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“You’re supposed to take a nap-a, not move to Napa!” Carrie Bradshaw to Mr. Big, Sex and the City

Well, I’d move to Napa, any day. So long Minnesota! Oh, right, I have a life here. Dang. Sigh. Well I’ll just have to go back (this was my third trip, it really is my favorite spot) again SOON, right Honey?

So, our last day, boo. We opened with a big, BIG lunch at Bouchon, Thomas Keller’s (of The French Laundry) bistro in Yountville. It’s everyone’s favorite spot, absolutely delightful. I arrived with Stu and Debbie, only to find no tables available! Nooooo! BUT, there were three seats at the bar, so forgoing our commitment to find seating for Rudy, Ana, and John as well, the three of us bellied up to the nickel bar and ordered…why champagne, of course, and a few oysters as well. Welcome to Bouchon! Eventually Rudy and Ana and then John popped in, and found seats at the bar as well, so we started passing them food. Salt cod fritters on roasted tomatoes. Tuna salad with butter lettuce. Salmon rillettes with toast points (a combination of fresh and smoked salmon, to die for). Mussels and pommes frites. More fabulous wine, including a dry Gewurtztriminer Stu had tracked down and brought with him. Now that’s lunch, my friends. Damn.

We rolled on out of Bouchon and made our way to Cain, a homecoming of sorts for Stu and Debbie as it was the site of their wedding. It’s a gorgeous winery, exactly opposite Howell Moutain and up just as high as the Turley’s home. We had another terrific tasting, then snaked back home for a quick change and then back out the door – and down Howell Mountain, yet again – to Bistro Jeanty, also in Yountville. Somehow, some way I found room in my stomach for some of the most incredible French bistro fare I have ever sampled. I opened with lentils braised with pork fat and foie gras. Good Lord, what was I thinking, but my god it was good. Beyond good. For my entree, which I needed like a hole in my head by that point, I had crispy sole, which was lovely, but which I barely touched because I was waaay too busy digging my fork into Stu’s cassoulet. Yes, I actually ate more legumes cooked with insanely rich meats (this time sausage and duck confit). It. Was. Fabulous. And I. Was. Stuffed. Like, beyond stuffed. Like, I didn’t even sleep well that night. Like, that was one of the more immoderate days of eating I have ever had. Like, in my life. Yeah. I haven’t been hungry since – I think I put my digestive system in shock. Whew.

So, back home now. Back to salads and soups and lots of veggies. Get this – I did not gain one single pound on that trip. How can that be? I have no idea but damn, I’ll take it. Decadence without consequence? Right up my alley, heh, heh, heh…