Yountville

Y is for Yountville

This week’s letter assignment is the letter Y.

I thought I’d bring you along with me to Yountville, Ca. where we visited in April.

“The Town of Yountville, renowned for its world-class restaurants and award winning chefs, has earned the unofficial title of ‘Culinary Capital of the Napa Valley’. From French, Italian, Pacific Rim, Bistro and California Cuisine to down-home comfort food, an array of fine dining and unmatched ambiance are yours to discover in Yountville. Located within walking distance of the Town’s well-appointed hotels, small luxury inns, premium wineries, activities and shopping one can indulge oneself with a romantic quiet dinner for two, casual patio dining, a leisurely lunch overlooking a vineyard or a cappuccino and croissant curbside. It’s your choice as you discover the culinary magic in Yountville.”

 

In 1831, George Calvert Yount saw the Napa Valley and declared, “In such a place I should love to clear the land and make my home. In such a place I should love to live and die.”

 

 I say~  Amen!  (I keeping my fingers crossed that we can make a return trip next year :-)

 

 

“As the first non-native settler in the Valley, Yount enlisted local Wappo Native Americans to help him build a Kentucky blockhouse and a mill. In 1855, he commissioned a surveyor to lay out the city. The new community was christened Sebastopol, even though there was a town with the same name in nearby Sonoma County. George Yount planted the first grape vine cutting into the fertile soil of the Valley. In 1867, two years after Yount’s death, the town was renamed Yountville in honor of its founder.”

Yountville has  managed to retain its rural charm and residential character.

 

 Let’s start with a cappuccino and croissant, curbside on our visit~

  Bouchon Bakery: 

 

“Baked goods. That is all. Yet they are a marvel of ingenuity and simplicity. All of our recipes are based on traditional French baking techniques – beautiful to behold, but even better to eat!”  

 

You can feast your eyes on these baked goodshere. Warning:  Have a napkin ready…the Drool-Factor is extremely high.

 Brix Restaurant and Gardens:   “An entirely new incarnation of the wine country classic, with a renewed focus on farm-to-table dining.”

“Just a stone’s throw from the restaurant, diners find the crown jewels of the grounds at Brix: Our flower and vegetable gardens and our orchard. Comprised of raised boxed beds and in-ground beds, it grows crops year-round. Tiny salad greens, fava beans and strawberries in the spring; French beans, eggplant, tomatoes, berries and melons in the summer, apples and pears, hard squash, potatoes and fresh onions in the fall, and Meyer lemons and sweet limes, sweet peas, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower Romenesco and butter lettuce in the winter. It’s not unusual to see our chefs out in the garden, gathering bunches of fruits, vegetables and herbs for the day’s specials.”

 

The restaurant’s vineyard produces grapes for an award-winning wine, Kelleher Family Vineyard “Brix Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, which is served in the restaurant.

For more views of their private dining spaces, look here.

After lunch, visit the tasting salon at Hope & Grace. . .

 

   You may run into this handsome guy, Romeo~ appropriately named, and our greeter/ambassador while we were there.

 If you’re looking for a recipe to pair with your Hope & Grace Pinot Noir 

try Bacon and Wild Mushroom Risotto with Baby Spinach~  recipe courtesy Cooking Light,  here.

  If you’d like to see more photos, pairings, and canine ambassadors, click here 

You may want to dine at Bottega.  At the very least, enjoy the Outdoor Lounge.  I highly recommend the Truffle-Parmiggiano Fries (you have to keep your strength up for additional wine tastings :-)

 

    AND, If Polenta Heaven is your kind of Heaven, watch a video of Chef Michael Chiarello preparing Polenta Under Glass .

Bistro Jeanty

“In every day French life, it is the Bistro that is woven into the daily pattern of meals and celebrations. The Bistro is that little neighborhood restaurant where they know who you are, greet you warmly, and serve you satisfying foods that change with the seasons and define regional homey French cuisine.”

 You can experience Bistro Jeanty’s culinary magic in your own kitchen by downloading their world-famous Cream of Tomato Soup in Puff Pastry, here.

 Inspired by the French atmosphere of Bistro Jeanty, I set a playful table for myself & my bowl of soup :-)

Complete with a French Waiter~ who is patiently trying to decipher my poor attempt to speak of his language. . .

Dinner Plate/ Home Goods

Soup Bowl/ marked Houston Harvest

Placemat & Napkin/ Bed Bath & Beyond

Flatware/ Target

Glass/ Home Goods

Wine  Bottle Candelabra/ similar style available from Amazon, here.

Thanks to my hostesses to this week’s parties I’m linking to:

 Jenny Matlock’s Aphabe-Thursday for Alphabet Fun

 Susan ~ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

Michael Lee ~ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. . . the perfect little food corner in blogland.