“It’s open to anyone to flip the script when it comes to planning your wedding, but it’s certainly easier when you’re a queer couple, because there is no script,” says Lily Alberts, who married Aleah Wattenberg last July at Pythian House Cottage, a secluded, wildflower-filled sanctuary in the hills east of Santa Rosa.
“We felt really freed from the traditional aspects and able to ask, ‘What of this is important to us?’” she explains. Their outdoor wedding was a grand coming together of friends and family, with plenty of heartfelt speeches and a huge dance party at the end. It was also a return to roots for Wattenberg, who grew up in Petaluma.
“People always say, ‘Oh your wedding will be the best day of your life,’” Wattenberg says. “And going into it, we were thinking, ‘I’m sure it will be great, but is that really true?’ And honestly, it felt like the best weekend of our lives so far.”
Photo by Melissa ErgoPhoto by Melissa ErgoPhoto by Melissa ErgoPhoto by Melissa ErgoPhoto by Melissa Ergo
Resources
Photographer: Melissa Ergo
Wedding Planner and Catering: Stephanie Brown, Off the Beaten Path Weddings
Lo Fong Tong with pork ribs and winter melon from chef Adrian Chang. (John Burgess/Sonoma Magazine)
Rich and meaty or delicately brothy and loaded with veggies – one of these four warming soups, each created especially for us by a top Sonoma chef, is just the thing to gather around on a chilly winter afternoon. As steam rises and aromas fill your kitchen, you’ll know you’re ladling up something wonderful. It’s true: a simple bowl of homemade soup can be powerful medicine.
Kelly Mariani, culinary director/co-owner of Scribe Winery, right, and chef Kirsten Watley prepare their Vegetarian Escarole and White Bean Soup in the Scribe Kitchen, Sonoma. (John Burgess/Press Democrat)
The Chefs: Kelly Mariani and Kirsten Watley
For Kirsten Watley and Kelly Mariani, who lead the culinary program at Scribe Winery in Sonoma, extensive on-site organic gardens are a constant source of inspiration, providing hefty helpings of bitter greens and aromatics to layer flavor into this earthy, comforting dish.
Mariani and Watley say good-quality dried beans—they prefer ones from Iacopi Farms or Rancho Gordo—are key to the recipe’s success. Served with grilled bread, a drizzle of Scribe olive oil, and a glass of the estate Pinot Noir, the soup becomes a reason for the two friends to slow down and savor the season.
“We’re a working farm, so for much of the year, we’re going, going, going,” says Mariani. “It’s nice to have this moment of pause, before the vines kick up and start going back to work.”
2 heads escarole, washed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 small rind Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper and Scribe olive oil for garnishing
Vegetarian Escarole and White Bean Soup from chef Kelly Mariani, culinary director/co-owner of Scribe Winery and chef Kirsten Watley November 29, 2022. (John Burgess/Press Democrat)
The day before you want to make the soup, place the dried beans in 6 cups of water and allow to soak overnight at room temperature.
The next day, add the beans and their soaking liquid to a 4-quart pot. Add more water if necessary to fully submerge the beans.
Bring to a boil and skim off any foam. Turn the heat down to low, drizzle in the olive oil, and add the onion, garlic, sage, and bay leaves. Simmer for one hour.
When the beans begin to soften, add a few pinches of salt and continue cooking until the beans are completely soft and the skin no longer feels tough. Turn off the heat and remove the onion, garlic, and herbs from the pot. Set aside the beans and their cooking liquid. For the soup, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven on low-to-medium heat. Sauté the onion, fennel, celery, leek, and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the sage, rosemary, chile flakes, and tomato paste and cook for one minute.
Add the beans and their cooking liquid to the pot. Smash a handful or two of the cooked beans to give the broth texture. Add 4 more cups of water and the Parmesan rind and bring the soup to a simmer.
Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add the escarole and simmer for one minute until tender. Ladle the soup into bowls and finish with freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of fresh olive oil.
Chef Adrian Chang in his west county kitchen . (John Burgess/Sonoma Magazine)
The Chef: Adrian Chang
Food writer Adrian Chang and his husband, Chris Lewis, live among the redwoods outside Occidental and together run Morihouse, a business offering cooking classes and Asian pop-up food events.
Chang’s recipe for Lo Foh Tong, or “Old Fire Soup,” originated 3,500 years ago in the Guangdong province of southern China, where it is known to strengthen the immune system and improve digestion.
