Five Amazing Dinners in Napa Valley

Today I'm linking up with Kacey at Doodlebugs Teaching for Five for Friday. This past week I've been in Napa Valley, and I'm sharing five amazing dinners I've had here.

Our first night in Napa we went to a restaurant called Napkins Bar and Grill. Oh my goodness, this place was so good! We were able to sit outside on their patio to hear the free concert across the street in the park, which was an added bonus to the beautiful 75 or so degree weather. 

We started out with the lamb sliders. I normally don't do lamb, or sliders, but I decided to try new things while in Napa. I'm sure glad I did because they were delicious!

I tried one of their daily specials, which was Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli. It was probably the best ravioli I've ever had. 

My mom ordered the scallops, which were absolutely amazing. I was lucky, because I was able to try one and it was cooked to perfection.

All in all, this trip started out pretty good.. to say the least. 

On our second day in Napa we went to a restaurant called Kitchen Door. It's in this place called Oxbow Public Market, and it basically has a bunch of small restaurants and stores together in an open area. It was completely packed, so we chose this restaurant because it sounded good, and was also out of the hustle and bustle inside the main market. 

We started out with the Shrimp Tostada Salad, which did not look like a salad at all. That's okay, because it was delicious. 

I ordered the Korean Style Short Ribs, which I've never had before. I'm glad I tried it, because it was amazing! It came with bacon fried rice, and honestly, can you go wrong with bacon?

For dessert we split the lemon cheesecake. I usually don't go for lemon flavored desserts, but I may need to start now. What have I been missing out on?

We decided to try a new type of cuisine. With all the foodies in Napa, this is definitely the place to try something new! So we tried "Greek Turkish Fusion" and ended up at Tarla.

We ordered the Baba Ghanoush as an appetizer, which was good. I forgot to take a picture of it. My bad. 

I ordered the Turkish Beef Meatballs. I normally wouldn't order something like this, but in the spirit of trying new foods I ordered something I typically don't eat. This was really good! It even had baked kale, which I figured I would hate, but it tasted much better than I expected it to. 

My mom ordered Lamb Tenderloin, which she gave a good review. For dessert we split Coppa Crema Pistachio, which was gelato, and I forgot to take picture of this too. I was really slacking with the photos at this meal! I promised myself that I would be better about taking pictures of the delicious food at the next meal.

After a day of biking around to different wineries, we were craving Italian food! On our way to the bike tour shop, we passed Il Posto, so we figured we'd stop there on the way back to the hotel. 

We started with the sauteed calamari, which was different from calamari that I'm used to having - fried with sauce on the side. This one was sauteed in marinara sauce, and it even had Italian sausage mixed in, too. Something different, but definitely something good!

I have never had gnocchi. Well, gnocchi that I haven't made, and I don't make it the traditional way. It came with pork and veggies, and was amazing. I need to learn how to make it this way!

My mom ordered their special for the night, which was a vegetarian lasagna. She was between this and the Eggplant Parmesan, and this was so good so I think she was happy with her choice!

After biking 18 miles with Napa Valley Bike Tours, this was exactly what we needed. 

Have you ever heard of Fogo de Chao? Well Galpao Gaucho  is a similar restaurant. They've got a great salad bar, as well as people that walk around offering various pieces of cooked meats. 

You have to have some greens before eating a ton of steaks and other meats, right?

I couldn't tell you which was which, only that they were all amazing. That's all that really matters, right?

And of course we had to go for another dessert. I've got a lot of running ahead of me to burn off all these calories!

And now after a week of eating and drinking good wine, I will probably not need to eat again until I go back to school. 

Click the image to go back to the linky.

P.S. Help me celebrate 1 year of blogging and TpTing by entering my giveaway! 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway