I've had Kara's Cupcakes say half a dozen times now. Finally decided that these cupcakes look better than they taste. I'm quite a dessert fiend myself but really these are kinda overrated. Am a sucker for the pretty packaging however and once again couldn't resist the temptation. This time round I had 2 cupcakes, a banana caramel one and a chocolate one with raspberry frosting.
Oh such pretty cupcakes:
If you end up getting the cupcakes in Napa, definitely stop by Ritual Roasters. Afterall, there's nothing better than cake + a perfect coffee.
Chomp Meter:
Leaning towards a 3.5 chomps for Kara's. High scores for presentation and a mean frosting. Taste wise the cupcakes are ok. A tad heavy and sweeter than I'd prefer and left me feeling all sugared out.
Kara's Cupcakes (Oxbow Market - Napa)
610 First Street, Suite 19
Napa, California 94559
P 707 258-CAKE (2253)
info@karascupcakes.com
Monday, September 28, 2009
Kara's Cupcakes & Ritual Roasters in Napa
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen - Oxbow Market Napa
Weather today was gorgeous after a too hot Saturday. We took a drive out to Oxbow Public Market in Napa. Our first visit there even though we've been to Napa quite a number of times. Not surprising since there is so much to indulge in there!
First stop was Pica Pica Maize Kitchen. It's in the Oxbow Public Market "food court". Food court is in quotes because the Oxbow Market is much nicer than your regular food court but nevertheless the best way to describe it :p Needing to save room to try as much as possible during this visit, we decided to share a skirt steak arepa (Paballon), Yucca fries (Pasapalo), and a salad (Bululu).
The salad was very refreshing! Passion fruit dressing, pineapples, roasted peppers, corn, jicama and quinoa. Quino is hard to describe if you haven't had it. Apparently grain is not an accurate description (see wikipedia). Quinoa is pretty common in South America and looks like little worms. Morsels & Musings has a pretty photo of quinoa. 
The arepas (skirt steak, plantains, beans, cheese) were good though the skirt steak was a little dry. The highlight for me was the Yucca fries. They were nicely battered and the sweetness of the yucca gave them an almost syrupy taste. Hard to describe but a must try!
Chomp Meter:
Hmm more like 4.25 Chomps for what it is. Exceeds expectations for a casual restaurant in a food market and perfect for lunch! Pica Pica comes highly recommended by our Venezuelan friends. The focus on corn is interesting (I believe there's a larger variety of corn in South America) and I found the food to be yummy. I'd definitely be back for more but not before I try the other restaurants there hehe.
For tourists though, there are only so many meals you can have in Napa so I don't think this makes the list just yet.
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
610 1st St
Napa, CA 94559-2602
(707) 251-3757
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bleaux Magnolia Review
Where: Napa Valley, CA
Specialty: Creole / Cajun Food
One of the perks of being further north is the shorter distance to Napa! We took an impromptu trip there on Sunday to buy some wine. After a long day of wine tasting and some shopping, we decided to try Bleaux Magnolia located in Napa's town center for dinner.
The restaurant is in the unlikeliest of places, on a back street, near a garage and CVS. It looks sort of cute on the outside anyway so we decided to give it a try.
Our waitress presented us with the option of dining outside or inside. We picked the patio area outside and were kept warm and toasty with the heat lamps. Very cozy even in November! The servers were also very friendly, no wonder Bleaux Magnolia is highly rated on service.
We ordered several dishes among us. For appetizers, we got the Mac N Cheese as well as the Pulled Pork Lumpia. For mains, we had the Seafood Gumbo, Cornbread Crusted Catfish, and the Fried Chicken and Waffles.
The food was very well done. I especially liked the pork lumpia which was served in a very crisp egg roll of a shell. The fried chicken was nicely fried too. My only complaint is that the gumbo was lacking okra which I love!
Lumpia (L) Mac and Cheese (R)
Chicken and Waffles:
Gumbo and Catfish (L) Yummy Jalepeno Cornbread! (R)
Chomp Meter: 
I've read some reviews that the food served isn't particularly authentic and I agree. However, if you come with the expectation that Bleaux Magnolia is a New American restaurant with cajun/creole influences, the restaurant does excellently. Another perk is there's no corkage fee for bringing your own wine!
Bleaux Magnolia also serves Jazz brunch on Sunday afternoons and a little off the beatn path, this may be a good restaurant to throw into the Napa vacation mix.
Napa
1408 Clay St
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 252-2230
