Beef Tenderloin with sorrel pesto, grilled bok choy and Bearnaise at Table Culture Provisions’ 10-course tasting menu in Petaluma. (Table Culture Provisions)
Michelin ratings for California restaurants will be revealed Monday, Dec. 5, and my money is on newcomer Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma to win its first star.
Chefs and owners Stéphane Saint Louis and Steven Vargas have created a destination restaurant that recently attracted the attention of the San Francisco Chronicle, landing them on the coveted Top 25 Restaurants for Fall list. A recent visit and exploration of their 10-course tasting menu was even more impressive than my first visit in January.
Inside their minimalist 10-table restaurant, Saint Louis and Vargas have mastered the menu with familiar favorites like their fried Delicata Squash Rings with Truffle Caviar Dip; Mushroom Rilette Tartelette with Sunchoke Chips; and Scallop with Romanesco Cauliflower, Black Masa Crisp and Smoked Trout Roe. New-to-me dishes included a Bucatini with Nduja, Olive, Pepperonata and Macha Oil. Fluffy Parker House Rolls with Beef Bone Marrow Butter are another throwback dish, an amuse-bouche worth saving to sop up Bearnaise sauce spooned over grilled bok choy.
One of the best dishes of the menu is simply named Harvest; it’s a petite casserole with butternut squash, Crecenza Espuma cheese and tatsoi. Much of the produce comes from their garden at Asambrosa, a 63-acre farm and estate in Petaluma.
Harvest is the simple name of this petite casserole with butternut squash and Crecenza Espuma cheese at Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma. (Table Culture Provisions)
Saint Louis and Vargas gained notice after they invested their pandemic stimulus checks in Tesla and turned the investment into a $17,000 windfall that helped them launch their restaurant. During the pandemic, they operated out of a borrowed space in Petaluma, selling pantry items and serving fried chicken and waffle-style potato chips (called gaufrette if you’re fancy) with onion dip.
The $135 full tasting menu, launched about a month ago, includes an $85 wine pairing from Sommelier Roberto Espinoza with wines from lesser-known producers in Sicily and Alsace. Espinoza is an alumni of San Francisco’s pricey, upscale Benu and Quince restaurants.
We also discovered former Hana Japanese sake sommelier Danny Pitassy working at Table Culture Provisions, who dreamed up a sake-oyster shooter with quail egg and Sriracha that starts the night right.
Early seatings are quiet and relaxed if you’re willing to eat at 5:30 p.m. But evening tables with the warm glow of candles are also delightful. Grab a reservation soon, because we’re sure Table Culture Provisions is headed for its close-up. 312 Petaluma Blvd S., Petaluma, 707-559-5739; go to tcprovision.com for menu and reservations.
Dreaming of a relaxing winter getaway? Mydatingadviser.com, a web site that, as the name suggests, offers dating tips, just named a Napa Valley town among the “170 coziest small towns in America.” Two North Coast towns, a couple of hours drive from Sonoma County, also made the list.
“Drink hot chocolate, sit by a fireplace, read a book, enjoy warm meals, and curl up with someone special under a warm blanket,” in towns like Stockholm, Wisconsin (No. 1 on the list), Stowe, Vermont (No. 2), and Stanley, Idaho (No. 3), suggested mydatingadviser.com. (In order to determine the coziest small towns in the nation, the web site compared well-known U.S. small towns across three “key dimensions:” weather, food and activities.)
While snow-covered East Coast towns ranked the highest, 12 California towns made the list, with Carmel-by-the-Sea leading the Golden State pack. Click through the above gallery to see which nearby towns are among the coziest in America, with a few suggestions on things to do (courtesy of Sonoma Magazine staff). Find more serene winter escapes here: sonomamag.com/10-serene-winter-escapes-in-sonoma. Karen Misuraca and Dana Rebmann contributed to this article.
Bistro Ralph: A lot of folks took this one hard, lamenting the end of chicken paillard, shoestring fries and chicken livers from the historic Healdsburg spot owned by Ralph Tingle. Replaced by Brass Rabbit.
Restaurants are a reflection of the community. Part gathering spots, part arbiters of local tastes and part entertainment venues, they say a lot about who we are. With changing tastes and changing times, restaurants come and go, leaving behind memories for all who visited. In Sonoma County, some have sadly been lost to wildfires and, more recently, the pandemic.
Downtown Santa Rosa has been especially hard hit in the last few years amid parking problems, homelessness and the lack of downtown workers to support the businesses, among other issues. Between 2020 and 2022, closures included Bollywood, Mercato, Gerard’s Paella, Acre Coffee, Stout Brothers, Tex Wasabi’s and Bistro 29. (Warike Restobar, Kancha SR and L’Oro Di Napoli have opened recently in downtown Santa Rosa.)
