Thursday, September 15, 2011

Sonoma: what we did there

We Drank

Oh yes we did

At home

And at every restaurant too

Javier wants you to think that this was all my wine, but it wasn't. It's called a wine flight--a three wine sampler that most restaurants have available so you can try a variety of wines with your meal. I think the middle one was my favourite, a pinot noir. Blast it...I can't remember the name.

And for the record...it was Javier's wine. I enjoyed a passionfruit and pomegranate sangria!

We Ate

Some Portuguese Fisherman's Stew

With eyeballs

This meal was from La Salette, a restaurant I discovered when I was doing some pre-trip research. We had lunch there one day when we stumbled upon it in a courtyard while window shopping in Sonoma. Side note: lovely little shops surrounding Sonoma plaza. The food was wonderful, contemporary Portuguese cuisine, Cozinha Nova Portuguesa. I had the stew and Javier had a most delicious pulled pork sandwich. They have the most delicious looking array of tasting plates. We definitely will got back on a future trip.

Other restaurants we tried:

Harvest Moon Cafe - the menu changes nightly. Javier had melt-in-your-mouth steak. I eat little beef but I tried a taste and it was incredible. I had fish, which was also very, very delicious. We both had to make ourselves take our time eating. It was that good. And of course, an excellent selection of wines accompanied our meal. This was my favourite restaurant in Sonoma.

Girl and the Fig - this menu changes every Thursday. This was the only dinner of our trip that was somewhat disappointing. However, I probably ordered wrong, because Javier's flounder was delicious. In fact, I ate half of his meal. I ordered a vegetable stew that was quite bland and watery. The one thing that really impressed me about this restaurant is they grow their own vegetables. Many restaurants seem too.

Oxbow Cheese Market - I admit I got a bit tipsy from a single glass of wine here. This isn't really a restaurant, more a wine & cheese bar located in the Oxbow Public Market in Napa. Oh, but the cheese. We shared a plate with Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam triple cream, almonds, dried fruit, honey and bagette. The cheese was so dreamy. I'm salivating just thinking about it. We also tried something called a burrata, a decadent mozzarella mixed with cream.

There are so many other restaurants in the area that I wanted to try. We most definitely have to go back for more sampling.

We Rode

Our house had 3 beach cruisers for our use. I wanted to smuggled this adorable yellow and pink bike back home. And it matched my outfit. It was an easy ride to Sonoma. We just locked up our bikes and walked around town.

Complete with basket and horn

Javier also coordinated his outfit with his bike.

We Played

At least I did. I was a bit silly at times.

And last but not least,

We Saw

The whole region is so beautiful. I didn't take many pictures because I couldn't possibly do the scenery justice.

Things on our list for next time:

- Winery visits - we planned to do this on this trip but just didn't have the time. Between Napa Valley & Sonoma Valley there must be 100s of wineries. And some are even family friendly. Lizzie would be able to come too.

- Dinner at French Laundry - located in Yountville, Ca, just north of Napa. We have to save our pennies for this restaurant but I think it would be worth it. Its garden are located just across the street, so fresh food is pretty much guaranteed. And it was such a pretty looking place too.

1 comment:

MJ said...

Oh. Looks so lovely. Loved the bikes and your statue pose!