Well, I am finally over the longest-stomach-flu-ever, and so we have made reservations at local "legendary" restaraunt Bistro Don Giovanni, famous for its friendly service and its fig-and-prosciutto pizza. I'm a fan of fig-and-prosciutto wood-fired pizza ever since I went to college and was introduced to it at Pomodori's Pizza in Cincinnati. (Still worth a stop if you're in Cinci - copper tables, fun bustling ambiance, and the pizza is the best in town.)
We drove out to St. Helena yesterday in hopes of finding a famous, wonderful big bookstore there - only to find that it was closed and the space for "For Lease." Another ghost-town-like aspect to Napa Valley these days - almost all the good bookstores have closed up shop. It was a beautiful drive, passing shining vineyard full of grapes after shining vineyard; the cobblestone pavement of St. Helena's downtown proved challenging since I was on crutches, and we stopped in at several charming shops. One thing I noticed - the crowds in the shops were low on the courtesty scale - for instance, large men never stepped aside for me, even though it was obvious I was having trouble navigating each shop around their girth; women clumped together in groups to make sure I wasn't able to pass. Californians = not polite? Maybe it's my Midwestern upbringing, but when I'm able footed, I always make sure the person on crutches can get by, and maybe offer to open a door for them? I guess the same qualities that make Californians (and their tourists) bad drivers (and that's not a myth) also makes them incourteous to people on crutches, note to self. We stopped at The Model Bakery and bought some delicious cinnamon-raisin bread as well as their pain au levain, both fantastic, and almost talked ourselves into buying some strawberry balsamic vinegar and butternut squash pasta sauce at The St. Helena Olive Company, but decided not to yet - our pocketbooks are still smarting from the move, and those bottles are very pricey.
In a bakery-to-bakery comparison, Model Bakery has better bread, but Bouchon Bakery has better pastries (though I mostly have to take my husband's word for that.) Also, I noticed that hardly any of the people in line at Bouchon spoke English; I heard French and Russian, but no American accents.
We drove out to St. Helena yesterday in hopes of finding a famous, wonderful big bookstore there - only to find that it was closed and the space for "For Lease." Another ghost-town-like aspect to Napa Valley these days - almost all the good bookstores have closed up shop. It was a beautiful drive, passing shining vineyard full of grapes after shining vineyard; the cobblestone pavement of St. Helena's downtown proved challenging since I was on crutches, and we stopped in at several charming shops. One thing I noticed - the crowds in the shops were low on the courtesty scale - for instance, large men never stepped aside for me, even though it was obvious I was having trouble navigating each shop around their girth; women clumped together in groups to make sure I wasn't able to pass. Californians = not polite? Maybe it's my Midwestern upbringing, but when I'm able footed, I always make sure the person on crutches can get by, and maybe offer to open a door for them? I guess the same qualities that make Californians (and their tourists) bad drivers (and that's not a myth) also makes them incourteous to people on crutches, note to self. We stopped at The Model Bakery and bought some delicious cinnamon-raisin bread as well as their pain au levain, both fantastic, and almost talked ourselves into buying some strawberry balsamic vinegar and butternut squash pasta sauce at The St. Helena Olive Company, but decided not to yet - our pocketbooks are still smarting from the move, and those bottles are very pricey.
In a bakery-to-bakery comparison, Model Bakery has better bread, but Bouchon Bakery has better pastries (though I mostly have to take my husband's word for that.) Also, I noticed that hardly any of the people in line at Bouchon spoke English; I heard French and Russian, but no American accents.
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