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Farm-to-table Modern American cuisine is the prevalent style in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County, but this encompasses both the delicate preparations of Yountville’s Thomas Keller, whose restaurants include The French Laundry, and the upscale comfort food served throughout the Wine Country. The quality (and hype) often means high prices, but you can find appealing, inexpensive eateries, especially in Napa, Calistoga, Sonoma, and Santa Rosa.
Chef Efrain Balmes attracted such throngs for his "real Mexican food" truck specializing in his native Oaxacan cuisine that he finally went full brick-and-mortar, sharing space with (and pretty much taking over) an existing coffee roastery. The tacos—fish, shrimp, potato, mushroom, pork, and an outstanding lamb one—and the signature mole Oaxaqueño sauce are the must-tries here, the latter with either an enchilada or the "wet supreme burrito."
The goodness at Karen Waikiki's roadside restaurant, which has more tables outside than in, starts with high-quality ingredients and authentic techniques. The stars include tamales (chicken mole and Niman Ranch pork), tacos filled with beer-battered fish or crispy beef, ahi tostadas poke style, and enchiladas and burritos.
A few steps south of his Bouchon Bistro, chef Thomas Keller opened this ivy-covered restaurant serving Oaxacan-inspired Mexican cuisine. The decor inside is airily upscale casual, though on sunny days most patrons head to the street-side patio to dine on dishes like tacos al pastor (with slow-grilled pork), chicken enchiladas with mole, and pescado zarandeado verde (grilled marinated fish with green salsa).
The burritos, tacos, and quesadillas at this unassuming pit stop will fill you up before wine tasting or help absorb what you've imbibed. The super burrito laden with cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and your choice of meat—winery workers swear by the crispy carnitas—provides a day's fuel in itself; for breakfast (before 11) there's a burrito with eggs, your choice of meat, and potatoes, beans, and salsa.
The vivid colors of the drinks, food, furnishings, and a mural by the Mexican urban artist Senkoe provide constant visual entertainment at this riverfront restaurant that evolved from a popular food truck. Oaxacan influences and spices like chileajo (vegetables, herbs, and chiles cooked and pureed) appear in the enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and other items, many inspired by southern Mexican street-food staples or recipes of the chef's extended family back home.
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