Napa & SFTrip Report Ad Hoc, Mustards, Taylors Refresher, Wine Train, Fresca

[sivyaleah]

Just returned from a few days in Napa - not long enough unfortunately!

Our first night (Tuesday) we had dinner at Mustards. This was a great choice, delightful all around. We were told that our table would be a bit longer, although another was already set, not as preferred a location. We were famished, having just made a long drive up from Monterey with a stop over in Santa Rosa so we opted to just take that table. The room was so warm and inviting no matter where you sat, kind of like an upscale diner, and since the windows overlook the highway (albeit a lovely one due to the vineyards), so it made little difference to us.

We settled in - were given hot, fresh sourdough bread - one of the best things about being out there since no sourdough compares to that you get in the Bay are here in the northeast.

Just about everything on the menu was appealing to my husband and I and the wine list was interesting as well. We both decided on salads to start, since we've been hearing so much about how good produce is up there (we hadn't even seen their garden out back yet!). My husband's had wonderful blue cheese and candied pastachios in it, mine greens, herbs, candied pecans with an apple vinegrette, both absolutely pristine in the quality of the greens and each dressed to precision (a pet peeve of mine personally, I hate overdressed salads).

For the meal, I chose the grilled rabbit which came with a potato cake and my husband had hanger steak. The rabbit was truly amazing. Scented with oregano, in a sauce which I'm almost positive may have had a touch of vanilla in it (I meant to ask, it had a definite sweet undertone), with baby carrots (a touch of wimsy with the rabbit), and other small baby veggies and a potato cake. I had a glass of zinfandel with this - a Turley. My husband's hanger steak was buttery soft, served with excellent mashed potatoes - he opted for an upscale soda, wasn't in the mood to have wine, but the soda was a Pinot Noir soda LOL, it tasted like grape juice for adults, quite tasty!

There were 3 nightly deserts in addition to what was on the menu - we chose the blueberry/peach crumble with vanilla ice cream, and some zinfandel port. When it arrived, we both immedately noticed there were no blueberries in it - in fact, at first I thought they were blackberries, my husband thought raspberries because of the color of the sauce. We called the waitress over to point this out - thought they should change the blackboard. She thanked us, came back to the table and told us indeed, we were partially correct, actually, it was blackberry/necterine. It was unclear if the dish had been changed or if it was incorrectly posted to begin with - not that it mattered because it was the best crumble we'd ever had. Apparently, the nightly specials change throughout the evening frequently. While we were there, the fish that was posted ran out, and another fish appeared. So, ingredients are flexible and fluid it seems, as the whim of the kitchen.

This was a very memorable meal. If we ever return, we look forward to trying the other sister restaurants.

Wednesday for lunch, we just ate at our hotel's bar area for a light bite after our spa treatments, since we were going to do the Wine Train that evening. We were staying in the Marriott, surprisingly it wasn't bad - split a ceaser salad, had a couple of flatbread pizzas (which actually were not really what we consider flatbread at all, just mini-pizza), one a white pizza with basil and yellow tomatoes, the other pepperoni. BTW, in general, The Marriott wasn't a bad choice to say - we were in their concierge rooms which came with a continental breakfast, the usual fare of fresh coffee/tea, boxed cereal, yogurts, toast, fresh fruit, oatmeal, fresh scrambled eggs (actually, not bad, I was surprised), pastries, etc. This worked out well for us, since we felt a bit better about eating a lighter breakfast considering the meals we were eating later in the day. It also came with a mid-afternoon wine & cheese reception - not a great choice, but still something to come back to after imbiding at the wineries and at night, a bit of a desert snack too.

Anyway - Normally I wouldn't consider having dinner on something like the Wine Train, however, my husband is a big train buff and the allure for him was the vintage cars, etc. So, this was a compromise for me. It actually was a nice evening and since it was July 4th, the train was stopping over at the Domaine Chandon grounds to view the fireworks during our desert. We started off having our appetizers in one of the viewing cars - I had champagne and they served a decent plate of small bites, seared tuna, chicken with mustard sauce, a cream cheese in pyllo cup, a couple of almond stuffed olives, a cornichon, a strawberry, a couple of other small things. Not bad.