In winter, when chilly fog and mist linger in the hills around the couple’s home, Chang and Lewis enjoy the recipe’s warming ginger-scented broth and meaty pork ribs. The optional addition of traditional Chinese herbs like dried astragalus (huang qi) and jujubes (da zhao), which can be purchased online or at Chinese markets, boost the broth’s medicinal properties. If winter melon is difficult to find, swap it for the large white daikon radish.
• 1 ½ lbs. bone-in pork short ribs, cut into 1-2 rib chunks
• 1 lb. winter melon or daikon radish
• 1 oz. fresh ginger, sliced and crushed with the back of your knife
• ¼ tsp. whole black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp. dried astragalus (optional)
• 2 whole jujubes (optional)
• 1 ½ tsp. sea salt
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 bunch watercress
• 6 oz. dried ramen noodles (two packages, flavor packet discarded) or 12 oz. fresh ramen noodles
Lo Fong Tong with pork ribs and winter melon from chef Adrian Chang. (John Burgess/Sonoma Magazine)Chef Adrian Chang drains and separates the cooked noodles for his Lo Fong Tong with pork ribs and winter melon in his west county kitchen. (John Burgess/Sonoma Magazine)
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the ribs and cook for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Rinse the blanched ribs under cold water, which helps keep the broth clear, and drain.
Place the ribs in a pot with ginger, peppercorns, and astragalus. Cover with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat, cover, and simmer gently for about 90 minutes.
Peel the winter melon by slicing it widthwise into 1.5-inch thick discs, then cutting the tough green outer skin of each disc, leaving the white inner flesh.
Scoop out the spongy pith and seeds with a spoon and discard, then chop the flesh into 1.5-inch cubes. (If using daikon instead, simply peel and cube.)
Add the jujubes and the cubed winter melon or daikon and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. The winter melon will turn translucent as it cooks.
Cook the dried noodles in boiling water until al dente, about 2-3 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Stir the sea salt into the soup, sprinkle with half of the chopped green onions, and remove from heat.
Divide the noodles equally between serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles and top with pork ribs, winter melon, green onion, and watercress.
Kina Chavez, owner of Kina’s Kitchen & Bar, makes Posole Verde with Chicken in her Sonoma home. (John Burgess/Press Democrat)
The Chef: Kina Chavez
“This is one of the main soups Mexican mothers make,” says Kina Chavez, owner of Kina’s Kitchen and Picazo Kichen and Bar in Sonoma. Traditional pozole comes in red, green, and white varieties, often different regional variations which correspond to the colors of the Mexican flag.
Chavez grew up eating her mother’s red pozole with pork, but when she was visiting Jalisco, she fell in love with this pozole verde, made with chicken. “I’m a big green sauce girl—I really like the tartness of the tomatillos,” she says.
Her two young boys, Mac and Sal, ages 8 and 6, look forward to this comforting dish as an easy weeknight family meal. “The soup really hits the spot, and you can smell the aromas as it cooks,” she says. “I often make it in bulk and reheat it throughout the week—it’s liquid gold for us.”
• 2-3 jalapeño peppers • 1 large white onion, diced
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 oz. apple cider vinegar
• Additional sea salt to taste
Slow-Cooker Pozole Verde from chef Kina Chavez. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
In a blender, combine chicken broth, tomatillos, poblano peppers, jalapeño peppers, garlic, onion, fresh cilantro, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, and 4 cups water.
Blend until smooth. You may have to blend the ingredients in two or more batches.
Preheat a crock pot to high. Add the mixture from the blender to the crockpot, then add chicken thighs and hominy. Slow-cook on high heat for 3 hours or on low heat for 6 hours.
About 45 minutes before the soup is finished, taste the broth and add a bit more water or salt if needed. The broth should remain watery.
Using tongs, remove the cooked chicken thighs, shred the meat, and return it to the pot. Garnish with cilantro, avocado, cabbage, and radish, and serve with chips or tostadas and lime.
Chef Chad Holmes sells his chili and soup’s at various Sonoma County farmers markets under the banner Chad’s Soup Shack. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
The Chef: Chad Holmes
Each week, Chad Holmes of Chad’s Soup Shack simmers up to 10 different small-batch soups and chilis for farmers markets in Petaluma and Santa Rosa. For this satisfying winter chili, the chef, a former bartender who grew up in Colorado cooking for his younger sisters, likes to braise beef short ribs in red wine and homemade beef stock. “That makes them super-tender and melts the fat really nicely, so they just fall apart when it’s done,” Holmes explains.
