Legendary Guitar Maker Still Strumming in Sonoma

His birth name is Sam, though he won’t divulge his last name and wants the world to call him Fat Dog, a nickname given to him by his mother. He doesn’t want the exact location of his home and recording studio revealed, though it’s somewhere above Sonoma Valley. Fat Dog, 68, has never married, doesn’t […]

The Big Chill: New Rain Tunnel at Fairmont Sonoma

Regulars of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa’s Willow Stream Spa are familiar with the six-step “bathing ritual,” where guests take full advantage of the thermal mineral waters common in the area. An exfoliating shower, a soak in two mineral-water pools, and herbal steam and dry-sauna treatments are followed by one of several cool-down […]
Craving a chowder? Seaside Metal serves up superb seafood. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

Seaside Metal Serves Superb Seafood in Guerneville

To be technical, Seaside Metal debuted in Guerneville in March 2014. Yet in my mind, the luxury-minded seafood salon has been a real restaurant only since this past winter. That’s because the business, a much smaller sister to San Francisco’s Bar Crudo, opened for a while, then closed briefly, then opened for a stretch, then […]