After unpacking my overweight suitcases and settling into my rented room, I decided it was time to explore. I had a day before work started and plenty of errands to run beforehand.
I made sure to stock up on breakfast items and snack foods to save money (eating out gets expensive fast!). I had a simple bowl of yogurt, banana, Bearnaked Vanilla Almond Crunch Granola, cranberries and honey.
I had to run to the bank, and unfortunately the closest branch is 30 minutes away in Santa Rosa. I made a twisty-turny drive through the mountains and explored the area. I stopped at a little cafe called Holy Roast Coffee. I ordered a bowl of Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Goat Cheese-Pecan Salad, Coffee and an Apple.
Lunch was simple yet satisfying. One thing to note: It is HARD, HARD, HARD living in a new town when you do not know anyone and have an extreme interest in food. There are so many restaurants I wanted to visit in my first days here (plus, it’s restaurant month and many have deals), however; going to a restaurant alone is something I’ve never done before. Sure, I’ve been to cafes and lunch places by myself but never an elegant sit down restaurant. With work, I will not have much time to visit restaurants but I also hope to meet people to dine with on my days off!
I drove through Yountville and payed respects to Thomas Keller’s restaurants (Ad Hoc, Bouchon, French Laundry); Michael Chiarello’s Bottega and NapaStyle; and the Chandon Estate. There are several restaurants in Yountville that I have admired for years from afar. I found myself excited and nervous at the same time to even just drive by. I’ve placed this area on a pedestal– some people worship celebrities, I worship restaurants.
After a long day of driving, getting lost, and restaurant-worship, I did what any single girl in a new city would do and found a pizza place with take-out! To my luck, I found a really good place called Pizzaria Tra Vigne.
A little pinot for my mushroom pizza–PERFECT (will review in tomorrow’s post!).
And a large salad so I didn’t feel as guilty for eating half of the pizza. Granted, it was a small wood fire pizza–very filling but SO tasty that I couldn’t help myself. I will be ordering again soon!
First day of work tomorrow–wish me luck!
Napa Dreams,
Nora
[...] put my usual yogurt, granola, banana bowl on hold for a heartier warm bowl of oatmeal (mixed with 1 banana, [...]
[...] is not an easy task. Do I dine out alone and explore the city on my own? My first days were full of take out and self-exploration of near by [...]