When I suggested to Madeline that we explore Napa instead of going to the Marin County, what I had in mind was to visit the old downtown in Napa Valley which has quaint little shops and cafes. Madeline brought me to the Oxbow Public Market near the wine train station. It turned out to be a better idea because I could not imagine walking from store to store outdoors with this kind of heat.
The Oxbow Market is indoors, and conveniently under a big one story warehouse type building. I was cold inside. I think they have air conditioners.
I was happy we came here. This is a great place for wine connoisseurs, food enthusiasts, chefs, culinary students, and people who simply love good food and drinks.
Vendors were not bothered by camera-toting customers like us. Even if we took a lot of photos, the store owners, managers, staff, just let us be.
Enoteca is an Italian word which refers to a wine shop
Aside from food, there are specialty shops for artisinal products. One can also shop for kitchen gadgets, accessories, gift items, pasalubong, etc.
Wines and recipes
Rotisserie Free Range Birds
There were many things that I liked. Madeline encouraged me to purchase something. I controlled myself because my kitchen is full of kalat already. You’ll find items still in their wrappers, never used, never opened, forgotten.
Masarap bumili pero I need a new house to put all my other kalats in.
Olive Press store
I didn’t know that Hog Island has a restaurant at Oxbow. If I had known, I would not have ordered ice cream and Hunan chicken salad. I could have left some space in my stomach for my favorite (non-creamy) clam chowder and small oysters. I ordered “to go” but they only allowed non-shacked oysters to be taken home.
The Kitchen Door is the biggest restaurant at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa Valley. It’s a hybrid of a full service restaurant and a casual fast food. Owner/Chef Todd Humphries introduced this new concept in June 2011.
The menu consists of comfort food at reasonable prices.
Aside from cooked food, fresh produce, organic juices, wines and spirits, there are many merchandise stores that offer kitchen accessories, gadgets, and ingredients.
Whether you are a culinary wanna be, a foodie, an uzi (usyosero). you’ll find Oxbow Market a haven for your food adventure.
Roasted almonds— for ice cream, cakes,
I will ask the carpenter to make a similar herb cart for me.
Flowers and herb cart
I was so thirsty. I ordered a small cup of freshly squeezed green apple. Sour but delicious.
A few blocks from Oxbow, we stopped at the traffic light, Lyn told me to take a picture of this mansion. It’s the Wine Spectator magazine building.
“Take a picture An, that’s a famous magazine, Wine Spectator”.
Lyn pronounces my name as En because she’s slang. She grew up here in California.
We left at 4:30 pm. Madeline had to drive 45 minutes to drop me off and another 45 minutes to go home to Hercules.
Oxbow Public Market
First Street,
Napa, CA
