Saturday, December 10, 2011

Bistro Don Giovanni: A Napa institution


The place:  Bistro Don Giovanni – Napa, CA


Website:  http://www.bistrodongiovanni.com/

                Dinner – December 1st, 2011
Something of a local institution, we chose the Bistro for a pair of reasons… the first was that it gets rave reviews (which you’ll see below are well justified) and it was 5 minutes from our hotel in Napa… one thing that the guidebooks don’t bother telling you is that 2-3 wineries a day followed by fantastic meals is really hard work!  This place is exactly as advertised and has a terrific local feel to it.  

The food:
Bruschetta
Pork Chop Special
Hahn Estates Pinot Noir / Pear drop cocktail

The Results:

Laura and I have had Bruschetta in a number of places (for those of you who are local to Sarasota, FL I’d recommend that you swing by Main Street Bistro (on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch) as they have some of the best (and most unique) Bruschetta around.  This… however was on a whole different plane.   One of the things that we both look for when we’re ordering food is to find something that has a “riot” of flavors in it and this dish absolutely delivered on that.  Not entirely certain which of the flavors that we liked the best, but the combination of olive oil and the olive tapenade certainly made it something that we’ll have again on our next visit.

While it likely won’t be on the menu when you visit, the pork chop special was of the most amazing pieces of meat that I’ve ever put in my mouth.  One of the things that I try to do whenever I grill at home is to make an effort to ensure that the meat is as moist as possible.  The piece of pork that I had a Don Giovanni’s on this evening, certainly made it look like I’d always served dry meat.  The moistness of the meat was certainly something memorable, but the one major factor above that was the sweetness of it.  While it was served in a sweet sauce that appeared to be derived from the candies in fruitcake (which I didn’t actually eat) the sweetness of the meat and its tenderness made me feel like I had a ways to go before cooking pork chops at my house has risen to anywhere near this level.  

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