Cheese Sampling in Sonoma

The Girl & the Fig is a cute and convenient place to share and test out cheeses. This was their minimalist sampler, but they have all kinds of cow, sheep and goat cheeses from various regions, including France.

From left to right: Morbier (France), Joe Matos St. George (Santa Rosa), Tomme brulee (Aquitaine, France). That two of these chosen cheeses were from France rather than Napa Valley was a careless accident on my part.  

The restaurant has worn hardwood floors and convivial mustard colored paint on its wood-trimmed walls.  The iconic place has gone commercial (you can buy t-shirts, totebags and compotes, and nuts there) which is a turn-off for me, but I still think it has a desirable atmosphere.  Reasonable prices.  

A salad of greens dressed in vinaigrette, with toasted walnuts and slivers of  pears. 

On the eve of the Sonoma Jazz Festival.

We found parking right on the street here, right before noon on a Friday. However, watch your time because the parking police tracks the amount of time you are parked.  

Yountville, CA - Unrealville

Following lunch at Etiole on Thursday, we headed straight to Bouchon Bakery, about a mile away in downtown Yountville.   There converged all the other travelers in town too, in that tiny little space. But this tourist magnet is equipped with a friendly army of young, trim servers (who clearly do not make a habit of eating the bakery's products).  Though tiny, the place is densely packed with gorgeous sweets (cookies, muffins, coffee cakes, granola, puddings), breads and sandwiches.  It also has a basic coffee menu, and the iced coffee is strong and excellent. 

A rare occasion when no customers were blocking the counter!

French macaroons: hazelnut and pistachio (the latter is a best seller).

The first time I had these macaroons were at the Bouchon Bakery in New York. My culinary-trained friend highly recommended them.  I am glad I don't have to go to New York to get these!  By the way, at $3 a piece, these are some of the biggest macaroons I have seen. With pressure, they crack on the surface. On the inside they are chewy, and almost raw-tasting (imagine the consistency of cookie dough).  The center is like buttah.  

This was my first visit to Yountville.  The tiny town is spotless. Imagine a Walk of Fame of restaurants and tasting rooms--Washington Street has them lined up one after the other.  In terms of pure looks, the town did not appeal to me as I prefer buildings that look like they took blood, sweat and tears to build...or are a little worn around the edges.  At many points, I felt as if I were in a scene from a Jim Carrey movie, where everything is so perfect that it's creepy.  On this day, the sky was robin's egg blue, the temps were in the mid-70s, and there was a breeze.  

Yet another one of Thomas Keller's eaties...

Oh but that will not keep me away. I want to try Bouchon (the restaurant) for sure, which has a lovely French feel to it (I poked my head in)...and I want consumate my fantasies of eating at French Laundry.

There are also Redd, Ad Hoc, Bistro Jeanty, Bottega...

Ah, someday.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Etoile, Yountville, CA

The about-to-be leek and green garlic soup...

For a belated Mother's Day lunch, my mom and I went to Etoile, on the edge of Yountville, where we enjoyed the leek and green garlic soup, tuna tartare, and muscat-scented sparkling wine from Etoile's vineyards (Domain Chandon).  It is not difficult to understand how Etoile was awarded a Michelin-star this year. The food was not only superb, but so beautiful that we had to admire it for a while before digging in.

The pour...

The tuna tartar had a light touch in flavor.  But the fish was so fresh that it would have been a shame to cover it up.  It was adorned with fuzzy green almonds (that is what the server called those three oval green and white slivers) and a touch of olive tapenade (the brown beneath those round pearl-like things--which were cucumber).  

Creativity, artistry and exceptional taste quotient surely go into Etoile's excellent ratings.  Service was attentive but perhaps overly so as we were asked at least three times if we were still working on our soups when one of us was.  The place does need to be renovated, however. It has a nice patio, and many tables inside have a nice view of it.   But the restaurant is clearly worn down from age (just look at it's carpet and soiled chairs--not so bad that you can't ignore it but still...).  On this Thursday afternoon at around noon, large parties of diners filled tables outside, but many inside were open, giving my mom and me a lovely view with privacy.  

The dessert menu looked sinfully good.  But since we were just at the start of our Wine Country eating marathon, with Bouchon Bakery on tap, we decided to skip it.

In short, Etoile certainly shines but could be even more brilliant.

Torron - Catalan Nougat

From Casa Gispert, a famous nut roaster in Barcelona.  This may be the last of my Barcelona posts for a while as I move on to new eats in California.

With pistachios, almonds and dried fruit.  Chewy and sweet.

This is where they roast the nuts:

 Bag of walnuts:

Superfresh.