The Widow, the Spinster, and the Missus take on Disneyland - A little OT Interlude in Napa 4/14

[pkondz]

Some people do that.....He's going to have a hard time when he goes home. He lives on the 2nd floor.

I can't. If a tenant calls with an exploded angle stop in the bathroom, I need to hear the phone and call someone for an emergency.

Ohhhh... right. Of course.

Yeah, hard thing to find a drink at a Tiki Bar when you don't like Rum!

As long as it's just one or two people it's great to skip a long wait.

It actually tastes more like milk chocolate when it all comes down to it. Just super chocolatey.

Then I'm in.

I read something about it on the VGC thread, but didn't quite understand what the person was talking about. I remember saying, "there's something unusual about the VDH, and before I consider buying there I need to nail down what that is." That's what it was.

Yep. You know now.
Didn't know you were considering buying more. Here's me with... none!

I did better on Thursday!

 

[pkondz]

We chatted a bit, and then went to our respective bedrooms, it had been less than two weeks from when we saw each other last.

"Oh, you again. Buh bye."

We started off with some adult beverages. Get used to this, you might be seeing a bit of this combination. Mine is the Bloody Mary and hers is the Mimosa.

Okay!

Jill went with their French Toast, and we split a side of bacon.

mmm... bacon

"May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live." (Irish toast)
Bread, cinnamon, egg, maple syrup. (French toast)

I went with the pancakes and fried chicken.

Okay... stop.
This is so weird!
I'd never heard of this combination before. Ever.
But yesterday, I get a text from @Captain_Oblivious saying he just had this... and now here I read you did too!

After Brunch we went looking a Open Houses. Recently Jill has been put on Work from Home permanently. She would love to move to a more moderate climate, so we decided to see what was out there so she could set her expectations realistically. The verdict so far, not much.

I find this interesting. I'm not sure what my future will hold. Have toyed with the idea of moving South... although

I still got beaver, again.

But sounds like you're getting better.

Here’s all of us ladies.

Another very nice photo.

Okay... I've made my choices. We'll see how we compare.

Now I did it again, I chose two from the second course and skipped the first courses.

D'oh! I always forget that you can do this! I so would have done that.

Jill had the Asian Pear and Red Gem Lettuce Salad, Hazelnut Tangerine Vinaigrette

This intrigued me (but wasn't my first choice) and might have tried it if I could've had it without hazelnut.
First choice... although I wasn't really enthusiastic about it was the lump crab.

Also from the second course section, I chose the Creamy French Onion Soup, Braised Beef, Gruyere Cheese. This was super tasty and I think several other people at the table got this as well!

This was 100% my first choice. I didn't even hesitate.

Jill got the Duck Confit, Potato Gnocchi, Tender Greens

And if I could've done two from the second course, then this would've been my 2nd choice.

Our server deviated from the menu again, because this is definitely NOT what the menu says.

So... were the deviations good? Bad? Just interesting?

I had the Roasted Colorado Lamb Chop, Cheddar Yorkshire Pudding, Apple Compote. I think Steve had this as well. We both loved it! I ate the entire thing which is a first for me!

My first choice too!

I got her leftovers and made Hungarian Goulash over Pappardelle pasta two nights later.

mmmm... that sounds amazing.

I had the Decadent Chocolate Pave Bar, Cookie Butter Blondie. This was excellent. I believe it was the same thing I had in December.

Here we diverge...

Jill went for the Lemon Cranberry Cheesecake, Lemon Creme Fraiche, and it was paired with the Inniskillin Ice Wine, Cabernet Franc, Niagara Peninsula, Canada 2019. She loves a good Cheesecake and this did not disappoint!

This was a strong contender. Normally, this is what I would have ordered, but... maybe because it's early morning and I'm just not feeling "sweet" right now... I'd have picked the cheese course.

We Topped off our Nite with a Club 33 coffee. It was a first time for many and everyone loved it!

<sigh>
I sometimes regret not drinking coffee. People seem to enjoy it so. Ah well.

I believe they gave us some Petit fours, but I forgot to take a picture and I ate them the next day.

That good, huh?

Stay tuned as our trip on the Bougie Train continues!

You forgot my first harrowing Uber story! I usually use Lyft (they are a better run company IMHO) but I get an Uber credit with my Amex so wanted to use it. So I'm in the Uber, headed to Alison and sort of spacing out when the driver, who spoke basically no English, pulled over to the side of the main road that goes outside of Alison's neighborhood to let me out. It's 9pm and pitch black and I'm trying to tell this guy he actually needs to take me all the way to the house. Turns out Uber puts the location pin not in Alison's driveway but behind the wall of her backyard which backs up to the main street. I finally convinced the driver to take me to the right place but I was worried for a minute! I'm going back to using Lyft!

I think Alison just invites me so she can eat my leftovers!

