Earlier this month, over the mother’s day weekend, Aron and I drove into Yountville (a little town in Napa that you may have heard of thanks to some fella named Thomas Keller) and had an anniversary lunch at Redd.
Redd won me over with the best mocktail (and a delicious meal) when I was pregnant with Hudson. This was the first time we’d been back, and I still loved it. The menu is a bit eclectic—many dishes have a bit of an Asian-fusion aspect whereas others are steadfastly European—but everything we’ve had has been great. I was especially excited about indulging in things like hamachi sashimi and tuna tartare (their take is amazing), oysters and (real) cocktails—the sorts of things that had been off limits last time (and throughout most of the past year).
But I was also reminded what a pleasure it is to indulge in a special midday meal.
When we were living in New York, we routinely sought out inexpensive prix-fixe lunch menus at fancy-schmancy restaurants that would have, at dinner, cost us dearly. While Redd is, comparatively, pretty casual and pretty affordable at either meal, the white-table-cloth lunch brought it all back. Celebrating over lunch is definitely something to consider if you’re looking to try a special-occasion restaurant that is otherwise (a) out of reach or (b) hard to get into. And I happen to think it feels pretty special to toast in the sunshine.
Some of my favorite prix-fixe lunch deals in New York have included Eleven Madison Park, Jean-Georges (such a value!), and ABC Kitchen during restaurant week.
Looking for more Napa/Sonoma inspiration? Try: 48 hours in Napa (a travelogue), Solage in Calistoga (a weekend escape), Shed in Healdsburg, and the Oxbow Market.
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