BoLA's Big Adventures - Adult Swim Style ....... phew!

If you know me, you know I love randomness.

And I love learning random trivia - of people, places, and things that could invariably be found on Jeopardy.

So it made me giddy to hear from an old high school friend who randomly emailed me the other day. He moved to Texas with his wife, and thought of sending a 'hello' to one of the only other crazy LA Asian Americans who moved half-way across the other side of the country he knew - me.

(Really, it's so good to be back home in LA.)

And after reading my blog, wrote that he was quite the oenophile.

Oenophile?

A quick peek on Wikipedia, and I learned that:

An oenophile is a lover of wine. In the strictest sense, oenophilia describes a disciplined devotion to wine, accompanying strict traditions of consumption and appreciation... They are people who appreciate or collect wine, particularly grape wines from certain regions, varietal types, or methods of manufacture. While most oenophiles are normal, everyday people, some may also be vintners, wine merchants, or as in the case of Robert Parker, one who tastes and grades wines for a living. The stereotypical oenophile is highly meticulous and pretentious to the point of snobbery.

When you thought you knew someone, you learn something new.

I love that.

And although I am a lover of wine, I would probably not say that I'm an oenophile. I didn't even recognize the word until a cheat look at Wikipedia. In fact, I'm more like Lucy in one of my all-time favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes where she stomps on wine grapes.

So in preparing for my Sideways tour with MS, I did a little research on where to go in Napa.



EK's favorites were Silver Oak known for their Cabernet, and the unique Cakebread Winery. And MLS loved the sweet wines at St. Supery. Lucky for us, all three were relatively in the same Oakville area.

Silver Oak was a little off the beaten path of the main 29 highway, so we checked it out first. With a quaint rustic feel to the cellar, their small wine tasting area got crowded quickly that Saturday morning at 10:30 in the am. For $10/person, MS and I had two of their Cabernets. Both were strong and bold in flavor, and the complimentary bread in a basket was a welcome snack in between sips.


Off to a great start, we drove to our next stop - St. Supery. Much larger in comparison, this vineyard had a huge tasting room with a long counter that accommodated all visitors comfortably, a self-guided tour, and an art gallery. We purchased both the regular [$10] and limited edition [$15] tastings, and were in the hands of our friendly host named Blake. We tried the different Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignons, Elu, Virtu, Merlot, Syrah, and my favorite - the Moscato dessert wine.

What I loved about St. Supery was its welcoming and creative atmosphere. Blake generously shared with us the history of the vineyard, the wines, and the subtle flavors of each tasting. Each new bottle of their special Meritage blends - the Elu and the Virtu - depicted the artwork of local artists' and their ideas of what the vineyard's patron saints would look like. And on that particular day of our visit, we stumbled upon the artwork of Toby Lurie who read us his "Life is like a Tube of Toothpaste."



With reservations for a 1:30pm lunch at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone, we were off for a gourmet meal at their Wine Spectator Restaurant. And after reading Michael Ruhlman's Making of a Chef about his student experience at the CIA on the East Coast, I was so excited to be there during our trip.



We started with The Day's Temptations [$8.95]. An array of chef prepared small bites were shared - Some kind of Soup with Truffle Oil - deliciously buttery and rich. Tempura Fried Green Tomato - interestingly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside tempura tomato. I would have liked my fried green tomatoes done originally, instead of a weird Asian Fusion mix. Tuna Tartare with Fried Wonton Skin - always delicious, I wanted more! Vietnamese Shrimp with Asian Slaw - a great little dish on a hot summer day. Foie Gras - I hate liver, enough said.

Next on our plate was the Chilled Lobster Bouillabaisse with jellied lobster consomme, grapefruit salad, and shaved fennel [$16]. The lobster was deliciously light and was complimented nicely with the salty crunch of the caviar and the tart citrus slice of fruit.

MS ordered the Roasted Rack of Pork with chile rellano, black bean chili, and avocado relish [$20]. His dish was tender, but I'm not a big fan of black beans. So I ordered the fish - Steamed Alaskan Halibut Fillet with young ginger, wilted Asian greens, black mushrooms, jasmine rice and chili-soy broth [$24]. The fish was cooked well and was a little moist from all the sauce on the plate - which was a little too rice in soy sauce with not enough rice on the plate. Overall though, it was good eats and I finished it all.

Unfortunately, there was no room for dessert or wine but we did receive the complimentary sweets with the bill - jellied and buttered - for free.



So after a morning of wining and an afternoon of dining, we drove into San Francisco to check into our next hotel. After a quick nap, we test-drove the streets of the city to see how long it would take to get to dinner and how easy it would be to find parking. Both tests failed miserably. With all the one-way street traffic and parking worse than LA, we decided to take the $5/person fun hold-on-for-your-dear-life ride on the Powell & Hyde Street cable car from Union Square which conveniently lets you off right in front of the restaurant.



After being highly recommended by KI, we made reservations for 2 at Frascati Restaurant with Manager Jon Rader. Looks can be deceiving because this small corner restaurant held a good number of patrons inside with two floors of seating. Luckily, we were seated up the creaky, narrow flight of stairs in one of their romantic nook tables that overlooks the kitchen and dining area downstairs.



We started with the Ahi Tuna with Fennel Crackers [pictured above $13]. Deliciously blended, we enjoyed this dish more than the small bite we had at the CIA earlier for lunch. We then tried the Russet Potato Gnocchi with Fava Beans, Sweet Corn, English Peas and White Truffle Oil [pictured above $10]. This creamy, buttery dish was absolutely mouthwatering and my favorite of the night. We also shared an entree so that we'd have room for their homemade Mango Sorbet dessert [not pictured]. The Maple Leaf Duck Breast with Hazelnut-Sweet Corn Wild Rice, Morel Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Juniper Honey [pictured above $25]. The duck was deliciously medium rare, but the rice was sweeter than I like it to be.

So after all the day's gluttony, we decided to walk it all off rather than take the 20 minute cable car. It was a beautiful night out with what looked like a full moon and bright city lights against the dark midnight sky.

A picture perfect ending to a pretty perfect day.

Silver Oak Cellars
Napa Valley Estate - Wine Tasting
street: 915 Oakville Crossroad | Napa, CA 94562
tel: 1.800.273.8809
web: www.silveroak.com

St. Exupery Winery
Wine Tasting Room
street: 8440 Saint Helena Hwy | Napa, CA 94558
tel: 1.707.963.2946
web: www.stsupery.com

Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant
Culinary Institute of America
street: 2555 Main Street | St. Helena, CA 94574
tel: 1.707.967.1010
call for reservations / valet parking
web: www.ciachef.edu/restaurants/wsgr

Frascati Restaurant
street: 1901 Hyde Street | San Franciso, CA 94109 (corner of Green)
tel: 1.415.928.1406
call and speak with Jon Rader for reservations
web: www.frascatisf.com