Martini House – St. Helena
PRO: Great rustic atmosphere & bar, solid food
CON: A couple dishes were just average
First off, I want to move in to Martini House. Yep, kick everyone out and make it my Napa pied a terré, as those douche bags say in places like the society pages and on soap operas. Wait. I’d keep the chef. And maybe if there’s a cute server…just kidding, J!
I’ve wanted to hit this place for years, and for some reason it never worked out. So when we were up here for the weekend last weekend, it was our first stop. Even before checking into Bardessono. Had some things to check off that list, hear me?
So a little history. The story behind the story. Let’s go all Anderson Cooper 360, shall we? So Martini House was built in 1923. By a dude by the name of Walter Martini, for him and his bitch. I mean wife. A sweet, lovely thing I hear. The Martinis loved to party (with a last name like that, doi) and right around prohibition, he exclaimed “WTF dude, you’re not killing my party” and entered the lucrative business of bootlegging. Walter, you are my hero.
Anyhoo, Walter and his lovely wife died. And in rode Pat Kuleto! Hmmm, I wonder if there was foul play afoot? No, Kuleto’s not that old. So Pat, designer of cool places like Boulevard, Farralon, Water Bar, Epic Roasthouse and many others, teamed up with Chef Todd Humphries to open Martini House. Way to go, fellas!
This place is a rustic lodge. With Native American accents in the lighting and wall hangings. Very warm and
The lovely J, barking out a drink order!
cozy, with an outdoor patio as well. Ya walk in downstairs, which houses a cool, dark bar that just begs you to take a stool (no, not that type of stool) and hang out ’til closing. Guess where we sat?! There’s also a few tables, and a ginormous fireplace too.
Upstairs is the dining room, which has great natural light and features an open ‘exhibition’ kitchen and seating for, I’d say 40-50 people. Lots of wood with worn, red leather upholstery. They also have a random outside table that is tented in in the cooler months.
Yes, it’s in wine country so they have a great wine list, 600 bottles or so. Great range of Cali as well as new & old world selections. And being the Martini House, and realizing how damn literal some people can be, there’s also a great Martini list. And bonus – Sieta Leguas Reposado tequila and Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka!
We were here for lunch and brought a ravenous hunger. So we got right with it. We had the Mushroom Soup ($8), made with just picked (that’s what it tasted like) Morels, Porcini and Button shrooms. This soup was incredible. Creamy without having more than a touch of cream, the varieties of shrooms really came through. It didn’t taste like generic ‘mushroom’, it tasted like Morels, Porcinis and Buttons. Nice smooth texture as well.
Next, the Crab Spring Rolls ($9). I’ve decided I’ll take my crab in crab legs or crab cakes, thank you very much. Something about that meat, in a deep fried spring roll…it just hid the great taste and texture of the crab. We left one roll on the plate.
Beef Carpaccio
Then we had the Beef Carpaccio with Black Truffles ($15). Warning, we can be semi-Carpaccio bitches. The serving was slightly small, and there was too much friseé. Evil, throat-tickling roughage.
That said, the truffle was good although I think it was oil not shaved truffle, and the dish had this cool, crunchy little stuff shaken over the top. It ended up being micro-fried potatoes, which added a great little pop to the dish. Oh yeah! Doi, the beef: High quality Angus (guessing), sliced paper thin, very fresh, good but a little less tasteful than what we’ve had at Bicé in New York or even Scala’s in San Francisco.
We wrapped up the meal with the special Chicken Pot Pie ($14) which was excellent. Why? What makes a pot pie excellent? No, not pot, fool. I
Pot Pie like Mom (not mine, yours) used to make!
heard that. Well, here’s why: a) it looked good, just a great presentation 2) the crust was killer. Thin but robust enough to hold a hearty stew, and just slightly burnt here and there c) the innards. Nice chucks of nice moist white meat bird, tender chucks of carrots, spuds and celery with a yummy thick, hot gravy that just oozes out. Pardon the drool.
We washed it all down with..no not a Siete Leguas Margarita or even a Hangar One Lime & Soda on the Rocks but a couple glasses of Melanson Stone’s Throw Chardonnay. Whoa, chill! Yes, we had Chardonnay. Just seemed like a Chardonnay day, it paired well and Greg Melanson is a great guy who also happens to make a very good Chard. Or at least hire guys that make a damn good Chardonnay.
So I like this spot. Although a couple dished were so-so, the others were solid and the atmosphere is great. If you’re up that way give it a go! I’d go back in a flash.
VdV Rating: 3
Hours:
Sun-Sat:11a-10p
Martini House
1245 Spring Street (@ Oak)
St. Helena CA 94574
(707) 963.2233
