Simple Sugar Cookies

Finally, I found a really easy cookie recipe that I can follow. The cookies turned out really taste but not very cute. I'll have to get some cookie cutters for my Christmas batch.

Ubuntu Restaurant in Napa

On a recent Napa trip  I discovered Ubuntu Restaurant  in downtown Napa. We went to dinner at Ubuntu without knowing that they had received a 2011 Michelin Star. When I called for a reservation early in the morning, I was surprised to hear that they were already booked and that we could try our luck at the bar.  During the course of the meal I was surprised that I hadn't heard more about the restaurant because the food and service was so good. Every dish was made with extra care and consideration and it was delivered to us in the same manner. Since this is a vegetarian restaurant, they are very creative with their dishes so that they can provide a variety of filling flavors. Every time we asked the waiter about an ingredient on the dish, like a piece of dried fennel, he was able to go into details of how it was made. Even the smallest garnish had been chosen with care. When I learned that the  name Ubuntu  originates from a South African humanist philosophy of focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other, I couldn't think of any other way to express the experience of eating at Ubuntu. 

Local Wine & Merchant

Local Wine and Merchant is a genuine neighborhood restaurant. Since it opened up in SOMA a couple years ago, I have ate here a handful times. I have never been disappointed by the food nor the experience. The only thing I don't like about this place, is the formal name. I feel like the restaurant's tag line, "Eat Local, Drink Global," is more reflective of the experience. I am surprised that the executive chef-partner Ola Fendert, would give it such a blah name after giving my other favorite SOMA restaurant OOLA such oh la la name. It goes to show that you really can't judge a restaurant by it's name.