Ubuntu is one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants.  In fact, I can happily remove the “vegetarian” from that sentence and leave it unqualified: Ubuntu is one of my favorite restaurants, full stop.  I think it might be all in their approach.  Rather than ask the question “how can we replace meat in these dishes?” Chef Jeremy Fox instead asks “How can we properly highlight the vegetables in this dish?”  The result are outstanding.

Eli and I enjoyed a day trip to Napa, and took the opportunity to grab lunch at Ubuntu. Since it was the weekend, there was no reason not to start out with a beer.  They keep a rotating supply of Napa Smith beers on tap.  Today it was their Pilsner – crisp, clean, with a slight bitter bite, it is a classic Czech pils that was a perfect compliment to rich food to come.

We started with the soup, which was dramatically poured table side.

The soup was described as “Cool Watermelon & Lemongrass Soup, thickened with bread ‘Whipped’ coconut milk, sweet herbs, basil seed ‘caviar’” Post-modern quotes and winks run rampant on the menu, but no matter – the soup was phenomenal. Cool, refreshing, the flavors blending nicely but each identifiable.  The “caviar” was buried under the soup when poured, but then reemerged in each bite, adding a bit of texture to an otherwise silky smooth soup.

The chickpea fries were one of two dishes we ordered that we had already had.  The crisp outer fry shell hides a almost hummus like interior, dotted with fresh herbs.

Next came the house specialty “Cauliflower in cast iron pot, roast-puree-raw, housemade vadouvan, delfino cilantro, brown butter toast”

We had this dish the last time we visited, but were too full (in a vegetarian restaurant!) to finish it.  This time we were ready, and were treated to a great combination of textures and flavors.  The hint of curry is a natural pairing for the cauliflower, but the layers of different cooking methods are what give this dish such a reputation.

Last, we had the daily pizza.  Today’s garden bounty had yielded a “Pizzetta with spring leek puree, hand pulled mozzarella, little farm’s potato, leek tops and meyer lemon” The kitchen staff was friendly and accommodating enough to let me poke my camera in to see how they were made.

We ordered ours topped with an egg.

The obligatory up-skirt shot:

For a decidedly non-pizza place, this is a mighty fine pie.  The shaved meyer lemon zest on top brought a great citrus kick.  The individual components were all well cooked and balanced – the result of the pizzas being pulled from the heat and topped during the process, leading to each ingredient getting the right amount of time next to the flame.

We packed up two left over slices, and called it a day (For the record – their pizza is great cold for breakfast too.)  I continue to be just in awe of Ubuntu.  Their dedication to raising humble ingredients through careful preparation – and often, home gardening, results in dishes that turn even the most dedicated carnivore into an Ubuntu convert.

PS: it really is a yoga studio!

Tags: napa, ubuntu, vegetarian

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 5:51 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.