If you’re after the ultimate Croque Monsieur, consider it found. The newly opened Maison Porcella in Windsor (at the former Chloe’s Catering) is primarily a storefront (for now), with chef Marc-Henri Jean-Baptiste’s luxurious pates, sausages and Parisian-style ham. If you’re willing to wait a minute (and enjoy a glass of wine or two), you can get a piping hot Croque that makes all other Croques seem pitiful.
This grand ham and cheese sandwich ($15) includes creamy béchamel sauce, Gruyere cheese, homemade pain de mie (a slightly sweet French bread loaf) and thin slices of Jean-Baptiste’s award-winning ham. They’re available for warming at home if you’re in a rush, along with the Potato Tourte ($15), with creamy russet potatoes wrapped in puff pastry.
The choices change frequently, but Spicy Pate with pork and chicken gets a flavor bump with Piment’ville pepper. Creamy Chicken Liver Mousse is perfect with a baguette from Marla Bakery.
Marc-Henri’s wife, Maud, runs the front of the house, where there is a growing selection of French and Sonoma County wines by the glass or bottle. She’s also curated several tables of local crafts and pantry goodies, including cheese from Ramini Mozzarella and Valley Ford, teas from Tea and Trumpets and spices.
The couple will open in early December for wine and charcuterie pairings at their cozy bistro tables and bar. The tastings are by reservation only at maisonporcella.com. The storefront is open for Croque Monsieurs and charcuterie from 9 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. 8499 Old Redwood Highway, Suite 114, Windsor, 707-955-5611.
As the holidays approach, we tend to focus on making our homes more beautiful and cozy. So why not infuse your gifting with some stylish designs this year? We suggest these fresh finds from Sonoma stores — some are locally made and all will brighten wintery interiors. Click through the above gallery for details.
Grilled cheese with birria on Texas Toast is a menu option at Galvan’s Eatery in Santa Rosa. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
New restaurants, new dishes, and best bets for holiday dining. Here’s the latest from the Sonoma County dining scene. Click through the above gallery for must-try dishes and a peek inside the restaurants.
Cyrus, Geyserville
Billi Bi has been called the most luxurious dish in the world. The velvety mussel soup is one of the most delicious things on the nearly 20-course tasting menu at Cyrus restaurant.
Deceptively simple, chef Douglas Keane’s Billi Bi uses the broth of steamed mussels and a heavy dose of cream, butter, and white wine to create a deep, satisfying soup that’s far more than the sum of its parts.
I can only hope, for your sake, it remains on the tasting menu.
Billi Bi Soup with Fennel on the opening menu at Cyrus restaurant in Geyserville. (Heather Irwin / Sonoma Magazine)
The restaurant opened in a former prune-packing plant outside Geyserville in September, 10 years after the original Cyrus in Healdsburg closed. In many ways, this new Cyrus holds to the original vision of Keane and business partner Nick Peyton—a mix of opulent, painstakingly created European and Japanese small bites. It doesn’t get a lot more pinkiesup than this $295 prix fixe meal, though compared to other highend restaurants in Wine Country, Cyrus is a relative deal.
The multi-course experience rolls out in three stages, with just 12 guests per seating and three seatings a night. Diners are welcomed into the Bubbles Lounge with canapés and champagne or seasonal cocktails. The second stage is at a darkened counter in the kitchen, where each place setting is lit with a single spotlight.
Then it’s off to the main dining room for seven more dishes, all served on bespoke ceramic dinnerware. The four-hour experience ends with a trip through a hidden door to the Chocolate Room, where a curtain of melted chocolate perfumes the air and boxes of bonbons levitate. Keane’s ingredient-driven menus change seasonally, but dishes like red wine risotto with Parmesan froth and white truffle (from the original Cyrus menu), duck with hoisin and turnips, and beef with maitake mushrooms and umeshu (plum liqueur) consommé are timeless. Raw seafood dishes served at the table in the chef kitchen include a raw oyster with ginger-shiso-dashi gelée, and kanpachi with passion fruit.
Since 2012, the playing field of high-end restaurants in Sonoma County has expanded, and Cyrus is no longer the only Michelinworthy dining destination. But with chef Keane and his team at the helm, doing their alchemy and creating culinary magic, Cyrus is certain to reach a star once again… or two…or three.