He also adds his secret weapon—a puree made from dried California, guajillo and chipotle peppers. “I don’t use chili powder,” he says. “I toast and then deseed and rehydrate the peppers. That gives a real, fresh flavor.” The result is complex and layered, best enjoyed with a thick hunk of cornbread. “I make all my soups super-hearty,” Holmes says. “You can eat them with a fork. If I have a little extra, I pour them on nachos or a baked potato.”
• 1 2-oz. package dried California chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut or torn into pieces
• 1 2-oz. package dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into pieces
• 2 dried chipotle peppers, stemmed and seeded
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 6 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 tbsp. freshly ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 cup beef broth
• Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste
Short Rib Chili with Anaheim, pasilla and chipotle peppers from chef Chad Holmes of Chad’s Soup Shack. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sprinkle short ribs with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a soft boil with the California, guajillo, and chipotle chiles. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the chiles are tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the entire mixture to a blender and puree until smooth.
Heat a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup olive oil, and sear the short ribs on all sides. Remove the ribs and set aside in a bowl.
Add the garlic, onion and bell peppers to the drippings in the pot and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pot. Add the cumin and oregano. Stir in the chile puree and beef broth and add back in the browned short ribs and their juice. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, then cover and remove from the stove. Place the pot in the oven and braise until the ribs are tender, about 2½ to 3 hours.
Remove the chili from the oven and spoon off any fat that has risen to the surface. Using tongs, remove the ribs from the pot, transfer to a cutting board, and chop into small cubes. Add the chopped rib meat back to the chili. On the stove, bring the chili to a low simmer and add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Serve hot with cornbread.
Fresh oysters from Oystera in Todos Santos Mexico. (Heather Irwin/The Press Democrat)
Farm to table isn’t a meaningless motto in Baja California Sur. It’s a requirement for a growing number of Mexican restaurateurs and chefs.
This under-explored region has an almost year-round growing season and ocean bounty from the Sea of Cortez. As sustainable ranching practices grow here, conservation has come to the forefront of the area’s increasingly sophisticated food movement.
If you’re unfamiliar with the southernmost region of this Mexican peninsula, you’re not alone. Other than Cabo San Lucas (home to Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina and tequila empire), it’s mostly, blissfully, under the radar as a destination for expats, Mexican nationals and outdoor enthusiasts.
I spent a week this month eating my way through Los Cabos (not to be confused with Cabo San Lucas, a tourist trap to be avoided), Todo Santos and La Paz. Here, I bring you some of the best bets, and disappointments, along the way.
Don’t miss
Flora Farms, Los Cabos: More than 100 varieties of heirloom vegetables and herbs grow at this 25-acre farm founded by Bay Area expats Gloria (raised in Sonoma) and Patrick Greene.
The couple moved to Los Cabos in the early 1990s, long before it was a tourist destination. Over the years, they painstakingly built a sustainable food wonderland where tomatoes, eggplant and pineapple grow eight months of the year. Much of the produce is incorporated into the menu of Flora’s Field Kitchen, a seasonally inspired eatery with a wood-fired grill.
Don’t miss dishes like their Lentil and Roasted Carrots with wood-fired carrots, soft black lentils, creamy feta and pomegranate seeds; Lemon Beet Hummus Flatbread studded with edible flowers; and their fire-kissed pizzas. Bloody Marys topped with a vegetable garden of kale, pickled beans, carrots, beets and a crisp chicharron are stunners. But the Wild Hibiscus Margarita stole my heart. Easily one of the Top 10 meals of my life. flora-farms.com
Lemon Beet Hummus Flatbread at Flora’s Field Kitchen in Los Cabos. (Heather Irwin/The Press Democrat)Lentil and carrot salad at Flora’s Field Kitchen in Los Cabos. (Heather Irwin/The Press Democrat)Bacon and tomato pizza at Flora’s Field Kitchen in Los Cabos. (Heather Irwin/The Press Democrat)
Oystera, Todos Santos: The exterior of this “historic” palace may be faux, but the oysters and bubbly are anything but. The outdoor patio is a perfect place to try local oysters or the region’s famous chocolate clams (named for the brown shell, not the candy). oystera-ts.com
Agricole, Pescadero: This tiny gourmet grocer has don’t-miss to-go snacks like chile-sprinkled tortilla chips, strawberry frescas (strawberries with cream), jalapeño cheese spread and dried vegetables for dipping. The bakery features mostly European pastries like croissants, macarons and bread. There’s an excellent selection of wines and a small restaurant attached, as well as a picnic area. facebook.com/AgricoleCooperativa
La Chascas de Maria, La Paz: The only thing they do here is corn, but this is corn with a bit of heaven on top. This eloteria, a place that serves the Mexican street food, serves cups of corn topped with crema, cheese, salsa and your choice of bacon, bone marrow or chapulines (pan-fried grasshoppers; trust me, they’re tasty). Go with the tostielote, a bag of Tostitos split open and covered with all the corny goodness described above. It’s super cheap and delicious. las-chascas-de-maria.negocio.site
Mc-Fisher, La Paz: This super casual taqueria is dedicated to seafood and is required on any visit to La Paz. Go for the shredded manta ray, grilled fish and fried fish, each about $2 a piece.
