California - Napa and San Fran, before I forget them completely

When I started this blog, it was back in my days of work travel. Usually when I traveled for work, I had a lot of time on my hands. I would have hours of downtime to plot my next entry, and I was usually in the same place for several weeks - not just a few days here and there. I also usually had easy access to the internet and a computer.

I don't travel as much since I left the world of international health. That often makes me sad because I really love to travel. I guess I just need to try harder.

I've had two good trips during the last few months. I went to Napa Valley and San Francisco back in July/August for a week and then I went to Las Vegas for a few days just a few weekends ago. Really, my first trips to both places.

I'll try to re-cap Napa and SF first.

Dave and I arrived in San Francisco and immediately got in a car headed to Napa. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and our first stop in this culinary land of plenty was In-n-Out Burger, something of a legend I had heard about from Dave and his friends. It may not have resembled the rest of the meals we had that week, but it was darn tasty.

From this point on, I think the easiest thing to do is to list the specifics of the food and wine, which, after all, is why one goes to Napa. I'll do food first.

Dinner at Brix: The website boasts "a renewed focus on farm-to-table dining." Um, yeah, and that "farm" is about 15 yards away behind the restaurant, where we are pretty sure a head of lettuce had been whacked off just moments before being served as an appetizer on Dave's salad plate. No joke. The one mistake I made here was that I had filled up on cheese earlier in the day at the Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa. But the food at Brix was very good. It wasn't anything fancy, but it isn't meant to be. Truly just good, honest, high-quality food in a beautiful location.

Another dinner at Terra: This place earned a Michelin star in 2008 and did not disappoint. The restaurant itself (as I recall) was down to earth and the food was amazing. Even better was the wine recommendation, and one that I have even found in DC wine shops! (A Belle Glos Meomi Pinot Noir, for anyone who is keeping track)

As for wine, we hit a good cross-section of wineries over the course of basically a day and a few hours. In no particular order, we visited:

- Artesa
- Silver Oak (awesome - and expensive - cab sauv)
- Domaine Chandon (Bubbly stuff. we did the "sensory" wine tasting, which was a lot of fun)
- Rutherford Hill (great picnic area that came highly recommended. They also have a yummy Port)
- Cliff Lede (has a sauv blanc that seriously has a guava taste. In a good way!)
- Reynold's Family
- Domaine Carneros (more bubbly)

We stayed at the super-quaint and really comfy Candlelight Inn.

Back in San Francisco, the culinary and wine tour continued through the course of several days time, despite the fact that it was a work trip. We did get the burritos that Dave day-dreams about at Taqueria Can-Cun in the Mission District. We also had breakfast in The Haight at the Pork Store Cafe, which, seriously...how could a place called the Pork Store Cafe be bad?

Dave also introduced me to a fantastic tasting room/wine bar concept called The Press Club, which is this great "bar" representing 8 California vineyards. You can order by the glass, but you can also do tastings for a small fee at each table. Those small fees have a way of building up though - you swipe a card each time you drink and at the end of the night you pay at the front desk. That part is kind of painful! But worth it.

Without Dave (sniff), I also went to the Samovar Tea Room in the Castro, Zare at Fly Trap (awesome Mediterranean with a very friendly chef) in SOMA, and The Slanted Door, tasty Vietnamese food in the Embarcadero Ferry Building.

So, yeah, we got around. It's exciting to feel like I actually know something about California wines now. And I really like SF a lot. It's just got a good feel to it. Despite being a city girl, sometimes there's a lot to dislike about them. But not SF.

Anyway, will try to continue with Las Vegas in the next few days and try to get back on track. And I think I need to buy a travel laptop and plan a few more big trips so I can have more to write about!