The Wine Spectator at Greystone Restaurant- A visit to my Alma mater West Coast

OK...Keep in mind you visiting a working kitchen staffed by students. Highly trained professionals to mentor and teach the students also supervise the Restaurant. Now if this was a medical school I'm not sure how it would work, I would not recommend Harvard Medical use this model.

With that said... my experience was unbelievable!!!

Napa Valley has more than its fair share of great culinary destinations but if you're looking for something different from your typical 4 star restaurant, I'd recommend checking out Greystone, which is located on the campus of the Culinary Institute of America and as such, the restaurant features student chefs in an open kitchen honing up on their technique and presentation of their impressive dishes.


We landed in SFO late. We had hoped to hit a couple of wineries Gary Vanerchuck recommended. But as it turned out we arrived in Napa around 3:00 instead of 11:am. We were beat. So we headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn at American Canyon. PERFECT. It was reasonable and just down the road from Napa. So.. we took a nap and headed to Gravestone @ the CIA.

First of all, it's a beautiful location with stone walls and high ceilings. The food itself is very well prepared. The dishes we had were incredible and cooked to perfection!!!

I give this 5 stars although since I'm an alum I’m slightly bias.

We made reservations for 6:30. When we arrive we were greeted by a student chef who seated us in a nice location

We were served by 2 students and there mentor.

Here what we had; We split the entree and they were happy to do it!

BEEF & PEAR CARPACCIO arugula, shaved pecorino, super premium olive oil

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP pomegranate seeds, pomegranate‐balsamic molasses

TODAY’S TEMPTATIONS A variety of small bites prepared by our chef to be shared by all at the table

GARDEN VEGETABLE RISOTTO

peas, mushrooms, squash, green beans, house‐made ricotta cheese

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The Wine Spectator at Greystone

2555 Main Street

St. Helena, CA 94525

Phone: 707-967-1010

St. Helena, CA

wsgr@culinary.edu