Pete and I spent last weekend camping in the Napa valley. We don’t do what most people might consider to be “camping”. We have what we think of as a portable hotel suite. It has a queen size bed, a full kitchen, and a full bath. We don’t “rough it”!
We stayed in the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, just outside of Calistoga. It was a perfect weekend. We took the dogs (one of the main virtues of camping), and headed out on Friday morning. We like to roam the valleys during the day. Going to St. Helena, Yountville (Hurley’s is always a great lunch stop), Sonoma (yikes! So crowded we moved on), to Glen Ellen.
What an amazing little place. Glen Ellen is easy to miss. It’s nestled in the sonoma valley, between Aqua Caliente and Santa Rosa. It’s got cute little stores, a gallery, it’s very near Jack London State Park, and several wineries. But what we were lucky to find was the Glen Ellen Inn, Oyster Grill and Martini Bar. We almost went to the restaurant next to it, but they weren’t open for lunch. Lucky us!
It was one of our best accidents to date (and that includes a fabulous cafe in Venice called La Zucca, and the most exquisite cake in Florence-I wish I knew). This cozy little place has more martinis on the menu than I would have believed could exist! I had the “Drama Queen Martini”, it was Vodka, Remy Red, Triple Sec, and Lime juice, and OMG. I should have had two. Pete had a mini martini, a Tangarini, Vodka and Tangerine Liquor. Cute and tasty. But the real treat was Pete’s pasta. It was like nothing either of us had ever had. Salmon, Tomato, Lemon, and capers. A very different sauce that I don’t recall ever having tasted. My Kobe burger was wood grilled and perfectly cooked, and I’m pretty sure the bun was house made.
The very best part of all was the setting. We ended up having the patio to ourselves (little tip, if anyone is thinking of proposing, call and reserve this spot right now!). A pond and cute little garden set off with a strange eclectic music (I swear it ranged from Mozart to Christina Agulera). We are making plans as I write to head back for one of their cottages. I can’t stand it, a Martini bar within walking distance of my bungalo. I might not be happy in the morning, but I’ll go to bed with a smile!!
