Food

It's an understatement to say we take food seriously here. But with the abundance of organic produce, the assortment of artisan bakers, seafood fresh from the coast – and, of course, plenty of wine to accompany any flavor combination – who could blame us? Whether it's grabbing a quick bite for lunch, taking the kids out for dinner, celebrating a Mother's Day brunch, or going for a four-course gourmet experience, we expect something noteworthy. And with all the nature's bounty before us, we want to enjoy it together with friends and family. Wine Country shares the love, and that's what good food is all about.

>>2007 Winners in the Food Category

Best New Restaurant

They get more buzz than the opening of a blockbuster movie, and are as eagerly anticipated as Christmas. What are we referring to? New Wine Country restaurants, of course. With so many foodies
living in and around Napa and Sonoma, the opening of an ambitious new restaurant is met with fanfare, discussion, sampling, and criticism.
Opinions are proffered, reviews written, service debated, and menus compared. It’s a local preoccupation – and we have a lot to look forward to every year. Five to seven topnotch restaurants open each year in the two Valleys. Check out this year’s winners, and see how they compare to other newcomers and your old favorites.

Best Local Chef

Chefs have become stars in their own right, followed by fans and applauded by appreciative (and hungry) diners. Many chefs of all types, from amateurs to nationally known celebrities, call Napa and Sonoma home. In fact, there are so many good chefs, with so many new and fresh ideas, that choosing favorites among them can be almost as hard as deciding on whether to have Mexican food, Italian or fusion. This year's local favorites are well known on the restaurant scene: Greg Cole of Cole's Chop House and Celadon; Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, Ad Hoc and Bouchon; and John McReynolds of Café La Haye.

Best Steak House

Sometimes you've got a hankering for a big fat steak, and nothing else will do. The Wine Country's top-rated steak houses serve up the goods, and then some. At Cole's Chop House in Napa, the décor is understated retro swank – think Rat Pack – and the menu offers cocktails to match along with 21- and 28-day dry aged steaks accompanied by heaping side orders of hash brown potatoes or grilled asparagus. Further upvalley, Press specializes in straightforward presentations of strip steak, Porterhouse and “Cowboy” bone-in rib eye. The meat is the main attraction, although a crispy mound of paper-thin onion rings on the side is a hard-to-resist treat. In Sonoma, the feel is definitively Western at Saddles, where cattle horns are mounted over the stone fireplace and lassos hang from the walls; the prime rib is served in “Cowboy Cut” and “Cowgirl Cut” sizes, with “Side Saddle” portions of garlic mashed potatoes and steak fries hearty enough to feed the whole posse.