Quick Thoughts On Dubai, Including The Best Thing We Ate While Here

I went back and forth on whether to spend a couple days in Dubai versus just connecting and flying onward to the Seychelles. In the end, we decided to spend 2 nights here, and I'm really happy with that decision. From a practical standpoint, it really helped to break the trip up and give my body a head start in getting over jet lag (as I sit here and type this at 4am local time). We wish we had a bit more time, but Dubai is such a international hub for connections that we know we'll be back in the future.

Of course, a full trip report is to come, but here are some quick thoughts on our stay:

Conrad Dubai corner room

Conrad Dubai pool

The Conrad Dubai has been absolutely fantastic, and I'd highly recommend this hotel to anyone planning to visit Dubai. The hotel just opened late last year, so it still feels extremely new, and as a Hilton Gold we were treated to an upgrade to a spacious corner room and given access to the Executive Lounge which has fantastic views of the city. Hotel also features an incredible outdoor pool area. Breakfast at the restaurant and evening canapes at the lounge were just OK, but in general we didn't' have any food in Dubai that amazed us.

Walking around Old Dubai

Even though it was over 100 degrees outside, we really enjoyed our walking tour around Old Dubai and learned a lot about the culture and would recommend this. We went through the Shiekh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

 At the Top, Burj Khalifa

We purchased tickets in advance of our trip (highly recommend this if you want to visit the Burj Khalifa) but weather wasn't on our side, as the views yesterday weren't great. Overall, my wife enjoyed this experience much more than I did, and wouldn't necessarily recommend it given the cost.

Ski Dubai

However, I would recommend Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates. Even though it may seem gimmicky to some, it's undeniably a unique experience to go skiing inside a shopping mall. We went in the late afternoon when jet lag was really starting to kick-in, and if anything this helped me stay awake for 2 hours. 

And lastly, the best thing we ate on this trip? I felt like I was cheating on In-N-Out with every bite, but man that burger really hit the spot.

Shake Shack inside Dubai Mall

Napa-versary: Eating Sonoma

***This is part 5 of my "Napa-versary" trip report detailing a recent visit to Napa Valley to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary***

1. Eating Napa
2. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort Part I - Check-In, Our Lodge
3. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort Part II - Resort Facilities, Activities, and Food
4. The Restaurant at Meadowood + Meeting Chef Christopher Kostow
5. Eating Sonoma
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After spending the day hiking around Calistoga Ranch, we cleaned up and got ready for dinner. The day before we had feasted at The Restaurant at Meadowood, so we had made plans to try something more casual the following day. Based on our research, everything we read and everyone we talked to kept coming back to Bar Bravas de Tapas in Healdsburg, which is located closer to the Sonoma side of wine country. After looking at the menu we were sold, despite the fact that it would be a 45 minute drive each way from where we were staying.

The drive from Calistoga actually wasn't too bad, with most of it on semi-windy country roads and a short stint on the 101 freeway. We headed into downtown Healdsburg, which is filled with shopping and restaurants. It really has a lot of charm, and we even made a mental note to stay in that area next time we visit Sonoma.

Parking was a breeze, and we walked over to the restaurant where we had made early dinner reservations at 5:30pm which is right when they open. The dining room isn't that large, and only seats roughly 30-40 people at a time, so I highly recommend that you make reservations ahead of time. They also have a huge, outdoor patio in the back where most of the walk-ins were sent.

Bar Bravas de Tapas in Healdsburg, CA

Bar Bravas de Tapas dining room

My wife in particular loves tapas since it means that we get to try lots of different things. The plates were actually perfect for two people, with most orders coming in 2's or 3's. The hardest part was deciphering the menu and figuring out how much to order, but once that was done we just sat back and enjoyed the amazing food.

For just two people, I wouldn't recommend ordering any of the family-size entrees since that really limits the amount of things you're able to try. We just stuck to the small plates, and for us big eaters, 7 orders was just right. For me, the highlights were the lamb sliders, tuna belly salad, and the crispy pig ears.

Iberico ham

Goat cheese tostada

Lamb sliders

Tuna belly salad

Fried crispy pig ears

Grilled octopus

Grilled quail

None of the desserts on the menu at Bravas jumped out to us, so we walked down the street and stumbled upon Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar for dessert. Along with a large selection of ice cream, they had 5 types of pies on the menu. I'm a sucker for pie, so as soon as I saw the menu outside I already had one foot through the door. The strawberry blueberry ginger pie is the most popular and was unfortunately sold out, but we ended up going for the salt-overload combo with the salted honey pie along with salted caramel ice cream. I love salted caramel ice cream, and this one was fantastic, even better than Bi-Rite's in San Francisco.

Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar in Healdsburg, CA

Daily specials

Salted honey pie with salted caramel ice cream

Afterwards, we walked around a bit more through downtown Healdsburg. There's a small park nearby, and we somehow ended up over at Mustache Baked Goods which has the same owners as Noble Folk. They've been featured on the Food Network, and we grabbed a cupcake and some macarons for the road.

Mustache Baked Goods in Healdsburg, CA

Overall, a fantastic side-trip over to Healdsburg, and Bar Bravas certainly lived up to the hype. While we had our hearts set on eating there on this trip, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if you're in Napa since there are plenty of options over there without having to drive over an hour and a half round-trip.