Many restaurants that struggled through wildfires and the pandemic found that their troubles weren’t over in 2022. Difficulties with finding staff and exponentially rising food costs left some of our favorite restaurants throughout the county out of time and out of resources.
Click through the gallery above for a few of the restaurants we lost in 2022 and many others that we still remember fondly from years before. Did we miss one of your favorites? Share your memories in the comments.
Wine Country hotels are offering a plethora of activities to get visitors, holiday guests and locals into the festive spirit this holiday season. From snoozing in a tropical Santa suite to sipping holiday tea, merry making possibilities abound in Sonoma County.
Here’s what you need to know about the local hotel scene right now. Click through the above gallery for a peek at the properties.
Now the property is adding a new lodging option to the list. During December, guests can book a stay at Mrs. Claus’ island getaway. The festive suite will feature a Christmas tree and an assortment of holiday decor.
Guests at the h2hotel in Healdsburg can check into holiday rooms with a green theme this winter. The property is partnering with organic flower farm and full-service florist Dragonfly Floral to decorate suites with holiday plants.
“Dragonfly Floral has a wonderful selection of holiday plants that will add a festive layer of fun to a holiday stay at the property,” says Circe Sher, co-founder of Piazza Hospitality, owners of h2hotel.
The “Living Room” amenity is available through the month of December and can be added to any guest room category at h2hotel. The cost is $200 and includes one take-home plant and its container.
Get cozy with a complimentary Winter Warmer package at Wildhaven Sonoma. (Courtesy of Wildhaven Sonoma)
The heat is on — well, sort of
Two-night stays at Wildhaven Sonoma in December and January come with a complimentary dose of cozy. The Healdsburg glamping site’s Winter Warmer package includes firewood, a S’mores kit, a bottle of Sonoma County wine, a pair of stainless steel wine tumblers and an upgrade to the best tent available.
If you’re concerned about winter’s evening chill, rest assured the beds in all Wildhaven tent cabins have heated mattress pads.
Need a relaxing staycation during the holiday hustle?
Use the code LOCAL for a special rate (an overnight experience for $150, plus tax) at The Stavrand Russian River Valley on most Thursdays through February. To take advantage of this offer, you must live within 35 miles of the property (proof of address is required). Book your stay via the hotel website or by calling direct.
The Stavrand Russian River Valley, 13555 Highway 116, Guerneville, 707-869-9093, thestavrand.com
Jewelry made by Healdsburg artist Morgania Moore is available for purchase at Harmon Guest House through the holidays. (Courtesy Harmon Guest House)
Shop local
Harmon Guest House knows how to showcase local art in innovative ways, with sketches on stairwells and windows and art pieces throughout the property. For the holidays, the hotel is partnering with Healdsburg artist Morgania Moore of M.E.Moore Collection.
Inspired by the property’s eco-friendly architecture and design, Moore’s latest jewelry collection, “Native, Fall 2022 for Harmon Guest House,” is on display and available for purchase at the hotel through January. The jewelry collection features 90% reclaimed materials and Moore, who also is a video artist, will showcase some of her video projects at the hotel through February.
The halls at Hotel Healdsburg are decked with sparkling decor for its annual Holiday Afternoon Tea service. Offered Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 18, it will feature housemade pastries, dainty finger sandwiches and holiday fare from onsite restaurant Dry Creek Kitchen. Along with a variety of custom blend teas, sparkling wine and cocktails will be available.
MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa’s annual Twelve Nights of Marvel is back with a series of events throughout December, ranging from a Stollen cooking class to meetups with Santa and a menorah lighting ceremony. All events are open to the public.
MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa’s annual Twelve Nights of Marvel includes a wine tasting with Kivelstadt Cellars, cider tasting with Pomme Cider Shop, Christmas caroling and more. (Courtesy of MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa)One of the winners of the 2021 Gingerbread House Showcase & Competition at Hotel Petaluma. (Victoria Webb)
Sweet architectural stunners
Local builders and bakers of all ages can showcase their icing skills at the annual Gingerbread House Showcase & Competition at Hotel Petaluma Dec. 16-18. Awards will be given in more than a half dozen categories. Expect to see some candy-coated takes on Wine Country landmarks. Find more information about this event here and register to enter your gingerbread house here.
What’s more delicious than a pile of Guy Fieri’s Trash Can Nachos? His Trash Can Dessert Nachos! Online gourmet grocer Goldbelly has just clocked this sweet and sticky dessert from the Mayor of Flavortown as one of the top 50 gifts of the holiday season.
