Wednesday October 29, 2014
Vixen Vittles ~ Calistoga Inn
First order of business… the Vixen Featured Review of this great property can be found here... read all about Calistoga Inn, and then feast your eyes on their wonderful food!
On a perfect late summer day, three of the Vixens plus our very good friend, Allison Stahl (Vixen Photographer), piled into the SUV and took off for site visits in the Calistoga region of Napa Valley. First order of business was a patio lunch at the popular Calistoga Inn. Owner Michael Dunsford was waiting for us and set us creek side under a large market umbrella where we could enjoy David at the piano, and a five taster beer flight before ordering about a million individual dishes! Note: the Napa Valley Brewing Company is housed at the Calistoga Inn… the first commercial brewery in Napa County since prohibition! There is more than wine in the region!!
We shared one of the wood fired oven pizzas where the dough is made with spent grain and wort reduction from the on site brewery. Enjoyed with the beer was the Prosciutto, Dried Figs, Mascarpone Cheese, Mozzarella, Roasted Garlic pizza, topped with Arugula.
It’s so fun to order random items to share. The Dungeness Crab Cakes with remoulade & cabbage slaw was wonderful as well as the Santa Fe Grilled Cheese, on buttermilk bread, with avocado, cilantro and a chipotle-sour cream-chili paste and served with garlic-cheese fries.
We took a short break to walk around the grounds and the Back 40 Beer Gardens (great spot for a casual picnic style dinner), and to admire the patio and inside dining rooms of the Inn.
And then back to our table to resumed eating (so much fun doing this!!) – remember we’re sharing {wink}. The Greek Summer Salad was refreshing as it had watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, feta cheese and arugula – dressed with a Champagne-herbed vinaigrette. And another summer fav is their Caprese Salad – with beautiful heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella bocconcini, fresh basil and EVOO and sea salt.
A cup of Tomato Bisque Soup with cream was yummy, as was the bowl of Pasta Avocado Fettuccine with jalapeno, lime and shaved dry Jack cheese.
FINALLY… we were so full, so we decided to share and enjoy just one of their delicious desserts – a Chocolate Ganache Rasberry-Stoli Martini with. Loved the presentation.
Owner Michael Dunsford and Executive Chef Nicolas Montanez… kudos gentlemen! Thanks for the great food, good stories, food insights and the tour of upstairs, downstairs and Back 40 Beer Garden of Calistoga Inn.
Be sure to check out the Vixen Featured Review of Calistoga Inn by clicking here