Biersch in Sebastopol

The Sebastopol spot that’s seen as many reincarnations as Shirley MacLaine is closing again. But fear not. It will reopen. According to the owners of the Sebastopol Brewing Company, they’ll be throwing in the towel on November 1 after two years at the downtown location. Going out with a bang, however, the Brewing Company will […]

Openings

Big openings Windsor’s new Pacific Rim restaurant, Chinois Asian Bistro (186 Windsor River, Windsor), has opened for dinner-only. The second restaurant for Ume’s Kelly Shu the menu pulls from Chinese, Japanese and other Asian influences. Also opening this week to a power outage, Mary’s Pizza Shack on Fourth St. in downtown Santa Rosa. The popular […]

Wicked Good

I like a good Tootsie Roll as much as the next ghoul. I pilfer mini Twix bars and Halloween peanut butter cups from my kids (it’s really for their own good). But I’d consider selling my soul for wicked treats like these… Death Becomes HerTake, for example, Mori Ex Cacao from Valerie Confections. These ultra-luxe […]

Red Grape

I didn’t mean to do it. Eat the entire pizza, that is. All twelve delightful inches. In my ongoing search for a killer pie, Sonoma’s Red Grape came onto my radar after several BiteClubbers mentioned it. Sadly I’ve always shied away from this off-square eatery in favor of the siren songs of slightly haute-er cuisine. […]

Worth her salt

There aren’t many seasonings who can claim to have changed the course of human history, built empires and motivated entire economies. In fact, there is only one: Salt. With its ability to preserve food almost indefinitely (a nice thing to have before the advent of refrigeration), salt has long been a commodity worth fighting and […]

Plagiarized platters?

UPDATE David Lin stopped by the offices of the Press Democrat today (10/11) to show BiteClub his newly redesigned menu. Chin has made a number of significant changes to the menu–deleting several dishes that also appear on Ume’s menu as well as reordering and renaming some dishes they continue to share. Chin asserts that many […]

Pizza Party

As a former resident of both New York and Chicago, I’ve purposely laid a bit low on the whole Wine Country pizza debate. For one thing, the definition of pizza ’round these parts is almost impossible to nail down. Is a salad on top of pizza crust a pizza? Is goat cheese and arugula? And, […]

Toyo Japanese Bistro

In a blue collar neighborhood better known for its furniture warehouses than its cuisine, Toyo Sushi Bar has just been added to an intriguing lineup of ethnic eateries along Piner Road including Red Rose (southern BBQ); Royal China (upscale Chinese) and El Sombrero #2 (dive tacos). Decidedly white-tablecloth, Toyo’s opening menu features yellowtail collar, quail […]