Rough Times in Napa

It was a tough day in Napa yesterday at Chef Pickle's house, as you can see. But we all soldiered through, with the help of an excellent not-too-mineral rosé and a beautiful cherry-nosed pinot noir. We fought off the malnutrition endemic to Napa County with Pickle's fried chicken and mac-and-cheese and heirloom tomatoes. As you can see, the location does almost nothing to inspire creativity, what with those fruit trees and the lovely enclosed deck, plus, of course, Pickle herself, who knows so very little about gracious entertaining.

As for the traffic, well, let's say we weren't the only people on the road, and if there may have been a wrong turn which led to another wrong turn, we can safely say this was the first time we have ever made THIS particular set of wrong turns, instead of the OTHER, more customary wrong turns, so let's just chalk it all up to a learning experience.

As for the Great Plotnik, he could easily hang out in Pickle's backyard forever, or until next summer, whichever comes first.