Oysters and Wine at 2AM

Monday was a warm and sunny day in Napa Valley. And even though the weekend was over, the crowds were still out. We tasted local olive oils and cheeses from around the world as we waited patiently for a wine tasting session with one of the busy sommeliers at V. Sattui Winery. It is worth the wait. We like the old school Italian wines at V. Sattui Winery and for 5 bucks you get to try a lot of different wines. The $5 goes towards a bottle of wine if you decide to make a purchase. We left with some wine and a few cheeses. Chimay, Manchego, and an irish cheese called Ardrahan
We stopped at Oakville Grocery to pick up some picnic goodies to go with our wine.We already had some super spicy red pepper mustard that we picked up at Peju Winery, so we bought some Acme Italian bread, a little mortadella, some duck liver pate with black truffles, and some sliced mocetta to make it a decadent picnic.The good folks at La Vaca Taqueria and BBQ let us have a picnic at one of their tables under some tall sunflowers, and we made extravagant sandwiches to accompany the wine. I was hoping to finish our meal with some fresh fruit from the area, but all the fruit stands we passed were closed. I guess it is more of a weekend kind of business. And surprisingly, Oakville Grocery did not have a great produce section. So how do you finish a summer picnic so devine without fruits of the earth? Well it better be good, whatever it is. It is like going on stage after James Brown ... hard to top. Well, we decided to try out the Bouchon Bakery, up the road in Yountville. We arrived at 7PM and the bakery was just closing. So we went into the Bouchon restaurant next door to try some desserts there. We could only be seated at the bar and everyone at the bar was eating Moules au Safran et à la Moutarde avec Pommes Frites (Steamed mussels with french fries)It smelled so good, and the fries were calling our names. So no dessert after all. We ordered half a dozen oysters and the mussels and fries. My favorite part of this great dish is dipping the fries and the bread in the broth. These fries are crisp, hot and very salty. they are great. They would be a great companion for a frosty. The oysters were fine too, but the mussels and fries were unforgettable.

Tune: Oysters and Wine at 2 A.M. by Polk Miller & his Old South Quartet from American Pop Vol. 4: From Minstrel To Mojo
Some of Thomas Edison's early records he produced for his magical machine he invented in 1877 were of Polk Miller and his Old South Quartet.

Tune: Watermelon Party (1910) is another Polk Miller and his Old South Boys Quartet songs that comes from Thomas Edison's record crate. Listen to more at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project of UC Santa Barbara