Having had success as the chef at Tra Vigne before he moved onto projects like the website NapaStyle, a Food Network television show, Consorzio Oils and his own vineyard, Michael Chiarello decided it was time to open this Italian restaurant down the street from the French Laundry. While it exhibits all the indicia of a place that takes advantage of tourists, some reviewers applaud the "wine-friendly take on Italian cuisine" that features "great pastas" like papardelle with veal, pork and porcini Bolognese, along with many different types of grilled and wood-roasted meats. But others dismiss Chiarello's return to restaurateuring, muttering about "bused-in tourists who are attracted to the flame of the chef's TV fame like moths."