 

[franandaj]

Hey Folks! Link to new TR here!

 

[franandaj]

I can't remember after a few Tiki drinks!

Oh darn, twist my arm to go stay at Copper Creek and Concierge at AKL!

And now we're back.....

You forgot my first harrowing Uber story!

Yes! You're right!

I usually use Lyft (they are a better run company IMHO) but I get an Uber credit with my Amex so wanted to use it. So I'm in the Uber, headed to Alison and sort of spacing out when the driver, who spoke basically no English, pulled over to the side of the main road that goes outside of Alison's neighborhood to let me out. It's 9pm and pitch black and I'm trying to tell this guy he actually needs to take me all the way to the house.

Yeah, you aren't the first person that someone has tried to drop off on the Bellflower side of the gate.

Turns out Uber puts the location pin not in Alison's driveway but behind the wall of her backyard which backs up to the main street.

I moved the pin on Google maps when we first moved in to this house, but evidently it still is showing up on some maps on the other side of the fence.

I finally convinced the driver to take me to the right place but I was worried for a minute! I'm going back to using Lyft!

I'm not sure you'll have that much of a difference. You have just as much of a chance of getting a non English speaking driver from either service.

Well, I can afford a house in SoCal after I will Powerball tonight.

Well, that didn't pan out. You'll need to keep playing.

I think Alison just invites me so she can eat my leftovers!

That's not it!

Dinner was fantastic and the company even better! We totally approve of Leslie's new beau and Su-Lynn and Steve are always great company.

Yes, great company all around!

 

[franandaj]

Yep. You know now.
Didn't know you were considering buying more. Here's me with... none!

Well the fact that they opened a new DVC close enough to my house made me want to own there, just because. But now that's a good money saving element for me that I don't want to buy the points anymore.

mmm... bacon

"May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live." (Irish toast)
Bread, cinnamon, egg, maple syrup. (French toast)

Okay... stop.
This is so weird!
I'd never heard of this combination before. Ever.
But yesterday, I get a text from @Captain_Oblivious saying he just had this... and now here I read you did too!

I hadn't heard of it before either, chicken and waffles, yes. But it was a good combo.

I find this interesting. I'm not sure what my future will hold. Have toyed with the idea of moving South... although

If I were you, I would make it happen. You live in an awfully inhospitable climate.

But sounds like you're getting better.

I did get a fairly decent score a few weeks back!

Another very nice photo.

Thanks!

Okay... I've made my choices. We'll see how we compare.
D'oh! I always forget that you can do this! I so would have done that.

I usually count on doing that!

This intrigued me (but wasn't my first choice) and might have tried it if I could've had it without hazelnut.
First choice... although I wasn't really enthusiastic about it was the lump crab.

I had that a while back and it wasn't so great.

This was 100% my first choice. I didn't even hesitate.

Yes, well that was a yummy option!

And if I could've done two from the second course, then this would've been my 2nd choice.

I'm not that big of a fan of duck, I am discovering....

So... were the deviations good? Bad? Just interesting?

I've never had a wine served to me there that wasn't tasty, so

My first choice too!

That was super good!

mmmm... that sounds amazing.

That is now one of my standard "use up leftover steak/prime rib/etc" recipies.

Here we diverge...
This was a strong contender. Normally, this is what I would have ordered, but... maybe because it's early morning and I'm just not feeling "sweet" right now... I'd have picked the cheese course.

The desserts aren't normally very sweet, so I really like them. I like the cheese too, but it's always a tough call for me. If I could eat more, I'd get both.

<sigh>
I sometimes regret not drinking coffee. People seem to enjoy it so. Ah well.

It is something that I quite enjoy, plus I like the kick that it gives me in the morning. I definitely feel it when I don't have my morning jolt.

 

[pkondz]

Well the fact that they opened a new DVC close enough to my house made me want to own there, just because. But now that's a good money saving element for me that I don't want to buy the points anymore.

Lol. “Which room will I sleep in tonight? House or DVC… house. I don’t feel like walking across the street.”

You’re welcome.

If I were you, I would make it happen. You live in an awfully inhospitable climate.

Only half the year. I’ll be a snowbird!

I did get a fairly decent score a few weeks back!

Good for you.

I usually count on doing that!

If we’re ever in a similar situation… kick me under the table or something to remind me!

I had that a while back and it wasn't so great.

Moot point since I’m changing my order to two from the second course

I'm not that big of a fan of duck, I am discovering....

I have… hmmm… I’m not positive I’ve had it more than once??

I've never had a wine served to me there that wasn't tasty, so

So it was a good thing then.

The desserts aren't normally very sweet, so I really like them. I like the cheese too, but it's always a tough call for me. If I could eat more, I'd get both.

I’ll take both!!!!

