The beachy-fun Lazeaway Club at Santa Rosa’s revamped Flamingo Resort has a new chef at the helm.
Chris Ricketts, who helped launch several notable San Francisco restaurants and is an alumni of the Michelin-starred Lord Stanley, has taken the reins at the Cal-Pacific poolside eatery.
After heading culinary programs for Twitch and Pinterest, Ricketts was ready to return to his roots in fine dining. He already had a connection to the Flamingo, as a longtime friend of and chef for Flamingo owners Benson Wang and Anderson Pugash at their Dorian and Palm House restaurants in San Francisco.
The Lazeaway menu has seen a few changes under Ricketts, who has added a luxurious Seared Salmon ($32) with Shimeji mushrooms, roasted Brussels sprouts and a creamy broth of coconut milk and lemongrass; and Loco Moco, inspired by his visits to Hawaii, for brunch ($18). The carb-heavy dish features a ground beef patty atop a bed of coconut rice, over-easy egg, umami-loaded brown gravy and homemade chile crisp.
Ricketts also has updated the family-size bibimbap, a stone bowl filled with crisp coconut rice, grilled short ribs, kimchi, veggies, fried egg and a sweet gochujang sauce ($26).
Don’t miss the Scallion Pancakes ($14) with a trio of dips including avocado sesame, soy chile and the craveable pimento kim-cheese. The Ahi Poke ($18) also has received an upgrade, with sushi-grade tuna, a tart sesame ponzu sauce, pickled wakame, sweet onion and taro crisps.
Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; brunch 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and dinner starting at 5 p.m. daily. 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-545-8530, flamingoresort.com