Hidden Napa Valley Wine Bar

O.K., so I was little harsh in my treatment of Tra Vigne restaurant in my Shin-Kicking the Hostess post on November 5. But let me add this tidbit if you want to hang out where many of the coolest Napa Valley food and wine insider's hang out (and trust me, this tidbit is authentic, given to me by one of the BEST of the Napa Valley food and wine insider's); check out this: in the courtyard leading to the entrance of Tra Vigne is also a small wine bar called Cantinetta. It has a huge selection of wines-by-the-glass and some simple lunch-type fare made at, of course, Tra Vigne. While the food menu is short, it all looks good to me, especially the salume fatta en casa (house-cured meats with olives and toasted almonds), the salumi sandwich (house-made mortadella and salami with provolone cheese) and, of course, the tiramisu (with ladyfingers, mascarpone and marsala wine).

So here's today's EMAF food and wine suggestion: skip Tra Vigna and instead hang out at Cantinetta. It's cozy with a great atmosphere, awesome Napa Valley wine, some authentic Italian fare...and it's got the No. 1 EMAF requirement: character.

See you at the bar.