Peter Lowell’s

Despite the construction dust, cardboard-covered floors and heady smell of fresh paint, things are cooking at the forthcoming Peter Lowell’s Café in Sebastopol. Not so much the hearth-baked pizzas or braised rapini planned for their late-September opening; not the minestrone or fresh bagels listed on the first menu; not even a hint of dandelion greens. […]

Bistro Don Giovanni

This isn’t a story about Ubuntu. But it starts there, on a very hot, very sticky Napa afternoon not so long ago–in fact last Friday. The story opens with BiteClub standing a the dark, all but empty restaurant wondering…um…exactly what happened to the breakfast and lunch service scheduled to start last week. No dice. Maybe […]

Simply Vietnam | Santa Rosa

Simply Vietnam in Santa Rosa: Great pho, bbq pork sprig rolls and lemongrass beef are tops

New eats in town

Fire it upToques off to the fall crew of the Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Café, which re-opened on Wednesday. With their every move on display in the open teaching kitchen and fishbowl bakery, the heat is on these eager chefs-to-be from day one. The debut menu includes a variety of seasonal dishes–from spiced carrot […]

Chinese Chowdown

Chinese food needs a good agent these days. After years as the reigning exotic starlet of the American palate, she’s really let herself go–appearing regularly in freezer sections and mall fast food courts. She’s licensed her name to abominations like orange chicken (which tastes like neither) and spongey egg rolls and tasteless fried rice studded […]

Shangri-La

After a rather horrifying incident with yak butter tea a few years ago, I pretty much swore off any further experiences with Tibetan food. Yak can do that to a person. A recent shout-out by a BiteClubber over my noticeable lack of Indian coverage, however, prompted me to take another look at Shangri-La, a Himalayan […]

Ubuntu opens

Napa’s long-awaited new restaurant and yoga studio, Ubuntu, officially opened last Thursday. Curious crowds packed into the restored 19th century building to get a glimpse, quickly overwhelming the kitchen. In fact, BiteClub couldn’t find a single morsel to be nibble on, leaving the opening party hungry and well-jostled. The menu will lean heavily on the […]

Na Thong

Located in the hinterlands of south Santa Rosa Avenue, Na Thong is too good a secret not to let BiteClubbers in on. Sandwiched between a coffee/BBQ shop and a tattoo parlor in, er, a rather colorful part of town the month-old restaurant is serving up some solid Laotian and Thai cuisine to those intrepid enough […]

Favorite Summer Eats

Tomatoes. Fresh peaches. Corn on the cob. Pretty much anything on the grill. What are your favorite summer foods? You know, the stuff you dream about all winter. The stuff you buy in bulk when August hits. From insalata Caprese to peach pie and potato salad, tell BiteClub what you’re jonesin’ for. And, don’t forget […]