For $89.95, you can impress your friends and family with a pile of sweet, savory, drippy, creamy goodness, complete with a signature Guy Fieri “trash can” (otherwise known in culinary circles as a ring mold).
The DIY kit includes crispy cannoli chips, mini pretzels, chocolate toffee pieces, brownie pieces, whiskey dark chocolate sauce, whiskey salted caramel sauce, and mascarpone cream to hold it all together. There’s also a holiday version with red and green M&M’s and peppermint candy pieces. You do the stacking and presentation.
You can use your enclosed Trash Can for other personal food adventures, such as Trash Can Lasagna, Trash Can Meatloaf, Trash Can Trifle, or even Trash Can Seven Layer Dip. The possibilities are endless! You can also order Fieri’s pulled pork Trash Can Nachos with his signature Caliente Margaritas.
Still hungry? Check out some of Goldbelly’s other holiday desserts like Nancy Silverton’s Gelato Gift Box, Gray’s Papaya New York Hot Dog Kit, Vosges Haut-Chocolat Collection or Martha Stewart’s Strawberry Ombre Cake.
Tasting wines in the vineyards (pre pandemic) at Alexander Valley Vineyards in Healdsburg.
A getaway to Wine Country can add up quickly. But if you do your homework, you might just be surprised by some of the bargains available in Sonoma County. From free wine tastings and delicious cheap eats to chic-but-affordable hotel stays, here are a few of our favorite budget-friendly options. Click through the above gallery for all the details.
Heather Irwin and Linda Murphy contributed to this article.
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate, honor and learn about the cultures, traditions and contributions of Native Americans and Indigenous peoples. Sonoma County encompasses the territories of several Native American communities, including the Miwok, Wappo, Pomo, Wintun and Patwin tribes, and is rich with Native American history and culture. You’ll also find several Native-owned businesses here, which are great to visit any time of the year and especially when looking for beautiful, one-of-a-kind gifts. Click through the above gallery for a few items from Native American makers in Sonoma County.
Sweet T’s Restaurant & Bar owners Ann and Dennis Tussey, center, along with working partner George Ah Chin, left, and manager Robert Zenobi, right, at the site of their new Windsor location before construction was completed. The couple lost their Santa Rosa restaurant in the 2017 Tubbs fire. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
Sonoma County’s restaurant scene has changed dramatically since 2017. First came the Northern California wildfires. Then came more fires, and floods, and near-constant power outages, and COVID closures, and staffing shortages, and supply chain woes. It’s amazing that any restaurants survived the past five years.
Yet after many pivots, some restaurants actually thrived. Forced to make changes, the owners found some silver linings and adapted their business models into successful programs they continue to embrace today. Here are a few of those stories.
Fork Roadhouse
When Sarah Piccolo opened her Sebastopol business eight years ago, she was primarily a caterer. But people loved her food so much that she soon morphed her fledgling venture into a full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Then came fires, road closures and nearly week-long power outages, which resulted in massive food spoilage and forced Piccolo to place employees on furlough.
Owner/chef Sarah Piccolo at Fork Roadhouse on Bodega Avenue, east of Sebastopol. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)
After COVID hit, she had to make a tough decision. “It proved too difficult to continue,” she said. “We were finding ourselves overwhelmed and understaffed.”
So this past summer, Piccolo returned to catering, offering only limited brunch service at her restaurant, while hosting pop-ups, concerts, weddings, rehearsal dinners and other events on the patio. She also put her food truck into more active duty.
Then, in mid-November, she canceled all restaurant service and announced she was closing Fork.
“The cost of goods is too high,” she said. “So I’m going to Baja for a month, to regroup and think about carving out my next chapter.”
But don’t count Piccolo out. She already has plans for a new venture, coming this spring. Her catering business remains very busy and she wants to lend out the Fork space for a community kitchen and more pop-ups.
Baja will be a creative time, she noted. She earned a scholarship to the Modern Elder Academy there. Founder Chip Conley helps people restart their careers, through workshops and sabbaticals addressing students who generally are between 45 and 65 years old.
“It’s full circle,” she said. “It’s scary, but exciting. Stay even more tuned for what the next reincarnation of the roadhouse will be.”
Crista Luedtke is used to challenges. The talented chef and innkeeper owns and operates Boon restaurant, Brot modern German restaurant and Boon Hotel + Spa, all in Guerneville. She also is involved in numerous other hospitality projects around Sonoma County. She caters, contributes to dozens of charitable organizations and has appeared on many culinary TV programs.
But all the disasters of the past five years took their toll.