Napa-versary: The Restaurant at Meadowood + Meeting Chef Christopher Kostow

***This is part 4 of my "Napa-versary" trip report detailing a recent visit to Napa Valley to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary***

1. Eating Napa
2. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort Part I - Check-In, Our Lodge
3. Calistoga Ranch, An Auberge Resort Part II - Resort Facilities, Activities, and Food
4. The Restaurant at Meadowood + Meeting Chef Christopher Kostow
5. Eating Sonoma
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Ever since Chef Christopher Kostow took over as Executive Chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood, it's been shooting up in the culinary world and currently is only 1 of 2 restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area with three Michelin stars (the other being The French Laundry). It's also ranked at #80 on the (somewhat controversial) San Pellagrino "Best Restaurants in the World" list which we use as another source, but by no means the authority, on restaurant rankings.

Our dinner reservation at Meadowood wasn't until 9:15pm, which gave us just enough time to digest from lunch and all of the snacks we had earlier in the day. Compared to The French Laundry where a significant amount of luck is needed to just get a reservation, reserving a table at Meadowood was surprisingly easy and just required booking about a month in advance.

It's a short 10-15 minute drive from Calistoga Ranch to the Meadowood resort, which along with the restaurant, features a hotel, spa, and golf course. The resort is on a huge compound, and in the dark it was tough to follow some of the signs, but eventually we found our way to the main lobby. We peeked inside on our way to the restaurant just to take a look.

Exterior of the lobby at Meadowood

Lobby of Meadowood

The restaurant is located just a few steps from the hotel lobby, and we were warmly greeted at the door and shown inside. We had arrived early, so we spent a few minutes relaxing in the bar area and were seated next to the fireplace in the middle of the room which helped us warm up on this chilly night.

Fireplace near the bar

After a few minutes we were escorted into the main dining room, which almost feels like the interior of a barn with high vaulted ceilings, and an elegant but rustic feel that is similar to what we had seen at the hotel lobby. The dining room is relatively small, with only about 10-15 tables inside. At our table, we found a nice hand-written card which welcomed us and congratulated us on our anniversary.

The Restaurant at Meadowood dining room

Table setting and hand-written card

Our server came by and explained that there would be no menus to look at or choose from for now - we would receive a copy only after the entire meal was completed. Apparently this is a recent change that the restaurant has made now that they feel like they've built a strong enough reputation. Instead of a tasting or a la carte menu, prospective diners will just need to trust that they will be fed well. We were asked if there was anything that we didn't eat, but that was pretty much it. The rest of the meal was a surprise, with each course explained to us as it was served. 

Before the main courses started, we had a series of "snacks" from the garden.

Pickled veggies from the Meadowood garden

Puffed kale with chorizo seasoning

Afterwards, the main dinner started, with about 10 courses served over of the next 3 hours. The food was absolutely delicious, playful, and presented in interesting and unique ways that we had never tried before. For example, potatoes that had been cooked in beeswax, chicken that had been cooked inside sourdough bread, and salmon that had the skin removed and replaced with layer of turnips. 

The ingredients were extremely fresh, with most of the meats coming from local sources and the vegetables coming from the restaurant's own garden. Everything was cooked perfectly, tasted great, and best of all didn't feel too heavy. Service was extremely warm and friendly throughout, a far cry from the overly formal and almost robotic service that we had at Per Se.

Tomato, wild plum beets and creme fraiche

Cucmber seed risotto

Potatoes cooked in beeswax

Abalone with coal roasted eggplant

Wild salmon turnip

Poussin baked in sourdough bread

Koji chanterelle beef

After the main courses it was time to move on to the cheese course, and despite the number of course we had eaten to this point, neither of us were feeling overly stuffed.. That's certainly a good thing, since there have been times where we've just been too full to enjoy dessert. The cheese course was was a play on ham and cheese with lettuce playing the role of ham.

Cheese "ham" bread

Lastly, a few desserts, including the amazing "spun" coconut with olive oil. The coconut tasted almost like a sorbet and was so simple, yet so amazingly delicious.

Spun coconut with olive oil

Passion fruit baba shiso

Herbal tea

Almond prailines

Our menu

At the end of the meal, we were invited in for a quick kitchen tour, which is offered to each table individually throughout the night. The restaurant had recently completed a million-dollar kitchen renovation, and it shows. We were actually surprised how big the kitchen was, given the fact they probably don't service more than 75-100 people in a given night.

As luck would have it, Chef Christopher Kostow walked by during our tour and we had a chance to do a brief meet and greet with him. As luck would have it I had just blogged about his partnership with the new American Express Centurion Lounge opening at SFO later this year, so I looked like I had done my homework and was able to ask him about it.

Meadowood kitchen

Thanks for an amazing dinner!

Overall, an amazing dining experience at The Restaurant at Meadowood. I emphasize the word  "experience", since at most top restaurants it's a given that the food will be delicious (and if it isn't, that's a whole other problem). But at Meadowood, the food is really, really delicious, and is still memorable as I write this several weeks later. The rest of the experience was top-notch and they really make you feel appreciated with everything from the hand-written notes, to the personalized service, and lastly to the individual kitchen tours.We hope to go back one day - in fact, the restaurant keeps track of the exact menu each guest has had previously to ensure that they are given an entirely new experience each and every time.