Sunday, February 19, after a wonderful day at Indian Springs Spa in Calistoga
including a beautiful couple of rainbows as seen from their pool near sunset, we went to Ubuntu in Napa for dinner.
Simplicity rules. The three of us: Annetta, Lisa (my stepdaughter) and myself, chose the $35 3 course prix fixe dinner
First: a shot glass of mushroom broth with 1 slice of an exotic mushroom, then a deconstructed salad of
beets, radishes and avocado:
with avocado bacon (that tasted like bacon, but wasn't). Crispy bits of sorrel and kale too added to this dish. I enjoyed a glass of Three Clicks Savignon Blanc with the amuse and the first course.
The second course was David Little's potatoes (beautiful little ones):
baked in kraut ash with kraut mousse and broth revived my sense of taste entirely. These potatoes and the saurkraut were live with spirit. A glass of cabernet sauvignon, lion’s run, “mount george,” napa valley, 2006 accompanied the entree.
The desserts were playful and beautiful as well: Annetta and Lisa had this chocolate construction,
and I had the White Chocolate with Lemon cream and pistachio ice cream,
The service was friendly, informed and great. The ambiance is a little noisy and somewhat busy - its not a huge room, maybe seats 65? - and the music wasn't my favorite, but little did that matter. What counted was the tastes, the smells, the touch of real food served with passion and a real sense of fun!
We look forward to returning soon. Ubuntu rocks! They serve locally sourced food, slowly cooked, but not slowly served. And they suffer little of the pretension of other 1 star restaurants in the Napa Valley.
First: a shot glass of mushroom broth with 1 slice of an exotic mushroom, then a deconstructed salad of
beets, radishes and avocado:
with avocado bacon (that tasted like bacon, but wasn't). Crispy bits of sorrel and kale too added to this dish. I enjoyed a glass of Three Clicks Savignon Blanc with the amuse and the first course.
The second course was David Little's potatoes (beautiful little ones):
baked in kraut ash with kraut mousse and broth revived my sense of taste entirely. These potatoes and the saurkraut were live with spirit. A glass of cabernet sauvignon, lion’s run, “mount george,” napa valley, 2006 accompanied the entree.
The desserts were playful and beautiful as well: Annetta and Lisa had this chocolate construction,
and I had the White Chocolate with Lemon cream and pistachio ice cream,
The service was friendly, informed and great. The ambiance is a little noisy and somewhat busy - its not a huge room, maybe seats 65? - and the music wasn't my favorite, but little did that matter. What counted was the tastes, the smells, the touch of real food served with passion and a real sense of fun!
We look forward to returning soon. Ubuntu rocks! They serve locally sourced food, slowly cooked, but not slowly served. And they suffer little of the pretension of other 1 star restaurants in the Napa Valley.
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