“It was a long haul for sure,” she said. “We started with fires, then the big 2019 flood that nearly destroyed Guerneville, then COVID, then more fires during COVID, and being evacuated from our town for nine days. It was an absolute nightmare and it almost made me throw in the towel.”
But she kept going, relying on her business partners to handle copious amounts of paperwork for the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications, as well as other COVID-related business grants.
“I was so tired of pivoting, so over the start-stop-start, having to re-imagine my businesses. If it weren’t for my amazing team, I would have likely given up,” she said.
Chef Crista Luedtke at her restaurant Brot in Guerneville. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
Ultimately, things worked out, as Luedtke streamlined on-site services, expanded al fresco dining in a Boon Eat + Drink garden and upped catering efforts.
“Some of these became lasting changes for the better, and helped optimize the businesses,” she said. “Staffing has been and continues to be the biggest challenge — I think some of that is a trickledown effect of housing shortages.”
For the slower winter season, Luedtke is shutting Brot down and will relaunch it in March. The restaurant space near Boon on Main Street will be available, however, for private dinners, corporate buyouts and pop-ups.
On Oct. 9, 2017, the Tubbs fire reduced Dennis and Ann Tussey’s beloved Sweet T’s Restaurant + Bar to ashes and molten metal. The fire took with it nearly six years of the couple’s hard work, their livelihoods and jobs for their 71 employees.
But just over a year later, the couple was building a new Sweet T’s in Windsor, finding hope amid the disaster. And as it turned out, the new spot is a blessing. They were able to add a new wood-fired grill alongside their new smoker, amped up their catering and discovered an eager audience for takeout.
“We managed to hang on to most of our staff throughout the pandemic because we never completely shut down more than a day or two at a time,” Ann said of the pivot.
Sweet T’s Restaurant & Bar owners Ann and Dennis Tussey, center, along with working partner George Ah Chin, left, and manager Robert Zenobi, right, at the site of their new Windsor location before construction was completed. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
In fact, the couple recently took over a neighboring space in Windsor’s Lakewood Village and are close to completing a build-out specifically to handle catering and takeout. Ironically, life is better for the Tusseys these days.
“Sales are back to pre-pandemic numbers, but we’re now open six days a week instead of seven,” Ann said. “Mondays are a day to work on administrative projects, decompress and schedule any type of restaurant repairs. I can’t see myself going back to seven days a week now, as there is something about letting the restaurant rest for one day and staff having that day off to recoup.”
For 15 years, the Santa Rosa roadhouse packed in crowds for its eclectic small plates and craft cocktails. Then, the Tubbs fire demolished the 1886 building. Exactly a year to the day later, owners Mark and Terri Stark opened Willi’s 2.0 in Santa Rosa’s Town & Country neighborhood.
The Starks own six other restaurants locally, but reopening Willi’s was a particularly special moment.
“Retaining our staff was the most challenging after the fire,” said Terri. “Thankfully, we found homes for everyone who wanted to move to another of our restaurants.”
Mark and Terri Stark in the dining room at Stark’s Steak & Seafood in Santa Rosa. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
The Starks also were able to upgrade to a new kitchen and install the only items that were salvageable from the wreckage, the scorched Willi’s Wine Bar sign and an old horseshoe that was on the back door when they first moved in.
The joy would be short-lived.
“Moving Willi’s to a new location proved to be a little tougher than we anticipated,” Terri recalls. “It is in a different neighborhood and a bit off the beaten track. Then, we only had eight months to get established again, and then COVID shut us down.”
But the couple had retained all of their Willi’s managers during the shutdown.
“We have a core group of long standing staff members that we consider family,” Terri said. “They were extremely loyal during COVID, and came back to work as soon as possible.”
Details: 1415 Town and Country Dr., Santa Rosa, 707-526-3096, starkrestaurants.com.
Mateo’s Cocina Latina
After 10 years of feeding guests his distinctive Yucatán-French fusion cuisine, chef Mateo Granados bid farewell to his Healdsburg restaurant in August. Since 2017, he had been challenged by the region’s wildfires, floods, power outages and, finally, COVID shutdowns that affected not only his restaurant, but his catering business, too.
Staffing shortages became serious. And when negotiations on a drastic rent increase for the restaurant space collapsed in 2021, it was the last straw. Keeping the operation going no longer made financial sense, Granados said.
Mateo Granados. (Sonoma Magazine)
The good news is that his catering business is now booming. Sometimes he collaborates with other top chefs in the area, including former Farmhouse Inn Michelin star talent Steve Litke, to handle significant events for private parties, wineries and fundraising galas.
