Help! Many years since last trip to California wine country
 

Hi. We are going to Sacremento next week to attend a wedding and will have a few days after the wedding to see the Wine country. We will drive to Napa after the wedding and stay there for 3 days. It has been many years since we have been to this area and would appreciate suggestions for some good moderate price restaurants in the area.
Also any favorite wineries to visit.
Thanks.

ARRGGGGH

what is MODERATE ??With out $$ amounts there's no way to guide you!

You are so right. If possible under $100 for 2 including a glass of wine.

Some wineries I like to visit are Sterling (becasue of the view fromthe top more than the wine) Sequuia Grove and Mumm Napa.

There are so many great wineries throughout California.

We just had a great bottle of Etude Pinot Gris yesterday. They're better known for their reds, but this white wine was surprising excellent.

http://shop.etudewines.com//index.cfm

Thought I'd just mention it because by next week I'll probably forget we had this wine!

As for restaurants, hope razzledazzle will answer. She has the latest and best information!

Where are you staying in Napa? Which town?

We will be in Napa but since we will have a car we can drive to any town. If I remember the towns are close and the drive between towns was pleasant.

You can dine pretty well on $100 in quite a few restaurants if you select from the menu carefully and don't order expensive appetizers, deserts, and high end bottles of wine.

If you haven't been to the city of Napa in a few years, you will find that the restaurant selection has grown quite a bit with the rejuvenation of the downtown area. You really won't have to leave town to dine well.

If you do want to go to Yountville - it's a fifteen minute drive. Rutherford is about 20 minutes. St. Helena 30 and Calistoga about 45.

Here's a couple of websites that describe some of the restaurants in the Valley. Of course, changes take place all the time and they are not totally up-to-date:

http://www.napatouristguide.com/restaurants.html

http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/d...apa_valley.htm

In addition to the places described in the websites above, here are some other moderately priced choices in the city of Napa.

A very good new trattoria - The Grano at the Depot - maybe the best value in Napa. Great pasta! and a very reasonable wine list. It's just being discovered.

Oenotri is another good Italian choice that's new. You can dine quite reasonably here if you stick with the superb pizza.

If it's a warm day and you want to sit outside for either lunch or dinner try Compadre's. It used to be in Yountville but it's right on the river in central Napa now. Excellent Mexican food and great margaritas! Best day is Monday when the "top shelf" margaritas are only $5.

http://compadresriogrille.com/

For comfort food, try The Bounty Hunter, Barber'sQ, or Red Rock. Red Rock is kind of a dive but has the best ribs in the Valley, imo.

http://www.backdoorbbq.com/cafe.html

For a simple menu with fast service at very reasonable prices, try The Firewood Cafe'. This has become a local's favorite and has some outdoor seating although it's next to a parking lot. It's a couple of doors down from Barber'sQ in Bel Air Plaza.

http://www.firewoodcafe.com/

OTiS Many thanks for your suggestions

I am going to disagree with a few of Otis's suggestions. I would skip The Grano at the Depot. Not that wild about Compadre's or Red Rock. These are all very mediocre restaurants. And Firewood recently got an "F" from the county inspectors, so don't go there.

In Napa, food is EXCELLENT and reasonable at:
Pearl
BarbersQ
Grace's Table
Celadon (with careful ordering you can stay under budget, and the outdoor courtyard is very pleasant)
I like Oenotri too but it has become a bit more expensive lately since it's good reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The best (very casual) Mexican restaurant in town (but no margheritas) is Las Palmas on Yajome Street.

In Yountville you could probably stay under budget if you order only an entree and share a salad at Bistro Jeanty.

Rutherford: Rutherford Grill

St. Helena:
Cook
Market

"Firewood recently got an "F" from the county inspectors, so don't go there."

This is unfair. If you read the report in the Register, their electrical panel blew out just before the unannounced inspection and they were cited for improper refrigeration temperature. It was not a cleanliness or food prep issue and the problem was fixed right away. Similar refrigeration problems also happened at Bottega and Don Giovanni resulting in similar citations. I don't think you should blanketly condemn a restaurant for a one-time infraction. Here's the list of recent F grades at Napa Valley restaurants:

http://napavalleyregister.com/html_8...cc4c002e0.html

I wonder if you have eaten at the Grano at the Depot. I've dined there about five times and have been very impressed although there were a couple of minor service glitches on one occasion. The reviews on Yelp are sparse but consistently outstanding:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/grano-at-the-depot-napa

The point is the op was asking about moderately priced restaurants and that's exactly what the Grano strives for and has become known for. They aren't trying to be Bottega, Allegria, Uva, Oenotri or Don Giovanni. I think they fill their own niche very nicely.

I like Las Palmas too for lunch (although I now prefer Taqueria Maria) but I probably wouldn't have dinner at either.

We disagree on Compadres but they have the best outdoor seating next to the river in Napa. There's also a very friendly sports bar atmosphere if you want to watch the game and sip some great margaritas. They also dish up a pretty nice Southwestern Paella. It's not gourmet food but you're not going to leave there hungry and it's reasonably priced.

And as for Red Rock, I said it was a dive but there are no better ribs in the Valley. They consistently come out on top in local surveys.

http://www.stsupery.com/blog/2010/08/the-best-of-list/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ey.html?cat=22

Arguing is not my intention.
I do think BarbersQ has great ribs. Not greasy! And we like them much better than Red Rock.
Never heard of Taqueria Maria. What I like about Las Palmas is that Juan will make anything you want. For about $3 he will add a perfectly sauteed mix of vegetables to give me my "balanced" meal.

Forgot to add Go Fish in St. Helena to my recommendations. It's not that expensive. Fun atmosphere and nice patio dining.

PS. Yes, I have eaten at Grano at the Depot and was very disappointed. The restaurants I've listed are consistently very good and we go there often. Except Market. Haven't been in well over a year.

Oh, and Pizza Azzuro on Main St. in Napa is also very reasonable and kind of fun.