There’s no question who is in charge at Saucy Mama’s Jook Joint. Inside the bustling barbecue spot, owner Yvette Bidegain flits from table to table, with a giant smile and infectious giggle. Here, everyone is “honey,” as Bidegain fusses over customers, leaving a warm sense of hospitality in her wake.
Even on a Sunday, the joint has the Saturday-night feel of a lively rural roadhouse, with waitstaff bringing out plate after plate of ribs, cornbread waffles, and the evening’s special shrimp and grits as fast as the kitchen can keep up.
Saucy Mama’s puts the soul in soul food by fusing the deeply Southern flavors of Bidegain’s family’s Louisiana heritage with her own California culinary twists. A Sonoma County native, Bidegain inherited the barbecue legacy of her father, Leroy Richardson of Richardson’s Ribs.
Raised in Mississippi, not far from New Orleans, Richardson arrived in Northern California in the early 1950s, hoping for a new life and armed with an arsenal of family recipes.
The restaurant business, however, is a second act for Bidegain. The 62-yearold spent most of her adult life working for Caltrans; she recently retired after 36 years on the job. With her four children grown, she needed a new project.
“After the kids grew up, I had a void in my life,” she said. “I had all this extra time when I retired. I said, there has to be something out there that no one else is doing.” Soul food was her answer.
She found an audience ravenous for her unparalleled fried catfish (honestly, the best I’ve ever had); smoked beef ribs; chicken skin cracklings; and best-in-class sides like three-cheese macaroni, collard greens and blackeyed peas. The shrimp and grits special is a jumble of poached shrimp, onions, and garlic atop a bed of creamy, golden cornmeal cheesier than a prom photo.
There are generations of heart and soul in every bite.
Omar Galvan’s dream isn’t to own a taco truck. The 28-year-old food entrepreneur wants a fleet of quesabirria-laden mobile kitchens operating daily at breweries throughout the county. Now, as of this fall, he is one red truck closer to that dream.
Galvan and his brother, Ivan, 24, own Galvan’s Eatery, a shiny red mobile kitchen that has become a familiar sight at Shady Oak, Old Caz, Cooperage and HenHouse breweries. Known for their crispy shrimp tacos, birria grilled cheese sandwiches, loaded carne asada fries and meaty quesabirria, the brothers, both first-generation immigrants, have developed a fiercely loyal following.
Galvan’s “Crispy Pancho” surf and turf. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
Omar launched the business in October 2020, as pandemic regulations requiring businesses that served alcohol to offer sit-down, dine-in meals created new opportunities for food trucks in Sonoma County. Many local breweries turned to food trucks to fulfill the mandate to serve food. “It just snowballed. People had to try new food at breweries,” says Omar. “It’s all become very harmonious, and families are (at breweries) now.”
Near-constant social media communication has been a boon to their business. Their Instagram account (@galvanseatery) has nearly 9,000 followers and lists upcoming locations, pictures of their customers, and mouthwatering photos of tacos sizzling on the griddle.
With their first food truck booked out at breweries months in advance, the brothers recently used some of their profits to expand, purchasing a replica truck for Ivan to manage. Omar says he envisions the day when he and Ivan will own a large taproom with beers from all the breweries they’ve worked with and food trailers slinging birria and tacos from one end of the county to the other.
“We were destined for this,” he says.
For locations and information, call 707-836-5087 or check Instagram @Galvanseatery.
Marla Bakery at Miracle Plum, Santa Rosa
Like peanut butter meeting chocolate, two of Sonoma County’s yummiest businesses are joining forces on a delicious collaboration.
Miracle Plum, a natural wine bar and market in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square, has paired up with Marla Bakery to sell the bakery’s excellent coffee and pastries, breakfast and lunch fare, and baked goods for online ordering and in-store pickup.
Terrific bagels from the Marla Bakery pop-up at Santa Rosa’s Miracle Plum. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
“We might even do a bagel day on Sunday,” says Joe Wolf, who owns the bakery with his wife, Amy Brown.
Marla’s current production bakery is housed in a Windsor industrial park, so they have little visibility for would-be walk-in customers, according to Wolf, which makes Miracle Plum’s downtown location attractive. Meanwhile, the Miracle Plum team will continue to offer events, CSA pickups, tastings, and seasonal cooking classes in addition to selling pantry staples and natural wines.
