Almond croissant from Bouchon Bakery, the 3 Connie/ys
Burrata & heirloom tomatoes at Oso Sonoma, Buttermilk fried chicken from Addendum
Every year my 3 girlfriends and I get away for a weekend to relax, eat, and catch up. Some of us have known each other since middle school - between the 4 of us we have 8 kids with 2 more on the way. To say I look forward to our girls trip is an understatement. Luckily, we have supportive husbands who take over all the responsibilities and wrangle the kids the entire weekend while we're away. It really does take a village to make it happen.
We all live in California (San Mateo, Fremont, and San Diego) so it's pretty easy to pick a place for our getaways. For the past few years at least one of us has either been pregnant or pumping so we've stayed close to the Bay Area. This year only the 3 of us from Northern California could make it on the trip and 2 of us are pregnant so we chose to visit Sonoma. None of us drink anyway (even when we're not pregnant) so our trip didn't include any winery visits. This trip was all about food!
Coincidentally (or not), all 3 of us are named Connie/Conny. Well, we may all have the same name but they're actually all different since our full names are Constance, Connie, and Conny. It's easy for us to know which Connie/y we're talking about but it's a little harder for our friend Cherie. As Connie L said, it's easy to know which Connie/y the other one is referring to when you're one of them. And it's not unusual for us to send an email that looks like this:
Hey Connie,
Connie and I were talking about getting together next week. How's Sat?
Conny
I bring this up because during our trip we visited a spa - imagine making spa treatment reservations for 3 people with the same name. And 2 of them are pregnant. And imagine giving the cashier your name when ordering coffee at Peet's. Or providing the names of everyone staying at the Airbnb. Anyway, you get the idea. :o)
As with most trips, I brought my 2 essentials:
- Stainless steel water bottle Google ahead of time if the tap water in your destination is safe to drink and if it is, bring your own bottle to fill it straight from the tap. I love these klean kanteen bottles - I bring mine on every trip. They come in a variety of colors and sizes so find one perfect for you!
- Packing cubes Connie L gave us these Eagle Creek packing cubes as a Christmas gift one year and I've been using them for every trip. I use the roll method and I'm able to pack a ton of clothes into a small carry-on. I use the large cube for most of my clothes, the medium cube for toiletries, and the small cube for socks and underwear. No more hunting around for my stuff! I was able to pack 3 pairs of shoes, 4 outfits, PJs, toiletries, and undergarments for the weekend into a backpack with the help of these packing cubes. Check out some YouTube videos for expert packing tips.
Day 1: Yountville and Sonoma
We started off our trip by having lunch at Thomas Keller's Addendum in Yountville (6476 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599). Thanks for the rec, Peggy! True to its name, Addendum is a small addition located in the back of the main restaurant Ad Hoc. Addendum is only open for lunch Thursday - Saturday from 11am - 2pm. For $17.50 you order a boxed lunch of buttermilk fried chicken, barbeque pork ribs, or pulled pork sandwich, each accompanied by two house-made sides and honey cornbread. Place your order from a small shed and take a seat at one of the numerous picnic tables, scattered among planters of herbs, strawberries, and leafy greens. Someone from the main restaurant will deliver your main dish to your table. Read reviews of Addendum on TripAdvisor.
Entrance to Addendum, located in back of Ad Hoc
Addendum - Place your order here
Addendum lunch menu
Connie L and I ordered the buttermilk fried chicken and Connie Y ordered the barbeque pork ribs. The fried chicken was seasoned perfectly - super tender, moist, and the skin had just the right amount of crunch. Even the white meat, which I typically dislike, was super tender. It tasted perfectly brined and was topped with flakes of sea salt and fried rosemary for extra flavor. It was a great combination of taste and texture, not overly salty or greasy. Two thumbs up! The honey cornbread was also delicious - spongy and cake-like, its texture was almost like it was steamed. It was a little on the sweet side but wasn't sickeningly sweet. I was less impressed with the sides - the potato salad was dressed heavily with mayo and the peas, tossed with red onion and sliced pepperoni were just meh.
Addendum - buttermilk fried chicken, cornbread, potato salad, and peas
Addendum - dine among the planters of herbs and veggies
After lunch we strolled up Washington Street to another Thomas Keller establishment, Bouchon Bakery (6528 Washington St, Yountville, CA 94599). We picked up croissants for breakfast and some goodies for our families back home. I got an almond croissant ($4) and a chocolate chunk cookie ($3.75). The almond croissant was really good but it was super heavy with butter. Read reviews of Bouchon Bakery on TripAdvisor.
Bouchon Bakery
Bouchon Bakery - pastries
Bouchon Bakery - breads and various goodies
Bouchon Bakery - oversized macarons and various cookies
Bouchon Bakery - almond croissant
We kept walking up Washington to the world-famous French Laundry but didn't dine there, of course. I think you have to make reservations months in advance. And you have to be prepared to drop $300 -$500 per person for dinner. I'm happy with my fried chicken, thank you very much!
The French Laundry
our Airbnb in SonomaIt was mid-afternoon by the time we finished our stroll so we decided to head to our Airbnb in Sonoma. Our Airbnb had 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, was centrally located, and quiet ($746.34 for 2 nights). We were happy to each have our own room (and bed!) but the place was a bit dated. It was in desperate need of a remodel and the beds and furniture weren't very comfortable. But it was a decent value and location - I guess you get what you pay for.
We quickly dropped off our bags and headed to the Sonoma 9 Cinema to watch Crazy Rich Asians. It was the movie's second weekend in theaters but our showing was pretty packed! It was 3:45pm on a Friday so we were among a bunch of retirees - we definitely brought the average age of of the theater down. We all loved the movie - it meant so much to me to see faces that looked like mine up on that big screen. And it featured beautiful Asian people in a modern romantic story. Yes, we can be leading ladies and men! And there were no kung fu moves! When the lights came on we were all sniffling, crying, and raving about the experience. During the movie Connie L was rummaging through her purse so I thought she was looking for candy or something but it turns out she was searching for tissues to dab away the tears streaming down her face! I've known Connie L since middle school and I've never seen her cry so that was a surprise! I cry at a lot of things (because I'm a sap) so no one was surprised that I was a mess. If you haven't seen Crazy Rich Asians, please see it now!! It has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes!
After the movie we drove to Sonoma Plaza and walked around in search of a restaurant for an early dinner. We came upon Oso Sonoma (9 E Napa St, Sonoma, CA 95476), a casual tavern featuring locally sourced small plates. Read reviews of Oso Sonoma on TripAdvisor. We ordered a few small plates to share:
- $14 Burrata & Heirloom Tomatoes
- $12 Hummus Plate: Feta, Smoked Paprika, Parsley, Grilled Bread
- $12 Deviled Eggs: Dungeness Crab, House Made Yellow Curry, Paprika
- $10 Seasonal Salad: Mixed Lettuces, Apple, Blue Cheese, Candied Pecans, Sherry Vinaigrette
- $16 Braised Pork & Beef Meatballs: Tomato Sauce, Fontina, Grilled Bread
- $16 Pork Belly Tacos (a special that wasn't listed on the menu)
The pork belly tacos were disappointing - bland and tough. I would not recommend this "special." The meatballs were also underwhelming.
Oso Sonoma - Burrata & Heirloom Tomatoes
Oso Sonoma - Hummus Plate
Oso Sonoma - Deviled Eggs
Oso Sonoma - Seasonal Salad
Oso Sonoma - Braised Pork & Beef Meatballs
Oso Sonoma - Pork Belly Tacos
After dinner we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some items for breakfast and ice cream for dessert. If you have Amazon Prime, you can get an additional 10% off of sale items by scanning your QR code at checkout. You can find the QR code on the cart screen of your Amazon mobile app or in the Whole Foods mobile app. And you get an additional 5% back if you pay using your Amazon Rewards Visa card. Boy, Amazon really knows how to rope you in, don't they?
Day 2: Sonoma and Napa
Our first full day started with spa treatments at The Raindance Spa - Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort Spa (1325 Broadway at Leveroni & Napa Roads, Sonoma, CA 95476). But first, Connie and Connie whipped up breakfast at our Airbnb - scrambled eggs with cheese, avocados, multi-grain waffles, peaches, and we split Connie L's chocolate almond croissant from Bouchon Bakery. Yum!
Connie Y and I each got the 50 min prenatal massage ($145) and Connie L got the 50 min lime ginger scrub and massage ($165). I really enjoyed my massage - I was able to lay on my stomach on one of those cut-out pregnancy pillows. I was just a little disappointed that the scalp massage no longer came standard - it was an add-on. Still, the massage was good and helped relieve my aching muscles. Read reviews of The Raindance Spa on TripAdvisor.
Pro tip: if you have a Costco membership, consider purchasing Spa Wish gift cards ($79.99 for $100 worth of gift cards) as The Raindance Spa takes Spa Wish. That's a savings of 20% right there! You can even pay for your tip using Spa Wish since it works like a credit card.
After our treatments we hung out in our robes and talked in the relaxation room. Then we showered and changed to go out for lunch. The spa staff recommended lunch at The Red Grape which is close to Sonoma Plaza. The Red Grape (529 1st St W, Sonoma, CA 95476) serves sandwiches, salads, and pizzas which sounded good to us. Read reviews of The Red Grape on TripAdvisor.
At The Red Grape, we ordered:
- $15.50 Southwest Chicken Salad - this was decent
- $13.50 Caprese Salad - this tasted as you would expect but it didn't stand out
- $6.75 Sweet potato fries - yummy - crunchy and lightly seasoned
- $10.25 Truffled onion rings - this was super oily and not very good. The onion rings didn't have a cornmeal crust (which I prefer) but instead were probably tossed in flour which soaked up a ton of oil during the frying process.
The Red Grape - Caprese Salad
The Red Grape - Southwest Chicken Salad
The Red Grape - Sweet potato fries
After lunch we did a little shopping at a kitchenware store called Sign of the Bear (435 1st St W, Sonoma, CA 95476). It's a lot more interesting than it sounds, seriously. I love the merchandise featured there - specialty soaps (amazing scents), small appliances, quirky dishes and decor, dish ware for kids, all kinds of useful and useless kitchen gadgets. Cuz we all need a mushroom brush, right? Read reviews of Sign of the Bear on TripAdvisor.
Sign of the Bear - dishes
Sign of the Bear - fun cups
Sign of the Bear - amazing soaps
Sign of the Bear - cute baby gear
Sign of the Bear - funny dish towels
Sign of the Bear - dish ware for kids
Sign of the Bear - salt slabs
We relaxed and grabbed a coffee at Peet's - this time the cashier referred to us as Connie 1, Connie 2, and Connie 3. Good enough. The coffee break was the perfect way to kill some time before our dinner in Napa at Bistro Don Giovanni - another recommendation from Peggy. She also recommended Bottega Napa Valley but we'll save that for another trip.
On our way back to the car we stopped by Wildeflower Boutique (107 W Napa St, Sonoma, CA 95476) after a few things in the window caught our eye. I made a beeline for the sparkly necklaces and bought one because as Ali Wong said in her 2018 Netflix special, Hard Knock Wife, "The more glitter the better, because when you’re a mom you need sparkle. To compensate for the light inside of you that has died." If you haven't watched her stand-up special, I highly recommend it. I was crying/laughing because of how absurd and accurate it is. Okay, back to the food...
