Restaurant Review - Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen

The scene: St Helena, California. This is a back alley diner, as only St Helena can do it. Because by “back alley” I mean adorable ranch house style diner with enough tables and booths to accommodate a lot of folks. On a beautiful day, the little outdoor patio is just splendid, but the interior is quaint and comfortable, with large booths for bigger groups. Warning: the bathroom is the only thing about this place that is small. Only two stalls, so be prepared to wait.

The meal: This place had a menu that mixed comfort with cutting edge. I did some entrée splitting with a friend, so I got to sample a number of things. I started with a grape and fennel gazpacho, then had half of the duck burger with shitake mushroom “ketchup”, and an adult grilled cheese that had bacon and apricot jam on it, with polenta fries. So, let’s get to the details!

The gazpacho was just fantastic. It was green, which made it a bit different from your normal gazpacho. The initial taste wasn’t all that different from a tomato based gazpacho, but was followed by the taste of the fennel, and finished with a serious spicy bite courtesy of some jalapeno. Fabulous! I loved the layers of flavors. It was the special, so you’re not likely to see it again, but apparently they do gazpacho on a regular basis.

On to the duck burger! This was a fun twist. I generally love a good quacker, so I decided to go for it, even though I had no idea what a duck burger would be like. And, really, what the heck is shitake mushroom “ketchup”?! Well, turns out that shitake mushroom ketchup results in a caramelized glaze that tastes a bit like teriyaki. It has a certain sweetness to it. The duck burger was pretty delicious, but it was a little dry. I don’t know if this was because they overcooked it, or if it was just the natural differences in duck versus beef. But I still enjoyed the duck burger.

Finally, the adult grilled cheese. It had some fancy shmancy cheese on it, that was in the gruyere family. So, white and full of flavor. The bacon was a nice touch, although I should have ordered it extra crispy. And that apricot jam was just superb, tart and sweet. It paired with the savory sandwich so nicely.

The service: Meeeh so-so. They brought me a shrimp BLT, rather than my grilled cheese, and then it took a while to get the grilled cheese. The restaurant was busy because it was a Saturday at noon, so I’ll cut them a little slack. But it was hard to get the waitress’ attention. So, really, it was just so-so.

The price: A little pricey for a simple lunch. But you’re in Napa! So live a little. The sandwiches were anywhere between $11 and $15, and that delicious little cup of gazpacho was a mere $4.50. And worth every penny, I’ll tell you!

The highlights: That gazpacho. Delicious!

Final thoughts: Worth a lunch time visit.