WASH July 2011 : Page 65
Clockwise from top: the restaurant-rich Riverfront Complex overlooks the Napa River; sampling at the Oxbow Public Market; more sampling at the John Anthony Vineyards tasting lounge; three-wheel commerce is downtown’s first bona fide project that combines s t re e t-le v e l re t a i l w it h c ond o s . Ju s t s out h i s t he Napa M i l l D e ve lopment— ne w ly for t i f ie d ra mpa r ts t hat a re pa r t flood protection a nd pa r t promenade. The only liabilit y to t he picturesque vibe on these block s is the river itself, which is a somewhat sludg y sump during summer months at low tide. Eventua lly, when held-up plans to dredge the river do go for ward, Napa will have a deeper water way c apable of ha nd ling boats yea r-round. “That means you could sail up, have dinner, and then go back to San Francisco,” explains Mike De Simoni, R iverfront’s developer. “They were going to get t he se models of gondola s f rom Venic e to ma ke it rea lly a romantic, beautiful place.” Fueling the optimism are the same ingredients t hat ma ke t he rest of t he Va lley popu la r: dining a nd d r i n k i n g. A nd not h i n g h a s prop e l le d or s y m b ol i z e d t h i s s h i f t m ore t h a n Mor i m ot o, t he na me sa ke eater y of t he c elebrit y chef a nd re st au rateu r who c a me to prom inenc e on t he Iron Chef series. The decision to bring his first West Coast venture, which opened last July, to Napa, rather than L . A. or San Francisco, is both b r i l l i a nt a n d a u d a c i o u s . M o r i m o t o i s p a c k e d e ver y nig ht, is t he fi rst major inve st ment here by a chef with no connection to the area (Tyler Florence followed, with Rotisserie & Wine next door) and has flipped Napa’s image. “A s soon as I heard that he was coming to tow n,” says Schu ler, “I t houg ht, ‘OK, t his is a g a me c h a n g er.’” T h at Mor i moto’s Ja p a ne s e , s e a f o o d -o r i e nt e d m e nu i s n o t s u b s e r v i e nt t o Napa’s No. 1 com mod it y, c abernet sauv ignon (t hou g h you c a n order a s te a k), m a k e s t h i s statement a ll the more powerful. A s Carlin says, “If you’re a chef in the U.S. right now, you’ve got to be considering Napa as a possible location.” A lthough Napa’s power players a re clea rly excited by the arrival of Morimoto and Florence, there’s a concern that Food Net work stars may push the many unbranded chefs who’ve recognized Napa’s potential to the margins. Ken Frank moved his excellent La Toque from Rutherford to Napa in 20 08; t he t wo you ng chefs continued… July /August 2011 | | 65
Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here