The new Napa

<p>It's the talk.</p><p>The quirky celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto, one of TV's first Iron Chefs, is a man about town and his new Japanese restaurant, Morimoto Napa, is said to be a game-changer. Then there's the trendy Avia hotel and the hot new wine bar Carpe Diem.</p><p>Napa town is no longer a drive-by city but rather a bona fide destination, a place where people actually step out and explore. </p><p>“Morimoto is such a rock star and he chooses to be part of downtown Napa,” says vintner Amelia Morgan Ceja. “There's such dynamic electricity going on.”</p><p>Morimoto Napa has a sushi bar, a lounge and outdoor dining overlooking the popular river walk. This is Morimoto's first restaurant on the West Coast. (He has restaurants in New York City, Philadelphia, Florida and India.) </p><p>Morimoto is just one of the most recent arrivals, a pool of people who know Napa has the sex appeal to attract tourists — droves of them.</p><p>Ceja, of Napa's Ceja Vineyards, has been grooming Napa for a coming-out party for years.</p><p>“People thought we were crazy putting in all this investment, not knowing when downtown Napa was going to happen,” she says. “We actually began our tasting room in 2007, two years before Napa became hip. We just felt we should have a presence.”</p><p>Ceja is the first Mexican-American woman to head a New World winery and her tasting room in downtown Napa serves wine and salsa — salsa dancing, that is. “We offer salsa lessons every Saturday night,” she says. “It's really popular.”</p><p>A block down from the tasting room on First Street is Ceja's latest downtown venture: Bistro Sabor, which serves Latin American street food with dishes from $4 to $12.</p><p>Ceja's roots as a bold entrepreneur began early. She came to Napa at age 12 from a tiny Jalisco village and picked grapes and pruned vineyards, learning the wine industry from the ground up. Now the pre-teen with broken English has become a fluent power player in Napa. She's an insider, selling lots at Auction Napa Valley, one spiraling to $75,000 in 2005. And she's a high-profile tour guide with ample tasting advice.</p><p>“Did you know there are 19 tasting rooms within walking distance in downtown Napa?” she says. “That's the largest number of tasting rooms in the country.”</p><p>As for foodies, Ceja said Napa has become worldly, with downtown eats ranging from Thai to Italian to Vietnamese to French and everything in-between. </p><p>Chilled beet soup with coriander and cumin, topped with a golden beet puree, is served at Carpe Diem Wine Bar in downtown Napa.</p><p>New downtown gathering spots ... </p><p>The buzz — places that just opened or will open soon</p><p>Morimoto Napa, 610 Main Street, 707-252-1600, morimotonapa.com. Serving contemporary Japanese cuisine, the restaurant includes a sushi bar, a lounge and outdoor dining overlooking the river walk.</p><p>Carpe Diem wine bar, 1001 Second Street, 707-224-0800, carpediemwinebar.com. Carpe diem means “seize the day” in Latin, so seize it and sip away. The wine list is weighted to California offerings and dishes feature light fare, artisan cheeses, fish and chicken.</p><p>Avia Napa Hotel, 1450 First Street, 707-224-3900, Aviahotels.com. This hotel in the heart of downtown Napa is an ambassador to Wine Country, with concierge tips on the best places to go, eat and sip. It is close to tasting rooms and not far from the Oxbow Public Market.</p><p>Uptown Theatre, 1350 Third Street, 707-259-0123, uptowntheatrenapa.com. A young, then-unknown comic named Bob Hope performed his act for a week here in 1928, along with a host of others. In 1989 the theater fell into disrepair and in 1994 it was revived with a $15 million remodel. Today it's versatile, with four rooms for concerts, fundraisers, corporate parties and other special events. </p><p>Bistro Sabor, 1126 First Street, 707-252-0555, bistrosabor.com. This restaurant offers Latin American cuisine from $4 to $12. It emphasizes simple, authentic street food.</p><p>Oenotri, 1425 First Street, 707-252-1022, oenotri.com. This Italian restaurant focuses on specialties of Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. The menu features pizza, pasta and hand-crafted salumi. It imported a wood-fueled Acino oven from Naples, Italy, to bake authentic pizza Napoletana.</p><p>... And old favorites</p><p>Not to be missed – places that are not necessarily new but should find their way onto anyone's itinerary</p><p>Oxbow Public Market, 610 and 644 First Street, 707-226-6529, oxbowpublicmarket.com. A foodie's dream destination. Upscale eats include Kara's Cupcakes, Model Bakery, Oxbow Cheese Merchant and Kanaloa Seafood Market, among others. Scrumptuous gourmet goodies. </p><p>Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main Street, 707-226-7372, nvoh.org. The historic Opera House is an Italianate beauty built in 1879, and it brings in a variety of theater, as well as musical performances ranging from classical to pop.</p><p>Ubuntu, 1140 Main Street, 707-251-5656, ubuntunapa.com. This renowned vegetarian restaurant focuses on dishes based on biodynamically grown ingredients, drawn from its own garden and local farms. Ubuntu, in a nutshell, means “humanity toward others” and this is a place that encourages folks to nourish their spiritual side.</p><p>Shafer Vineyards, 6154 Silverado Trail, Napa, 707-944-2877, shafervineyards.com. This is a classic California ranch-style winery with the tasting room opening through French doors. Behind the winery is an 8,000-square-foot cave carved out of solid rock. Shafer's top Cab is the Hillside Select and it's typically brawny.</p><p>The Hess Collection, 4411 Redwood Road, Napa, 707-877-4377, hesscollection.com. The Hess Collection is both a winery and museum of modern art, with the most impressive art collection north of San Francisco. The museum features the works of Francis Bacon and Robert Motherwell. As for the winery, Hess concentrates on two varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.</p><p>Napa Valley Wine & Cigar, 161 Silverado Trail, Napa, 888-842-9463, napavalleywineandcigar.com. How about a full-flavored cigar to pair with your upscale Cab? This is the place to find both to savor later. You'll also find cult Cabs in the $700 range, highbrow stogies, and yes, humidors. </p><p>La Toque, 1314 McKinstry Street, 707-257-5157, Latoque.com. This très chic restaurant, located in Napa's Westin Hotel, serves contemporary French fare. The wine list is practically a book, put together by a very wine-savvy team. The service also gets high marks for being nimble.</p>