“I control my time, now,” he said, noting that he gets to spend much more time with his family, and is also the proud papa to a new Belgian Malinois pup. He has installed a large culinary garden at his Dry Creek home, is raising livestock for his farm-to-table cooking and “actually gets to sleep like a normal person.”
He still gets to be as creative as he likes with his food and wine menus, and can forecast his income much more reliably than in the past.
“The restaurant industry is changing,” he said. “It’s time for me, now.”
If you’re looking to head down a shopping road less traveled, there are super Sonoma-esque finds to explore at the antique mall at Sonoma Industrial Park.
With a holiday sale on Saturday, Nov. 26, featuring music by Jon Williams, an El Brinquito food truck and prizes, now is a particularly good time to discover (or rediscover) this hidden treasure of vintage stores.
The Sonoma shopping destination may be a little heavy on the “hidden”— tucked away on Eighth Street East, it’s a ways off the Sonoma Plaza — but it’s very heavy on the “treasure.” In addition to reclaimed, vintage and antique finds at the mall’s five female-owned businesses, there are crafts, tailoring, repair and upholstery services, and even a kitchen consignment store with a selection of food offerings by an award-winning chef.
Within the stores that inhabit 10,000 square feet of warehouse space are different vendors offering their signature curations of items, resulting in a wonderfully eclectic selection.
Reclaimed Antiques’ inventory ranges from a little Spode creamer to midcentury modern curiosities to antique furniture pieces. There’s a collection of locally made items, from lotions to Leatherhead Coffee (owned by a local fire battalion chief) to olive oil infused with natural ingredients to create inspired flavors: butter, chipotle, scallion, blood orange.
Reclaimed Antique’s next-door consignment furniture store has an on-site upholsterer for pieces in need of a little restoration.
In Warehouse 19678, the mall’s first store which opened in 2010, there are decorative vintage finds—from baskets to artwork to artifacts—but also newly-made crafts. Photographer and chicken farmer Tania Soderman of Sonoma Chicks has a pretty display of art photography cards and holiday crafts, like decorated quail eggs in tiny glitter-coated boxes. Exquisite handbags are made by Merryl L. Latini of LML Designs. Latini uses high-end velvets and silks fabrics, and ornaments the purse closures with semi-precious stones or fashionable buttons from her own collection.
Warehouse 428 Kitchen sells vintage kitchen finds, but also offers a weekly menu by store owner and chef Robyn Schultz, who just won second place in the soup category at the World Cooking Competition held in Dallas. Also in stock are Schultz’s grab-and-go lasagnas, flatbreads and soups, including her winning carrot-ginger soup. For the competition, Schultz topped the dish with a lump crab wonton and a sweet potato chip.
Emily’s Cottage Home offers a variety of design vibes through various sections, like “vintage modern” and “cottage;” there are even salvaged metal creations in the yard. The store offers tailoring services and makes their own oilcloth tote bags that are perfectly bright, cheery and water resistant for your haul of farm-fresh produce.
Click through the above gallery for a peek at a few highlights from the antique mall at Sonoma Industrial Park.
The Shop Small Saturday event will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Sonoma Industrial Park, 19680 Eight St. E., Sonoma. Participating stores are Reclaimed Antiques Mall & Estate Sales, Reclaimed Furniture, SonomaReclaimed.com, Warehouse 19624, 428 Kitchen, warehouse428kitchen.com, Emily’s Cottage Home Decor, CottageHomeDecor.net
Belfare is famous for its fried chicken sandwich. (Courtesy of Belfare)
The farm-market fried chicken wunderkinds at Belfare Sonoma have opened their first brick-and-mortar shop in south Petaluma.
Make the trip because, in addition to the piled-high classic fried chicken sandwich ($15) filled with dill pickles, Cajun cabbage and spicy sesame mayo on a Parker House bun, owner Erik Lowe has frequent additions to the limited menu, including crazy-good Furikake Fingerlings ($7). Cravable crispy potato fingers are dusted with nori and sesame seeds with Lowe’s Asian-style sesame mayo for dipping.
You’ll also find a Breakfast Sandwich ($10), Market Veggie Pickle Plate ($12) loaded with tart pickled vegetables and their signature chile crunch sauce and a selection of by-the-glass or bottled wines that pair with fried chicken (a tasty brut Champagne or French colombard). Grab some of their extra-spicy habanero hot sauce for the road. Open for lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Belfare team will continue stints at the Petaluma East Side Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays and a mobile kitchen appearance at Flatbed Farm in Glen Ellen from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 10. 1410 S. McDowell Blvd., Suite D, Petaluma, 707-774-6029, belfaresonoma.com