La Lupita, Los Cabos: This casual eatery is always jam-packed for good reason. Blue corn tortillas are made while you watch, the mezcal flows like water and you’ll be tempted to try everything. Go for the cheese crust pastor (a taco made of grilled cheese), pibil suckling pig and duck with black mole. Reservations required. lalupitatym.com
Tostielotes at La Chascas de Maria in La Paz. (Heather Irwin/The Press Democrat)
Pretty good
Acre, Los Cabos: This magical resort is hidden in a perfectly groomed jungle. Spotless walkways lead to treehouse guest rooms and a luxurious terrace restaurant (there’s also an animal rescue, where you can play with puppies). The food isn’t quite as good as the restaurant’s perfectly curated tropical design, but it’s still worth checking out for well-crafted cocktails and an appetizer snack.
Skip
Jazamango, Todos Santos: I wanted to love this tucked-away restaurant from celebrated Mexican chef Javier Plascencia, but the food just didn’t match up with the American prices. Often, the more restaurants a chef opens (six for Plascencia), the lower the quality. Maybe I was there on an off day, but for your money, I say you’re better off elsewhere. jazamango.mx
Nim, La Paz: The menu of “international fusion” dishes was just confusing and disjointed. Chicken with mole seemed like an easy win but ended up being entirely uninspired. The rest of the table had similar experiences, ranking it “meh,” at best. nimrestaurante.com
It was a moment of pure, unadulterated joy as Cassidy Blackwell and Adam Kahn exchanged their vows on the bank of a pond at the Sebastopol blueberry farm where they make their home. The couple chose Loving Day for their wedding, a day that marks the historic Supreme Court ruling that legalized interracial marriage in every state.
Their ceremony, which was led by a dear friend and incorporated Jewish and African American traditions, ended with a procession along a path of weeping willow trees to a picnic-style reception.
Photo by Elton AndersonPhoto by Elton Anderson
Along the way, their guests tied wishes to the branches of the trees for the couple to read later. “After so many years and months of waiting, it just made it all so much sweeter to be able to create these super-intentional moments of connection,” says Blackwell. “And to host it here on the farm, to embrace this new chapter of our lives here in Sonoma County, was incredible.”
Click through the above gallery for photos from the wedding.
Flat Iron Steak Frites at Underwood Bar and Bistro in Graton. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
Finding steak on a menu isn’t hard. Finding a great steak, however, is a quest.
The secret to a great steak is letting it just be a steak. It doesn’t need heavy sauces or time-consuming preparation. How you grill it at home is pretty much how it’s cooked in a restaurant. No major mystery.
What makes it worth heading out for New York strip, ribeye, porterhouse or filet mignon is the right sourcing and technique.
Restaurants can get special cuts from their trusted purveyors that may be dry-aged, sourced locally or from other countries, like Japan. Chefs also know how to get that perfect char on the outside and delicate pinkness all the way through. For home cooks, it’s often a toss up between raw and well-done, racing just to get the steak on the table — warm. A grocery store sirloin in dad’s hands just isn’t going to be the same as it is at a top-notch restaurant.
So, we’ve come up with some great spots in Sonoma County that make that steak worth the price tag — from ultra-luxe to weeknight splurge. Click through the gallery above for details.
Chef Joshua Smookler at his Animo restaurant in Sonoma. (Kim Carroll/For Sonoma Magazine)
“There’s something magical about open fire, and the theater of it captivates people,” says chef Joshua Smookler, who opened Animo restaurant in Sonoma last year with his wife, Heidy He. “It’s so visual. Humans gravitate towards it, and especially when the weather drops, it makes you feel so snug when you see it in a kitchen.”