This is the perfect Bodega getaway, tucked off the beaten path. It’s a definite upgrade from coastal crab shacks, with a great selection of wines by the glass and an impressive kitchen. Meaty crab cakes arrived in a sizzling mini cast-iron skillet with a nickel-size dollop of creamy aioli. Crispy-edged and full of crab, these were a winner. We also loved the giant bowl of mussels with slices of bread for dipping. The clam flatbread was studded with roasted garlic and bacon, with a light cream sauce atop a cracker-crisp crust.
1412 Bay Flat Rd., Bodega Bay. 707-875-9875, gourmetaubay.com
Vegan and Al Pastor Tacos at Sonoma Eats restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
Efrain Balmes of Sonoma Eats in Boyes Hot Springs makes the best Oaxacan food in Sonoma County, using the best ingredients at the best price and infused with the most heart and soul.
“Mexican food is so easy. I don’t know how people mess it up,” Balmes said. “We didn’t have a refrigerator when I grew up, so you cooked and ate fresh food.”
That means canned food is not welcome in his kitchen. Much of the fresh produce at the restaurant comes from nearby Flatbed Farms, where his girlfriend, Haley Cutri, is a longtime manager. Cutri also works at the restaurant with Balmes.
I could end the story there, but Balmes, 36, has a vineyard-clipper-to-restaurant-owner tale with just as much passion as his food.
He arrived in Sonoma County in 2007 with nothing but a dream and a drive to make something of himself. Though it’s a worn archetype, it exemplifies the hopes of many in the Agua Caliente community, where he’s built a thriving restaurant.
By working in vineyards, grocery stores and restaurants in Sonoma — often with two jobs at a time — he saved up to buy a $29,000 mobile home shared with multiple roommates. In 2017, he sold the home for three times its original price and used the proceeds to purchase a food truck he parked at the Barking Dog Roasters.
Haley Cutri and Efrain Balmes at Sonoma Eats restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)Posole at Sonoma Eats restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
The longtime coffee business at the corner of Highway 12 and Boyes Boulevard is a morning beacon that brings together the mostly Latino population of Agua Caliente with visitors at the tony Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, Sonoma locals and passers-by on the busy thoroughfare.
“I always wished I could have a restaurant here. Back then, I would just dream of it,” Balmes said. “This place was always in my head. I knew it would be great because it is the best location in Hot Springs.”
In 2020, Balmes leapt at an opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant just three blocks south of Barking Dog and sold his food truck to fund the move. Through the pandemic, the strong following for his takeout food kept the nascent restaurant afloat, though the new restaurant’s tiny kitchen and lack of parking proved problematic.
Kismet intervened when Barking Dog owner Peter Hodgon decided to move his operation closer to downtown Sonoma in July 2022 and rented the Agua Caliente space to Sonoma Eats.
“I feel so lucky that everywhere I go, people help me. I know people with good hearts,” Balmes said.
Potato Tacos at Sonoma Eats restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)Vegan and Al Pastor Tacos at Sonoma Eats restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
After a long build out and remodel, Sonoma Eats reopened in September, and still shares a portion of the space with Barking Dog.
“This is what I was hoping for. I used to sit here in the roastery without a car or phone, and now I have a restaurant. After all that, I’m not afraid of anything,” Balmes said.
Best Bets
Mole Enchilada, $16: This is what you’re here for. Mole can be divisive, with its intense flavors — chocolate, roasted chiles, nuts and potent herbs — mixed into an almost black sauce and sometimes coming from a can rather than slowly cooked over several days. Done right, however, there’s no denying the magic of mole’s ancient roots. Here, humble chicken or mushroom enchiladas are transformed into one of the best dishes we’ve had all year.
Pumpkin Seed Dip, $12: Roasted pepitas are blended with lime, orange juice, tomatoes and spices for a vegan dip that’s mild and creamy and impossible to put down.
Shrimp Tacos (2), $12: Plump shrimp are marinated in citrus, then served with a light aioli studded with juicy tomatoes. This dish is restrained rather than over-seasoned and drowning in toppings to mask cheap ingredients. The beautifully sweet shrimp, creamy aioli and soft corn tortillas speak for themselves.
