Press- St. Helena, California
As far as distinct Napa scenery, it doesn’t get any better than Press. The long line of open windows on the back wall let in the most amazing breeze and really give an outdoor feel to the plush inside setting. I really got the feeling of being on “vacation” while sitting at my table. We have been fans of Brian Flannery for some time now. Press just happens to feature Flannery Beef in their menu. Everyone likes their meat cooked a different way, but Flannery Beef is melt-in-your-mouth worthy at any temp.
As you may have read in previous postings, we have staple dishes that we enjoy at steakhouses. The chopped salad definitely made our order. A generous, but not overwhelming chopped salad made with little gem lettuce, roasted tomato croutons, and parmesan. A little salt and pepper on a salad goes a long way, and this salad was tangy and crisp with good flavor. We were very lucky on our visit, the evening’s special was a meat platter for two that included Prime New York Strip, Wagyu New York Strip, and Berkshire Pork. Press uses a cherry and almond wood-fired grill, which adds yet another layer of flavor to Flannery’s already jam-packed Prime beef. Others in our dinner party ordered the Prime Chopped Steak with Nueske bacon and sunny side up farm egg. It looked incredible when it came out. When there is an opportunity to consume creamy yellow yolk on a piece of beef, I will now take it! The cook on our meat was perfect. They do go heavy on the pepper on all their dishes though. I’m a fan of seasoning everything, but for whatever reason everyone at our table had a substantial amount of pepper on each dish. It was so pronounced that it interfered with not only the flavor of the actual beef, but at our age group, our heartburn. The pork had good flavor, but the Prime beef was my favorite on our dish. In fact, I probably ate more of Mike’s portion and he ate more of my Wagyu. Once again, everyone has their own preference when it comes to beef.
For side dishes, our table shared the the Truffle Mac & Cheese, sautéed creamed spinach, and the loaded mini baked potatoes. All were delicious, the creamed spinach especially for me, which can be hit or miss when it comes to blandness. This was savory and rich. The table decided to share a dessert and we chose the Chocolate Soufflé with cream fraiche. I could have easily just had the cream fraiche all to myself. The soufflé was textbook and pleased all of us.
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