Fire imparts unmatchable flavors and tenderness and textures that conventional equipment can’t always bring. “This is the most natural way of cooking, getting back to the roots of primitive man,” Smookler says.
“And I do think the food does come out better over open fire. It’s really not just the wood flavor, either. The heat is different. It’s alive.”
Hundreds of craggy, golden logs—a mix of peach, cherry, apple, almond, and other handwoods—are stacked up outside Smookler and He’s restaurant. Inside, a Spanish Mibrasa parrilla grill, stacked with even more wood, dominates the tiny open kitchen. There, at the shiny stainless-steel monster, you’ll see Smookler taming the flames to blister the pearlescent skin on a sweet, mild whole turbot flatfish imported from Spain and coax a delicious hint of bitter earth from charred sugar snap peas finished in yuzu sesame salt. It’s dishes like these that recently earned the restaurant a spot on Esquire magazine’s nationwide top new restaurants list.
Lamb roasted over a live fire with shiso, nori, and housemade ssamjang at chef Joshua Smookler’s Animo. (Kim Carroll/For Sonoma Magazine)
Inspired by Basque fishing villages where open-air grilling is a way of life, Smookler is fascinated by the complicated dance that keeps the fire going. “It’s always changing, because is the wood too dry or too wet, too soft wood or too hard? It means the temperature can fluctuate wildly—some days it gets really, really hot, and some days it’s not hot enough.”
Honing in further on the details, Smookler says the burning embers that fall from the main firebox between the grates are key. They’re more controllable than the flame and impart clean flavors instead of blanketing food in smokiness. “If you have a great product like delicate fish or dry-aged beef, you don’t want it to taste like smoke,” he explains. “We’re not trying to mask the flavor. We want to enhance it.”
And now that Smookler has mastered the challenging art of the flame, he’s found a personal Zen. “The things that we cook, they talk to you and tell you their stories, if you’re very observant,” he says. “You can see what’s happening as they transform, you can feel, smell, and hear, and it becomes a very meditative experience.”
Portuguese cuisine from an Italian oven
Not far from Animo, just off downtown Sonoma’s main plaza, Manuel Azevedo’s LaSalette Restaurant serves Portuguese cuisine in an Italian-made Mugnaini oven adorned in custom brown tiles hand-painted by a Sonoma artist with designs of rabbits, game birds, pigs, and venison. The look, Azevedo explains, reminds him of grandparents cooking over a pot on a wood stove, with sausages hanging to smoke above.
As one of Wine Country’s first open-fire concepts, Azevedo had to teach himself how to use the oven. “I learned I had to get this thing piping hot, around 800 to 900 degrees,” he says. “It cooks from below and above at the same time, and for seafood, it’s amazing.”
Azevedo leaves much of the art of the fire to his skilled lead chef, Francisco Flores, who has been with the restaurant for 18 years. It’s thrilling to watch Flores work the oven, zipping skillets and platters in and out, rapid-fire basting sea bass in butter and garlic and roasting whole branzino to a perfectly caramelized brown skin. Sous vide octopus, served on a bed of sweet onion puree and fried potatoes, gets a quick sear for superb chew, while the paella-like Arroz á la Valenciana gains a bit of crisp crackle for its mix of linguiça, chicken, shellfish, and saffron rice.
Fire power in Geyserville
Flames also take center stage at rustic Diavola in Geyserville, where a red plastered, wood-burning oven anchors the partially open kitchen. The soot-stained beast is topped by a growling, tusked, wild boar sculpture, and flanked by carved, religious icon figurines in honor of its revered status. An archway above the oven is hung with more than a dozen framed tools of butchery—cleavers, knives, and an antique hacksaw.
Into the oven’s gaping maw, chefs feed delicious foods: Glittery silver sardines tumbled with potatoes, peppers, tomato, onions, olives, capers and a splash of sherry vinegar. Rich duck breast, which emerges bronzed and crackly-skinned. Heirloom pumpkin agnolotti draped in brown butter. Neapolitan-style pizzas. And yes, wild boar, used in wintery dishes like housemade chestnut pappardelle with porcini crema and rosemary.
Grilling radicchio at Diavola in Geyserville. (Chris Hardy/For Sonoma Magazine)
The Salsiccia Pizza, containing house sausage, red onions, and pecorino, at Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria in Geyserville. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
Throughout lunch and dinner service, chef-owner Dino Bugica and his team aim to keep the oven roaring at about 750 degrees. The creature greedily consumes walnut, oak, almond wood—“kind of whatever is available,” Bugica says, working hard even as it cools, its glowing coals charring beets, squash, and leeks.
