if you like fondue: no joke, the traders joe package is great. it's just Gruyere and Fontina already blended with corn starch -- heat it up and dip away.

Day 2:

We started breakfast with a strawberry & rhubarb crostata and a a nutella and mixed berry bruschetta on toasted pugliese bread.

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The quality of fresh fruit in CA just makes me sick thinking that I've eaten water fruit all my life...

I finished it up with a Calabrian sausage & potatoes breakfast crepe. I was a bit disappointed here, it came in a tortilla instead -- they had some issue with their crepe hot plate or something. The heap of guacamole -- I could have eaten that by the bucket full. Even their sour cream was good...

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to get the full atmosphere here, this is a picture of the pergola roof we were sitting under:

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fun fact: I added my wife's lunch plate of sea bass to our first lunch above.

Day 2 Lunch.

We went back to Bottega!

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Last time I went I was told to get the Gin and Tonic. You've never had a better one. I forgot the Italian gin they use, but they use Fever Tree tonic water -- which in itself is $$$ and it's garnished with a lemon slice, frozen grape, juniper berries, and a sprig of rosemary. That spring of rosemary makes the drink.

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The daily risotto was sweet corn with snow pea leaves, so I went with that. (last time I had the corn and soft shelled crab risotto).

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wifey ended up with a new menu item that just added that week: a squash/zucchini "pasta" with fried squash blossoms.

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we shared a plate of truffled parmigiano fries because potato.

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and for lunch dessert we got the lemon and strawberry semifreddo with a strawberry tarragon compote and toasted almonds.

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and here is a bottle of chateau la lagune 1934 from a private collection that I did not drink.

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Fun Fact: Bottega and Ottimo are both owned by Michael Chiarello, famous TV chef. Bouchon and French Laundry are both owned by Thomas Keller, famous-ass chef.

Day 2 Dinner was my least favorite of the week this night, we indulged in a little too much food and drink throughout the day and were exhausted and overwhelmed at this point. I didn't like the restaurant's offerings that much and everything but the fish was a heavy red meat dish. They had a pork belly dish that I wanted to get but didn't think i could stomach it (no pun intended). The menu online looked much better than our nights. I wish we to his pizza joint instead like we did the time before...

I ended up with the Red Snapper topped with pickled carrots and cucumber with daikon and roasted eggplant. The smear on the plate was seaweed flavored and i hated every second of it...

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little miss wifey got the Alaskan halibut with sunchokes & leeks

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Surely quantity has a certain quality all it's own. Over the weekend I made 30 freezer bag, slow cooker meals for my disabled father. Each bag contains 2-3 servings and is a one step meal.https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fbc2918eab.jpg

Scott, you really gotta start shopping at a farmers market when the fruit is in season.

strawberries are in season right now. when you cut them in half, the middle portion is RED. not white.

Day 3.

hello banana fosters french toast. pleased to eat you.

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Chiliquiles

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and of course, a side of potatoes:

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Lunch was at Sonoma's Girl and the Fig patio.

I wasn't sure what to drink so I went with syrah wine flights :)

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and we started lunch with a cheese course of (3) goat cheeses. not pictured.

I was going to go with steak and frites, but the mortadella pressed sandwich sounded bang on.

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was not disappoint.

wifey also got a pressed grilled cheese w/ fries of course.

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and for lunch dessert we went with strawberry shortcake.

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here are the umbrellas overhead of the patio

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and the rusty wall that encloses you

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Mmmmmm. Goat cheese.

Edit: also, your avatar is hilariously ironic next to these photos, you bourgeoisie swine. :giggle:

I was going to tell him to just stop buying produce at walmart.

TIL i eat bruschetta almost every day.

dinner:

i missing a few pics here, please forgive.

this is a blood orange margarita.

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this is goat cheese and truffle flatbread

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these are lamb loin chops and crispy brussel sprouts

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setting mood:

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this is their garden they source some of the ingredients.

Haven't been on any Brainey-level culinary adventures the past few days. Mostly just polishing off the left-overs of the previous week.

Sometimes, you need a break from the haute cuisine, and decide to make a big ole' plate of beer-battered onion rings, from scratch of course. Added a healthy shot of cajun spice to the batter this time around, and they came out oh-so-delish.


Yes, this is literally all I had for dinner tonight. And I don't regret a bit of it:

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(Baked, not fried. Because I don't hate my colon *that* much.)

recipe so I can do same.

vidalia / sweet onions?

forgot to update:

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breakfast up on a hill overlooking Napa. This place has a star, but I've had better breakfast.


for lunch I had a Mongolian Pork Chop

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misses has halibut:

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for lunch dessert with a chocolate tart with coffee ice cream and caramel. it was pretty freaking good. not pictured.


fun fact: that pork chop gets featured a lot:


was featured on "best thing i ever ate" by Bobby Flay:

Mustards Grill | Restaurants : Food Network | Food Network



between breakfast and lunch I saw this guy:

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i dont have dinner pictured.

as soon as we sat down, the a/c was blowing HEAVILY and bothering my eyes. We asked to move and they moved us two seats over where our menus stopped flying around the table, but my eyes were still bothered. We almost left because once they moved us, they never came back again to take our order until we had to flag someone down. the food was good, but we were really annoyed about the service at that point -- she just had a tude to her and didnt go over menu/specials, just walked up and was like you ready? so we ordered and rushed through.

in case you care: we got some weird fried sweet potato fritter app thing with a yogurt dip, and i got an artichoke soup cause it sounded neat and tasted neat. i got lobster risotto for dinner and wife got halibut yet again. we skipped dessert.

before heading home the next day we ate of Gott's Roadside.

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Last couple pages..........

:drool:

I just.......


.........I can't.........


this is.............

just


.........too muchhhhh


:drool::drool::drool::drool:

so jelly

I ate 2 pounds of salad (spring mix, carrots, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, couple croutons, home-made balsamic/olive oil dressing) for dinner last night.

The mudbutt today is epic.

fun fact: my shit the first morning there smelled like truffle.

too bad it's so hard to drive the hour to get to all the places he went amirite.

not hard
just real spensive

:giggle: