The Napa Farmers Market opened for the season earlier this month and runs every Tuesday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (note new hours) through the end of October. Located in Oxbow's northeast parking lot, the Farmers Market offers locally-grown, farm-direct produce, gourmet food and handmade crafts. Click here for more information, including a list of vendors, workshops and special events. 

Tomorrow,Tuesday May 14, is $5 Fish Taco Day at C CASA in celebration of their third anniversary.

Also, throughout the month, C CASA is featuring three special trios: Tres Amigos, a trio of delicious appetizers, tres frutas, shrimp cocktail and guacamole and chips; a crab enchilada served with a field green salad dressing with Meyer lemon vinaigrette and a Mexican chocolate chunk cookie; and the corn edamame chili relleno plate served with a C Caesar salad and a slice of blueberry olive oil cake.

Kitchen Door hosts a special dinner featuring Firestone Walker Brewing Co. on Monday, May 20. Price is $70 per person all inclusive and reserations are necessary. Call or email Tim  at 707-226-1560 to reserve your spot. 

Union Jack, American IPA, 7.5% abv 70 IBU

805, Blonde Ale, 4.7% abv 20 IBU

Asparagus Salad in Phyllo

Smoked Ham Carpaccio, Honey Mustard Sauce

Double Barrel Ale, British Pale Ale, 5.0% abv 30 IBU

Pressed Chicken Thigh with Leek Vinaigrette

Grilled Ramps, Romesco Sauce

Velvet Merlin, Oatmeal Stout, 5.5% abv 27 IBU

Roast Duck Breast

Sweet Pea Puree, Red Onion Jam  

Pale 31, California Pale Ale, 4.9% abv 38 IBU

Butter Lettuce Strawberry & Button Mushroom Salad

Tarragon Vinaigrette

Walker's Reserve, Porter, 5.8% abv 45 IBU

Sticky Date Pudding

Butter Scotch Sauce, Sour Cream 

May is Celiac Awareness Month, but Pica Pica celebrates the gluten-free life  every day of the year. The core ingredients in Pica Pica's recipes -- plantains, corn, yuca and taro root are naturally gluten-free and Pica Pica's menu is one hundred percent gluten-free. To celebrate this month, Pica Pica is offering a special side of taro and plantain chips served with guasacaca sauce for $5, and to support awareness about celiac disease, Pica Pica will donate a percentage of its sales throughout the month to the Taylor Family Foundation to help children in the Bay Area who live with Celiac disease.

This Memorial Day, throw an oyster on the barbie! Hog Island selects the best Pacific medium-sized oysters, harvested and purchased direct from their network of trusted oyster farmers along the west coast. Pre-order the choicest, select oysters, perfect for grilling and pick up at Hog Island Oyster Bar. Call ahead to place your order; 707-251-8113, max four dozen per order/one order per person. 

The Kanaloa Seafood Market has everything you need for a fantastic Memorial Day BBQ! From halibut to shrimp, ahi tuna to albacore, lobster to scallops, Kanaloa sustainable seafood is perfect for the grill. Don't forget Kanaloa's all natural grilling planks and gourmet marinades! Drop in and let their friendly associates help you make your selection.

BBQ season is here and what better way to get started than by preparing the meat beforehand with rubs to amp up the taste of your food. Whole Spice offers several gourmet blends to choose from including BBQ spice rub, a sassy hot blend of chile powder, cumin and other seasonings; Bruce Aidell's beef rub, perfect for adding a robust and earthy flavor to steaks, ribs and pork chops; and chipotle honey, which adds a spicy and subtle sweetness to ribs, chicken, tenderloin and more. Apply a liberal amount of the rub directly onto the meat up to 24 hours before cooking so the blend can penetrate the meat, then cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Apply a second coat of rub just before grilling or roasting or use as a marinade. Marinades and rubs can make tough cuts of meat juicy and tender and spike up the taste of vegetables.

CELEBRATE ROSÉ   

What could be better than a glass of dry, cold Rosé as summer approaches? Rosé is also the perfect match for Hog Island Oyster Bar's rustic seafood stew made with mussels, Hog Island Manila clams and fresh fish, surrounded with a spicy herb-tomato broth and served with grilled levain toast. Cheers to the season!

Ca' Momi is rolling out new menu items with beautiful organic spring produce, including the return of the Caprese salad that simply screams summer! The sandwich version -- the Caprese panini -- is also available daily until 4 p.m. Pizza Lardo, a rosemary sprinkled pizza with lardo di colonnata and rosemary (no mozzarella) is new. Pizza Lardo has no dairy, and as are all pizzas at Ca' Momi, is available with a gluten-free crust.  

ROAST BEEF SANDWICH         

With a new chef at the helm, Five Dot Ranch keeps adding new, tasty sandwiches to the menu. The roast beef sandwich has local arugula, smoked provolone cheese, walnuts and fresh, grated horseradish on Model Bakery sourdough bread.  Also this week, Five Dot is running a special --  braised beef cheek sandwich with caramelized onions and a fried egg on crusty pain de campagne bread.

FRESHLY-BAKED FRUIT PIES  

When summer approaches, our thoughts turn to many things, and one of them is...pie! What could be better to polish off a family BBQ, or any al fresco meal with family and friends, than a slice of homemade pie goodness? The Model Bakery is busy making all sorts of delicious pies, including strawberry rhubarb and peach blackberry, among others. Stop by the bakery, pick up a fresh baked pie and treat your friends and family at your next get-together.

SAUCES, CARAMEL APPLES...    

Anette of Anette's Chocolates is always up to something. Here she has just finished a truffle and sauce demonstration in her downtown kitchen... blueberry dark chocolate truffles rolled in candied hazelnuts...she is deep in thought, moving on to step two...chocolate Cabernet sauce, which she drizzles over cheesecake with fresh strawberries -- a simple dessert you can do easily make at home (and Anette's has over 12 sauces to choose from). Anette is also excited about apples...salted caramel, candied almond in chocolate, jumbo pecan/chocolate, and of course, the fabulous simple, pure caramel delight. Anette will add more flavors over the summer, so be sure to let her know what you like.

The tea of the week at Tillerman Tea is Zhu Ye Qing (Green Bamboo), which is grown on the slopes of the famous Emei Mountains in Sichuan Province. Famous for their bold spicy foods, Sichuan also produces green teas that are the perfect pair for these robust flavors. Harvesting and selecting tea shoots that look like bamboo leaves, the leaves are sorted so that they are almost all the same shape and size. The nutty grassy aromas blend perfectly with the slightly smoky flavors of this green tea. If you like green teas with a little more body, this is the perfect green tea for you. This week only, the Green Bamboo is $27.55, regularly $34.95 -- that's a 20% savings.