Last Friday, my cousin Roxie and I went to the Napa Valley for the day. She had no interest in visiting the wineries, but she wanted to eat a nice meal (of course). And shop. So I made reservations at one of my favorite restaurants, Mustards Grill. I've prepared quite a few of the restaurant's signature dishes, using their wonderful cookbook, The Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook. On this visit, I wanted to try one dish I've never ordered, their famous Mongolian porkchop.
Right off the bat, we made a crucial mistake. We didn't eat breakfast and arrived in Napa with hours to spare before our reservation at Mustards. Roxie wanted to visit the Oakville Grocery, a critical error. The grocery is famous for the wonderful food stuffed into the tiny store. You can't buy toilet paper or cleaning supplies at the Oakville grocery, but you can find a great display of cheese, sausage, and prepared foods. Spurred on by our hunger, everything looked delicious, so we began to fill our baskets. I was delighted to find rendered duck fat, an Acme ciabatta, lemon curd, a huge turtle (the candy), and butternut squash tamales. Roxie bought a stinky Roquefort torta, and two spicy sausages. We were off and running.
Before leaving, we paused outside the grocery to have a few slices of the excellant hot copa sausage that Roxie bought. My brain sent a warning ping, reminding me about my acid reflux--but that got lost in a shuffle of exclamations over the sausage and bread.
From the Oakville grocery we drove to Dean & Delucca, where we totally lost control. I have no pictures of this debacle. We were too busy sampling cheese and buying cookies. Frankly, I blame the guy behind the cheese counter, who kept handing me samples. We wound up buying Cowgirl Creamery cheese (2 Mt. Tam and 1 Red Hawk) and a hunk of Manchego, before I fled that section of the store. I still remember the 4 year old Gouda sample I drew the line on buying. As mentioned before, we bought numerous baked goods--almond croissants, a huge apricot bar, and a Frisbee sized coconut, caramel sandwich cookie. We didn't eat them all, thank God, but saved them for later. A huge glass of fresh watermelon juice was irresistible, so we drank it. At one point I saw lovely wax beans and figs, but wound up buying another cookie instead. Meanwhile my brain was sending me CAUTION notices, but they were routed off to the Dead Letter department.
Then we went to Mustards Grill. We still had an appetite because our transgressions hadn't caught up with us. We shared an appetizer, Seared Tuna With Wasabi Cream On Sesame Crackers. It was the the best part of a very good meal. And it's in the cookbook!
Roxie had grilled halibut and zucchini, which she enjoyed.
As planned, I ordered the restaurant's famous Mongolian porkchops, cooked with a delicous sauce made of black bean sauce, garlic, and ginger. It was served with egually good red cabbage, mashed potatoes, and a house made mustard sauce.
Here is where we made our fatal mistake. We both ordered the signature dessert of Mustards, the Lemon-lime Merinque Pie. We could have shared one slice, but greed (and the reptilian center of our brain no doubt) took over. Half way through our dessert we began to feel.....uncomfortable. But, it was too delicious to resist, so we forged on and finished our slices of pie.
Leaving the restauraunt, we began to replay our gluttony and swore we were changing our ways, would never do this again, etc. Even we didn't believe it. Roxie said we had to get out and walk, so we drove to Yountville and parked next to the French Laundry. I was pleased to see that their large garden is doing great. The picture captures only a fraction of the different crops they are growing. Nary a weed in sight and the soil looks like black gold.
We proceeded to a small cluster of shops, where Roxie was able to wander to her heart's delight. I sat outside in a lovely breeze, until Roxie lured me inside, where I bought Upsie a silly collar. I then bought myself an expensive purse that I will use about once a year. Me, the person who lives in casual clothes. I swear, it was the food that made me do it. I had so much acid reflux by then I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't have the right clothes to wear with it! And it has a matching scarf!
Roxie and I spent the rest of the day vowing never to eat like that again. (Of course that all fell by the wayside the next day when we went to Lake Tahoe. I don't want to talk about it.)
The next day I had one of the butternut squash tamales from the Oakville Grocery. It was wonderful, full of cheese, squash and freshly cut corn.
Today, I'm going to be very good. No outlandish eating. There's still a lot of cheese and sausage here, but Roxie is taking that back to Texas with her. Wonder what Airport Security will make of the smell from that stinky cheese after it's warmed up in her suitcase?