Just don’t ever get too confident, he warns. “It’s a beast, that thing. I’ve seen it humble a lot of cooks who think they’re really good. It can really set you back, because you can’t turn away. You have to always understand what’s going on.”
More fire power awaits outside, where a patio holds a rust-patina charcoal rotisserie grill, a wood-fired smoker, and an Argentine-style grill fueled by a mix of mesquite charcoal and wood. “My friend built it,” he says, placing a loving hand on the Argentine grill, gussied up with a plancha for searing delicacies like scallops. There’s also a metal swivel seat that allows the chef to grill sitting down—but the seat often gets too hot for his rear end, Bugica confesses.
Amid more exotic fare, one of Bugica’s favorite dishes from the wood oven is humble, housemade mafaldine, a ribbon-shaped pasta. “We do porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, all kinds of cheese and sauce, and bake it bubbly brown. It becomes kind of like lasagna edges, that little crisp edge that everybody loves.”
“Really, you can cook everything,” Bugica says. “Whatever inspires you each day.”
The rooftop lounge-restaurant at The Matheson boasts a 3,800-pound, custom-tiled Mugnaini wood-fired oven. Don’t miss blistered shishito peppers with Marcona almonds and housemade chorizo or elaborate pizzas with toppings like duck confit.
Inspired by the Slow Food movement, the menu celebrates fare fashioned in a brick-and-tile-trimmed Tuscan wood-burning oven. The signature dishes include seasonal oven-roasted Dungeness crab and a crisp, yeasty mushroom pizza with Taleggio and fontina cheese. 53 Montgomery Dr., Santa Rosa. 707-544-3221, rossopizzeria.com
GLEN ELLEN STAR
Chef-owner and French Laundry alum Ari Weiswasser mans a large, custom-built fire-breathing wood oven, wowing the crowds with Brussels sprouts in brown sugar bacon marmalade and an exquisitely moist whole fish draped in tamarind-brown butter sauce.
A giant wood-fired grill and apple-wood smoker are the backbone of a succulent Southern menu featuring beef brisket, pulled pork, tri-tip, sausages, ribs, and more. 9098 Brooks Rd. S., Windsor. 707-687-5185, sweettssouthern.com
CIBO RUSTICO PIZZERIA
In true Italian style, the wood-burning oven elevates dishes like prosciutto-wrapped asparagus; roasted stuffed zucchini flowers, and pizzas like the Cibo Star, an 8-pointed, star-shaped pizza with marinara, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, sausage, basil and Parmesan on a cheese-stuffed crust. 1305 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa. 707-623-9906, ciborustico.com
JACKSON’S BAR AND OVEN
Chef Josh Silvers is a pioneer with wood-fired cooking, and his casually sophisticated spot still impresses with staples like wood-fired mussels with chorizo and fennel; lamb-stuffed flatbread and gooey-golden baked ziti studded with roasted mushrooms. 135 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707-545-6900, jacksonsbarandoven.com
Kapu Bar, tiki bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Petaluma on Keller street February 1, 2023 (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
The menu has significantly changed since this review. No current menu is available on the website.
Petaluma’s new Kapu Bar is the tiki-tackiest, booziest, most questionably appropriate escape from reality none of us knew Sonoma County desperately needed.
Because after fires, floods, a pandemic and years of binge drinking at home, it’s about time for a few (dozen) mai tais with friends inside faux palm-leaf huts, especially when served with the best garlic chicken east of Kona.
For more than a year, Kapu’s General Manager and Beverage Director Michael Richardson has been outfitting his Keller Street lounge with taxidermy puffer fish, hand-carved wood totems and a million other details, like plastic geckos stashed here and there and Spanish “pieces of eight” coins embedded in one of the bars. His motto: No bare walls.
Mission accomplished.
“You can have a place like this for years and still be decorating,” he said.
From Left, Fink Bomb, Classic Mai Tai and the Tropical Itch at Kapu Bar, tiki bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Petaluma. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)Ahi Salad at Kapu Bar, tiki bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Petaluma. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
After you walk through the faux molten-lava entrance, it takes a minute for your eyes to adjust to the dark and dreamy wonderland that is Kapu.
