Favorite restaurant in wine country?
 

Will be visiting wine country for 1 day - anyone have favorite restaurant suggestions?

Lisa, Hard to narrow down in that neck of the woods, especially for one day. <BR> <BR> Napa Grill, French Laundry, Bistro Jeanty, Rutherford Grill, Domaine Chandon, Mustard's, Brix or the funky The Diner. Most are within walking distance to "Downtown" Yountville. <BR> <BR>So many restaurants, so little time! <BR>

All of those restaurants are great, but I really like Don Giovani.. The Diner is great for breakfast. <BR> <BR>You really can't go wrong.

Cheri, <BR>Unfamiliar with Don Giovani. Care to elaborate? We're spending the weekend down there for Valentine's Day and are always interested in new places. I know there is a place called something like Frankie, Johnny and Luigi's but... <BR>Mahalo, <BR>Kal

Of course, it's impossible to get a reservation at French Laundry. Literally. <BR> <BR>Terra (in St. Helena) is probably the best, outside of French Laundry.

Easy Answer: French Laundry but the bad news is you need to call 2 months to the day ahead of time fro reservation. Try also Bouchon in Yountville. You might also try www.sfgate.com and look for restaurant reviews in the Bay Area. The just posted the top 100 restaurant list for 2001. <BR>If you like noisy but terrific food: Slanted Door

I second the recommendation of Terra in St. Helena-it's wonderful. Bouchon in Yountville is owned by the same person as the French Laundry and, while much more casual, it is an excellent restaurant itself.

FYI, the SF Chronicle the past Sunday,2/4/01, had a supplemental titled "The Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants". It included a few already mentioned and then some in the Wine Country. <BR> <BR>I think it can be called up thru the Chron's website or the aforementioned <BR>www.sfgate.com . <BR> <BR>I'll be going down to Yountville for a late V'tine's Day weekend and try to get in at The Foothill Cafe in Napa. <BR>Kal

All of the above, plus Tra Vigne in St. Helena.

Kal: <BR> <BR>Hope you are kidding about Frankie, Johnny and Luigi's--it's an italian food chain--not bad, but not what I'd consider the "wine country experience".

We ate at Mustard's several years ago,and really enjoyed it.

Bit of hubris here. There's more than one wine country in the U.S. I strongly suggest you try the North Fork of Long Island (whose wines have been beating Calif. pretty regularly in recent years). Favorite restaurant? Try the Wild Goose, former farmer's bar now dedicated to gastronomic marvels.

Monica: re-Luigi's et al, please note I said "but"...I was trying to figure out where Don Giovanni's was and thought maybe they had it mixed up with Luigi's?? Turns out it's Bistro Don Giovanni's on Hwy 29 in Napa. <BR> <BR>Guy: Yes, a lot of hubris! I hear some wine from "Lawn Guyland" is recommended for removing the skunk spray from dogs? <BR> <BR>Please note the "The City" thread. \;^)

Kal: And some Calif. wine is, like, totally awesome for removing brain cells from the already limited.

"Totally awesome"? <BR>Only people in NY who want to be Californians talk like that anymore. <BR> <BR>I vote for a NY 7 course meal: A good bottle of Ripple and a 6 piece order of Chicken McNoogies @ McDonalds.

Guy: Touche! <BR> <BR>The only wines I've had from back east were from the area around Charlottesville. Vigonier. Brought back quite a few bottles. <BR> <BR>Been into some Chilean reds and some from up north in the Willamette Valley. <BR> <BR>No such thing as bad wine? (Except <BR>for s'dude's Ripple?)

We are in accord, Kal. Seriously, I do suggest you try a "North Fork of L.I." wine sometime. Check Wine Spectator or Howard Goldberg in NY Times. They're in on the secret.