There are Better Places than Wineries in Napa
After leaving Yosemite, My husband and I drove to Napa and checked into one of the Napa luxury hotels . We thought it would be a good idea to clean-up first, shower and shave, rather than go through some wineries all dirty and stinky from our week long camping trip in Yosemite. At least the staff at our hotel appreciated the difference when we came back down all sparkling clean and smelling good!
Unfortunately, we didn’t know about how most of the wineries only offer tours in the morning and in the early afternoon. So, we found this great vegetarian restaurant called Ubuntu , but the place was more than a restaurant, it was a kind of a community oriented organization promoting healthy eating. The meals are made from their biodynamic garden located on the restaurants property. Plus, they have a vineyard, hold workshops and have a yoga studio! Ubuntu celebrates using garden fresh ingredients and the menu lists the current crop; the head chef coordinates with the head gardner about the harvest for the day.
I ordered the caramelized Napa sunchoke and Fuji apple chowder, malted milk, spring onion and cocoa nib salad. My husband ordered the rustic rancho gordo yellow eye bean stew with rosemary, torn bread, chili and slow-cooked cauliflower leaves. Both dishes were exquisite, refreshing, and very, very fresh. We don’t think we’ve ever been so delighted as we were with our meals. Absolutely delicious.
To top of our wonderful meals, we ordered dessert. I had the tcho bittersweet chocolate terrine, which came with pear, bitter caramel-lavender ice cream and pinenuts. My husband ordered the Meyer lemon rice pudding with huckleberry, shipped thyme and kettle corn. If we weren’t in heaven after dinner, we certainly made it there with the dessert! We gave our compliments to the chef and the staff.
Ubuntu has a nice relaxed atmosphere that makes you want to stay and never leave. But leave we did to get a good nights sleep, in order to wake up early and take in some tours at the wineries, but we seriously doubted that they could top our experience at Ubuntu.
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