Glass fishing floats hang from the ceiling, glowing blue, red and yellow and casting the bar area in a purple haze. A large rectangular bar has open seating for a better view of the bartenders shaking, mixing and blending their mysterious concoctions — the Fink Bomb, Tropical Itch, classic Mai Tai or Missionary’s Downfall.
A lounge room includes 20-foot Chinese dragons, pinball machines and tucked-away spots for cozy conversation. A private Captain’s Room has a yo-ho-ho pirate theme, while tables surrounding the bar are palm leaf-covered nooks perfect for a little post-rum punch canoodling. Words, in this case, can’t do justice to the visual melee that shocks and awes.
Much of the maximalist mashup of faux Polynesian, Pacific pirate, midcentury modern, beachcomber, Indiana Jones and pinup Americana that defines tiki bars was inspired by Eli Hedley, who brought the post-WWII vibe to Southern California.
At Kapu, Richardson hired professional tiki bar designer Ben Bassham, Hedley’s grandson, to get the authentic look. He also leaned heavily on Oceanic Arts in Southern California, a legendary purveyor of Asian and Pacific Islander crafts that inspired, for better or worse, the tiki craze in the 1950s and ’60s.
“When you walk in here, you get swept away by the current. It just sets the stage,” Richardson said.
Chef Mike Lutz and owner Michael Richardson of Kapu Bar, in the captains room at the tiki bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Petaluma. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
Banana Split at Kapu Bar, tiki bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Petaluma. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
Richardson came to Sonoma County by way of Las Vegas in 2020 to oversee the beverage program at Burdock Bar in Healdsburg, where he wowed locals with the outlandish tiki drinks he created at Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas. Several of his modern recipes for classic rum drinks were included in “Liquid Vacation: 77 Refreshing Tropical Drinks from Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas” (Stephens Press LLC, 2013).
Suffice it to say Richardson has embraced the tiki lifestyle. He usually wears shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with his waist-long dreadlocks.
Though you’re here for the cocktails, it’s the food that keeps you in your seat. Unlike other tiki bars such as the Tonga Room or Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco, the food isn’t an afterthought at Kapu.
Chef Mike Lutz’s Hawaiian comfort-food menu is ono-licious. After spending more than 20 years on the islands, he knows his grindz. Sadly, the moody lighting makes it a little challenging to see the beauty of the food. But the flavors speak loud and clear.
“We just want this to be a place you can come as you are,” Richardson said.
Aye, aye, captain. There’s no question Sonoma County is ready for Kapu, and even more ready to get shipwrecked on this cozy little island.
The Tropical Itch Kapu Bar, tiki bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Petaluma. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
Best bets
Poke Nachos, $24: There’s a reason mainland poke never tastes as good as it is on the Islands — we’re doing it wrong. Chef Mike Lutz uses fresh tuna, sweet onion, shoyu and inamona (ground kakui nuts) to get the perfect flavor. The dish is made to order, and each ingredient shines rather than becoming part of a muddled mess. It’s served beautifully on fried wontons.
Braised Pipikaula, $18: Smoked short ribs with pickled sweet onions fall apart on the fork.
Garlic Chicken, $12: A must-order, these crispy nuggets of double-fried chicken are bathed in shoyu and sprinkled with furikake and crispy garlic. Dip them in a tsukemono (Japanese pickle) dip. The recipe is inspired by the garlic chicken at Broke Da Mouth Grindz in Kona, one of my top 10 favorite dishes in the world.
Gau Gee, $14: Pork and shrimp wonton-style packets with a sweet black bean sauce.
Fried Noodles, $20: One of three “ohana style” (family-style) dishes, this mass of yakisoba noodles, char siu barbecue pork, bok choy and a simple soft-boiled egg is a hearty shareable dish (and will soak up some of that extra rum in your belly). It’s also great as leftovers.
Mac and Potato Salad, $6: Don’t freak out. It’s made with bucatini (a hollow spaghetti-like pasta) with potato, hard-boiled egg and imitation crab (kani). In the traditional sense, it’s absolutely not macaroni salad of the plate-lunch sort, but this creamy, carbo-loaded side is a slice of heaven.
Stuffed Fish, $26: Seared rockfish stuffed with linguica, shiitake mushrooms, tomato and watercress with a sweet kabayaki Hollandaise.
Banana Split, $10: If you still have room, get this luxe dessert with banana lumpia, vanilla ice cream, rum caramel and rice puffs.
