Brandon Sharp, Calistoga, California

This cute chef is known for his elegant cuisine at Solbar in captivating Calistoga, Calif. Prior to Solbar, Sharp cooked at some of Northern California’s finest restaurants, serving as sous chef at the five-star Gary Danko in San Francisco and as chef de cuisine at Restaurant August, a New Orleans culinary institution. He also worked alongside Thomas Keller at Napa Valley’s world-renowned French Laundry. If you’re planning a Cali getaway anytime soon, be sure to check out his gorgeous, Michelin-starred restaurant.

Date-night dinner: A good steak seared perfectly, a crisp fresh salad with seasonal produce, some warm bread, cheese, and a bottle of red Burgundy. Simple and elegant—the perfect dinner to woo any lady.

Favorite way to sweat: Training for a triathlon. I’m on my feet all day in the kitchen so variety is necessary. What better way to achieve that than swimming, running, and cycling in one session?

Food splurge: Bloody Mary and a French dip at Rutherford Grill. Napa is synonymous with wines but never underestimate the power of a Bloody Mary.

From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip
Solage Calistoga's Solbar Restaurant
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? At Solage Calistoga’s Solbar restaurant, there is no doubt that Lily’s Eggs came first. In fact, Lily’s Eggs are so popular in this Napa Valley town that they have their own Facebook Fan page, as does Solage Calistoga.

Chef Brandon Sharp invited me to dine at Solbar as a guest of the resort and boy, howdy was I impressed. This is not your lackluster typical hotel restaurant. In fact, Solbar is so hot it was recently awarded one star from the Michelin guide.

The Solbar menu is divided in half with the left side offering healthy, lighter dishes, while the right side offers hearty cuisine that lets you forget you are dining at a spa-centered, wine country resort.

While I sometimes think of healthy dining as lacking in flavor and substance, this was not the case at Solbar. The fall squash veloute was a flavorful soup accented with sage leaves and granny smith apples. The thin crusted mushroom and gruyere pizza, topped with maitake mushrooms and caramelized onions made a nice starter. You could easily make a meal, as I did, of several first course dishes at Solbar.

house-made ricotta agnolotti at Solbar
If you appreciate house-made pasta, order the ricotta agnolotti served with wild mushrooms and two-year-old parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Trust me; you will not be disappointed. So what’s up with a crispy poached Lily Egg, served alongside frisee, bacon lardons, minced local herbs and topped with a bacon vinaigrette? This is a hand sell item from the wait staff, but once you try it, you’ll be back for seconds of this all organic, local rock star. Just try it!

Sous Chef Gustavo Rios was in the kitchen the night that I dined at Solbar. Rumor has it that Executive Chef Brandon Sharp works to support his staff and lets their special plates shine through. Chef Sharp is so modest that his name doesn’t even appear on the menu. His creative touches shine through in the pasilla chile rubbed pork cheek tacos with lime and cream fraiche. Even the picky eater in the group will enjoy the sliders, stacked with bacon, cheddar and onions on a fresh baked pain au lait bun.

While I didn’t get around to sampling the Lucky Pig house special; a slow-roasted shoulder of long and bailey duroc pork, served with black sesame crepes, pickled pineapple, mongolian peanuts and lettuce cups, I did save room for dessert.

Right in step with the holiday season, try the Spice Cake with caramelized apple, poached quince and house-made caramel sauce. Chocolate lovers will fall hard for the Valrhona Chocolate Marquise with a salted almond creme anglaise. For those of you who have tried the house made donuts at Carneros Inn’s Boon Fly Cafe, order the Solbar donuts – they are sinfully addicting.

Solbar at Solage Calistoga (707) 226-0850
755 Silverado Trail, Calistoga, CA 94515

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http://solagecalistoga.com/