While I do have the Danskin Triathlon coming up in a couple of weeks, I decided to do a different kind of triathlon yesterday -- a day trip to Napa with Rebecca. Instead of the usual swim - bike - run, it was run - eat - shop (then eat some more).
Leg 1: Run -- 6 miles at the gym
As with all my morning workouts, this set me up for feeling great the rest of the day. It was also beneficial given how much I planned to eat and the clothes I expected to fit into on the subsequent legs.
Leg 2: Eat -- Oxbow Public Market
Oxbow Public Market is Napa's version of the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Market, featuring farmstands, restaurants as well as artisan purveyors of all kind of gourmet specialties.
Our first stop was Taylor's Refresher. Taylor's started as a roadside shack near St. Helena. They've gussied up that location and expanded to the San Francisco Ferry Building and now Oxbow. The new Oxbow location is just as busy as the other two; as we waited for our orders we watched the hustle and bustle of the kitchen...
From there, we headed over to Three Twins Ice Cream, a Rebecca fave. The ice cream is very good, organic, and served in compostable containers with spudware spoons. But what I liked best was that when I ordered two scoops in a small cup, the woman behind the counter asked which flavor I wanted to go in the cup first. It makes a difference! I went with Venetian Coffee on the bottom, Milk and Cookies on top.
The second leg was now complete and we were feeling great going into the next event -- the shopping leg!
Leg 3: Shop - Napa Premium Outlets
The Napa Premium Outlets are approximately a five minute drive from Oxbow, so after a brief transition we were plunking down plastic at Barneys, Banana Republic, Gap, BCBG, Calvin Klein, Coach and Ann Taylor. The credit cards didn't suffer serious injury, though, since on top of the outlet prices there were Memorial Day Sales going on. So all in all, a very successful event.
Post-Race Celebration: Julia's Kitchen at COPIA
After every race, I celebrate with a special meal, and this was no exception.
COPIA, the American Center for Food, Wine and the Arts, is located next door to Oxbow, so our entire day conveniently took place in a two-mile radius. Julia's Kitchen is named after you-know-who, and when we walked in, she was on the flat screen TV in the bar area, whipping up something with Jacques Pepin.
We made our way into the sleek yet comfortable dining room, and settled into a meal that fired on all cylinders: taste, presentation and service. Unfortunately, we also happened to be at a wedding! Not literally at the wedding, but the event space is right next to the restaurant, separated only by velvet curtains. I highly recommend calling ahead to make sure you're there on a night when there isn't a similar event going on, if possible. Or at least don't let the overenthusiastic best man get hold of the microphone.
We were famished from our full day of shopping, so we dove into the bread basket and also enjoyed warm, fluffy, cheesy gougiers as we awaited our apps.
Rebecca had the Seared Sonoma Foie Gras with house-made brioche, strawberry gastrique, caramelized fennel and vanilla salt, and exclaimed that the strawberries made the foie gras fantastique!
I had the Braised Spring Lamb and Purple Potato Ravioli with sauteed Copia spring vegetables, garden mint jus. The light, perfectly cooked veggies were complemented beautifully by the hearty lamb broth, and the entire dish tasted as good as it looked.
Leg 1: Run -- 6 miles at the gym
As with all my morning workouts, this set me up for feeling great the rest of the day. It was also beneficial given how much I planned to eat and the clothes I expected to fit into on the subsequent legs.
Leg 2: Eat -- Oxbow Public Market
Oxbow Public Market is Napa's version of the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Market, featuring farmstands, restaurants as well as artisan purveyors of all kind of gourmet specialties.
Our first stop was Taylor's Refresher. Taylor's started as a roadside shack near St. Helena. They've gussied up that location and expanded to the San Francisco Ferry Building and now Oxbow. The new Oxbow location is just as busy as the other two; as we waited for our orders we watched the hustle and bustle of the kitchen...
...and by the time our food was ready, there were still no seats so we ate at a table standing up. I didn't mind, since you know it's fewer calories that way. (Just kidding, of course.) Behold the inimitable Taylor's Bacon Cheeseburger on an egg bread bun with secret sauce, and Sweet Potato Fries dusted with chili powder accompanied by a side of ranch dressin' for dippin'.
From there, we headed over to Three Twins Ice Cream, a Rebecca fave. The ice cream is very good, organic, and served in compostable containers with spudware spoons. But what I liked best was that when I ordered two scoops in a small cup, the woman behind the counter asked which flavor I wanted to go in the cup first. It makes a difference! I went with Venetian Coffee on the bottom, Milk and Cookies on top.
