OT Review: Brunch @ Redd (Director's Cut)

As you should know by now, I took out both the 'R' & 'U' in my A to Z over the weekend by dining at Redd and Ubuntu. Nomnomnom!

REVIEW OF REDD AS POSTED ON OPENTABLE:

“Sunday Brunch at Redd is a perfect way to kick off a day of wine tasting in Napa. If the weather is nice, get there early and request an outside table as these tend to fill up quickly. I've consumed at least half the items on the menu and have rarely been disappointed by Chef Reddington's versions of classic American dishes. Dishes like Steak & Eggs, Huevos Rancheros, Hangtown Fry and Poached Eggs & Hash are elevated to haute cusine. My personal favorites are the Breakfast Pizza (a buttery crust with cheese baked in, topped with creme fraiche, perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs and prosciutto) and the made-to-order donut holes with 3 dipping sauces. They're rarely on the menu, but ask anyways - they've always come through. You won't regret it!”

Overall: 5 Stars.
Food: 5 Stars.
Ambiance: 4 Stars.
Service: 4 Stars.
Noise: 2 (Moderate)

THE DIRECTOR'S CUT/COMMENTARY:

I got most of what I wanted in, in, although there are two things I would have added. One, the sauces for the donut holes: Strawberry Jam, Cinnamon Sugar and Dulce de Leche. They are ALL quite good but, honestly, they don't even need them. The dozen piping hot donut balls are perfectly tasty as is. /drool

The second thing was edited out because of both space and the fact that I wanted to focus on Brunch (the meal I had been there for). But my Gentle Readers deserve to know this: If you have a small party and you're going there for dinner, DO NOT overlook the Tasting Menu. I know it's a bit odd that it won't have the courses listed, but DO NOT let that dissuade you. We went with The Meat Guy for the Tasting Menu and were each served a DIFFERENT dish for all five courses. Yes, that's 15 different dishes brought to the table. They were all, more-or-less, tasting portions of menu items so, by the end of the night, we had essentially tasted everything on the menu :D It also made for a bit of fun at the table. If The Meat Guy got something he didn't like, he'd simply trade with one of us and vice versa. It was kind of like grade school all over: I'll trade you my peanut butter and jelly sandwich for your pudding cup and grapes. It was also amusing because we had gotten there early and the dining room had yet to fill up and we could see Chef Reddington peering into the room to spy on us! I'm not sure if he was looking to see if we were happy with our dishes (which, of course, we were) or how far along we were in our progression, so he knew when to fire up the next trio but, regardless, it was very kewl to have the Chef poking his head around the corner all night :D Keep in mind, it seems unlikely this would happen if there had been four (or more) of us, so if you go with more people or later in the night when it's packed all bets are off on getting different dishes...

Seemingly, all and places in The Wine Country have excellent bars and outstanding wine lists. Redd is no exception. Cocktails are solid, if pricey and the wines by the glass list is large enough that it should have something for everybody (both in terms of varietals and price). I can't vouch for the sommelier one way or another...never used him :p

It c-a-n be a hard reservation to get, but, if you get shut out (or just want something a little more casual), there is a bar menu available that I've heard is quite good (although I've never eaten at the bar). Service tends to be solid, if not spectacular and can be “casually” paced which would be annoying if, say, you were trying to drive to Geyserville, hit some wineries in Alexander Valley and make it BACK to Napa for an early dinner reservation (although, in all seriousness, no real complaints here). The decor is okay, in an IKEA kind of way, but, as long as the weather is nice, outside seating is definitely the way to go - request it when making your reservations. Finally, the sinks in the loo are rather kewl. Seriously...go wash your hands. Have I ever let you down?

EXPANDED ZAGAT-STYLE RATINGS:

FOOD: 26
DECOR: 21
SERVICE: 23
PRICE: E