Michael Warring

I have influenced my husband with enjoying food quality instead of quantity.  He used to complain about the size of tasting menus. but last night he took me to i would say my new favorite..michael warring's place. its hidden inside hidden brooke, quite small and unassuming from outside. when you enter youd think you are in a factory. or probably lost. 

michael warring prepares the food and serves the food, another chef ali does everything else. i have never been to a restaurant run by 2 people with such good flow in service. 

the big plus. you watch him cook. you see him prepare the food right infront of you. the anticipation is sublime and then he serves you the food and all bets are off... we started with sprouts

i do not like sprouts but

this sprout over smoked salmon foam was amazing. my husband even asked for a refill.

my favorite was the capellini with egg. i was eating the noodles per strand as i did not want this experience to end in my mouth. pasta was cooked aldente, the mixture of the yolk with the bottarga on top of it was rich thick smoky and amazingly filling. this i would have asked for a refill of noodles, another yolk and more bottarga :)

and then the cheese plate. i am a dialysis patient so technically this should have been a no no. my nephrologist would have raised the roof if he saw that i savored and finished the cow cheese, the 6 month aged goat cheese, the year aged sheep cheese topped with 10 year aged cheese sauce with jalapeno together with toasted brioche. yum!

The restaurant sits 18 people and they require reservations one month before your preferred day.  i recommend sitting in the counter because that is the best place to watch him prepare the food. per ali they have 3 seatings 530 630 and 730 pm. choose the 730 if you can as youd be the last guests and he has so much time to answer your questions and chat with you. plus you can get a picture with him in his kitchen.  i highly recommend this place. i was ready to reserve my birthday celebration after the first dish :).

Napkins bar and grill

After our fifth day of work we have a habit of eating out to unwind. the cafe at napa mill was closed so we headed to napkin bar and grill. the interior especially the pictures of old napa on top of the bar was a very nice touch. however the chicken croquette i tried did not have any flavor. i ordered it to compare it to the croquette of zuzu next door (which i love!). the salad with corn and ahi tuna was so so. my husband ordered their specials which was ribs with corn bread and coleslaw and the only good thing with that order was the corn bread. he tried a bite of the rib and spit it out. if that were top chef the chef was a definite send home! i ordered their buttermilk chicken sandwich which was okay but i definitely will not recommend this place if you are ever in downtown napa. i think you'll get your moneys worth by going to zuzu nextdoor.

Le Creamery

it was so nice outside today. perfect weather for ice cream. we headed to the creamery. and of course! everyone had the same thought. rocky road on chocolate waffle cone. big scoops for a dollar and 26 cents!! it was worth the line. especially when you walk the dogs and people watch with envy while you finish your ice cream.

NAPA bowl

we needed to unwind after 5 days stretch of work. my husband suggested bowling. we tried the bowling place at napa. on a weekday, really good deals and it was a nice place to play as not many people so you dont need to wait in line. but we got there after work and there was no food served! so if you plan to try this place, good place with a lot of lanes and no wait time...eat before you go or bring your own food! lucky for us in and out was close by and we got to eat burgers and bowl!

DID NOT Strike out on food!

i am not a fan of so so food. i mean if you are going to charge a chunk of money for food i expect something more decent. but i got reminded that it is bar food. so bar food sucks? i wish they can make bar type food taste much much better. i liked the ambience at lucky strike and the seats, but the food was not good at all! sliders are dry, fries too salty, the tacos were bland, the cheese pizza was just plain cheese, the chocolate chip cookies were too sweet, the only good one was the barbecue chicken salad. that i will try to  copy at home.

FINIPIL

my new find. i stopped going for facials after a cosmetologist made my face swell and i could not even open my eyes! my husband gave me a gift certificate for a facial last christmas. and i took the plunge and used it. oh my! what a different experience! i recommend going to pure skin napa for a facial if you are ever in the napa area. and michelle placed this moisturizer on my face that makes your skin feel so cool but not sticky. like the tingle you feel after a mint tic tac. and the other advantage to this cream is that it made the little signs of congestion on my forehead and my acne disappear! I've finished the 2 sample sachets michelle gave. got to get me a tube of this one!!

Lady Gaga at the Oscars

my favorite things, sol do la fa mi do re, you can sing most anything! ... yes the sound of music. that to me is a classic. oh please stop trying to remake it. julie andrews and christopher plummer are irreplaceable. but tonight lady gaga, i am not a fan, but she did a really good job with the sound of music tribute.