got the outdoor bug? I did, last Saturday afternoon. So we hopped in mark’s car and took the 80 to 29 to Napa…..our first stop was Vintage 1870 and Gordon’s….
It’s a lovely, sunny day….and I woke up around 1:30 pm…..heck, I had a 6-9 AM dj shift at kalx and I needed some shut-eye.
On a whim and some hope for fancy, we drove up to Napa….Without traffic – it took us an hour to get there…..we were impressed because the last time we attempted the trip, for an outdoor shakespeare festival – it took us 3 hours….stupid mapquest directions 🙁
Our first stop was for gas and cash….we were in Yountville and the Vintage 1870 shopping center always caught my eye from the 29 highway. Without any real plans, except for some wine tasting, we took a look. I suppose, if you’re an art collector – this would be a treat for you. But for mark and me, two yuppies on a budget… we were board. I was really disappointed with the vintage 1870 wine cellar…the sales lady was quite frigid with us. I was surprised, because I’ve only experienced nothing but sweet hospitality, when I visited Napa….I guess she figured us for yuppies with a budget. I found a bottle of port in there going for $500….we left the store
We had the munchies and I remembering seeing Gordon’s – across the street from the gas station. It looked cute and un-snotty….and we were just looking for a snack.
The kitchen was closed but we snagged a banana nut muffin, a huge bowl of coffee, a rosemary chipolte bread loaf, and some goat cheese (at the suggestion of the cashier). Yummy! I also had a glass of their Pinot Noir….it being Napa and all….we sat out on the porch, sipping wine and caffeine. It was relaxing….
Our next challenge was to find a winery open at 5 pm….Much to our disappointment, Mondavi was closed. But we found Peju. They’re open till 6pm and for $5 – you get four samples of wine….the tasting fee is waived if you buy a bottle of wine. I enjoyed their 2001 Chardonnay – light, crisp, nutty…..According to the wine guy at the bar – 90% of their business is from direct sales at this vineyard.
I was pleased we managed to fit a wine tasting into this later afternoon drive…but I was hungrier….so, we turned around and headed for downtown Napa. Gosh, this place looked empty at 6:00 pm! Lot’s of stores closed down and we concluded that it must be an adorable place to browse, during the daytime…We were looking for simple and down-to-earth grub – Downtown Joe’s fit the bill.
this is from their menu:
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Unpretentious, friendly and fun. Your neighborhood pub is always open. We welcome all species (including K-9) migratory and indigenous to the Napa Valley. Our mission is your satisfaction.
Screw the wine…I needed my dirty martini! (with 4 olives) Mark opted for the beer sampler – 8 4pt glasses of their finest brews…We also chowed down to their Buffalo NY 12899 – 12 for $8.99 “Served the traditional Upstate New York way” – First of all, he found the “12899” to be stupid…if they were trying to imitate a NY zip code, they failed miserably. Plus, a native Buffalo dude, he wanted to taste for himself their claim to “Upstate New York” taste. It was. Apparently, it has something to do with the crispiness of the skin…..
I had the New England Steam Pot – $11.29 –
Fresh clams, shrimp and mussels steamed in a white wine, herbed tomato broth.
also yummy…but I didn’t like the skin left on the shrimp. Only a few places can get the skin-shrimp cooking right, and this wasn’t one of them. It was not crunchy and it was unpleasant to eat. Plus I didn’t want to dirty my hands with peeling the skin off.
It was a lovely time in Napa.