Vegetable Love

I know it’s love when I eat at the same restaurant twice in two days.

My friend from Philadelphia came to visit last week, and we had ourselves a mini vacation in Napa Valley. As if sipping wine, soaking in herbal-infused waters and sleeping under feather duvets to the sounds of croaking frogs weren’t enough to get these two city-living gals into their zen, we made sure to eat our vegetables in style.

Perhaps you’ve read about Ubuntu, the new vegetarian restaurant in Napa that’s received cudos from the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times. I booked my reservation as soon as the Times article came out, sensing that a table would be difficult to come by in the near future.

Talk about eye candy. The radish salad (pictured above) was a gorgeous tumble of white ribbons with pink and black trim, combined with whole baby radishes and drops of mustard vinaigrette. Hiding beneath the vegetables was a quenelle of nori-studded goat cheese.

There were no meat impostors on the menu, which was (to me) a sign of true innovation. The protein issue was addressed in substantial dishes like chickpeas with olives, burrata and red pepper quenelles.

Pearl pasta with broccoli stem pistou and black trumpet mushrooms was juicy, brothy and sensuously silky. The base reminded me of my green soup - full of bright vegetal flavor.

The dessert that won me over was the Winter Citrus Float, with Meyer lemon ice cream and late winter fruit (candied kumquats and rhubarb, mandarin oranges) bobbing in a rhubarb-rosewater soda. (As you recall, I also love cooking rhubarb with rosewater.) I expected to only be able to eat a spoonful or two, anticipating a very sugary concoction, but I found the flavors to be tart and refreshing. I needed no assistance to finish it myself.

Our dinner was divine. The next day we took a session of yoga in the studio above Ubuntu’s kitchen, then rewarded ourselves with lunch in the dining room. Book your table now - Ubuntu will soon become the hottest reservation in Napa.

UBUNTU NAPA

1140 Main Street

Napa, CA 94558

707-251-5656