 

[franandaj]

Lol. “Which room will I sleep in tonight? House or DVC… house. I don’t feel like walking across the street.”

I like options!

Only half the year. I’ll be a snowbird!

There's a lot of those, but more in Palm Springs than LA area.

If we’re ever in a similar situation… kick me under the table or something to remind me!

I'll remember that!

Moot point since I’m changing my order to two from the second course

And by now, the menu has probably changed again.

I have… hmmm… I’m not positive I’ve had it more than once??

I've had it a few times, and it's kind of hit or miss.

So it was a good thing then.

I've never been disappointed with the wine there.

I’ll take both!!!!

If I could eat that much I would too!

 

[franandaj]

So if you’re keeping up with our escapades locally, you’ll remember that on the first weekend in February Jill flew in for a weekend of Brunch, house visits, and dinner at Club 33. That was her second weekend in three weeks that she spent in California, and now she was about to spend a third weekend in California, just this time it would be up in the Northern Region.

I used this visit as an excuse to see my parents. I flew in Wednesday afternoon and planned to spend a few nights at their house on either side of mine and Jill’s trip to Napa. I picked up a rental car when I flew into the San Jose Airport.

Friday morning Jill’s plane left Denver at a pretty early hour because she landed in Oakland at right around 9AM. I left my parents about 8AM, and we ended up meeting at the car rental center at the Oakland Airport. I needed to add Jill to the car contract so that she could drive. That had to be done in person.

And then we were on our way to Napa. We checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags and headed off since our room wasn’t ready yet.

We had made a lunch reservation at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon.

But before we checked in for our lunch reservation, we visited the bakery next door to pick up some treats for later.

These were the treats that I purchased. An apple filled puff pastry, a chocolate brownie bite, and a raspberry macaron. I ended up eating them over the next two days, saving the macaron for when I got to my parent’s house Sunday afternoon.

The menu was inside that folded paper around the napkin. I already knew what I was getting weeks before and so I didn’t pay much attention to the menu and managed to forget to take a picture.

I believe that right after we were seated we got the text that the hotel room was ready.

As we waited for our food and beverages to arrive, I took some shots in the restaurant.

We were served this bread, it was so tasty! And the butter was so decadent as well.

I started with a glass of white first and switched to the same red that Jill ordered for my entree.

We both started with some soup. Jill had the Butternut Squash Soup and really liked it.

I had the French Onion Soup, and as you might have gathered from previous meals on this thread, that is one of my most favorite soups. Ever. This one did not disappoint. The cheese was super tangy and perfectly bruleed with just the right amount of crispy bits and creamy bits.

For my main I ordered the Steak Frites. It’s a simple dish, but so tasty!

Jill ordered the Beef Bourguignon, she said that it was fabulous, lots of delicate flavors and the beef was so tender she could cut it with her spoon.

Of course we saved room for dessert!

It was a tough choice, the Creme Brulee was tempting, and the Baba au Rhum sounded amazing as well, however the Profiteroles won out in the end.

Or enjoy this video…..

After lunch we were both absolutely stuffed, but we had an appointment with a Winery, and wine doesn’t take up that much room! When researching for this trip, I was astonished to find out how much Napa had changed since the last time I visited. It was quite a while ago, but most tasting rooms are now appointment only, and have a hefty fee associated with the appointment.

Luckily, I’m a member of a couple different wine clubs in the Valley and they offer complimentary tasting for members. Today our stop was at Beaulieu Vineyard.

We lucked out on the weather because it had been raining all week before we arrived. The storms were on their way out, but the sky still looks ominous.

We were taken to a private tasting rooms for members only.

These are the wines that we would be tasting….they also threw in a few extra wines as well.

Yummy wines!

After the tasting we headed back to the hotel room. We didn’t have any actual plans for the evening, but I don’t think that Jill intended to fall asleep. I sat on the bed watching reruns of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives while playing games on my tablet until I finally succumbed to sleep as well.

 

[jedijill]

It was an early flight but so nice to get into Oakland so early. It's really a quick drive up to Napa. Bouchon was AMAZING!!!!! One of my favorite meals ever. The bakery was delicious too....I got the fanciest HoHo ever...I ate it on the plane ride home.

BV had some great wines and really enjoyed the tasting. I was beat from getting up so early plus the meal and the wine....It was nice to fall asleep early!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

It was an early flight but so nice to get into Oakland so early. It's really a quick drive up to Napa.

It was actually a pretty quick trip even coming from San Jose!

Bouchon was AMAZING!!!!! One of my favorite meals ever.

So good! I'd go back in a heartbeat!

The bakery was delicious too....I got the fanciest HoHo ever...I ate it on the plane ride home.

So much tastiness!

BV had some great wines and really enjoyed the tasting. I was beat from getting up so early plus the meal and the wine....It was nice to fall asleep early!

