Bird and The Bottle Restaurant Opens in Santa Rosa

In case you haven’t heard the shrieks of joy from your food-obsessed friends, Mark and Terri Stark have finally (finally) opened their sixth restaurant in Sonoma County, Bird and The Bottle. It wasn’t without some labor pains, which included everything from permitting and ABC challenges to managing the $1.5 million renovation. But like any parent, the pain is soon forgotten when that bouncing baby turns out to be pretty perfect. I’ll be writing more about the menu and the whole story behind what Mark is lovingly calling his “Jew-rean” menu in the coming weeks, but here’s the 411 on what you need to know if you go:

– The menu is a mashup of Jewish comfort food, Southern classics (fried chicken, Gulf shrimp, buttermilk biscuits with pimento cheese) and a punch of Korean on the side. That means dishes like cheesy grits with maitake mushrooms, cured egg and spicy schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), $10, kimchee latkes ($10) or matzoh ball ramen ($10). Somehow it all works.
– The cocktail menu is equally inspired, with hard teas, drinking vinegars paired with vodka, bourbon and tequila, or giant cocktail shakers with drinks for the table
– Schmears are a great snack or lunch item, with chicken liver mousse, smoked black cod or barbecued bone marrow served with pumpernickel rye ($10-14)
– The name refers to a saucy double entendre describing late-night pleasures of pre-World War I young men about town—“hot bird and a cold bottle”. We’ll let you guess which was the saucy dish and which was the champagne.
– A $20,000 indoor wood-fired grill is the kitchen centerpiece, with live fire grilling of fish, breads, veggies and of course heartier meats. A commercial smoker gives duck and fish perfect flavor.