After an incredible day of eating like that...I'd have to detox with salad and veggies for days :D
Posted by: Jeff | August 21, 2006 at 12:04 PM
that rendered duck fat? heart attack in a container.
yet...i say: bring it on!
about the cheese in her luggage, that would be considered weapon of mass distinction and fed to the sniffer dog.
i'm jealous, looks like you had a wonderful time together.
and even if you never wear the purse & scarf, it was worth it just to post its picture to the internet. it's a real statement -- especially for us casual dressers.
i'm thinking: who what where when? and what about shoes?? where does it end? dress hat makeup hair cut & color! next thing ya know you'll be shaving your legs. a new car. jewelry.
you're sunk.
Posted by: whaleshaman | August 21, 2006 at 01:45 PM
I love a good splurge.
Container duck fat..sounds sort of strange when you really think about it.
Glad you had a blast Sher. I have family with a cabin on Tahoe. Lovely.
Posted by: coffeepot | August 21, 2006 at 08:21 PM
It sounds like a fun day to me, 10,000 calories and all! Every bit of that food looks absolutely delicious.
Posted by: Julie | August 21, 2006 at 09:20 PM
Jeff,
I agree. I'm feeling the need to eat very lean. So is my cousin. Otherwise they will find us in a gutter somewhere covered in cookie crumbs and smelling like stinky cheese.
Whaleshaman,
You got it right. That purse could lead to buying Jimmy Choo shoes and who knows what else!! I suppose I could just use it with my jeans and befuddle people at the grocery store.
Coffeepot,
A cabin on Lake Tahoe? Wow!!! That's wonderful! By the way, one of the people at the Oakville grocery said potatoes fried in duck fat was wonderful. That's news to me.
Julie,
Thanks, it was fun. My cousin is leaving on Wednesday and I will miss her. But, I think we are dangerous together. Too much food and crazy impulse buying! We must be stopped.
Posted by: sher | August 21, 2006 at 10:10 PM
What a day! Definitely good for the soul, if not the body.
Hope you are enjoying the pretty things.
Posted by: eqj (the chocolate lady) | August 22, 2006 at 12:42 AM
Sher,
what are you going to do with the duck fat? I'm just curious. Oh look at that mountain-high merinque on your pie!!! I have to go to that resturant!!!
Posted by: gattina | August 22, 2006 at 04:08 AM
After looking back on my purchases at Oakville Grocery and Dean & DeLuca, I'd say you got out of their relatively unscathed. Potatoes fried in duck fat are fantastic!
Posted by: steven | August 22, 2006 at 05:49 AM
what a trip! tamales and duck fat in one place... it's like nirvana!
oh, and if you think your splurge was bad, i implore you to pick up the latest volume of men's vogue to read about Frank Bruni's eating/training schedule
talk about INSANE!
Posted by: ann | August 22, 2006 at 08:12 AM
Sher,
This article just re-enforces my view that I should move to California. I love food and shopping and this article just made me want to go right now! I lllloooovvveee the bag, by the way. I have no clue where I would use it, but it is absolutely awesome. Tres chic!
D
Posted by: D | August 22, 2006 at 08:31 AM
Too, too fun! I love it. We all need a day like this now and then to indulge the senses... Ah... Enjoy!
Posted by: Karina | August 22, 2006 at 02:59 PM
omg, sher, i want to hang out with you guys! happens to us every time too... we had a similar sort of freak out at dean and delucas last time we were there too, it's just so overwelming!!! mmm, the copa looks amazing and that tamale, wow....a girl can dream :) the tuna starter at mustards looks out of this world too. thats precisely the kind of thing that i go for. i bet roxie didn't want to leave :)
Posted by: aria | August 22, 2006 at 07:01 PM
Oh my god! Reading about all that food was so fun! The cheeses; the copa; the appetizer at Mustards (well, everything at Mustards); the tamale -- the RENDERED DUCK FAT. Yowza. It all looked so dang good! Thanks for letting me live (eat?) vicariously. :)
Posted by: Lisa Morgan | August 23, 2006 at 02:40 PM
Rendered duck fat--I am so THERE!
Posted by: Glenna | August 25, 2006 at 08:05 AM
Everything looks so yummy - and I LOVE that purse and scarf!!! Love love love.
Posted by: Jenn | August 26, 2006 at 11:57 AM