San Fran / Napa - Quick Trip, Must Do's?

[John Tanglewood]

Hey all,

So bummed. I won the Half Dome lottery for Yosemite and was booked to go this weekend. Due to snow on the trails they just announced the climbing portion (the whole purpose of the trip) wouldn't open again until 2nd week in June.

So my trip has turned into a San Fran trip with a 1-day excursion to Napa.

Anybody have any suggestions on must-do's, must-see's, or must-eats? In Napa, can anyone tell me about all the different places that do cave tastings?

I like to move around. I love to eat (everything). And I love to shop. So no suggestion would be out of my ballpark.

I heard about the following places and wanted to check them out:

• Game Bird Provisions
• Green's restaurant
• Brenda's French Soul Food

Any good suggestions for Asian food spots would be cool too as I'm not very familiar!

Thanks!

[DeliAhjusshi]

If you're driving through Napa then most likely you will be driving through St. Helena. If you want a quick bite to eat for lunch I'd suggest Giugnis Deli located in St. Helena. Sandwiches are awesome and be sure to get it with Giugni juice. For asian food I would suggest Brother's Korean Restaurant in San Fran. It's a korean bbq joint which uses wood briquettes for the table top fires. For shopping there's a small outlet mall in Napa, however I suspect most of your shopping will be done in SF around union square. Not sure what a cave tasting is however id suggest stopping by Sterling Vineyards and take a ride on their ariel tramway.

[MBLocal017]

State bird provisions will be impossible to get into without an existing reservation, but The Progress (right next door) shares common ownership with state bird and usually has reservations. I would also suggest My Tofu House for Korean BBQ. Some other good places (can't go wrong with Brenda's, by the way): delfina pizzeria (walk in and put your name in - we like the Ca street location for lunch or dinner), Elephant sushi, cotogna, rich table, my my coffee shop (casual, inexpensive breakfast), swans oyster depot (or hog island in the ferry building), yank sing for dim sum, roam (burgers - multiple locations), etc. When in doubt, check out Sf.eater.com and their list of essential SF restaurants. Most will be very difficult to get last minute reservations, but if you go early (5-5:30) and sit at the bar, you can usually snag good last minute meals.

I would recommend going beyond Napa up to Healdberg, which is just as good, but more laid back and without the high tasting fees - check out Unti, Quivira, Preston Farm, etc.

[JibSTir13]

If you're a Pinot Noir fan, I would hit up David Bruce Winery in the Los Gatos Hills - their pinot will blow away most you will try in Napa/Sonoma.

Out of their current selection, the '06 estate pinot noir is the one to get.

[colossians323]

I would leave Cali as fast as you can. Nothing good goes on here

[silver_mcoupe]

I'm biased towards Cabs so take that for what its worth:

Caves:

Del Dotto (both locations but the one down in Napa has a better cave experience than the Marble Palace on Hwy 29). **warning, you will drink a lot here**

Jericho Canyon also has a nice tasting cave.

Lunch: Rutherford Grill - you can thank me after (get there @11, go tasting at BV, sit at 11.30 be done and keep to your itinerary).

I'll let others chime in - I could be here for some time with suggestions!

[Pung391]

San Francisco eats

Dim sum:
head south of San Francisco you'll find

Koi palace (Daly City)
Hong Kong flower lounge
Asian pearl
The kitchen
Tai wu

Bottom 4 are in millbrae

Breakfast/brunch
Plow
Griddle fresh
Zazie
Sweet maple
Kitchen story

Must eats:
House of prime rib
Hard Knox cafe
PPQ dungenness island
Thanh long
Crustacean
Locanda
Pizzeria Delfina
Brenda's French soul food
San Tung
The house
Golden boy pizza


Hawaiian:
Liholiho yacht club
Aina

Ice cream :

Garden creamery

I'll update this later after work

[bd307]

Sterling is pretty cool for that tram ride and view. Otherwise save your drinking quota to another winery. The wines Sterling served on the day I went were all awful.

Have fun and be smart driving around Napa.

[jeffucd]

Originally Posted by Pung391

San Francisco eats

Dim sum:
head south of San Francisco you'll find

Koi palace (Daly City)
Hong Kong flower lounge
Asian pearl
The kitchen
Tai wu

Bottom 4 are in millbrae

Breakfast/brunch
Plow
Griddle fresh
Zazie
Sweet maple
Kitchen story

Must eats:
House of prime rib
Hard Knox cafe
PPQ dungenness island
Thanh long
Crustacean
Locanda
Pizzeria Delfina
Brenda's French soul food
San Tung
The house
Golden boy pizza


Hawaiian:
Liholiho yacht club
Aina

Ice cream :

Garden creamery

I'll update this later after work

Excellent suggestions here. If you're passing through Marin County, I suggest Sol Food in San Rafael (Bistec Sandwich in particular, but really anything), then take Sir Francis Drake out West to Highway 1 for a cruise up the coast. Although not a direct route to the wine country, you could take it north and loop around through Petaluma and take a fun mountain road back into Sonoma Valley, which is West of Napa Valley.

[Pung391]

Originally Posted by jeffucd

Excellent suggestions here. If you're passing through Marin County, I suggest Sol Food in San Rafael (Bistec Sandwich in particular, but really anything), then take Sir Francis Drake out West to Highway 1 for a cruise up the coast. Although not a direct route to the wine country, you could take it north and loop around through Petaluma and take a fun mountain road back into Sonoma Valley, which is West of Napa Valley.

Sol food is bomb.com