The ride was slow, a bit tedious a points but enjoyable. We moved to the dining car and made our dinner choices from about 5 entrees. We started with a nice salad of mixed greens with a good portion of blue cheese and nuts. Then, there was a intermezzo of tropical sorbets. This was the only miss of the meal, as they crammed too many flavors into this small cup - instead of it clearning your palate, it wound up confusing it! Banana, coconut, mixed berry, I'm pretty sure there was one more. I guess they were trying to appeal to the masses. Next was the main course. We both chose the beef tenderloin, thinking we couldn't go too wrong with this. We were right. It was perfectly cooked, in a Cabernet sauce, no fat, very tender, with mushroom caps, some baby veggies, a fennel potato cake. Surpisingly good! Desert was a vanilla creme brulee or kalua chocolate cheesecake, we took one of each. Both good, the brulee better but there was no "crack" on it.

All in all, this was a nice experience, tho maybe dragged on a bit too long. The fireworks were fun to watch, the service was lacking, disorganized but I think this had more to do with the inherent problems of trying to work/serve on the moving train in small quarters, etc. Wine didn't appear with your meals on time for instance, which to us was the biggest error since it is, afterall, a Wine Train experience!

Thursday, we were out doing the winery thing, getting a little too buzzed a little too early and I needed food earlier than normal! While driving around, I remembered we'd passed Taylor's Refresher the day prior so I made my husband go there. Having a big burger was exactly what I needed to soak up the alcohol. Another winner. I sure hope this place never decides to go corporate. Excellent burger - I had the cheeseburger, husband just a regular burger - we split the garlic fries (addictive!). He had a chocolate shake which was very good although quite pricey we thought for the size (and mind you we come from an area where things are expensive too), I had the watermelon lemonade, I was kind of disappointed in this somewhat. Next time, I'll stick with a shake too. The burgers here really are what a burger should be, great buns, great sauce, great atmosphere, clean as a whistle too. Thanks to all who recommended going here!

That night was the meal I was most looking forward to - AD HOC.

When making the reservation, I was a bit concerned knowing that there was little leeway about the meal. My husband does not eat seafood, I had mentioned this to them and they were very nice about it and said they could accomodate him about this. Well, as it turns out we didn't need to worry at all because the night we were there it was Veal Scallopine night! It couldn't have gotten any better for him! Very Italian overall - like going to your mom's house for dinner, and his mom is Italian, it was exactly like a meal either she or I would cook - except elevated to the nth degree because of the beauty and quality of the ingredients which just can't be had in most supermarkets.

First of all, the restaurant was a lot different than I expected. For some reason, I thought it was going to be more "unfinished" in appearance from what I've read. It isn't. It's a lovely space, warm, gracious in all respects. Everyone there is very into what they are doing and knows intimately the food/menu inside and out. We were seated, and my husband turns to me and says "Isn't that Michael Chiarello over there?" It was, he was right in back of me, to my left, with his wife and a friend, chowing down, looking very happy indeed. Actually - I was stunned my husband recoginzed him, since my husband isn't someone who would necessarily recognize famous chefs offhand - kudos to him on that one!

Anyway - the menu this evening was:

Bread: Excellent!
Salad: Radiccho, Endive, Mint, Local Plums, Pine Nuts and Herb Dressing
Entree: Veal Scallapine served over Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Pearl Onions
Side Dish: Polenta with Roma Tomatoes
Cheese Course: I wish I remember this cheese! It was a Sheep & Goat milk mixture, semi-soft, with an edible rind, serviced with Marcona Almonds and a local honey from Napa Wildflowers (can't remember the name offhand - I did buy 2 jars of it, it's sold down the block in Yountville, in the local grocery store now - it's still packed in my luggage, if anyone cares, when I unpack I'll post it).
Desert: Vanilla Buttermilk Panna Cotta on a cookie crisp, with Fresh Strawberries, Blueberries, Rasberries
I had a Sangiovese with this whole meal - served cold, it was a lighter style, more like a rose.

