Ubuntu: Uber-refined Vegetarian Mecca

If marriages were between people and restaurants, I would be wildly pursuing Ubuntu. Ubuntu is not only ultra cool, but good for me too.

As a person Ubuntu would be a soft-spoken intellectual whose uniform was jeans and a black t-shirt...and a beanie in the winter.   He'd be one of those few dudes in yoga class who is also interested in cooking, whose hair shags below his ears.  Read: a caricature of a Northern California dude.

The Last Supper of my divine 48-hour Napa Valley trip was appropriately at Ubuntu.

I was last here 15 months ago, right before the chef changed. I thought it was awesome. (Click here for the review.) The place continues to be otherworldly.  Ubuntu chefs are masters of combining flavors and making their productions look like artists' canvases.

Slow roasted chioggia beets (yes, those fleshy tuna colored chunks)

As faint silhouettes of yoginis darted around in the yoga studio above (visible from the restaurant), I enjoyed beets that looked like sashimi, opaque paperthin leaves, and  broccoli, which was unsuspectingly bursting with flavor. 

"Warm foccacia with truffled pecorino from Florence and apricot/almond agrodolce"

While the beets were gorgeous and tasty, the foccacia, delicately tangy and sweet, was extraordinary.  We ordered it with the optional poached egg.  I could talk about this dish for a while, except I would keep repeating the same adjectives: incredible, amazing, delicious...

Ubuntu also sells t-shirts and garb, which I would never wear. But how I look forward to another date with the restaurant. 

St. Helena's Olive Oil Company

Products that say "I've been to Napa Valley!"

Extra virgin olive oil from 

Just north of Yountville on the St. Helena highway is the St. Helena Olive Oil Company.  I was told by a friendly young sales clerk that a) their products are sold no where else (except their two Napa stores) and that b) their olive oil is organic and sourced from local olives.  This was music to my ears. But if their olive oil is truly organic, it is not obvious from neither their website nor their signage in the store.

Salts (edible ones; bath salts also available)

I was willing to take this clerk's word for it. Especially since I made the trip out there, and I was impressed with the looks of the place, which is worth a visit if you like extra virgin olive oil, vinegars, honey, gourmet salts, and bath products (soaps, lotions, bath salts).  They also have items such as butternut squash pasta sauce, pesto, blended herbs, and examples of recipes combining vinegar and oil.  

Salt of the earth

They have quite a variety and all their products are hospitably laid out for easy and clean sampling.

Vinegar bar

At this writing a 375ml bottle of extra virgin lemon olive oil costs $24.

Ubuntu

1140 Main St

Napa, CA 94559
(707) 251-5656
www.ubuntunapa.com

Reviewed 2/22/2010

A Frank Bruni fan, I was excited to try this restaurant, which is on his short list. This is gourmet vegetarian like I've never experienced...and it makes Californian cuisine look vogue, and me feel smug for living here. It's ultra haute cuisine.

We had...

• A marinated beet salad:

• A curry soup, which was the most beautiful soup I have ever seen. It was poured in front of us in all of its multi-hued green glory. Gorgeous...and tasty!

And the rest I lifted from their website, which is not updated as of this writing:

david little's 'corolla' potatoes roasted in HAY and wild SAGE *
'lady' APPLE, sauerkraut, wild CRESS, horseradish fondue

thompson BROCCOLI , CAULIFLOWER, and RABES *
miso "bagna cauda", meyer LEMON, pine nut, vella jack

corn grits

chickpea clusters in napa smith ale batter (v) winter HERBS and romesco

marcona almonds (v) LAVENDER sugar, sea salt

-------------

They were all excellent and distinct from each other.

Something was a bit off about our main server, otherwise I'd give Ubuntu five stars. When I inquired about the cauliflower clay pot dish, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry it's not on the menu any more!" and then bolted. She was otherwise good and efficient, however, and was one of a well-coordinated team that served us.

Beware: the portions are tiny. It reminded me of how ginormous servings are in the US...in Japan, Ubuntu's portions would seem normal. I feel like the four of us moderately big eaters would have had to order everything on the lunch menu (not counting desserts) to feel the way we usually do after going to a restaurant, which is bloated and Blimpie-like.

But a) that's not healthy, and b) what you're paying for at Ubuntu--like at a high end Japanese place--is presentation, artistry and delectable, nuanced flavor. The kind that makes your mouth exclaim: wow! who's the genius behind this? what's that flavor? what's that spice?

The interior is simple, clean and classy with high ceilings.

Ahhh. Oooooooooohhhhhmmmmm.