I know, it's basically old news.... but there are some seriously drool-worthy pics that you need to see. Better late than never?
This whole "back to school, back to reality thing" has actually kept me busy :(
and rather depressed.
I've been nursing my post-Napa, post-Momma homesickness with oreos, peanut butter, and pancakes (is there another cure out there?)
Okay. Let's back track to Saturday night!!
After our longer-than-planned hike through God-knows-where... and some fabulous winery tours, we headed back to the B&B to rest up before dinner.
Mom has a serious weakness for pizza, so we made sure to book reservations at Oenotri in Downtown Napa -- we heard they had great, thin crust pizza!
After reading some reviews, I was convinced we had to try out their homemade selection of "meats" -- there were blood sausages, pastrami, pate, pork belly.... I tried it all!! and I was impressed!
Then, we decided to indulge Mom's pizza tooth with an order of Spicy Sausage and Pepper thin crust pizza with fresh mozzarella. Yum. To be honest, I've had better pizza, but any carb is my friend. So, who was I to complain?
We decided (with help from our server) to order two desserts and split:
Chocolate bread pudding with vanilla ice cream.
Cannolis filled with orange blossom ricotta cheese and topped with golden raisins and honey.
Want to hear something seriously depressing? The desserts were NOT good. Sure, they were sweet & yeah, maybe we ate them... but they were not up to our usual standard of excellence (hello, you're talking to the girl with the biggest sweet tooth known to man)
So, after paying and walking out....
We walked right next door to Normal Rose Tavern, right up to the server, and asked if they have desserts that would blow us away. BOY, DID THEY EVER.
Sour cherry bread pudding with a Guinness Anglaise. OH MY GOODNESS. I dominated this baby... Maybe that Guinness made me drunk off its deliciousness?
We also ordered an Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blondie Sundae topped with vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce, and peanuts. Um. Need I say more? I'm pretty sure Mom didn't talk to me for the entire 5 minutes it took her to destroy that dessert :)
Yeah, I told you -- when I'm on "vacation," my healthy living standards morph into eat-everything-in-sight standards. Believe me, the only part of me that was complaining was my extremely full tummy!!
I woke up and went on another beautiful 10 miler around Napa before heading down for breakfast.
Can you believe I worked up an appetite after that dinner/dessert combo?
Well, I suppose 10 miles on an empty stomach will do that to you...
We split the B&B's brunch specialties, but only ate what we wanted -- gotta save room for lunch :)
Baked Apple with Fresh Cream and Strawberries.
Blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup.
Heuvos Rancheros with fresh avocado and sour cream!
Mom and I picked our way through breakfast -- and a few cups o' coffee -- before she unveiled our plans for the day. Two words that never fail to excited me (no, all-you-can-eat buffet exceeds the word count, people) -- OUTLET MALL.
We packed up, checked out, and headed to the Napa Valley Premium Outlets for some splurging and some Christmas shopping -- we managed to nab the Black Friday deals, too! SCORE.
Mom. Dork.
Once 12:30 rolled around, we knew it was time for another reservation at another famous restaurant - I know, tough life. We had reservations and high expectations for Ad Hoc in Yountsville!
"For temporary relief from hunger..."
It was a brunch prix-fix meal for two.
Starting with the Wedge Salad and warm, homemade raisin and nut bran muffins with honey butter. You can guess what I immediately reached for...
Next up was some classy Steak and Eggs -- tri tip with farm-fresh scrambled eggs, a side of delacata squash and swiss chard, and smashed fingerling potatoes.
To end our meal on a sweet note, we had grown up Cookies and Cream -- fresh chocolate chip cookies and coffee ice cream. Oh yes.
I would sign up for Santa Claus if it guaranteed me cookies this good everytime I hauled my ass down a chimney...
We strolled around one of the prettiest towns... and hopped back in the car for some more wine time!
It was Casey's nap time, so I snoozed for a quick 25 minutes, while Mom drove around and enjoyed the views. Hello, food coma after food.. that's how it works.
Our first stop was Opus One. Um, for all you wine-o's out there. Be jealous.
Not only of that gorgeous view, but of that delicious glass of Cab Sav!
I think it was one of the prettiest views I've been blessed with (no, I'm not talking about my mom... although she's not too bad on the eyes either).
The wine might have helped things.
We drove to Caymus (unpictured) and Stag's Leap -- for my Grandpa. It was his favorite wine!
I also declared that I will be getting married at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.... As soon as I find a husband. Save the date.
Instead of heading back to my college town...
We decided to make the most of our last night of freedom, and made reservations at Brix!
Of course, their known for their gorgeous view of vineyards -- but since it was night time and all... I was left to appreciate the yummy food instead. Bummer.
We went with our usual plan of action: order a million appetizers and then a million desserts.
Tempura veggies: beans, squash, zucchini, and eggplant with a chipotle aioli.
Spicy tomato and sausage pizza on a thin crust, topped with carmelized onions and thinly-sliced yukon potatoes. Um, sorry Oenotri, you lose this battle.
A side order of Truffle and Goat Cheese Mac & Cheese.
HOLY MOLY. This will be present at my last meal -- take note.
Just to give you an indication of our ridiculousness when it came to ordering desserts, at one point, the manager of the restaurant came over and told us that their pastry chef loves us because he got to try out almost all the dishes on the dessert menu. great. we're those people.
First up: Warm Brioche Bread Pudding with apples, berries, almonds, and vanilla bean ice cream. Yeah, no complaints there. Nailed it!
Panna cotta custard on a bed of chopped nuts and apples -- like fall was reincarnated in a dessert!
Our last minute addition: Chocolate duo -- warm, chocolate lava cake with chocolate gelato, espresso grounds, and vanilla creme.
So, if you had to guess just how amazing our last day of Girl's Weekend was....
Could it have gotten any better??
I would say I'm still recovering from all those desserts and the sheer volume of food we consumed. But that's a lie. Now I'm recovering from a late-night diner trip with the girls!
It never ends.
Gotta love final's week -- it's an excuse to wear sweatpants for a week straight and eat anything you want because you're "stressed"
Well, I hope you guys get a chance to make it out to Napa -- It was one of the best times of my life! And I got to share it with my mom and with you all!
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