A few days ago, I wrote about how my lunch at Auburge du Soleil, from the mountainside looking down upon Napa Valley, made everything on the plate taste even better. Despite not having much of a view, I feel much the same about Hog Island Oysters in Oxbow Market. The environment made everything infinitely more special.
So before we dwell into the restaurant, a quick background on Oxbow Public Market. Situated slightly to the East of downtown Napa, next to the now defunct COPIA The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, Oxbow is a food lover’s gem. For New Yorkers reading this post, it’s very much like Chelsea Market, without the tourist crowd, and set in the country side with views of the ridges that form the valley. The man behind the Oxbow Public Market was the project manager for the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace, and you can certainly see the resemblance.
Hog Island Oyster.
Which is a perfect segue into Hog Island Oysters, which has two California restaurants with locations in the Ferry Building Marketplace and Oxbow.
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Friends and acquaintances from out of state often ask me “I got 4 days in New York, what restaurants cannot be missed?” After lecturing them on the necessity of reservations and the virtue of planning ahead, I try my best to help them out. When you’ve devoted so much time and money on a vacation, sometimes one or two disappointing meals can really ruin your day.
That was the same sort of trepidation I faced for my trip to the Bay Area. Luckily, the Wine Spectator issue on Napa yielded great results.
Between wine tastings and tours, sometimes what you really want is a hearty meal. Mustards Grills fulfills this need perfectly. Named after the wild mustard flowers that cover the valley during the spring, Mustards Grill has been serving hungry drivers since 1983. I say that because it refers to itself as a “truck stop”, serving high quality french-styled food.
This dish is called "Eat Your Vegetables"
We arrived at Mustards Grill early during lunch service, and were able to secure a table by the window quickly. While still flipping through the menu, we noticed that the restaurant was quickly filling up even on this weekday. By 12:30, people were being turned away because of the long wait.
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Earlier this year while watching the excellent BBC programme (see the intentional British spelling?) Oz and James’ Big Wine Adventure, I was infatuated with the scenery at one particular restaurant. Situated on the side of a hill, James May and Oz Clark enjoyed fine dining while overlooking the vineyards of Napa Valley. A quick Google search revealed that it was the Auberge du Soleil, a resort/restaurant with a Michelin Star.
Luckily I was planning out a trip to Napa, so a lunch time reservation was made. Along with the French Laundry, it’d be the highlight of my Napa dining experience.
So on my first data at the Napa Valley, shortly after my first winery tour, we ascended the twisty road off Silverado Trails that lead up to the Auberge du Soleil. As the trail lead to higher elevation, the noise of the highways below us faded away, and the air became noticeably crisper. The valet greeted us at the door, and pointed us towards the restaurant.
If you’ve made a reservation during the summer months, then you’ll be lead straight to the outside dining deck. The view is simply spectacular.
The views are epic.
To be perfectly honest, I would have paid a premium to have this type of view. Yet to my surprise, this turned out to be one of the most affordable meals during my week at Napa. With their 30th anniversary 3 course lunch prix fixe special, you can enjoy Michelin Star dining, with a spectacular view, for less than $40 per person. Continue reading Auberge Du Soleil Review – If only all meals were served like this
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Food writers tend to take the concept of dining very seriously. I do not agree with the concept of a restaurant/club/lounge, in fact I consider it an abomination in the natural laws of food consumption. Watching a waiter wiggle his way around drunk patrons by the bar to get to my table is utter disservice to the food. Especially… when the food’s actually impressive.
Such is the scene at Sugar Dining Den and Social Club (a mouthful), located discretely in a strip mall not too far from Roosevelt Field. During the day, its unassuming store front gets lost in between neighbors like Staples and Party City. Around dinner time, phase one of the transformation begins. As luxury cars begin rolling in, part of the strip mall is closed and turned into a valet parking lot. The music is turned up, and dinner is served.
For the most part, the cuisine is above average for Long Island. Despite the menu’s lack of focus, it’s still conceived by someone with solid culinary talent. Since inception, Sugar was helmed by Chef Hok Chin, who has a solid resume and earlier this year left to open Duo on Madison Ave. On my review of Duo I complained about the lack of focus of the menu, high prices, and the restaurant’s lack of identity. The same can be said about Sugar. With large flat screen TVs playing sports, and loud music, it’s probably not the place to take a date for a meal if you plan to have meaningful conversations.
What Sugar does very well is the 2nd transformation. As tables finish dinner, they’re moved literally out of the restaurant onto the curb until the main dining space is transformed into a dance floor. (I often wonder what happens to patrons who eat too slow). The DJ hits the booth, out comes the velvet rope and bottle service. People arriving after 11pm would never believe it was a restaurant.
If what you’re looking for is a convenient one-stop night out on Long Island, where you don’t have to tip the valet twice, Sugar’s your place. As for me, I’ll arrive after 11.
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For neighborhood restaurants, expansion is tricky business. Big name chefs expand with the help of backers that often bring with them, along with money, experience running large businesses. Because after all, chefs can only be in one kitchen at a time, so expansion is very much a test of business management as it is a solid menu. When a neighborhood favorite seeks to expand beyond its comfortable niche, many fail to recreate the charm of the original.
Westville, the original.
Which is why I was quite impressed by the success of Westville. The concept of this neighborhood restaurant focuses on using fresh ingredients to execute casual enjoyable dishes at a very reasonable price. With a menu that’s deceptively simple, they’ve been able to replicate the identical menu at all three locations. On nice days, you’ll see a line waiting in front of each one.
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