Trinchero Family Estates

They now have a Hospitality Center to house Trinchero's internationally recognized Vine to Dine® wine and culinary education programs. The Hospitality Center features a Tuscan-style culinary center with indoor and outdoor kitchens and dining, vinegar solera, woodburning ovens, reserve tasting room and cellar, and culinary gardens.

The dinner table they setup in one of the barrel rooms.


The barrel room with French oak barrels. These barrels cost about $1,200 and are only used once.


Fermentation tanks.


Tasting room.


The new kitchen in the Hospitality Center. The kitchen opened two days before we arrived.


Myself in the kitchen. I'm really uncomfortable in any kitchen without my whites.

I thought this was cool, right outside the kitchen was a wall with hundreds of burning candles.


A view from outside the kitchen.

Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen

Cindy Pawlcyn has been involved in the creation of over a dozen new restaurants in the Bay Area including, Fog City Diner, Bix, Roti, Betelnut, Buckeye Roadhouse and Tra Vigne. Her latest creation is Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena.



Roasted Artichoke, lemon & chervil-tarragon aioli


Rabbit Tostada, red chile salsa, black beans & feta


Pablo’s Pollo Loco, chopped avocado salsa & stuffed green chile



Duck enchilada special

Spring In Napa

It's an exciting time in the Napa Valley when the vines begin to show early signs of producing fruit. The weather is still very cool in the evenings and there's intermittent rain during the day. Then suddenly the rain will stop for the rest of the growing season, which is what the grapes prefer.

Taylor's Automatic Refresher

Taylor's Automatic Refresher has been a fixture in the Napa Valley since 1949. This burger joint is the forerunner to the gourmet burger palaces popping up across the country. Taylor's has garnered as much press as the multi-starred fine dining restaurants in the valley. They've been featured in USA Today, Wine Enthusiast, The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, and many many more.

The cheese burger was ethereal. Sitting at a picnic table in St. Helena in the spring with a hot cheesy burger is a thing of beauty. And of course, being in wine country they have a great selection of wine.

At peak times the line can get very long, business is so good they prohibit buses from stopping there.

Farallon - San Francisco

Chef Mark Franz opened Farallon in June 1997 in partnership with designer and restaurateur Pat Kuleto. Surrounded by an interior reminiscent of the lost City of Atlantis, Franz serves his sophisticated interpretation of "Coastal Cuisine." Nominated by the James Beard Foundation as one of the best restaurants in the nation, Farallon was also chosen as one of the best newcomers in the country by national magazines such as Esquire, Bon Appetit and Food & Wine.

Franz was awarded the "Chef of the Decade" award in 2002 by the California Culinary Academy and Farallon received the prestigious DiRona Award the same year. Farallon continues to be one of the highest rated and most popular seafood restaurants in San Francisco.

HEIRLOOM BEET & CHEVRE TERRINE
petite celery salad, caper berries, crimson beet emulsion


SEARED MASSACHUSETTS SPANISH MACKEREL
endive marmalade, toasted almonds, meyer lemon vinaigrette


SEARED LOCAL PETRALE SOLE
beef short rib ravioli, toasted walnuts, cherry Cognac jus


SEARED SOUTH CAROLINA WRECKFISH
Iacopi Farms English peas, house made gnocchi, wild mushroom fondue


EATWELL FARM'S WHOLE WHEAT CARROT CAKE
kumquat marmalade, cream cheese ice cream,candied pecans


STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
brown butter streusel, sweet Meyer lemon ricotta cream, hibiscus strawberry rhubarb compote

Lark Creek Inn

Monterey Bay Sardines Crostini - wild arugula, chioggia beet and black olive vinaigrette


Grilled and Marinated Local Calamari – toasted pumpkin seeds, Bloomsdale spinach, smoky house cured pork & red onion vinaigrette


Arctic Char – creamy Anson Mills grits, roasted baby beets, pickled Maine sweet shrimp & dill salad


Roasted Local Petrale Sole – baby artichokes, fennel, braised spinach, Meyer lemon & Rosa’s green olive relish


S’mores Sandwich


Butterscotch pudding

North Beach

North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf. It has a primarily Italian flavor. North Beach is sheltered from ocean breezes by Russian Hill to the west and often enjoys sunny days when much of the city is shrouded in fog.

Hog Island Oyster Farm

Hog Island Oyster Farm is a working farm where visitors can experience sustainable aquaculture in action and purchase live, fresh oysters direct from the source.

"Tomales Bay has everything a young growing oyster could want: cool waters, steady tidal action and a healthy supply of phytoplankton on which to snack."

Linda Murphy, "Farming Tomales Bay Oysters", The Wine News, June/July 2002