Napa Valley Restaurants
15 Dec 2012

Napa Valley Restaurants


Firewood Cafe – Very Good

Firewood Cafe is a nice and lively place. I enjoyed the Garlic Bread, Pizza and Lemonade. The service was quick and the food was nice. The overall ambience and food quality was great.

The Taste Of Himalayas – Good

The Taste Of Himalayas was a Himalayan / Nepalese restaurant in a historic building – a Spanish Adobe converted into a restaurant. The ambience and overall setting was nice and warm. We ordered Samosa Chaat and Mix Pakoras for starters. We enjoyed it – though Pakoras were better than chaat. The curries were fine. The Garlic Cilantro Naan was really amazing. But the service was very slow – we had to remind for everything – we got the Papads towards the end of the dinner. Maybe it was due to the full house on that day. Overall a good place with nice good food but average service.

Celito Lindo – Excellent

We had gone to Celito Lindo for dinner. No exaggeration – this was one of the best Mexican restaurants. The place was nice, the service was very good and the food was even more amazing. The waitress was quite helpful and she gave her recommendations. I saw how everyone jumped to Jalapeño Mango Margarita. I am always happy with Mexican food as it resembles our Indian food and I have more Vegeterian Options. I enjoyed the nachos with hot sauce. Our starters were good and I had Veggie Fajitas. Infact, I enjoyed everything with the hot sauce.

The Habanero Chili is the hottest chill with a Scoville Rating of 100,0000 to 350,000. The Scoville scale is a measurement of pungency, the “spicy heat” of all chili peppers. Forget the scale man, that Habanero Chilli sauce was the hottest sauce as our tongues were on fire !

Ca’ Momi – Very Good
The next restaurant we enjoyed was a Italian Pizza place called Ca’ Momi. Ca’ Momi claimed to an obsessively authentic Italian restaurant by following traditional Italian recipes prepared with best organic local and imported Italian ingredients. And it was true ! Our friend wanted some variation in his pasta, but he was disallowed the same by the waitress. They did not want to dilute the authentic experience. He was clearly not used to this and he was not happy.

I had one of the bitterest Ginger drinks and some Pizza breads. I had some coffee as well as I was feeling cold. The restaurant was quite nice and the waitress was the cynosure of everyone’s attention. Her oodles of energy was matched by her effortless Italian accent. She told that she had learnt Italian to qualify for the job.

The lady also gave suggestions to us on what to order etc. She forced us to spend more. She suggested the House Wine – which everyone relished a lot. She suggested Tiramisu in a jar – which I saw that everyone enjoyed. She got a handsome tip as her reward and lot of appreciation from our group.

Napa Valley Balloon Ride !
11 Dec 2012

Napa Valley Balloon Ride !

Ballooning is a fun outdoor adventure activity – A hour long flight that lasts forever in our memory ! Moving with the breeze, we become the wind ! I experienced my first Balloon Ride in Napa Valley last month.

On the early morning dawn of a cold November Monday, I was ready for my first balloon adventure – my camera was ready too ! As advised, we were wearing comfortable layered clothing and a hat ! The coldest part of the morning was to be in the ground.

The Balloon Company, Napa Valley Balloons, had been flying hot air balloons over the Napa Valley for over 31 years. They had FAA certified pilots and aircraft, a professional staff and an outstanding safety record. I was feeling safe !

Our team assembled at 6:15 am at the Hotel Reception at Silverado Resort. The Balloon Company coordinator was there. We first signed a declaration ensuring that they would not responsible for any mishaps and we understood the risks of the ride. We had some hot coffee and boarded the mini-van for a ride to the Balloon Company meeting point. We had questions for the driver. Was Ballooning Safe? Absolutely, statistically flight was the safest form of transportation and ballooning was statistically the safest form of flight. Maybe the drive to the meeting point was the most dangerous! The balloon company had skilled and experienced pilots and crew with impeccable safety records. They were regulated by the Government. Why did we had to wake up so early on a vacation? Balloons flew best in cool, calm, stable air – which was usually after the sunrise.

The meeting point was at Domaine Chandon’s Etoile Restaurant. We were welcomed at the restaurant and were treated to more coffee and a light breakfast. We were given a quick orientation and overall instructions for the balloon flight. We then went towards the balloon take-off point. It was a huge ground. The green ground was full of Golf Balls – an indicator of the popularity of the golf in Napa Valley.