We weren't going anywhere that night, but I didn't expect you to crash that quickly.

 

[pkondz]

I like options!

There's a lot of those, but more in Palm Springs than LA area.

Meh. I don’t golf.

That was her second weekend in three weeks that she spent in California

Does this qualify her as a local now?

I picked up a rental car when I flew into the San Jose Airport.

At least this one looks new.

I needed to add Jill to the car contract so that she could drive. That had to be done in person.

Really? Odd.

And then we were on our way to Napa.

I’d like to go sometime. Heard about it since forever.

we visited the bakery next door to pick up some treats for later.

Mmmmm… bakery.

The menu was inside that folded paper around the napkin.

Cool!
And it didn’t quote for some reason but I have heard of Bouchon as well.

I had the French Onion Soup,

Of course. And you know I would too!

The cheese was super tangy and perfectly bruleed with just the right amount of crispy bits and creamy bits.

Jill ordered the Beef Bourguignon, she said that it was fabulous, lots of delicate flavors and the beef was so tender she could cut it with her spoon

Mmmm… sounds amazing

Of course we saved room for dessert!

Of course!

the Profiteroles won out in the end.

I was tempted by the lemon tart but… this sounded too good.

we had an appointment with a Winery, and wine doesn’t take up that much room!

most tasting rooms are now appointment only, and have a hefty fee associated with the appointment.

Really!
I’ve only done the Niagara region and even the most popular ones were not by appointment.

 

[DnA2010]

Jill went with their French Toast, and we split a side of bacon.

This.Looks.So.Good!! Just the way I like bacon!

Yum, was the chicken "white" meat?

Hi Everyone, looking good!

Some good choices there for sure!

Ohh they still have the prosciutto cannoli! That little guy was so good!

I had the Roasted Colorado Lamb Chop, Cheddar Yorkshire Pudding, Apple Compote. I think Steve had this as well. We both loved it! I ate the entire thing which is a first for me!

This looks like a really nice plate, and shocked that you finished it! that's rare!

This would be so good as well!

I believe it was the same thing I had in December.

Yes I think you did, and really enjoyed!

I had this I believe, it was super tasty!


More fun on the docket coming up, wwoohooo!

 

[franandaj]

Meh. I don’t golf.

There is far more to do in Palm Springs than just golf.

Does this qualify her as a local now?

Sadly, no.

At least this one looks new.

Which is why we were so upset with the one in Orlando!

Really? Odd.

Well, I suppose they wanted to see her Driver's License to make sure she actually had one......

I’d like to go sometime. Heard about it since forever.

It's very nice, but very expensive too.

Mmmmm… bakery.

Cool!
And it didn’t quote for some reason but I have heard of Bouchon as well.

Well Thomas Keller is a pretty famous chef.

Of course. And you know I would too!

How could you not?

Mmmm… sounds amazing

Really!
I’ve only done the Niagara region and even the most popular ones were not by appointment.

I think that Napa was getting overrun with partyers and Limos that would take drunk people up and down the Valley, so they decided to weed out the riff raff. A lot of the places were over $50 or $75 for the tastings. Some of them had lunches with wine pairings and others were into the hundreds of dollars for the tasting!

 

[pkondz]

There is far more to do in Palm Springs than just golf.

Watch golf?

I’m kidding of course. I’ve never been so can’t really comment. My sister’s friend winters there and we were talking about it and someone mentioned there’s a lot of golf.

Which is why we were so upset with the one in Orlando!

I bet!

Well, I suppose they wanted to see her Driver's License to make sure she actually had one......

Ah

How could you not?

Exactly

think that Napa was getting overrun with partyers and Limos that would take drunk people up and down the Valley, so they decided to weed out the riff raff. A lot of the places were over $50 or $75 for the tastings. Some of them had lunches with wine pairings and others were into the hundreds of dollars for the tasting!

Yeah, that’d do it alright.

 

[DnA2010]

we visited the bakery next door to pick up some treats for later.

Such a great idea

I already knew what I was getting weeks before and so I didn’t pay much attention to the menu and managed to forget to take a picture.

Fellow menu previewer's unite!

it was so tasty! And the butter was so decadent as well.

Yum! Both made in house I'm assuming?

The cheese was super tangy and perfectly bruleed with just the right amount of crispy bits and creamy bits.

it did look super! Yummm crispy cheese!

the beef was so tender she could cut it with her spoon.

Looks like a great servicing, nice mix and the best when you can cut beef so easily, great cut and preparation!

Kinda a hidden mickey! Delish!

Luckily, I’m a member of a couple different wine clubs in the Valley and they offer complimentary tasting for members. Today our stop was at Beaulieu Vineyard.

Woohoo! I need to look at joining our local ones again I think

These are the wines that we would be tasting….they also threw in a few extra wines as well.

You seem to have good luck with extras being thrown in