CJ: Four stars for Napa River Grill

[Robin Garr]

The CJ review comes out a day early online, with four stars for Napa River Grill. What say you?

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/en ... /28403839/

I was quite impressed that she didn't fawn over the building, decorations or anything else, that seems to be quite common. She showed some love for the chef but they certainly deserve some respect. We haven't tried the new menu yet but she does make it sound interesting and it sounds like it's in keeping with what everyone expects from the restaurant. I certainly can't dispute the four star rating, I might only give it 3.5 stars but that's certainly not a big difference in the restaurant certainly deserve a high ranking. The four stars may be more due to the fact that she has given less deserving restaurants such high ratings she doesn't have a whole lot of space to score at the top.

The four stars may be more due to the fact that she has given less deserving restaurants such high ratings she doesn't have a whole lot of space to score at the top.

I think that makes great sense - "Olympic scoring," and she started too high in the early rounds. I can't imagine favorably rating Napa with the city's best restaurants.

[Robin Garr]

A group I'm involved with held a monthly conversation group at Napa for a couple of years, and they were always great to work with. We'd get drinks and nosh on apps or dinner, and it was excellent: Service superior, atmosphere attractive, prices high but fair. We only moved on because some of the people wanted someplace cheaper, and they occasionally had to oust us to the open space if they got paying customers for the rooms that they let us use for free. Anyway, point is, I know Napa well, like the folks and appreciate them for what they do. But heretofore it hasn't been a four-star place for me; more a very comfortable, likeable 3 1/2.

I don't know when the new chef came in, though, and of course that could have changed things.

I think a four-point (or even eight-point, if you count half stars) rating system is always going to lead to these kinds of arguments. There just isn't enough room to account for the range of good and bad, nor of the different kinds of good that can be expressed by different styles of restaurant. Robin's 100-point system is a lot better; even he mostly only uses the upper 20% of the range, that still leaves a lot more room to work with.

I don't know when the new chef came in, though, and of course that could have changed things. -Robin Garr

I was working there as a line cook when Chef Brian Curry took over in early 2013 after the sale to Junior Bridgeman. As I replied to his Facebook posting of the review, Brian has really worked hard to make that menu his own and proud to say I was a part of those early efforts. To my knowledge this is Napa's first review since Brian's promotion and regardless of how you feel about the CJ reviewer, Brian is doing some amazing things. Judge for yourself and go back regularly, they still change that menu at least twice a year.

Food and service very good. Not sure if it's quite four stars ? We go several times a month. Our only complaint is we wish the menu had some more "normal" items on it and selections that I can pronounce !