To die for.
brunch
1 Two Sunday Brunches at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc
ice cream
2 What Exactly Is in a $60,000 Ice Cream Sundae?
Wine
3 Happy Hour: 2006 Domaine Carneros Brut
Poll
4 Would You Eat This Cheese?
Vegetarian
5 An Influential Meal at Ubuntu
Tips
6 5 Huge Misconceptions About Visiting Wineries
community
7 One Delicious-Looking Lunch at St. Helena's Martini House
Wine
9 Beyond Sparklers: 3 Still Wines From Chandon to Try
As a writer of food and drink, I have a pretty big blunder to admit. Though wine country is a mere hour away, I don't know the first thing about choosing a tasting room. On my last trip to wine country, I hit up three spots: one fantastic, another mediocre, and a third downright horrible. If only I had known what I know now, after speaking with Tilar Mazzeo, the author of Back Lane Wineries of Read more
If you're a fan of Californian sparkling wines, you've probably enjoyed a glass or two of Chandon. With over 200,000 bottles produced a year, an affordable price tag, and a tasting room that sees 2,000 people on a Saturday, it's one of Napa Valley's most well-known bubbly producers. What you may not know, however, is that the winery also makes some well-rounded and interesting still wines. I Read more
Although I've driven by the Domaine Carneros winery in Napa countless times, until this weekend, I had never checked it out. Upon arrival at the busy sparkling wine house, which sits on a hill overlooking rolling fields of grapes, one is invited to a sampling of their sparklers. My favorite pour was the 2006 Brut Cuvée ($26). It's light on the palate, refreshingly dry, with a crisp clean finish Read more
I did a wine tasting at Peju Winery a while back and was pleasantly surprised with the winery's Provence bottling — a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel with Chardonnay and French Colombard. While purists may scoff at a red and white blend compared to a traditional Rosé, this is a tasty, goes-with-everything wine that I have on hand for Saturday park soirees and Summer Read more
While the Napa Valley is known worldwide for its amazing wineries, the Northern California region is also home to some award-winning restaurants. Everyone's heard of Thomas Keller's famed French Laundry and Michael Chiarello's Bottega, but lesser known spots like Pat Kuleto's Martini House are definitely worth checking out. Recently Lauren was lucky enough to enjoy lunch at the St. Helena spot Read more
Long before Ad Hoc at Home became a holiday pick and bestselling cookbook, Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant was a go-to Napa Valley spot for family-style comfort food. When the culinary deity first opened Ad Hoc in 2006, he intended for it to be a temporary café until he could nail down what his ultimate dining concept would be. But the restaurant, which served a set, four-course American meal Read more
Earlier this year, I made the trip up to Napa, CA, to visit Ubuntu, a restaurant that's garnered national acclaim for a new kind of vegetarian produce-driven cuisine. The food is radical for many reasons, like the fact that executive chef (and Food & Wine Best New Chef) Jeremy Fox grows much of the produce in a biodynamic garden near the restaurant. It's also that the focus of the menu is not Read more
A few weeks ago, while at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, BellaSugar and I tasted a deliciously creamy cheese. The cheese was called Mélange and was from the Andante Dairy. I loved its blend of goat and cow's milk cheese that created a great flavor sensation. Even Bella — who hates soft cheeses — thought it was fantastic. There was one teeny issue. The Oxbow Cheese Merchant had been Read more
I was recently at the new Oxbow Public Market in Napa, where I came across a little organic scoop shop from Three Twins Ice Cream. While the ice cream is smooth and delicious, it was actually the absurdly expensive sundaes that caught my eye. I asked the gal behind the counter if they've ever served an expensive sundae, and she said not yet, but she was sure it was bound to happen someday. The Read more
Week two on The Bachelorette brought plenty of action, and I'm not just talking about the chemistry between Emily and Kermit — though that was slightly uncomfortable. No, I'm referring to the first one-on-one dates, the first group date, and all the poolside drama. It looks like we've got a veritable Real Housewives of Charlotte on our hands, only in this case the housewives are men and Botox Read more
