Ubuntu (Napa)

I thought I was a vegetarian until I had to be one. 

Well, for one meal really, because frankly, I was at a vegetarian restaurant.  Ubuntu is a much touted vegetarian restaurant in downtown Napa, that I'd visited over the summer.   Technically, Ubuntu is also a yoga studio, which is just adds another "wtf"-esque quality to the restaurant, in addition to the enigmatic name.  Alas, I have no comments for the yoga part of the establishment, as I was only there for dinner.  (And no, you cannot order yoga instructions on the side, or as a separate course.  Believe me, I tried.  Ok no I didn't.)

The restaurant is run by a husband/wife team.  The husband is the main chef while the wife is the pastry chef.  Judging by our satisfaction with the meal, I would say that the wife wears the pants in that relationship.  Although that is probably an unwarranted stretch just from the fact that we liked the desserts far more than the rest of the dinner.  

From left to right: polenta fries, corn grits, fried egg, pudding cake, corn flakes in sweet milk, chocolate ganache

One hiccup during the meal was when the waitress brought a different entree than the one that my friend had ordered.  We were pretty certain that my friend did not order a bowl of pureed orangeness but the waitress tried to convince us otherwise.  She could not, and it was awkward.  But in the end, Mindy got her corn grits and all was right with the world.  Except for my fried egg dish.  It was literally one hardboiled egg that was deep fried, surrounded by little scoops of potato salad.  It was interesting looking but did not exactly fill me up.  Also, it wasn't very flavorful, which was unfortunate.  Nevertheless, I was told that corn grits were actually pretty good and substantial.  

The desserts were very good, all three of them.  The chocolate dish was especially decadent thanks to the globs of ganache.   I almost couldn't eat all of it.  But with a little help, I was able to consume every last bit of sweetness.  I was also compelled by the need to fill the void in my stomach left by my actual dinner. 

I would say that Ubuntu is worth a visit.  Even if the entrees leave you wanting, at least it'll give you a good excuse to order dessert, which is not to be missed.