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PAUL FRANSON | What's
Upvalley
Developments promise better eats in
Yountville and Napa Wednesday, May 15,
2002
There are lots of new restaurant developments in
Yountville right now:
Bob Hurley, the well-liked chef
from Napa Valley Grille, is negotiating to take over the
closed Livefire restaurant, a perfect fit.
Thomas
Keller is likewise trying to persuade the Yountville Town
Council to allow him to open a bakery for his and other
restaurants, in the building next to Bouchon. He wants to sell
to the public, too. He'd like to put a few tables and chairs
in the courtyard for bakery patrons, and expand the tiny
kitchen area at Bouchon.
Cindy Pawlcyn is presenting
plans to remodel the exterior of the closed Diner. Pawlcyn's
Miramonte Restaurant and Cafe in St. Helena has a new menu
that's attracting raves, too.
Finally, Cucina a la
Carte is now open in the rear of Vintage 1870 in Yountville
featuring light meals from breakfast to late afternoon, plus
take out and coffee and wine bars.
Hatt
Mill complex coming together
Down in Napa, things are
really hopping at the historic Hatt Mill complex.
Gondola Servizio is now offering romantic trips along
the Napa River in a gondola propelled by hand power. It's $55
for a couple to enjoy a half-hour ride, with longer cruises
with wine and music also available. Call 257-8495 or (866)
737-8494. The business is also preparing to open a shop
featuring Venetian specialties like glass and masks in the
Hatt Building.
Celadon is planning to complete its move
to the Hatt Building site now occupied by Geezers July 8.
Sitting on the patio there, you'll swear you're in a French or
Italian village.
Meanwhile, work is continuing on
Angéle restaurant featuring elegant French farm cuisine. It
will have seating inside the building and on the patio
overlooking the river. Chef/partner Claude Rouas is well known
here for opening both Auberge and Piatti and also was at
L'Etoile in San Francisco. Opening is scheduled for
mid-August.
The Napa General Store featuring pizzas,
pasta and other reasonable eat-in and take-out food, plus a
wine-tasting bar, should open July 8.
The Napa Valley
Shakespeare Festival will be performing "As You Like It" and
"Othello" at the Riverbend Plaza behind the Mill starting July
15.
You'll be able to enjoy elegant box dinners and
wines from the Napa General Store with the performances. By
then, the mosaics in the Riverbend Plaza, including a map of
Napa River, should be completed.
Vintage Sweets is
moving into the same area south of the big water tower and
Sweetie Pies is expanding. The once-proposed farmers' market
fell through, but the space is being developed for special
events.
The Napa River Inn itself is the classiest
place to stay in Napa and the Flood Control Project is
starting to demolish the ugly buildings across the river. Soon
we'll be able to enjoy vastly improved views of and from the
Mill.
From limited cultural opportunities only a short
time ago, Napa is becoming a magnet for performing arts: The
Opera House nearby holds its first public performance in many
decades June 14 in the Café Theater downstairs, and Copia has
signed up more than 8,000 members. Its concerts, films and
programs are attracting more and more interest from us here in
the Valley.
More collective tasting
rooms
Also in downtown Napa, the Vintners Collective is
preparing a shared tasting room at the great old Chinese
Laundry building at Main and Clinton Streets, half a block
from Cole's and Uva Trattoria.
Hurd Beeswax Candles
and OnTheEdge Winery are purchasing a building in Calistoga
for the candle factory and wine tasting; they'll also offer a
shared tasting room for Upvalley wineries, as Michael
Fradelizio does at the Brava Terrace site.
The new
location is 1255 Lincoln Ave. in Calistoga.
OnTheEdge
Winery, which was founded in 1999, makes wines from the
Frediani Family Vineyards in the Pickett Road area just south
of Calistoga off Silverado Trail.
Reducing
the sting of corkage fees
Martini House donates part of
its corkage fees to farmworker housing, and Pearl Restaurant
in Napa contributes half of its $12 corkage to the New Shelter
Fund for Napa County's Humane Society. I especially applaud
that gesture because of the two new members of my household,
super cats Buster and Mulan.
The Humane Society is
holding its second annual Happy Trails and Tails Dog Walk
Saturday at 9 a.m. at Alston Park. Call 226-6332 for
details.
If you missed the extensive coverage from
Merryvale Vineyards last Sunday on Food TV's program on the
American Orient Express, you can catch it this Saturday at 1
p.m. or Sunday at 8 a.m.
This Friday, don't forget
Merlot in May at Sterling Vineyards from 4 to 6 p.m., a chance
to taste more than 150 merlots from around the world,
including Pomerol. Call 255-7667 for details.
Send news
to
paul@franson.com.
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