We could see huge balloons. They were being heated up. It was a good sight to see. We then boarded the Balloon. A balloon had four earmarked spaces where four people can stand – so a total of sixteen people could enjoy the balloon ride. The balloon took off – The hum of the inflator fans, the lively colors of our state-of-the-art balloons and the roar of the burners. Due to the well trained and skilled pilot, we had a safe and comfortable launch. Slowly we were gaining altitude. The entire Napa Valley became more and more visible to us. Normally, a balloon would gain an altitude of 600-800 feet. We gained as much as 1500 feet in height. A lucky day for us.

The burners roared and then silenced. Gently, the balloon lifted into the early morning breeze and peacefully carried us above the corridors of grapes, tree tops and panoramic mountains. We were in one of the most magnificent valleys on Earth. Soon we started moving with the wind and we became the wind. The best site was to see the mirror view of the balloon in the lake below us.

It was a great sight to see the captain managing the balloon – its direction, speed and altitude. It required lot of skill and judgement. More than the actual flights ! The gas took 6-7 seconds to push the hot air inside the balloon. The best part of the ride was the planning for landing. They had to select a open space where they could land correctly. Then they had to manage that the balloon reaches the right spot, it gradually slows down and lowers itself. After scouting for 3-4 locations, we finally descended on a open area near a winery. Then the balloon company team actually guided the balloon to the parking area. Then we disembarked from the balloon and they started packing the balloon. It required lot of effort. There was another balloon which actually landed on the parking place of the winery – it was a perfect landing ! The one hour flight ended – but memories will never end !

London Restaurants
11 Nov 2012

London Restaurants

London has overtaken Mumbai as a second home ! Eating in London has been a overall good experience.

Chiquito at Leicester Square has been a great experience. The Mexican Food is awesome and service is very effective. Being a vegeterian, I love the options I get here. Also being in the heart of London, we can always catch up a great dinner with the desserts at Ben And Jerry’s. Of course, there are many other options in all cuisines at Leicester Square.

Italian Bistro at Paddington takes the prize for quick effective service, good food and decent prices.

After a few days in London, nothing beats the taste of Indian food. It makes you feel home. My best experience have been with South Indian food chains and Masala Zone. Masala Zone is an up-market Indian restaurant but they serve good food and have a great Indian ambience. They had 6-7 restaurants in London and each one has a different ambience and look and feel. One has Rajasthani puppets while another one has Bollywood theme etc. My last visit was at the Bayswater Road restaurant, where we were 15 minutes ahead of opening time but we were allowed in and asked to be seated while they get started. Good. The lady was courteous and she explained the stuff to our non-Indian guest. Impressive. Saraswati Bhavan, Chennai Dosa and Sarvanna Bhavan are the amazing South Indian food joints in Wembley. I just love them. Sagar in Hammersmith and Oxford Street are also wonderful.

The Dishoom restaurant is another classy Indian restaurant with a great spirit and culture. It revisits the Bombay Cafe experience !

Apart from these, I find the usual global chains to be quite handy when eating out. Costa, Starbucks and Nero are my staple coffee joints. Among restaurants, Pizza Hut (Marble Arch, Piccadilly), Subway, Zizzi are good ones.

Of course, I have had interesting experiences in London as well. We had one meeting in the Brick Lane. The Brick Lane is a Bangladeshi area with full of Balti and Curry Restaurants. It was interesting to experience a totally non-British area. It was a fully desi area. There was a petty-coat street which was like Mumbai’s Fashion Street or Linking Road Street Market or Relief Road Market of Ahmedabad. It was a flea market with dirt cheap rates. It was 11:50 am and we decided to have an early lunch as the next meeting was at 1 pm. We entered a Japanese restaurant near Liverpool Street Station. The lady stopped us. She said – The restaurant is not open yet. I asked – what time it will open? She said 12 noon. I asked – can we wait? it is only 10 minutes? She said – No. Please hang out ! I was wondering where was customer service? Where was any attention? No wonder there is recession !

I had a similar experience at a Chinese restaurant in Paddington. We had Aubergine on an earlier occasion. We wanted to try something different. Boss saw Beancurd in Hot Garlic Sauce curry. He asked whether he can have Vegetables in that. The lady said No. She was adamant. We asked why ? She said it will not taste good. We thought it was our decision. Then we saw Mix Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce in the Menu. We asked can we have that and can you include Beancurd in that. She said yes – we were just smiling !

Check The Art @ Masala Zone:

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