sometimes i wonder why i still blog. i don't like writing into great detail about my personal life, or posting pictures. people who really know me know where to find that. www.jeannettegonewild.com!! hahahahahah, but seriously, i think i still make posts because i like to share my experiences and funny stories i find online. with that in mind, i MUST tell you about my weekend in napa!! which, by the way, was in part to erik's generous gift for james and i. it was a happy engagement/merry christmas present for us to get away for a weekend!! how sweet!! :)

james and i got to escape for the three day weekend, and stayed at the shady oaks inn. it was the cutest bed and breakfast, and i highly recommend the place!! we had a relaxing bathtub, cozy fireplace, and amazing service. jenna cooked us a great breakfast the first morning; stuffed french toast with cinnamon and vanilla. it had a heavenly berry sauce on top, along with sausages, really great coffee, and mimosas. i felt totally spoiled, and loved the food.

jenna is the main reason you should stay at this b&b. she has an incredible knowledge of the whole area, every restaurant, and bartender in the area. you could come to napa with no plans, and she would give you an itinerary based on the things you like. we had several recommendations from her, and they all turned out to be hits. this was unlike the actual owner of the inn, who cooked breakfast for us the second morning, and didn't say more than "hi" and "thanks for stopping by" as she's walking away from us. hey, don't forget that we're you're customers!! :/

so the only plans we had the first night were dinner at terra. i went in knowing that one of james' co-workers really liked the place, and i was super pumped since he's a big foodie. at the inn, there were several journals of entries of people who had stayed in our room, and how they enjoyed certain restaurants. from several years ago, they were going on and on about how great the cod was, and i'm thinking..okay, that's clearly the dish to get since it's still on the menu. i figure, done and done before i even open the menu, but james started talking about how HE wanted to order it. i decided to give the menu a glance to see what else i'd like, cause i didn't want to walk in and have the same dinner.

we started off with the panko crusted oysters and a bottle of judd hill 2003 cab sav. omgomgomg, that was the best wine i've EVER had. (and p.s...you can totally buy this from their winery and bring it in for a corkage fee...it's still less than what we paid for at the restaurant!!) oh, and our server gets extra props for serving me first, and having me taste it since i ordered it. there's nothing i hate more than ordering a bottle of wine only to have james do the tasting. it's fine if he orders it...but i get cranky when i've said i want it, and they let him taste it. it has probably only happened once or twice, but man, does it annoy me!!! back to the wine...yes, an incredible fragrance, and such a perfect pair for both the cod, and the veal i ordered. i know...red with fish, but it worked!! btw, when you go there, you're really going to want to order wine. zagat has rated them the 3rd highest rated wine list in the sf area.

james ordered the oysters, and i'm sitting there staring at my menu for something for myself since i cannot stand anything about oysters. i hate the taste and especially the rubber feeling in my mouth. the waiter speaks up and says that he does not like fish, and especially oysters, and that i should give them a try. i'm thinking to myself...all right, buddy, but if this doesn't work out, you're bringing me something i WILL eat!! they come out, and don't look anything like what i expected. they were fried up, and tasted like a delicate light fish with a small hint of butter and lemon. below, there was a piece of pork in a black vinegar sauce which sounds odd if you're never had it, but really complemented the oysters quite nicely. i don't know if i'll ever eat regular oysters again, but i enjoyed these so much that i would have eaten them all if i could have!!

for our main course, james had the cod, and i had the crispy veal sweetbreads. i'm glad i was ignorant to what exactly veal sweetbreads were as i was eating them, but they were amazing, and i'd do it again now, knowing how great they tasted!! the truffle oil sauce below was perfect, as there wasn't a whole lot to overpower the taste of the crispy sweetbread. james' cod was AH MAY ZING, and you have to order it if you ever go. it absolutely melted in your mouth, and the shrimp dumplings were so yummy!!!

i loved the portion sizes at terra, because it wasn't totally snotty where they only serve you a few bites, but it was enough for your dinner. i did save room for dessert...WOOHOO...and got the hot chocolate and churros while james had the tiramisu. james really liked his dessert, while i'm not a tiramisu fan, could appreciate his happy face. my churros were perfect, and the hot chocolate tasted like they melted belgian truffles in my cup. omgomgomg, sooo delish!!

after our meal, james asked me how it compared to fresh cream, which is easily one of my favorite meals. i told him that this was the best meal i've ever had...and how i wasn't expecting it to be when i walked in!! so the next time you've got some time when you're in napa, go go go and eat eat eat!! <3

the next day, we drove up to calistoga, and just east of that area for a while. on the way back, we ended up finding a nice mile walk/hike to where robert louis stevenson had a cabin. random. it was incredibly beautiful and green as we walked in, and james and i had such a great time taking in the scenery. once we were at the top of that point, there was another 4 mile hike...like real hike...up to the top summit. i was wearing cute clothes and cons which isn't your typical hiking gear, so i kindly suggested we walk back down. we looked up at the sky, and there was an ominous rain cloud and chilly winds, so we headed down the trail. it ended up raining that night, and snowing the next day!! i really wasn't kidding when i said it was a bit chilly!! :)

after that, we stopped at the calistoga inn for some food and football. we heard from jenna that they had the best burger in the area, so i was ready!! it honestly was the best burger i had ever tasted, and urge all burger fans to drive there to get their burger on. it tasted like ground kobe beef, and i couldn't get enough. i usually don't finish eating burgers when i order them cause they're so big, but believe me, i ate that WHOLE thing. so good!! after that, we watched the pats win (yawn) and headed back to our room to watch the packers...sniff sniff..lose in OT. that's all i want to say about that or i will be flung back into my deep football depression!! *sobs*

for dinner, i wasn't feeling too hungry after that amazing burger, but we did end up going out to cindy's backstreet kitchen. it's a really cute restaurant that is slighty a kitchen and slightly a napa restaurant. i had the ahi salad which was num num (that's yummy in jeannette-speak), while james had the duck burger. they also served a rabbit tostada, but i was sort of red-meated out at that point, and that just sounded really odd to me. at any rate, it was a great meal, and a fun spot.

the next day, we came back in the pouring rain on 101. we decided to stop at boudin's at fisherman's wharf to get us some clam chowder in breadbowls, cause it was certainly that type of weather outside!! i am sure i gained 300 pounds on this getaway, but it was totally worth it for the delicious food i consumed. it was so relaxing and fun with james, and i had a blast!!