Ubuntu (Napa, CA) – Vegetables not Vegetarian
“We’re not offering a philosophy of “no meat”, rather, we are celebrating what comes from the gardens, what shows up at the door, and our relationships with farms in Napa.”
– Jeremy Fox on Ubuntu’s web site
I’ve written before that the Bay Area dining scene can be frustrating. Everyone pays homage to our better-than-average ingredients, mostly vegetable, but when was the last time you had a vegetable dish that wasn’t a salad? Can you recall when a vegetable dish really left an impact? If you read A Few Reservations and her quest for vegetarian fare, it’s disheartening to read how vegetables are still an afterthought in too many restaurants. How can chefs and restaurants make a claim to the ingredients without exploring them to their limits?
Autumn Tart Float
Julot-les-pinceaux, on his trip to the Bay Area, posed a great challenge to me – he wanted to have lunch, or dinner, at some place uniquely California; specifically, the Bay Area. Manresa, the easy choice, was already on his itinerary. The French Laundry can not be booked on a moment’s notice. Quince, Bay Area in spirit, was booked. My Coi review didn’t excite him and Aqua, with its hodge-podge of unseasonal ingredients and non-local fare, defied his culinary sensibilities. Where were we to eat?