Hope everyone had a nice New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day. Last night D and I went out to the Original Fish Company. (We left a sleeping k at my parents’ house). We had a gift certificate, so I thought it would be a good time to use it. When we arrived around 7 p.m., the hostess said there was an 80-minute wait and to come back in 20 minutes to get a pager. Sometimes restaurants overestimate wait time to make you feel better, but this one was pretty accurate. Luckily, we snagged a couple of seats inside the restaurant, right by the glassed in chef’s station so we had something to watch during the wait. D had Wild Alaskan King Troll Salmon and I had Monkfish. Although we were starving by the time our food arrived, the first course really filled us up: D had Manhattan clam chowder and I had lobster bisque. Whoa, good thing we did not order an appetizer!

I guess I still haven’t finished talking about our trip. On Christmas day, D’s cousin and his wife joined us in Napa for Christmas lunch. D’s parents and sister prepared a lovely turkey/prime rib feast.

On Monday we went to a couple of wineries, including Beaulieu Vineyard. D was able to pick out a couple of bottles for people at work. For lunch we ate at Auberge du Soleil in nearby Rutherford. It was quite fancy, which we figured out in the very beginning, when they “forced” us to valet park. k was thankfully pretty well-behaved and had fun making the waiters laugh. She also managed to keep all of her food down.

The menu was pretty complicated. The descriptions of the desserts were difficult to decipher so D had the waiter translate. One of the desserts that piqued my interest was something with Douglas Fir streusel. They actually boil the pine needles and use the essence, or something like that. That didn’t appeal to me, and no one could decide, so I opted for one of the simplest desserts on the menu: apple tart with caramel sauce. Isn’t it pretty?

The restaurant has a nice view of the valley.

I thought this statute in the garden was amusing.

Afterward we strolled through Yountville. We checked out the outside of The French Laundry, which is considered the #1 restaurant in the U.S. Considering it costs $240 per person, this is the closest we will ever get to experiencing it:

Too bad Bouchon Bakery, which is down the street and also owned by Thomas Keller, was closed for Christmas Eve by the time we got there.

On Saturday we drove up to Napa to visit D’s family. As previously mentioned, k caught a stomach bug, probably from me, and was throwing up in the car. She went through at least three outfits, and her new carseat was put to the test. It took about eight hours, but we finally made it. Of course, the highlights seem to revolve around food.

For dinner we ate at Compadres Rio Grille. D waffled about ordering the guacamole appetizer, but everyone was glad that he did. k seemed to be doing OK, but threw up at the end of our meal. Luckily, D was quick with the napkin, and it wasn’t too bad.

The next day we drove to Elk Grove to meet up with Janelle. We attended service at RRNC and ate lunch at Mikuni, along with one of Janelle’s friends from Dallas. Thank you to Janelle’s dad, who treated! We had heard rave reviews about Mikuni from D’s family and it lived up to the hype.

The stylish interior.

k met Auntie J for the first time.

It took us over two hours to return to Napa because of the traffic. We ate dinner with D’s parents at Fume. I liked this place a lot. It is cozy and the food is well-executed and “fresh”. Case in point: the tangerine dressing on our house salad…tasty! Too bad I wasn’t that hungry considering I was still full from lunch.