Henweigh Cafe
Northbay newcomers are putting final touches on the former Stella’s Cafe, which is set to reopen in early June as the Henweigh Cafe. Owner Dennis Kelly and fiancee Lois Nielsen are putting together a simple menu for sandwiches, burgers and panini for lunch and heartier pastas, ribs and steaks for dinner. They’re also planning to do Sunday brunch and a special fondue night during the week.
Located next to Mom’s Apple Pies on Gravenstein Highway, Kelly plans to keep prices affordable both for visitors along the Wine Trail to Forestville and Guerneville and locals. “We’re not a gourmet restaurant. This is a place for a family meal.”
Stay tuned for more details as opening approaches, or sign up on the restaurant’s website for news. www.henweighcafe.com
Pesto
Meanwhile, the iconic Alice’s Restaurant in Sebastopol has changed hands and is reopening as Pesto. Former owner, Alice Ferry will remain involved, behind the scenes with Jerri Luzania officially taking over the reigns. The restaurant will have a focus on local, sustainably harvested foods from a 30-mile radius of the restaurant, according to Ferry and change up frequently. True to its name, there are also plans to have up to seven different pestos on the menu. “We’re mixing flavor and healthy fun,” says Ferry. “We’re nuts about herbs.” 101 S Main St # A, Sebastopol, (707) 829-3212
Recently, Mrs. Vine Hill Chef dined at Pesto with a few of her friends and asked me to relate her experience. It went like this:
WARNING! Stay away! We made reservations for an early evening dinner on a weeknight. We waited for 1 hour beyond the time we arrived for our food to be served. My dish “The Special”, was not cooked. I ordered the salmon, not fish tar-tar! Lots of water refills came to us during our hour wait, but no bread was ever served to us while waiting for our orders to arrive. At no time was there any explanation for this unacceptable delay. The restaurant was not busy that evening…..it was like the the wait-staff was waiting for the chef to arrive from somewhere to prepare our dinner. I ended up leaving my uncooked salmon barely touched, and when it was cleared, there was no inquiry as to why I had not consumed it. My friends were able to eat their food, but all agreed it was less than a Ho Hum dining experience, and not one we would repeat or reccommend any time soon! Avoid this one at any cost!!!
Well, certainly the screen name got my attention, so I would love to ask about that, but would also like to thank you for the review. I was thinking about taking my wife there and do appreciate knowing in advance that apparently, gastronomically Pesto does not yet have their act together. Sounds like some waitstaf training might also be in order.
Jim Valinoti
After waiting for weeks for Pesto to open I finally had the chance to eat there Sunday afternoon. It exceeded my expectations. The food was amazing. Very fresh tasting. The presenation was beautiful. You can tell a lot of love goes into it! The staff was very friendly and personable. The kind of people that would remember your name when you return. My new favorite place. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for dinner. Yummmmmy
I’ve seen the menu at Henweigh Cafe and I can’t wait to sample the food plus knowing how much of a great cook Lois is I’m guaranteed my taste buds will be more than delighted.Plus I do enjoy my fondues.
I’ve been watching the progress at Henweigh as I drive by every day to and from work. Can’t wait to try it. Stella’s was always a favorite until Greg moved to Russian River Vineyards. It just never was the same, even with a great location like at the former Topolos. Corks has been a major disappointment. It will be nice to have a choice for a change in Forestville. It’s been either high end or low end with nothing in between. If they cook a good steak they’ll be a hit.