By Amy Reiley
Over the Holidays, I stopped in Oxbow Public Market to pick up some goodies for my family and that short visit got me very fired up about the upcoming Truffle Festival.
Oxbow is the location of the Truffle Festival Marketplace on Monday, January 16. Its also one of my favorite spots in Napa. The Public Market was developed by one of the masterminds behind San Francisco’s divine Ferry Building. A true celebration of both the town and valley of Napa, the Oxbow concept is to offer the highest quality of local, sustainable foods in an atmosphere that’s reflective of its environment. The management at Oxbow is cooperative, helping to bring merchants, farmers and the community at large closer.
Oxbow’s merchants are a mouthwatering collective of chocolatiers, butchers, bakers, vintners, chefs and grocers. I have tasted the goods of about half of the market’s stalls so far and have never tasted a single bite that was less than sublime, (truly!)
For the Truffle Marketplace, purveyors will be pulling out all the stops to show off for guests with truffle-laced riches. C Casa, one of my favorite dining stalls, will be making truffle egg tacos. In addition to offering a cooking demo, The Kitchen Door will prepare a salad with pickled walnuts, persimmon and truffle vinaigrette. Model Bakery will offer fresh baked bread filled with truffles. Annettes, which makes some of the most pure of flavor, well-balanced chocolate confections I’ve ever tasted will showcase truffles of the melt-in-your-mouth variety. Oxbow Cheese Merchants will showcase truffle-laced cheeses. Fatted Calf will do truffled pate. Eight wineries will be in attendance to pour their best truffle-pairing wines. I’ve only scratched the surface of the day’s activities but you can see how it makes the perfect introduction to Oxbow, or a decadent day off for those who are already fans. (You can find full details at http://napatrufflefestival.com/marketplace/.)
Tickets to the Truffle Marketplace are the Truffle Festival’s bargain at only $25 for the culinary experience of $40 for the full experience including wines. Tickets are still available at http://napatrufflefestival.eventbrite.com/.
