As a dinner reservation fell through before we had a chance to order any dishes in a restaurant in Napa (sometimes a hostess can be very incompetent), we were in need to find a good dinner place late in the evening. Looking over the possible options we remembered that Slanted Door Napa — The Slanted Door recently opened here and didn’t close early (which tends to be a problem in Napa). Even though we arrived after 9pm there was no rush and we enjoyed a really good dinner over the next two hours (with Charles Phan sitting at the next table with a few friends). Like many higher end Asian restaurants Slanted Door often gets criticized for being too expensive as too many people still associate “ethnic” cuisine with cheap ingredients and prices. But dishes like shaking beef with quality meat (and its price) show how much better ingredient elevate a dish. Overall great night and time for us to also visit their SF restaurant.
Scallop tartare - hokkaido scallops, leeks vinaigrette, toasted sesame, rice cracker
Crispy vegetarian imperial rolls - tofu, taro root, cabbage, vermicelli noodles, roasted peanuts
Daikon rice cakes - preserved daikon, picked turnip, sweet chili sauce
Jasmine rice
Shaking beef - cape grim grass-fed tenderloin, watercress, red onion, lime
Chicken claypot - heritage loong kong boneless chicken, shallots, thai chili, ginger, chili caramel sauce
Bok choy - stir-fried shanghai bok choy, shiitake mushrooms
Lemongrass tofu - hodo soy five pressed tofu, shiitake, roasted chili sate
Chocolate hazelnut tarte - valrhona dark chocolate, candied hazelnuts, whipped cream dilomat
Panna cotta - Coconut, mango, pineapple, black sesame crumble, macademia nut tuile