Cindy is chef-owner Cindy Pawlcyn, of Mustards Grill fame. The Backstreet is St. Helena’s Railroad Avenue, a quiet one-block lane that runs parallel to - you guessed it - railroad tracks. Railroad imagery is prevalent on the restaurant’s signs and business cards. A pumpkin, asparagus spears and a mushroom have all been known to hitch a ride on the C.P. Railway. From the dining room, there’s even a view of the Napa Valley Wine Train, which traverses the valley. Wine and locomotives: a winning combination.

The fence separating Cindy’s from neighboring restaurant Terra is in the shape of corn stalks, only more yellow, part of Cindy’s whimsy.

Across from the staircase to the second floor is this shelf of chicken-focused farmhouse kitsch.

Before chicken and waffles became a popular Los Angeles combination, Lutherans were matching poultry with batter. Judging from the low cost, I’m guessing this sign is from days of yore.

If there’s pig memorabilia at a restaurant, a photo of it WILL end up on Food GPS.

Oyster Pablo ($2.75) is named for executive chef Pablo Jacinto and sold by the mollusk. The oyster is served on the half-shell with garlic, spinach, and tequila parmesan aioli. The flavor was good, but I got a mouthful of shell. Cindy needs to upgrade her shucker.

This beautiful Classic Cobb ($15.25) featured vivid rows of Hobb’s smoked chicken, bacon and cherry tomatoes, plus chunks of avocado and blue cheese.

Laura Chenel goat cheese ravioli ($10.95) featured three ethereal ravioli, practically bursting with creamy goat cheese, plus scallions and a bath of Gaeta olive sauce, plus parmesan. Terrific.

“Cindy’s Favorite” is the spice-rubbed quail ($21.95), paired with sweet peppers (red, orange and yellow), salty hacks of prosciutto, Pedro Ximenez sherry & salsa verde, plus croutons that beautifully soaked up the piquant sauce.

To drink, fresh-squeezed limeade ($3) was good, but no match for the “No Heat-O” ($3), a virgin mojito containing fresh-squeezed lime juice, fresh mint leaves, sugar cane syrup and soda water.

For dessert, we split a warm blueberry & ricotta bread pudding ($8.50) with orange cardamom sauce and a dish of unpictured chantilly cream on the side. The pudding could have been a little warmer, but the flavor was excellent. Plus, the textural contrast was nice: crispy on top and velvety inside.

Cindy’s Mexican-tinged café is just as hearty as Mustards Grill, with similarly vivid flavors. If anything, it’s even more fun to dine at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. Everywhere I turned, I discovered another fun decoration. More importantly, almost every dish I tasted was a winner. Unfortunately, there were so many intriguing dishes on the menu, I didn’t get a chance to try every promising plate. Fortunately, I can always return for the Chinatown duck burger with housemade shiitake ketchup.

This entry is filed under American, California, Northern California.