And the drinks …
Plan to try one or two, maybe three if you’re a heavyweight. More than that, and you’ll be very, very sorry in the morning. These are dangerously easy-drinking cocktails that will sneak up on you like a sneaker wave at Ocean Beach.
Though most of the drinks here are undeniably sweet, they aren’t cut with cheap syrupy mixers that leave you sugar-shocked before you even get a buzz.
Saturn, $14: Gin, passion fruit, lemon, Falernum. It’s like drinking a red Sweet-Tart Slurpee, in a really good way.
Domino, $16: Creamy Key lime and pineapple will draw you into this rummy dream of a drink.
Mai Tai, $16: This is the Trader Vic’s classic, though there’s long been debate. No pineapple juice or grenadine, just rum, Orgeat and lime. Or cheap mixers. Or stupid paper umbrellas. Thank the gods.
Fink Bomb, $16: Here’s one of Richardson’s classics from Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas. With rum, Midori, coconut and pineapple, it will land you in someone’s arms or jail. Drink at your own risk.
Kapu is at 132 Keller St., Petaluma, 707-559-3665, kapubar.com. Reservations are highly recommended.
On the serious side, in my original article about Kapu last June, I acknowledged the very real issue of appropriating island culture. It’s worth saying again. There’s no getting around the wooden god in the room.
For some, the “exotic” themes of tiki bars are offensive. Using sacred Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Maori gods as bar decor can be seen as exploitation. Though much of the beachcomber and Polynesian aesthetic that went into tiki decor at restaurants like the Tonga Room and Trader Vic’s was a blend of real and imaginary iconography — a sort of nostalgic homage to the South Seas after World War II — it also encompasses Europe’s colonization and subjugation of Asian Pacific people.
Richardson admitted he’s faced pushback about appropriating from tiki culture. He said people are entitled to their opinions. He believes in enjoying tiki’s unique history and in supporting and commissioning Indigenous artists, like Balinese woodworkers who made many of the statues in the bar.
Three-way Smoker Combo with ribs, chicken, brisket and sides of Mac N’ Cheese and Okra/Corn/Cherry Tomato Saute from Sweet T’s Restaurant + Bar in Windsor. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
The Chiefs and the Eagles will square up for the Big Game this Sunday, but I’m more interested in the most famous foods of KC (barbecue) and Philly (cheesesteak).
Sonoma County has some great barbecue but the perfect cheesesteak, which I’ve spent six months searching for, is far more difficult to come by.
Click through the above gallery for a few Sonoma County restaurants featuring these regional dishes.
Beer lovers from around the world stand in line for their chance to taste Pliny the Younger at Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Pliny the Younger, Russian River Brewing Co.’s ultra-coveted, limited-release Triple IPA, is springing up at bars and restaurants throughout the Bay Area and beyond — six weeks ahead of the in-person release slated for next month at Russian River’s brewpubs.
It’s the second year in a row the brewery has released the beer to bars and restaurants before its annual release at Russian River Brewing’s Santa Rosa and Windsor locations. Hundreds of Pliny fans have lined up for hours, sometimes in the rain, for past annual releases at Russian River.
Historically, the beer has been released the first Friday in February, then poured for two weeks. But last year, COVID-19 forced the company to postpone the annual in-person release date to March 25.
With the first batches of the once-a-year beer ready to go, the brewery decided to move forward with wholesale distribution to bars and restaurants in February.
“Last year’s (in-person) postponement turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” said Natalie Cilurzo, the brewery’s co-owner and president. “We ended up having a better time, with nicer weather and longer days in March and April, thus creating a better experience for our 25,000 guests who often spend more time outside waiting in line than inside!”
Pliny the Younger’s wholesale distribution is expected to run out by this weekend.
The in-person release at Russian River Brewing Co.’s Santa Rosa and Windsor locations is set for March 24 through April 6. For more information, go to russianriverbrewing.com.
Where to find Pliny the Younger in Sonoma County
Grossman’s Noshery & Bar, 308 Wilson St., Santa Rosa. grossmanssr.com
Soccer fans celebrate a U.S. goal in the first half against Wales in the first round of the World Cup at the Victory House in Epicenter Santa Rosa Monday, November 21, 2022. (John Burgess/Press Democrat)
This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles for Super Bowl LVII. If you want to pair the game (and the halftime show) with some socializing, snacks and brews, we’ve lined up the best Sonoma County sports bars and beer venues to watch the drama unfold — swipe through the slideshow above for all the details.
Did we miss one of your favorite sports bars? Let us know in the comments.
