Category Archives: Dining Outside

A Visit to Rutherford’s Sequoia Grove Winery

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The namesake trees at Sequoia Grove Winery.
The namesake trees at Sequoia Grove Winery.

On a recent drive to the Napa Valley, I saw something I don’t remember ever seeing before: empty lands once blanketed in vineyards that had been recently plowed over.

With U.S. wine sales falling every year since the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020, it’s understandable why that may become an increasingly more common sight, unfortunately.

So, when I was invited in as a guest at Sequoia Grove Winery in Rutherford, I was heartened to find so many visitors — on a weekday no less — who were there enjoying tastings and purchasing bottles of wine to tote home.

Yes, they were more middle-aged, not the twenty-somethings that wine producers have been hoping to lure who have been increasingly shunning wine and even other alcoholic beverages.

Yet, this was a happy bunch, lounging at patio tables underneath a canopy outfitted with fans, so that even on an exceptionally warm day, as when I visited, it felt comfortable.

Winemaker Jesse Fox who followed an intriguing path to winemaking.
Winemaker Jesse Fox who followed an intriguing path to winemaking.
Large format bottles.
Large format bottles.

Then again, it’s hard not to have a lovely time at this winery, which gets its name from the soaring sequoias on the property that are more than a century old.

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The Arc of Michelin-Starred Press

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The fantastic pretzel with caviar at Press.
The fantastic pretzel with caviar at Press.

Six years ago, when Philip Tessier was hired as executive chef-partner at Press in St. Helena, his mission was to rework the then-15-year-old restaurant that had grown into a high-end steakhouse with a fabulously deep, award-winning wine cellar.

After all, whom better to accomplish that then the first American chef to ascend the podium at the internationally renowned Bocuse d’Or, winning silver, and before that made his mark rising through the ranks at Michelin three-starred Le Bernardin in New York and The French Laundry in Yountville?

That impressive wine cellar is still there, offering the largest collection of Napa Valley wines in the world. But now, so is a Michelin star, which the restaurant received in 2022 and has held ever since.

Last winter, Press took yet another step in its transformation — completely overhauling its kitchen. Most everything now is custom. There is an Argentinian-style grill, as well as a bespoke Bonnet suite from France.

At the entrance.
At the entrance.
Michelin-starred since 2002.
Michelin-starred since 2002.
The brand-new kitchen.
The brand-new kitchen.

With the gleaming new kitchen in place, Press rolled out a new four-course prix-fixe ($150 per person; $275 with wine pairing included; or $450 with reserve pairing included) to go along with its seven-course chef’s tasting menu ($195 per person; $350 with wine pairing included, and $695 with reserve pairing included). The cuisine is now more expansive and contemporary, rooted in new American fare through a Napa Valley lens.

Last week, I dined there in the soaring, white-washed barn-like restaurant with soaring ceilings, and opted for the seven-course menu. Even mid-week, the dining room was filled with elegantly dressed patrons.

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Yutori Brings A Certain Specific and Beloved Taste of Japan

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Aburi don bento from Yutori in Palo Alto.
Aburi don bento from Yutori in Palo Alto.

If you’ve ever traveled to Japan, then you know full well the much-deserved affection for konbini culture.

Be it 7-Eleven, FamilyMart or Lawson, Japanese convenience stores seem stocked with most anything and everything needed in life, including an astonishing array of snacks and prepared foods that are not only fresh and delicious, but jaw-droppingly cheap. Talk to anyone who’s ever shopped at them and you’ll get an earful of wistful longing for those cushiony egg salad sandos, seaweed-wrapped rice balls, wasabi potato chips, assorted bentos, and so much more.

Yutori, which opened in Palo Alto this spring, brings a modern taste of that to the Bay Area.

Named for the Japanese word for “spaciousness” or “room to breathe,” this 5,000-square-foot space comprises a coffee bar, small marketplace selling Japanese home goods, and a takeout deli. Before the year ends, it will also add a sit-down restaurant.

Located on El Camino Real.
Located on El Camino Real.

I paid a visit a few days ago, specifically to check out the konbini-like offerings in the refrigerator cases. The array of bentos, onigiri, and sandos will definitely remind you of Japan.

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RT Bistro Completes A Trifecta

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Porcini doughnuts with caviar at RT Bistro.
Porcini doughnuts with caviar at RT Bistro.

When it comes to their brand of cooking, husband and wife chefs Evan and Sarah Rich have a knack for throwing you for a loop — in the best of ways.

Think you’re getting potato chips at their flagship, 14-year-old Rich Table in San Francisco? You are — but ones uncannily threaded with whole sardines.

Expecting a whole roasted cauliflower at their two RT Rotisserie locations in San Francisco? You might want to don sunglasses when it arrives blanketed in technicolor fuchsia from a dazzling red beet tahini sauce.

Hankering for shrimp Louie at their newest restaurant, RT Bistro, which just opened in January? The chilled shrimp in a creamy sauce will arrive not on a mound of lettuce, but on disks of fried eggplant that are crisp on the outside and creamy within.

The Riches call their food “New American.” In truth, it’s what Sarah and Evan most like to eat — familiar sounding dishes with deepened flavors that get playfully and imaginatively tweaked without losing any focus.

It’s proved to be a winning formula for them and General Manager-Partner Jonny Gilbert.

RT Bistro's entrance is around the corner from Rich Table's.
RT Bistro’s entrance is around the corner from Rich Table’s.

Last week, I finally had a chance to check out RT Bistro, which is actually located in the same building that houses Rich Table, with its entrance just around the corner from it.

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A Visit to N/Soto in Los Angeles

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Chicken thigh and chicken meatball skewers at N/Soto -- some of the juiciest chicken I've had in a while.
Chicken thigh and chicken meatball skewers at N/Soto — some of the juiciest chicken I’ve had in a while.

Think of Michelin-starred N/Naka as the older sister in a little black dress and diamonds with a chic persona, while N/Soto is the younger, more carefree sister in t-shirt and jeans — albeit perfectly tailor-made ones.

Both celebrated Los Angeles restaurants are owned and operated by married chefs, Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama. This spring, they celebrated both the 15th anniversary of N/Naka, their high-end, Japanese-meets-Californian kaiseki, and the 4th anniversary of N/Soto, their izakaya.

While “naka” in Japanese means “inside” and is a play on Nakayama’s surname, “soto” means “outside” and references the pandemic when for a time restaurants were forced to shutter, closed off from the outside world.

In fact, N/Soto originated during the pandemic as a pop-up offering to-go bentos. It proved so successful that Nakayama and Iida-Nakayama decided to go all in on a second, more casual restaurant.

Dinner at N/Naka is a 3-hour+ affair that will set you back $395 per person — that is if you can snag one of the hard-to-get reservations. In contrast, while N/Soto does offer a weekday $95 tasting menu, its main menu is strictly a la carte, meaning you can spend as little or as much as your appetite desires.

I’ve had the pleasure of dining at N/Naka twice, including earlier this month, and it remains an exquisite experience. On this particular trip to Los Angeles, I was fortunate enough to be invited in as a guest of N/Soto to try it in comparison.

The entrance to the restaurant.
The entrance to the restaurant.

The front of the restaurant is blanketed in a wall of ivy, with its noren or Japanese fabric divider providing the clue to where the entrance is located.

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