A Saturday in Napa

S and I had a very nice day up in Napa last month on our anniversary.  We stopped by three wineries, including the famed Opus One, which wasn’t necessarily better than some cabernet/merlot blends at other wineries especially in light of the $200 per bottle price tag. Similar wines from Pine Ridge were just as good. In the end, we just took home a modest half bottle of fume blanc from Grgich!

Lunch at Bouchon was very nice. I had Kushi oysters from British Columbia on the half shell, a delicate lobster bisque, hearty steak frites that look just like those on the back cover of Thomas Keller's cookbook with a Remy Napa cab, and profiteroles with tea.

I like Thomas Keller's philosophy of food (above), even if he is a bit too detail oriented to replicate at home.  Nevertheless I love his sage roasted chicken recipe from the Bouchon  cookbook, as seen on "No Reservations" (below).