Ubuntu in Napa
While I was in San Francisco we had a trip to Napa to lunch at this restaurant. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the drive through the valley as it gave me the opportunity to see where the grapes for this famous wine area are grown. If you are wondering we didn't have time to stop off for any wine tasting!!
That I was also in the company of Cookiecrumb and Cranky really made my day. They are such lovely, welcoming and generous people; Cookiecrumb gave me a lovely bag from the Marin Farmers market. I was thrilled as we had actually called in on the market on our way to pick them up, so the bag is a lovely memento. Since I have given up using plastic bags I am busy collecting bags of various sizes, made from different materials for all different types of shopping; this new addition (shown below) has already been used several times.
The reason we dropped by the market was we were looking for leeks and bought just about all that were available. I also came away with a pot of Almond butter as my friend, Tina, is rather partial to it. I had to laugh because I'm not quite sure they are doing themselves any favours with the name and picture on the jar; it might put some people off!
Ubuntu is a vegetarian restaurant (they will prepare the dishes as vegan) which has to be a plus but I was a little disappointed they were not a little more imaginative with the menu which had two pizza's out of a choice of five entrees. Sam is much better at describing the meal than I am, so if you are really interested you can go and read what she says. I will leave you with a few photos. I agree with Sam that the best choice was made by Cookiecrumb who had the 'cauliflower in a cast iron pot' this was a trio of roasted, pureed and raw cauliflower, vadouvan spice and brown butter toast. Oh and I know Sam raved about the potatoes but we all agreed they were good. I chose the salad starter because I had seen Persimmon in the market but had never tried this fruit, and I have to say it was very insipid, but it did give a little colour to the dish. I'm not a lover of olives (I did try one!) but that meant all the more for the others! 
I can tell you the 'cheesecake in a jar' that we shared was really very good and to think we nearly passed on it!
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December 13th 2006: Celebration
Labels: almond butter, bag items, food, San Francisco, ubuntu
posted by ChrisB @ 5:00 pm
20 comments
20 Comments:
You have to stop doing these posts Chris! My mouth is watering. Look at those tuilles... good God! The most gourmet thing available in the Irish Midlands is a steak that is actually cooked to medium rare and that in itself is a rarity! ;-) Sounds simply amazing... you were really spoiled! ;-)
Looks like Sam gave you a lesson in photo presentation Chris. Very artistic.
Great photos! I love the collage. and Marin? I grew up in Marin. Thanks for bringing back the good stuff....
the best thing is I didn't give mum a lesson, only the encouragement to work things out for herself and the belief i know she can do it. congrats mum!
deborah I am just amazed at the number of good restaurants and bars there are, in and around SF.
barbara as sam says I just did a bit of trial and error and it is very unbalanced and all you real photographers could pick it to pieces but in my defense I do try and hopefully will improve. I wish I could just look at a photo like Sam and Fred and know immediately how to improve it!
sandy where did you grow up I wonder if it was anywhere I visited!
Cheesecake in a jar? OMG - that means you could take it anywhere with you - like a car, on a plane, or on a train! Heaven.
Dreaming What Ifs...
I love the Napa Valley we went wine tasting there 2 years ago, so much fun. The collage is really great and the cheesecake looks so good I really want some now!
Getting a bit flash with our presentation aren't we? I love Napa, we used to go there regularly for the mineral baths.
Wt I had to do a little research on Mineral baths in the Napa valley and found this!
karmyn I was tempted to ask for the pot!
Alix I rather wish there had been time to explore a bit more ~ maybe on my next visit!
mmmmmmm... getting heartburn just imagining it. I love to eat, in spite of my delicate digestive system.
Ubuntu sounds like it should be in Africa, not Napa.
Wow, the food! It all looks wonderful - so wonderful that I can almost taste it!
yummy! Love that label - funny! Food collage is lovely!
Cheesecake in a jar sounds very dangerous (for me, anyway!)
Lisa
mmm, yum!! cheesecake in a jar looks lovely...and i love collecting bags. used to be those thick plastic carrier bags, but now i'm going for the canvas ones as well :-)
Mmm, looks and sounds fabulous!
Your pictures are fantastic. What a great new camera.
Yes, didn't we have fun that day? I'm really pleased you like the Marin tote bag. (And now I have to confess, it was Cranky's idea!)
Miss you. Come back soon.
CC tell cranky he has good taste. Next time I come to SF I will definitely be leaving you my visiting card!
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