The second leg was now complete and we were feeling great going into the next event -- the shopping leg!
Leg 3: Shop - Napa Premium Outlets
The Napa Premium Outlets are approximately a five minute drive from Oxbow, so after a brief transition we were plunking down plastic at Barneys, Banana Republic, Gap, BCBG, Calvin Klein, Coach and Ann Taylor. The credit cards didn't suffer serious injury, though, since on top of the outlet prices there were Memorial Day Sales going on. So all in all, a very successful event.
Post-Race Celebration: Julia's Kitchen at COPIA
After every race, I celebrate with a special meal, and this was no exception.
COPIA, the American Center for Food, Wine and the Arts, is located next door to Oxbow, so our entire day conveniently took place in a two-mile radius. Julia's Kitchen is named after you-know-who, and when we walked in, she was on the flat screen TV in the bar area, whipping up something with Jacques Pepin.
We made our way into the sleek yet comfortable dining room, and settled into a meal that fired on all cylinders: taste, presentation and service. Unfortunately, we also happened to be at a wedding! Not literally at the wedding, but the event space is right next to the restaurant, separated only by velvet curtains. I highly recommend calling ahead to make sure you're there on a night when there isn't a similar event going on, if possible. Or at least don't let the overenthusiastic best man get hold of the microphone.
We were famished from our full day of shopping, so we dove into the bread basket and also enjoyed warm, fluffy, cheesy gougiers as we awaited our apps.
Rebecca had the Seared Sonoma Foie Gras with house-made brioche, strawberry gastrique, caramelized fennel and vanilla salt, and exclaimed that the strawberries made the foie gras fantastique!
I had the Braised Spring Lamb and Purple Potato Ravioli with sauteed Copia spring vegetables, garden mint jus. The light, perfectly cooked veggies were complemented beautifully by the hearty lamb broth, and the entire dish tasted as good as it looked.
For our main courses, we ordered dishes that were noted in the menu as tributes to Julia Child's original recipes interpreted by Executive Chef Jeff Mosher. If it looks like a duck, Rebecca will order it, so she had the Liberty Duck aux Cerises Duo: crispy duck leg confit, seared breast, forbidden rice, garden spring vegetables, local cherries and cherry jus...
...while I thoroughly enjoyed the Pan Seared Niman Ranch Ribeye with spring garlic potato puree, king trumpet mushrooms, tempura asparagus and sauce bearnaise.
The waiter couldn't even finish his sentence when asking whether we'd like to look at the dessert menu. But of course! One Fromage Blanc Mousse with blackberry jus, hazelnut dacquoise, and blackberries; and one Valrhona Chocolate Caramel Tart with bittersweet chocolate ganache, Copia garden sage caramel, creme de cacao ice milk float, s'il vous plait!
As lovely looking and tasty as the desserts were, they're not what I'd come back for. The apps and mains were the real stars of the evening.
Check, please!
So, hopefully this "race report" will inspire you to take a similar day trip of your own. In the meantime, keep checking back here for "training" suggestions!
...while I thoroughly enjoyed the Pan Seared Niman Ranch Ribeye with spring garlic potato puree, king trumpet mushrooms, tempura asparagus and sauce bearnaise.
The waiter couldn't even finish his sentence when asking whether we'd like to look at the dessert menu. But of course! One Fromage Blanc Mousse with blackberry jus, hazelnut dacquoise, and blackberries; and one Valrhona Chocolate Caramel Tart with bittersweet chocolate ganache, Copia garden sage caramel, creme de cacao ice milk float, s'il vous plait!
As lovely looking and tasty as the desserts were, they're not what I'd come back for. The apps and mains were the real stars of the evening.
Check, please!
So, hopefully this "race report" will inspire you to take a similar day trip of your own. In the meantime, keep checking back here for "training" suggestions!
Hey Laura,
Thanks for posting your Napa itinerary. It's great to see there are other things to do in Napa besides wine tasting. I'll have to keep this in my back pocket, next time I bring non-wine tasting friends w/me to Napa.
Jen
Posted by: Jen | June 04, 2008 at 09:48 AM
You're not kidding about your Burger and Fries and Coffee Milkshake addiction! I need to get on your Food Challenge request...
Ps. I bought a Nike+ and am becoming one of the run-addicted. Oh no!
Posted by: Heather | June 06, 2008 at 09:56 AM
You're right - my addiction is no laughing matter! Ready for the Challenge whenever you are. In the meantime, I'm loving FitLifeSF.
Posted by: laurafrofro | June 15, 2008 at 01:26 PM