Dines Out for October: Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen #WGDO

This month's featured restaurant for Dines Out is Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen. This casual wine bar/bistro offers a wide range of delicious salads, pasta, and wood-fired pizza and meats. The first Napa Flats was opened in College Station, but they now have locations in San Antonio and Tulsa, Oklahoma -- with an Austin location opening soon! Michael and I recently visited the San Antonio location to try some of Napa Flats' signature menu items, and we were very impressed with the casual vibe and the delicious food. We arrived and were warmly greeted and given menus to look over. There were so many menu items that caught our attention that it was hard to decide what we wanted to try! We opted to start with a duo of cocktails and two shared appetizers. I had the Napa Flats White Sangria, while Michael enjoyed their Strawberry Sunrise. The refreshing sangria was flavored with sweet moscato, mango rum, peach Schnapps, and orange juice -- it was fruity, with the perfect amount of sweetness. The Strawberry Sunrise featured strawberries, Effen Black Cherry Vodka, lemonade, and a splash of Sprite for a bit of fizz. If you're a strawberry lover, this one's a must!

To go with our cocktails, we shared the Palo Alto Dip and the unique Wood-Fired Avocado. The addictive dip is served warm with toasted flatbread, and it's flavored with cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, parmesan, and herbs. The avocado appetizer featured grilled avocados filled with chimichuri sauce and served on a bed of corn salsa. I adore avocados, so this creative appetizer knocked my socks off! Just about that time, a wood-fired pizza and a duo of their creative salads arrived at our table.

The Carnivore pizza is perfect for meat lovers and comes topped with steak, meatballs, pepperoni, and proscuitto. It was cooked to perfection in Napa Flats' wood-burning oven, and the toppings were so tasty. Our duo of healthy salads included the Chopped Kale and the Arugula Beet Salad. Both were crisp and freshly made, topped with a variety of cheeses and fruits. The menu also said that any of the salads on the Napa Flats' menu can be made into an entree salad by adding wood-fired chicken breast or shrimp. We opted to try two different entrees from the menu: one wood-fire grilled fish and one decadent pasta dish.

I ordered the light and healthy Red Fish Tropicale plate which featured a nice portion of red fish grilled over oak and pecan wood -- it was lightly smoky and so moist! It was served with corn salsa, tomatoes, and avocado. Healthy never tasted so good! Michael ordered Tony's Bow Tie Pasta, which featured wood-fired chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, prosciutto, and red onions in a creamy alfredo sauce. To take it over the top, he asked the kitchen to add a few shrimp to his dish. It was richly decadent...and so flavorful!

We were feeling pretty stuffed by then, so we decided to share one of Napa Flats' decadent house-made desserts. The Banana Crumble features sliced bananas cooked in a rich brown sugar-orange sauce, then topped with an oat crumble. After being baked, it comes to the table topped with a scoop of house-made vanilla gelato and a drizzle of salted caramel. If you love Bananas Foster, you'll definitely want to order this dessert!

For those guests who prefer to take their dessert home to enjoy later, Napa Flats offers a variety of its house-made desserts -- and their delicious, authentic gelato -- to go. In fact, they also have a convenient walk-up gelato window outside of the restaurant for gelato lovers to pick up a cooling treat on-the-go.

Napa Flats Wood-Fired Grill's San Antonio location is at 1604 and Blanco Road, facing the feeder road. It's a great place to grab cocktails and shareable appetizers with friends. It also has a laid-back atmosphere that's perfect for a fun and romantic date night.

Disclosure: Napa Flats provided with a complimentary dinner tasting to facilitate this feature. All opinions expressed are solely my own. All photographs are copyrighted by Michael K. Garcia; they may not be copied or otherwise used without prior permission.

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