Last week, Sun photographer Ryan Lely (aka Flash) and I took the first of what we hope to be monthly Road Trips, exploring the countryside and exhorting people to venture beyond the Valley’s borders for entertaining diversions. The excursion to Oxbow Public Market, named for the bend in the Napa River on which it sits, next door to Copia, was an easy drive. Plus, admission is free.
We spent the morning meandering the perimeters of the Oxbow Public Market proper, ooh-ing over the pastries at the Model Bakery, ahh-ing over the duck rillette at The Fatted Calf, admiring the green-ness of the décor whilst sipping Waterstone Carneros Chardonnay at a wine “salon” called Taste. We checked out Taylor’s Refresher, a stylized 1950s version of the original burger-and-shake stand in St. Helena. Venturing indoors and upstairs, we marveled at the oddly shaped mangoes and other very expensive fruits and vegetables at Oxbow Produce before looking for heartier fare. We settled at the counter at Rotisario, a European-style rotisserie, and wolfed down some lunch – including the best chicken salad sandwich I have ever tasted and some baby carrots that had been roasted to such caramelized sweetness they could have qualified as dessert.
David Wong of Tillerman Tea prepares a house tea. Photo by Ryan Lely.
The entire complex of shops and artisan food producers – which began opening in January – is a visual, sensory and gustatory smorgasbord. Yet… I couldn’t grasp the gestalt of the whole thing. Yes, it’s downtown Napa’s version of San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace, and even boasts a couple of the same purveyors. But I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was nagging at the back of my carbo-loaded brain.
Sensing a serious decline in blood sugar levels, we knew what to do next. Serious negotiations were required before we could agree on whether to have dessert first and then coffee, or vice versa. The lure of ultra-organic ice cream with flavors like Madagascar Vanilla and Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi won out, and we slurped down samples of those, seated at a table between the scoop shop and a coffee bar. We ordered a couple of much-needed espressos and waited to be called back to the counter.
Flash, ever the gentlemen, was gracious enough to fetch our joe. He returned with my demitasse cup and, wearing an inscrutable expression, also set down a squat glass of lukewarm water. I regarded him quizzically. With a completely straight face, he said, “They suggest you cleanse your palate of the fat before tasting the espresso.”
Eureka! That was the defining moment of our Road Trip to Oxbow. This was just too Napa for words.
(Oh, by the way, the coffee brand? It’s called Ritual Roasters. And the ice cream shop? Three Twins.)
Thus fortified, we resumed our rounds of this 40,000-square-foot playground for foodies. A favorite pit stop was Anette’s, a branch of downtown Napa’s chocolatier, where we were tempted to buy packaged s’mores “with everything you need except the fire” for enjoying the classic Girl Scout treat of chocolate, graham crackers and house-made marshmallows. The Oxbow Cheese Merchant sliced up five different samples for us to try, the last one an unripe Brie that sent us scampering for a taste antidote.
Whole Spice is know for the wide array of spices they sell. Photo by Ryan Lely.
We bypassed the Olive Press, the sole Sonoma Valley outpost, and TillermanTea, where we could have tried a five-tea “house flight,” but were stopped in our tracks by the Grand Bazaar allure of Whole Spice. Shuli and Ronit Madmone import hundreds of spices from around the world (nearly 30 percent of them organic), from allspice to zhug (a spicy blend of chile Tianjin, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, cardamom, clove and cilantro that can be sprinkled directly on food or mixed with sour cream for a dip).
It will take another Road Trip to see and taste everything, but we may wait until fall, when Hog Island Oyster Company will open in one of the last available spaces.
Oxbow Public Market, 610 First St., Napa;
www.oxbowpublicmarket.com
The Oxbow Cheese Market sells both domestic and imported artisan cheeses. Photo by Ryan Lely.
Mileage: One-way: 15 miles (about 22 minutes)
Route: Exit Highway 29 North at West Imola Avenue, continue east to Soscol Avenue and turn left. Turn right on First Street, where parking is available in the North and South lots at Copia.
Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily, until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Restaurants and wine bars open until 10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Oxbow Produce is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
