The sign says it all – Sorry, everything is delicious!
Cindy Pawlcyn threw a party last night for 800 friends and her best customers to celebrate the 25 years that she has operated Mustards Grill.
It should have been the other way around; WE should have thrown the party for Cindy, because SHE is the one who has made our lives so rich, so wonderful, so full of taste.
Mustards Grill chef and owner, Cindy Pawlcyn. For the record, the James Beard Award-winning cookbook author also co-created many other Bay-area legendary eateries, including Fog City Diner, Bix, Roti, Tra Vigne, and Buckeye Roadhouse.
I have long argued that Mustards Grill may be “the best neighborhood restaurant in the United States.”
For one thing, it has consistently served perfectly grilled meats and other tasty dishes for 25 years. In the restaurant trade, consistency is the hobgoblin that operators try to wrestle to the ground. Cindy has consistency locked in a full nelson, tied in knots, and has stood victorious over it for 25 years.
Cindy’s pulled pork, for example, is the best example of this classic sandwich on this side of the Ozarks, and maybe the other side, too.
Her hanger steak is, quite simply, the most flavorful and fun steak served in Napa Valley.
And her Mongolian Pork Chop – well, don’t get me started. The sign out front, describing this dish, which has never come off the menu since it was introduced in 1986, says it succinctly: “Almost a Million Sold.”
Those who would disagree with my statement, that “Mustards Grill may be the best neighborhood restaurant in the country,” would probably, at the very least, concur that it is one of our nation’s most important restaurants, in the same way that Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, CA, is critical in a gastro-cultural sort of way.
Alice is all about organic fare, sustainable gardening, know-thy-supplier and such; Cindy supports many of the same ideals and has mastered, if not created, what has become known as the California Grill Kitchen. As far as I am concerned, Cindy put California grill cookery on our country’s culinary map.
So last night, to celebrate the 9,082 days that she has opened her doors (and that’s a lot of swinging action on those doors…), thrown hard wood onto the house smoker, and brought smiles to many of us, Cindy Pawlcyn threw a humdinger of a party. In spirit, it was warmer than a late harvest, Indian summer.
Some 38 local wineries poured their wines at outdoor stations set up in the organic garden beside the restaurant. (These gardens produce about 20 percent of all the herbs, salad greens and vegetables consumed at the restaurant.)
Talk about a “garden party!” Cindy’s 25th birthday bash was thrown in the organic garden adjacent the restaurant. Amid haricots verts and beds of lush green herbs, guests sipped killer reds, sparkling whites and quaffed legendary ales.
At other stations, Cindy’s talented cooks and waitstaff served highlights from her 25-year menu; there were sliders (miniature burgers in tiny buns), barbequed pork served with Cindy’s compelling OOOEEE! sauce, succulent baby back ribs and XXL-sized Hog Island oysters.
The wine highlight was a 27-year-old Robert Mondavi Reserve, brought to the party by Michael Oullette, who had once been a general manager at Mustards and who left to start up his fun-named Zinfandel called Blockheadia.
Wineman and former Mustards G.M., Michael Oullette, pours the 1981 Mondavi Reserve Cab, which he brought to the party. Only in Napa Valley does BYOB mean Bring Your Own Bomb – a six-liter bottle!
“I wanted to celebrate the memory of Bob Mondavi (who died several weeks ago), so I brought this bottle, which Bob had given me in 1995,” explained Michael. And what a bottle! Six liters of ethereal juice! The 1981 wine tasted fresh, was well fruited, and wasn’t pale at the rim, or tired. Thanks for sharing, Michael! What a pity Bob wasn’t on hand for the event; he would have had such a good time, having had so many wonderful dinners and wines at Mustards Grill.
As good a customer as Bob may have been, Carol and I probably top his attendance record at Mustards. Over 25 years, I have personally dined here more than 500 times. I think the “odometer” on the hostess’ computer program, which keeps track of guest’s visits, has gone around several times with my reservations, reaching a number that computer programmers never figured anyone at Mustards Grill would reach. It’s a bit like an old Mercedes hitting the 1 million mile mark, causing the odometer to rotate through to 000,001 and start counting miles from scratch, all over again.
Behind every successful man, they say, is a successful woman. The reverse appears to be true at Mustards and at Cindy’s two other Napa Valley properties, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Go Fish. At these establishments, very capable, very talented and very dedicated, men run the kitchen under Cindy’s direction.
Erasto Jacinto and his brother Pablo, the executive chefs of Mustards Grill and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen respectively. They started as dish washers with Cindy and worked their way up to run the kitchens of the two restaurants.
Erasto Jacinto started as a dish washer at Mustards in 1986 and worked his way up to become head chef; his brother, Pablo, took the same route and wound up head chef at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. Three of the most talented chefs in the country help keep Cindy’s fish restaurant, Go Fish, in St. Helena, on even keel, too. In this group I include Sean Knight, Victor Scargle and Ken Tominaga.
Cindy, Emiko Tominaga, wife of Ken Tominaga who is Cindy’s partner in the fish restaurant Go Fish, and Chaco, the oatmeal-colored miniature Poodle.
Cindy had a radiance about her last night that was nearly palpable. She is recently newly married, her three restaurants are full most nights, and she has reached an age and level of achievement that enable her to look back and highlight her best creations. Any one of these reasons would have given Cindy cause to be radiant, but there might also have been this element at work: she was surrounded by 1,200 of her closest friends, allies, supporters and co-workers and they were on hand to celebrate HER. And by my reasoning, they did her proud.
If you have never eaten at Mustards Grill – you must do so at least once in a lifetime. If, on the other hand, you are a regular, you have a long way to go to catch up to me for most memorable meals enjoyed here; I stopped counting at 500 visits. But hope springs eternal and you can always try… call 707-944-2424 for a reservation.
Mustards Grill is at 7399 St. Helena Highway, north of Madison St., the main road off the highway into Yountville.
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