One of the perks of living in California is the abundance of scenic routes; having driven from San Francisco to San Diego via Highway 1 many years back, I can personally attest to the beautiful mountains, valleys, trees, and waterfronts that go on for miles. However, seeing as I’ve been living in cities ever since, I’ve become extremely averse to driving, and thus, opportunities to leave the city seem few and far between. So when my friend visited California two weeks ago, who were we to pass up a drive up to Napa?
For those who have no clue what/where Napa is, you should watch The Parent Trap (yes, the Lindsay Lohan redux) and jog your memory.
Anyway! We were hungry (surprise, surprise), so we first grabbed lunch at Bottega:
polenta under glass
butternut squash caramelle with bosc pear, pecorino, crispy sage, brown butter emulsion and amaretti – poppy seed gremolata
This was so amazingly good that you’re going to have to suffer through a second photo. Sorry I’m not sorry.
Am I the only one who finds it kind of hilarious that there’s a Bouchon Bakery in Napa of all places? I had always associated the place with the very shiny Columbus Circle back in New York, so to see it in the middle of Napa was a bit of a pleasant surprise!
Chickens from the French Laundry farms — cluck cluck!
Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, I took my friend around the city, where we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown:
…the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, where we got a French toast and a halibut sandwich from Rose Pistola:
…and — of course — In-N-Out. (I still prefer Shake Shack any day, but hey — I’ll take the next best thing if I can’t have my Shackburger-minus-the-tomato.)
Anyway! On a related aside, I will actually be heading back to New York, my favorite city in the history of ever, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, next Wednesday. I’ve missed that place something fierce, and I’ll probably express my nostalgia with my mediums of choice being retail therapy and eating ALL OF THE THINGS. It’s like performance art! Kind of!
And yes, I will be eating Shake Shack.