There was MORE than enough food for the two of us - we easily could have made 2 meals out of this. 4 pieces of the veal, plenty of broccoli rabe, more than enough polenta.

Overall, we enjoyed this meal - it was very homey, like I mentioned above, like being at home but 100% better because you weren't cooking :-) To both of us, the only small misstep here was that the veal was a bit oversalted - you could actually see the salt crystals on the cutlets. I don't personally mind a bit of extra salt, however, this was a tad too much - not so much that it ruined the dish, but I do think someone in the kitchen was a bit heavy handed with it. Other than that, I haven't one bad thing to say about any of it. Service was great, ingredients were explained quite well, and if they forgot, you could easily pickup what was missed by overhearing it from the table next to you. We really had a great time here, it seemed that everyone else was too - the people next to us started a conversation with us, after overhearing us talking about "home" and wondered how we found out about the place, being from so far away - of course, we mentioned Chowhound, and told them to check it out!

Friday, we were meeting my friend in SF before heading back home and we went to Fresca, a peruvian place in the Mission district (I believe?). We'd never had Peruvian before and this too was a good meal. Started with mussels in a spicy chorizo garlic broth with toasted bread for dipping(only problem with a lot of them were open and missing the mussels, some were in the bottom of the bowl, but it did seem that we got gypped somewhat on this dish). Also got a dish of fried "wontons" filled with crab/shrimp/cream cheese, and potato croquettes filled with beef piccadillo. Our entrees were Loma Saltado (wok fried tenderloin steak strips with tomato, onions, cilantro in soy sauce with white rice and french fries), Adobo de Chanco (braised pork with pepper sofrito, pickeled onions and sweet yams, canario beans and white rice) and a Salmon de Tumbres (pan roasted) with Arroz Negro (black squid ink rice with roasted calamari in it). We didn't have desert, we were way too stuffed from all of the afrorementioned. My husband and I never had this type of food before, there isn't any of it were we live, we'll have to search it out now that we've tried it since it was quite good.

All in all, this part of our trip was very successful food-wise. We were in Monterey prior, can't say as much there - that was hit or miss but Napa and environs were great - including the perfect peaches we bought at V. Sattui's grocery - probably the best one we've had in year. Why on earth can't we find peaches like this back home???

[maria lorraine]

Thanks for the nice report, Leah. Did you make it to Santa Rosa/Peanuts?

[sivyaleah]

We did :-), very entertaining, but we only had about an hour to spend there. By the time we got to the second floor, the guy who was in the Schultz "office" was telling us about how he used to service the xerox machine for Schultz and about their senior's hockey league, etc. We had to cut him short, explaining how short on time we were due to having to make our dinner at Mustards LOL. He was a nice man, but very long-winded but full of personal information about Schultz, so worth seeking out if anyone goes there :-)

[Melanie Wong]

Just wanted to add a link to the post 2 years ago on the Charlie Brown kidnapping from a Santa Rosa restaurant, http://www.chow.com/topics/36944 . The town is home to some 50+ Charlie Brown statues and a must-see for Peanuts lovers.

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Michele's Italian & American
521 Adams St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

[sivyaleah]

LOL! Thanks for that. Something we never heard about here in the northeast :-)

[hhc]

sivyaleah,

Thanks for the report. I'd like to know what local honey from Napa Wildflower you bought and what the store was you bought it in.

[sivyaleah]

It's made by Marshall's Farm.

http://www.marshallshoney.com/

Here's the link to the exact product:

http://www.marshallshoney.com/p-155-8...

I just took it out of my luggage, receipt is elsewhere. The store was literally down the block from Ad Hoc, on the same side. If you make a right out of Ad Hoc, and continue only a few blocks further, there's a small local grocery store in Yountville. It's in there. They have other varieties too, one from the CIA, another wildflower version which was darker, one with the honeycomb in it, etc. I would have bought all of them, except for the problem of not knowing if I could get them through security in a carry on (what with all that 3 oz restriction thing) and didn't have any room to pack them at the last minute - they didn't exactly look like the kind of place which could do this for you - it's basically a small grocery store.

