer. The problem is this…eating your first DQ of the season is kind of like going to the bathroom when drinking. You put it off for as long as you can because you just know that after that first trip to the bathroom, you’ll be returning time and time again before the night is over. The summer is my night and DQ is my drink…and I know I’ll be returning time and time again before the summer is over.

Posted on June 10th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Staying in on Saturday night

Last Saturday night Kyle and I decided to stay in. A good meal, a bottle of wine and a few games of Cribbage was on order for the night. Okay, I’ll admit it…I lost a few games to Kyle. I don’t like to admit it, but I did. However, this is highly unusual to “beat a Camacho girl at a game”, as Kyle put it, so he better relish in the victory…for now. Next time, I’m bringing my A-game.

The purpose of our night, however, was not for me to lose in Cribbage. Rather, we had stayed home to try some new recipes and to relax with a chilled glass of wine. I had picked up some Columbia Crest Riesling at Surdyk’s a few days earlier and decided to try it. I’m not usually a fan of Rieslings, but I have to say that I enjoyed this one. It was sweet (of course) but it was light enough that I didn’t feel like I was drinking a fermented piece of fruit like some Rieslings can taste. Overall I would definitely buy it again. It’s cheap ($8) and it’s a great wine to keep chilled for a hot summer afternoon.

We paired the wine with an appetizer of a quick oven pizza. I love these quick pizzas because you can make them so quickly and it’s easy to keep ingredients on hand. For this pizza, I took a tortilla (a wonderful cheater way of doing a thin crust) and topped it with sliced pear, blue cheese crumbles, fresh rosemary and raw walnut pieces. I baked it for 10 minutes at 375 and then drizzed honey on top before serving. Delicious!

I did a second appetizer course of sliced mushrooms with buffalo mozzarella, olive oil and herbs. This was broiled and then served with crusty bread to mop up the goodness. I had read about this recipe, but I didn’t have the oven proof platter necessary for broiling it correctly. I did like this dish, especially the olive oily mushroom residue at the bottom that we soaked up with the bread, and I’ll definitely have to try it again after I purchase a platter.

Our main course was halibut topped with basil-shallot butter. This is a recipe that I adapted from Bon Appetit. Instead of grilling the fish, however, I pan seared the fillets for a few minutes to get a wonderful brown crust on top and then finished them in a 450 oven to bake them through. I loved the crispiness of the fish and thought the basil-shallot butter added a lot of flavor. That being said I have had better versions of herbed butter than this particular recipe. I would consider trying this again substituting the basil-shallot butter for a different herbed butter topper, as I overall liked this dish, particularly the combination of textures with the crisp, flaky fish and the cool, rich butter.

I didn’t have my game on for the Cribbage, but that was after a good performance on the dinner. Staying in on Saturday night is sometimes just the needed thing.

Posted on June 7th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Do you have any Napa and Sonoma recommendations?

I’m looking forward to an upcoming trip to the Napa Valley area…can’t wait for some good food and some good wine! I’m dreaming of a time not so long ago when I was lounging at Bouza Winery in Uruguay. Ahhh, the memories!

We’ve been to the Napa area one time before and loved it. Our favorite wineries of that trip were Artesa, Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyard and Hanna. We also loved the picnic area at V. Sattui. Located right on the Silverado Trail, V. Sattui has a large fresh deli with salads, cheeses, breads and other great picnic items. They also have a large picnic area outside their tasting room that is perfect for a mid-afternoon snack or lunch. The Freets recently returned from a trip to Napa and sent the following pictures along of his picnic at V. Sattui.

I’d love to get recommendations for other wineries and for restaurants to visit on our upcoming trip. Please send me your favorites and what you like your recommendation. I can’t wait to experience Napa again! Pictures and stories will shortly follow.

Posted on June 4th, 2008 by katiejocannon
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Big Papa Pickle

Yikes! That does sound like an odd name for a post, but look at the picture…it’s a Big Papa Pickle, what can I say? You might be wondering where I acquired such a big pickle and that, my friend, is a fine story indeed.

Kyle went to Chicago awhile back and decided that he needed to bring me a gift. That does sound sweet, doesn’t it? In reality, he and our friend Jeff thought this big pickle was pretty darn funny when they saw it in a gas station in Chicago and then decided that I was destined to have this pickle brought home to me. You might wonder how Kyle got this pickle from Chicago to Minneapolis, given the restrictions on carrying liquids onto an airplane. Let’s just say that putting a bag containing a big pickle through the security checkpoint sounds like it was quite an interesting scenario.

At the airport the woman at the checkpoint took Kyle’s bag aside, rummaged through, and pulled out…you guessed it…the Big Papa Pickle. With a brow raised and a smirk on her face, she told Kyle that he couldn’t bring the pickle through. To which Kyle responded, “but it’s just pickle juice.” Apparently that somehow worked because just hours later Kyle was safely in Minneapolis, with the Big Papa Pickle.

This pickle sat in our refrigerator until this past Friday night. We had some friends over to grill before the Twins game and thought that it was the perfect situation to break out Big Papa. We boiled some brats in beer and finished them on the grill. Our toppings were diced ketchup, mustard, diced onions, pepper rings, and spears of the Big Papa Pickle. Overall I think the pickle really added something to the brat. I love the crunch of a pickle spear alongside a brat or hot dog.

In hindsight, however, I do wish I had done some research before planning my meal. Although Van Holten’s manufactures their ‘pickle-in-a-pouch’ in Wisconsin, this particular pickle grew up in Chicago. Had I considered that before I would have looked into the true Chicago-style hot dog and definitely would have gone with that theme to make Big Papa feel right at home…on a Chicago-style dog.

Posted on June 2nd, 2008 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Customs, Food, General, Travel | 1 Comment »