Yountville, oh Yountville

You may remember a recent, or not so recent trip to Yountville CA, home of the French Laundry and a few French soup places.
American Express wants you to use their card on your next visit.


http://youtu.be/S6qVPg56z9w


Enjoy :)

It's 76*F and the Cherry Tree Knows It!

On Monday, 20 Feb, we were greeted by this:

By this morning, we had this:

Not too shabby.







Our First General

Wednesday, 22 February, is the Birthday anniversary of our first President. He was also our first General.
Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

For a bit more serious review, please consider:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/02/remembering-the-indispensable-man.php

Well worth the time.

Aaand, it's back!

33 hours ahead of schedule, CalTrans and the CHP started picking up the cones so by 8:00 p.m. Sunday, the Bay Bridge was open again!

Traffic on the Golden Gate and Hayward/San Mateo quickly returned to normal.

It's nice when things go much better than expected.

It's unusual, too, more's the pity.

We had a bit of rain today

and it was refreshing

but, we need a lot more.



Lunch in St. Helena

So, I found myself on California 29 with three delightful Japanese ladies today, and we stopped for a bite of lunch in St. Helena, at the Northern end of the Napa Valley.

The lunch was delicious, the setting divine. :)
 http://travignerestaurant.com/

Two Gentlemen, Two Guns

First, a marshmallow cannon:

 

Second, a 30 calibre rifle (with a Pontiac Gran Torino) :

You don't have to choose, of course, but if you did . . . ?

Restaurant Scene, Murphys California

So, we did a bit of winery investigation in the Shenandoah area around Plymouth this weekend.
(Aside, I start my sentences with "So" because I've been watching @dickc, CEO of @Twitter, and he starts all his sentences with "So.")
There have been a large number of new vineyards started since we were last on Shenandoah and Shenandoah Schoolhouse Roads. Perhaps a dozen or more, replete with tasting rooms and museums.
On the way back to Saddle Creek we detoured to Murphys for lunch. DW#1 has always wanted to try Mineral Restaurant on Main Street, so we did.
Little did I know, it's a vegetarian place. Looks like a husband and wife team, he doing the cooking, and she doing the dining room. We quickly noticed that she did it all, ordering, serving, bussing, setting with her infant on her back. The kid never woke up.
DW#1 had a veggie burger, and I a three-cheese and spinach grilled sandwich. You see it above, with pickled cauliflower and homemade garlic potato chips. The chips were magnificent, the cauliflower much less so. The sandwich was pretty good, better than okay. Prices (about $25/per) were about average for a tourist place.
So, if you're in the neighborhood, and if you're looking for vegetarian, this is a good place to check out.

Lunch in Napa

Okay, we finally went. To Morimoto's Napa outlet. For lunch on an off-season Sunday. I was astounded.
This is showtime, big time, with a gentle food theme.
This is Cirque du Soleil - showy, elegant, expensive, take-your-breath-away spectacular.

The food is pretty good to great. I would call it asian/fusion. Asian origin with Western taste additions. We were both somewhat surprised. Somewhat pleasantly.

Mieko had Uni Carbonera. She ate the sea urchin, found the noodles too rich. I tried the noodles, and found them Italian delicious. Go figure.

I had the Washugyu carpaccio - absolutely wonderful, and very rich.

This restaurant has absolutely nothing to do with Napa. (Hence, my astonishment.) It could be in any world-class city. (They have branches in Waikiki, Philadelphia, and New York.)

The interior design will take your breath away. Solid woodslab table tops, glass ohashi, polished concrete floor, elegant wall decorations, wonderful murals.

We both want to go back, to try some of the menu selections we had to pass on, or to sit at the sushi counter and see what happens.

If, that is, we can afford the visit. Figure $70/person for lunch with wine, $110+/person for dinner.

Go to morimotonapa.com and browse. :)

Marvelous View From The Hills

ABC 7 posted this beautiful pic taken from atop the East Bay Hills of the Bay Area as a Winter storm moved out.

 

Click to enlarge.

Oaktown, if you believe

Fox News, and the New York Times, take a rosy look at our favorite Second City.

Cut and paste to link: http://video.foxnews.com/v/1411956369001/

Or, click here

Carousel

Leadership!

Okay, I won't leave this up for long, but I think it's a revealing picture of Jean Quan, the current Mayor of Oakland. I have a theory, but it involves the Good Old Boys, so I'll save it for another time.

Life's Little Lessons

Bacon is healthy. Bacon is awesome. Bacon throws off a lot of fat. When I was an impressionable kid, we were trained to save our meat fat and return it to the butcher shop to be made into bombs.

I learned that lesson well, and to this day... In addition, I suspect, not throwing the stuff down a hot drain pipe may extend the life of the plumbing.

Guam USA

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AMBUNHbVZIE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's truly astonishing, how much video about the island of Guam is floating around on the internet. If the script above doesn't load, try this:

http://youtu.be/AMBUNHbVZIE

Ostrich Watch

A bank in Amsterdam, Holland.
A bank with a sense of humor.

Japanese New Year's Food

It all tasted really good! Even the four kids had a ball. I think you can click to expand, if your stomach wishes.

Twinkling Toes?

In Germany, I believe. Obviously, a musical city.

Cypress, Walnut Creek

This place has been open for about a month, in place of the former VeSu restaurant. The chef is from the former Virage, a French restaurant, on the other end of town.
Theme is French-California stylish.
We went to celebrate our 46-ish Anniversary.

Warm greetings upon entry, and a Kindle-like wine list pad to study. Fun, of course, but not connected to the bar. Oh well, it's geeky enough.

Super (too?) friendly waiter. Droned on and on about the specials while DW#1 was fiddling with the Kindle wine list. Got through that, ordered the escargots for an appetizer. Sobon Zin and Domaine Pinot Meunier red wines accompanied.

Service was a bit slow, but the cremini mushroom tops with escargots were well worth the wait. A basket of French bread to help with the butter sauce was delicious and welcomed.

We continued with the sea bass dinner and the knife-sliced beef carpaccio. Both were excellent, tasty, beautifully presented. Again, service was a bit slow.

Piano at the bar was a welcome distraction. Noise level is a bit above pleasant, but okay.
Staff continued friendly. Nice to see.

Dessert was crackers, fresh fruit, heavy sweet cream with fruit drizzle. Excellent.

Tab for two, with wine and tip, about $100.

Highly recommended. California cuisine with a definite French touch. Next time you're in town, let me know and we'll go. Split the tab? :)

The Importance of Eyes

We've had a few questions about eyes (left eyes) today, but all has turned out well. So, here's a chance for you to rest your own eyes.

And, of course, our all-time favorite for study and peaceful contemplation:

And, to all a good night! :)