Napa Eats And Secret Menus: A Foodie Detour

Food shapes the way we remember a trip, and Napa proved it. We invited Denise to unpack her bucket list getaway through a different lens: how a small-portion, selective eater can still eat wonderfully in a destination famous for indulgence. From Italian comfort to Mediterranean hospitality and two bakery heavyweights, this conversation maps a realistic, satisfying path through Napa’s food scene without forcing yourself into a three-course script.

We start with Restaurante Allegria’s chicken parm and the joy of capturing meals in photos—because sometimes the memory is half the flavor. Tarla adds warmth with family-run energy and Mediterranean plates that balance richness and freshness. Then we hit the bakery trail: Model Bakery’s cult “English muffins” that skip the nooks and crannies for pillowy, sandwich-ready goodness, and Bouchon’s bread and pastry perfection that travels well and fuels a day of tastings. Along the way, Denise shares practical strategies: check menus on Google before committing, don’t feel obliged to join every appetizer-entrée-dessert parade, and be honest with friends about what works for you.

We also road-test hype. The group tried In N Out for the novelty and secret menu, but for a non–fast food eater, the grilled cheese landed as more curiosity than comfort, and the fries didn’t win over the table. The takeaway is simple: trends are optional, taste is personal. What counts is building a trip that fits your appetite, budget, and mood. If you’re planning Napa or Sonoma and want real-world restaurant recommendations, bakery musts, and tips for stress-free group meals, this conversation gives you a clear, friendly guide.

Subscribe for more travel-smart, flavor-forward episodes, share with a friend who’s Napa-bound, and leave a quick review to tell us your favorite bite from the road.

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Chapters

• 0:03 Welcome And Napa Food Focus
• 0:46 Standout Restaurants In Napa
• 3:09 Bakeries Worth The Hype
• 4:59 Tips For Picky Or Light Eaters
• 5:18 Trip Memories And Photo Overflow
• 7:22 The In N Out Experiment
• 10:23 Wrap Up And Where To Listen

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:03

Hello guys, welcome in. We just wanted to chat with Denise real quick. She just got back from her bucket list trip to Napa Valley. And I specifically wanted to ask her about some of the restaurants because I personally am a big foodie. So I wanted to get her opinion on some of the restaurants that she ate at. So tell us about the food, Denise.

SPEAKER_01: 0:24

All right. Well, so as you may or may not know, I am I'm not, I so I don't want to say I'm not a foodie because I like good food. I just don't eat large portions of food. So people do that. I eat like a bird, and that's why they, you know, they all go in on these appetizers, meals, desserts, and stuff. And I'm over here just eating my one little portion of something. But what I will say is Restaurante Allegria we went to, it's Italian, right in Napa. I got the chicken parm. It was amazing. They had great, and I took pictures of every I love so even though I don't eat a ton of food, I take pictures of everything I can find, right? So I have so many foodie pictures that I can add into our rotation of all the different ones we went to. We also went to Tarla, which was a Mediterranean. That was beautiful. It had gorgeous drop lights and it was family run. And I loved how they were so like, how are you doing tonight? You know, everybody was so, so, so we didn't take away the Turkish almonds. I kind of regret that, but they the girls did get Turkish coffee, and and I'll tell you something about that that they don't tell you. Which is it's it's it's it's kind of like there no, there's a lot that settles on the bottom, and you're not supposed to, even if you have cream in it, you're not supposed to mix it up because then you muddle up all of the sediment that's at the bottom, so they they strain it, and then it's kind of like a muddy bottom. So even if you have cream, you gotta stick to the top, you know what I'm saying? That's a little like lightly swirl on the top of it. Okay, good to know. But they had amazing desserts there too, and then we did go to Los Agaves one night, their food was good too, and you can't go wrong with Mexican food, there's a lot of sales for everybody. So I'm I always I am known as the picky eater of the group, and I was able to find something there as well. So, yeah, those were some of my favorite restaurants that we went out to, and uh what was great was the last night because we had to head up for San Francisco early a. One of our friends had an early flight, and the rest of us had an afternoon flight, not calling anybody out, but we just all got ass cracking on. It ended up being fine, seriously. But with the last night, we either had the leftovers or a few people went out and just got some random people because random food because we were all packing and getting ready to to head out the next day. But those were uh and the model bakery was for the for the English muffins. I think it was on Oprah's list. Oh yeah, you told me about those things. Okay, but they don't have nooks and crannies, they just look they almost look like my mom's yeast rolls, but in a kind of like an English muffin form, and they're delicious. I mean, and they do sandwiches on them. You can get like eggs and spinach and avocado, and they make sandwiches out of they had amazing bakery stuff, so so good. Really, I would definitely say if you're in Napa, go to model bakery. Whether you want to get an English muffin, that's not really an English muffin.

SPEAKER_00: 3:52

Or if you want to get no nooks and crannies.

SPEAKER_01: 3:56

There's no nooks and crannies, but it's all delicious and tastes like my mom's peace roll. But amazing bakery goods, amazing, and Bhushan, where we went, also had amazing bread and bakery stuff. So that's another bakery that I would definitely recommend if you go to Napla, check it out. Fresh breads, pictures. I have so many pictures. We have over a thousand pictures coming into our specs. So when I called a friend yesterday, they're like, You're home? I don't see any pictures on Facebook. And I'm like, Because I haven't been able to go through give me a minute, give me a hot minute to just like go through these and get some organization. But it was an amazing trip. I will never ever forget this trip. And I would recommend Napa Sonoma to anybody.

SPEAKER_00: 4:45

I love that. I love that. So I will ask real quick because I know again, I mean, I don't say I won't say you're a picky eater. We all like what we like, but I do know that before you went, you were kind of looking, doing a little bit of research. So, what types of tips could you give to someone else who might be the more picky eater or the smaller portion eater of the group when they're traveling?

SPEAKER_01: 5:09

Well, so one cool place that we had not even put on our radar, there is actually a culinary institute right in downtown Napa. And we got to go to their restaurant, and it was amazing. And I wasn't expecting to go there, but they're like, so I would just say if you're a small portion eater, maybe go out on your own. Don't go in on the big ticket if you because because it's expensive. Nap is expensive. Okay. Um, if you're a picky eater and you don't eat a lot, I would just say kind of go out on your own. And but the good thing about my friends is even though they all shared their food, if there was something that looked really good to me, I would be like, Can I have a bite of that? You know, because we're all best friends. And of course, I would be like, of course you can have a bite of that. And I would share any of my food with anybody as well. So I would just say, but I didn't do the appetizer and the meal and the dessert. And I don't, I'm not really a dessert person.

unknown: 6:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 6:14

There was a there was a really yummy, and that was at model bakery too. There was a really yummy, it was kind of like a brownie, but it had caramel inside it, and then it had walnuts. It reminded me of my Grammy Curtis, and we all caught that, and I did grab a little nugget of that. I'm not really a dessert person, but they said this is for the group, and I was part of the group, and I was like, hell yeah. And it just felt good. It reminded me of my Grammy Curtis. So that was lovely, lovely, lovely.

SPEAKER_00: 6:47

Amazing, amazing. I love that. I love that. Well, thank you so much for sharing about all the amazing food in Napa Valley with this foodie. So I hope you guys got some really awesome tips and tricks from her. One other thing I will say, you know, because I even do this too. If you are picky about what you're going to eat or you're unsure about the restaurant, feel free to use Google guys. Check out the menu, look at it ahead of time. And if it's something that you're like, there's nothing on this menu that I want to eat. Don't be afraid to tell your friends or the group you're traveling with, like, hey, listen, I would like to be able to eat and enjoy it on this trip. Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 7:22

So And one thing I will say, and I might lose fans here. One of the first things we did when we got there is one of our friends really wanted to check out In N Out Burger. It's like known for California. It's like a fast food restaurant. I'm not, I don't do fast food restaurants. That's just not in my wheelhouse. So, but I was like, you know what? This is me. This is just me.

SPEAKER_00: 7:47

It's a California thing, though.

SPEAKER_01: 7:50

So, so there's a secret menu. Google it. There's certain things on the secret menu, and it's really a burger and fries joint. And people that there's no chicken, there's no salads. This is really outside my wheelhouse. But that's okay. That's okay. I was willing to. So on the secret menu, there's a grilled cheese sandwich. And you know what that is, guys? It's a hamburger bun with lettuce, tomato. They do raw onions or grilled onions. I opted for no onions, and a little bit of shredded cheese on the hamburger bun. That is their grilled cheese.

SPEAKER_00: 8:31

Is it hot? Like is a cheese? So it's a cold cheese, lettuce, tomato sandwich.

SPEAKER_01: 8:37

It was interesting. It was interesting. I got the lettuce and it's a tomato. My cheese wasn't fully melted, and I opted for no raw onions or grilled onions. Okay. And my understanding is the other thing is I think people think it's healthier because they do cook their fries in sunflower oil. I don't eat fries, but my friends that did eat fries said they were not good. So I don't know if people eat or they get used to them. In N Out Burger was not my jam. And that's all I have to say about that.

SPEAKER_00: 9:14

Okay. Well, that is definitely a West Coast and kind of a southern thing because I definitely saw it in Texas, which I was a little surprised to see it in Texas. I didn't know it made it that far across, but it is definitely a West Coast thing. And it can be an acquired taste. I know what you mean about the fries, they definitely taste different. I don't have a big problem with it.

SPEAKER_01: 9:33

And I have no, I have no horse in the race here because I don't eat fries anyway. So don't come after me about their sunflower cooked fries because I don't eat fries. So if that's what you think is the best thing about In N Out Burger, I'm sorry. I can't relate because I didn't even try one. But my friends said they weren't all that. Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 9:53

Okay. It's it's definitely, you know, to each their own. To each their own. But I'm glad you guys at least went because it is definitely a West Coast kind of southern thing. Check, check, yeah, they're not everywhere. Yeah, they're not everywhere. So it's good that you guys at least got to go. And now you know. And you know about the secret menu because I didn't know about the secret menu, and I was in the secret menu. Yeah. So good to know. See, we all learned something new today. So love that. Well, thank you so, so much again for sharing about all your restaurants. If you guys want to hear the full episode, make sure to head to our YouTube channel, over to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and check out Suitcase Divas.

SPEAKER_01: 10:32

See you guys later.

SPEAKER_00: 10:36

We're gonna redo that because I'm just okay. Oh my gosh. Nobody's ever gonna hear it. Oh my gosh. Okay. I could also just cut it off afterwards. I'm gonna do some editing. I'm just gonna do some editing. It's fine.