Bistro Don Giovanni (4110 Howard Ln, Napa, CA 94558) was casual yet formal enough for a special occasion - we saw a booth set up for someone's 70th birthday. Delicious food and we got a great corner table which also had a view of the fountain and gardens outside. Read reviews of Bistro Don Giovanni on TripAdvisor. Connie L and I split:
- $24 Linguine and clams - tomato, garlic, calabrian chilies
- $28 Grilled Pork Chop - roasted potatoes and garlic mostarda di frutta (we swapped the roasted potatoes for mashed potatoes - excellent choice)
- $9 "Bostini" Trifle - vanilla custard, chocolate cake whipped cream, clear caramel, toasted almonds
- Connie Y ordered the $32 Seared Salmon Filet - mashed potatoes, tomato chive butter
The linguine and clams were all right - Connie and I were used to having them in more of a broth-like sauce, tossed with white wine and no tomato. The grilled pork chop was good and the mashed potatoes were excellent. Super creamy and salty which was a good contrast to the candied mostarda di frutta. The trifle was good but the clear caramel was WAYYYY too sweet. The 3 of us couldn't even finish that single order.
After dinner we took a quick walk around the fountain and in the garden out back to marvel at all the sunflowers, peppers, tomatoes, artichokes, and figs.
Bistro Don Giovanni - menu
Bistro Don Giovanni - view from our corner table
Bistro Don Giovanni - linguine and clams
Bistro Don Giovanni - grilled pork chop
Bistro Don Giovanni - seared salmon filet
Bistro Don Giovanni - trifle
Bistro Don Giovanni - we're ready to dig in
Bistro Don Giovanni - seating around the outdoor fountain
Bistro Don Giovanni - our first selfie of the trip
L to R: Connie L, Connie Y, and me, Conny
Bistro Don Giovanni - found someone to take a photo for us
Bistro Don Giovanni - gardens
Bistro Don Giovanni - various peppers
Bistro Don Giovanni - peppers
Bistro Don Giovanni - peppers
Bistro Don Giovanni - gardens
Bistro Don Giovanni - tomatoes
Day 3: Going home
Our Airbnb check out wasn't until noon so we had another quick breakfast of eggs, fruit, and waffles and this time split my almond croissant from Bouchon Bakery. It was super buttery, actually a little overpowering. I guess there is such a thing as too much butter...
Connie Y and I stopped by Berkeley for a quick bite to eat at Augie's Montreal Smoked Meat (875 Potter St, Berkeley, CA 94710). We ordered a salad and of course had to try an order of poutine. Read reviews of Augie's Montreal Smoked Meat on TripAdvisor.
- $12.50 L'Chef Special - Spring greens, Attie’s Montreal pastrami smoked turkey, aged cheddar, apple, pickled red onion, toasted walnuts, & maple dijon vinaigrette
- $9 Georgie's Classic Poutine - St. Hubert gravy & cheese curds
The salad wasn't tossed so it was kind of bland and I wasn't a fan of the peppercorn crust on the smoked turkey. We made the mistake of ordering a larger size of poutine (the sharing size) and it was WAYYY too much for us. Someone from a table of 5 stopped by to tell us that even they couldn't finish the shared size. We could've easily shared the regular size and still had a bunch left over. Learn from our mistake! The poutine was really good though but a tad salty. Still, it didn't stop me from eating it and eating it... Just drink lots of water.
Augie's - menu
Augie's - love the picture of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Augie's - interior
Augie's - l'chef special salad
Augie's - Georgie's classic poutine
Can't wait for next year's trip - none of us should be pregnant or pumping so we should be able to fly somewhere!
If you enjoyed reading this travel blog please check out my other trip posts:
- Arizona - Girls trip to Sedona
- Portugal - Lisbon and Sintra
- Iceland - Reykjavik and more
- Thailand and Laos - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Luang Prabang
- Europe and South Africa - Belgium, Amsterdam, Cape Town, and Sabi Sands Game Reserve
- Greece and Turkey - Santorini, Mykonos, Cappadocia, and Istanbul
- Japan - Tokyo and Kyoto
- Peru - Machu Picchu and the Amazon rainforest
- Spain - San Sebastian, Barcelona, Granada, Seville
- Germany - Munich, Dresden, and Berlin
- Austria - Salzburg and Vienna
- Hungary - Budapest, Szentendre, and an amusing Thai massage experience
- Poland - Kraków and Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Czech Republic - Prague and Kutná Hora
Happy traveling and thanks for reading!
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