It's Official! My Culinary Adventures is Moving to Napa

Dear Reader, it's time to make the announcement that I am leaving my hometown of Los Angeles and I'm moving up to Napa in May. So now, not only will you be able to read of my culinary adventures in Los Angeles (I have a zillion of them that I haven't yet posted and I will be back many times a year to have Art cut my hair, The M Shop tune my car, and to eat plenty of dumplings and ramen) but also of my adventures in the foodie centric Napa Valley and Sonoma County areas.

So here is a preview of coming attractions. The Oxbow Public Market has opened since the last time that I was up there so Ms. Hollywood, who was so kind to drive me up there and give me so much support before my interview, and I mostly hung out there. For those of you who may not have heard of Oxbow, it's like a mini version of the San Francisco Ferry Building.

How lucky can I be? A Taylor's Refresher has opened up four blocks from my new job - the trick is to rent one of the houses across the street! It was so friggin good we went twice in one day.

This was the best calamari fritti that I've had in a long time. The coating was perfect, very crispy and not oily at all, and the calamari was fresh and had a wonderful texture.

Who doesn't get a burger when they go to Taylor's? Ok, I didn't and that was a mistake but I was so bloated that night that I opted to get a salad and fish tacos. The upshot was that I could fit into my skirt the next day but I was secretly coveting Ms. Hollywood's bacon cheddar burger. She took pity on me and gave me a piece of her burger. In the past I've always ordered my burgers without the "secret sauce" but after tasting it on the bacon cheddar burger I decided that I really liked it.

The kitchen of the Oxbow Wine Merchant. This place has a great small plate menu. Again, I opted for lighter food and stayed away from the charcuterie platter with meats from the Fatted Calf and instead ordered smoked trout pate, a salad, and a wonderful tomato soup with a swirl of pesto.

My new favorite place, the Oxbow Cheese Merchant (may I remind you Dear Reader that it's four blocks from my new job):

Oxbow Public Market
610 First Street
Napa, California 94559
http://www.oxbowpublicmarket.com/