If I find the receipt, I'll post the name, although I'm sure one of the locals will know exactly what store I'm talking about.

[hhc]

Thanks Sivyaleah. I know about Marshall's Farm honey. They sell at the SF Ferry Plaza's farmer's market and other gourmet shops. I like their Star Thistle.

[rworange]

Wonderful report. Thanks so much.

I'm glad you did a report on Mustards Grill. There were a few one-liners from people who didn't like it, but looking at the links below, most people seem to really like the place.

Fresca has three restaurants in the city. I'm assuming that you went to the one on 24th St. I can never remember which of the three is the best.

You're one of the few people to say anything positive about the wine train. Here's an old report that was on the pro-ish side ... the poster DID have a 'little' wine.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/83811

The report ends however ...

"Chino Wayne did remark that it was a shame, that the overall food quality of this operation, whose largest and controlling share holder is the Rice-A-Roni king did not live up to the consistently high standards of the countless boxes of Rice-A-Roni consumed over the past 30 years by the Chino Waynes.

Total tab for the wine train excursion for the Chino Waynes was $200.00 which included roundtrip train fare for two adults, two prixe fix lunches, two glasses of sparkling wine, one bottle of wine and two four glass wine tasting pours. Mrs. Chino Wayne also purchased a photo of the Chino Waynes in front of the train as they were about to disembark for 20.00"

Some Previous links on the places you visited:

Ad Hoc

http://www.chowhound.com/places/1006
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/340787
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/327117
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/376367

Mustards Grill
http://www.chowhound.com/places/2427
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/28299
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/336176#1964287
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/43251
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/35806
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/37744
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/20455
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/43575#213423
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/19733

Taylors Refresher
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/414586
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/416544

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Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St., Yountville, CA 94599

Mustards Grill
7399 St Helena Hwy, Napa, CA 94558

Gott's Roadside
933 Main St, Saint Helena, CA 94574

Napa Valley Wine Train
1275 McKinstry St, Napa, CA 94559

[sivyaleah]

Chinowayne's post was amusing!

I had done a lot of research here before I left. The wine train, as I mentioned was a complete compromise for my husband. It only was because of his love of trains (yes, we have model trains in our home, $1000's of dollars worth of them). It was for the experience, we try and do these train rides wherever we go on vacation that has them. Since it was July 4th, and firework viewing was included (to me this sounded better than sitting out getting bit by mosquitos) we figured what the heck? Yes, expensive, ridiculously so (we paid $200 for the trip, plus another $20ish for wine, we didn't indulge too much because we weren't impressed with the list) and yes, we purchased the silly photo (but, then again we have practically no photos of the two of us on any of our vacations, so this was a nice souvenier for us). But, all in all, as Chinowayne pointed out, not so bad particularly if you're a train buff and, you have cash to burn.

Mustards menu was just down right appealing to me. I'm glad we had a great experience and we'd go back again without a doubt. We took a walk in the garden afterwards - very impressive. No wonder our salads were so incredibly fresh!

Taylor's is just the epitome of what a good hamburger stand should be. Efficient, well-run, great food, pleasant to sit at, fairly prices for the quality of the food, clean as can be (even the birds didn't have anything to pick at - everyone was cleaning up after themselves). If I lived there, my lipitor dose would have to be doubled pretty quickly.

Ad Hoc, we both loved. It lived up to most of what I read about. Interestingly, even some of the negatives. I remembered reading about the food being over-salted, and indeed, our veal was. But, no matter - it didn't ruin the dish. I loved how casual it was, how willing they were to accommodate my husband's aversion to seafood if that was going to be on the menu (it wasn't, thankfully). Quality of the food was very high and service wonderful. Another place we'd go to very frequently if we lived in the area.

As for Fresca, yes we were at the one on 24th. Service was very good there, beautiful space and of course, food was great.