Shrimp tacos at Sonoma Eats restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
Potato Tacos (4), $13: We almost ignored this dish because the name doesn’t do it justice. Small chunks of potato are tightly rolled inside corn tortillas and fried into flautas (“little flutes”), then covered with cotija, crema and avocado slices. The crispy exterior and fluffy bites of potato are excellent alternatives to meat-filled tacos (and can be vegan without the cheese and crema).
Baja Fish Tacos (2), $14: The secret ingredient is … catfish. The mild flavor of this white fish beats the pants off more traditional cod. A chipotle aioli drizzle lends a sweet heat to these overly generous tacos of beer-battered fish.
Wet Supreme Burrito, $16: Enough for a small family or a single teenage boy, this gargantuan burrito is stuffed with meat (we recommend the house-marinated al pastor), cheese, beans, rice and all the fixings. Topped with either mole or Salsa Suiza, a tomatillo-cheese sauce.
Vegan Tacos (3), $11: Rather than a throwaway concession, these mushroom tacos are worthy on their own, served with avocado and salsa verde. They’re also a great addition to a la carte tacos ($3) that include carne asada, chicken, carnitas, al pastor, chorizo and nopales.
Local beer and wine, plus sangria and agua fresca: Taco Tuesday specials include five chef’s choice tacos for $11 or two tacos and a beer for $10.
Sonoma Eats, 18133 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, at Barking Dog Roasters; 707-939-1905; sonomaeatsmex.com. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Each year, as the leaves turn yellow and red, we embark on a quest to find the best warm seasonal drinks in Sonoma County. Also known as the “Holiday Drink Smackdown,” our list includes a selection of sippers from popular local cafes. Each brings unique elements to the cup, from delicious homemade syrups to adorable latte art.
While flavor is our focus, cozy cafe ambiance and particularly good-looking drinks contributed to a higher rating.
Big River Coffee Co., Pumpkin Chocolate Chai latte, rating: 10/10
Big River Coffee’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chai latte tastes like dessert in a cup. It’s rare to find a drink that combines chocolate and pumpkin, and adding chai spices to the mix makes it even better. With the perfect combination of spiciness and sweetness, the latte consists of your milk of choice, chai concentrate and Big River’s mocha powder. It’s the perfect drink for someone in search of something a little different than coffee. $4.50-$5.25. 3345 Industrial Drive, Suite 18, Santa Rosa. For more information, visit bigrivercoffee.co.
Sweet and spicy, Big River Coffee brews a tasty pumpkin chocolate chai latte, topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. (Lonnie Hayes)
Crook’s Coffee, Maple Pecan latte, rating: 10/10
Move over pumpkin spice. Maple is the new fall flavor (at least it is for us). Crook’s Coffee’s maple pecan latte combines sweet and nutty flavors into a smooth and rich drink you don’t want to miss this season. $4.50-$6.25. 404C Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. For more information, visit crookscoffee.com.
Cotati Coffee Co., Brown Butter Bourbon Caramel mocha, rating: 9/10
In a little nook of Cotati, you’ll find the star mocha in town. Cotati Coffee’s Brown Butter Bourbon Caramel mocha is a seasonal drink that’s perfect for chilly weather because of its warm, round flavor profile. Made with Thanksgiving Roast Coffee, brown butter bourbon syrup, caramel syrup and Ghirardelli chocolate powder, this organic mocha goes down smooth as silk. $5-$6. 8225 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati. For more information, call 707-992-0005.
Brew Coffee and Beer House, Maple Cinnamon latte, rating: 8.5/10
Inspired by a pancake breakfast, Brew’s Maple Cinnamon latte is made with homemade maple cinnamon syrup and topped with cinnamon for extra spice. If breakfast were a latte, it would be this drink. It’s easy to enjoy, and the maple and cinnamon flavors hold their own alongside the espresso. $4.70-$6.30. 555 Healdsburg Ave., Santa Rosa. For more information, go to brewcoffeeandbeer.com.
Get toasty with Petaluma Coffee & Tea Co.’s Brown Sugar Cinnamon latte. Made with fair-trade espresso beans, this latte is cheerful and tasty. It’s simple in the best way, with a few carefully selected ingredients. The espresso’s boldness shines through to create a superb sweet sip, topped with a dainty leaf made of milk foam. $4.50. 212 Second St. Petaluma. For more information, call 707-763-2727.
The heavenly, fresh pumpkin aroma wafts from this organic Taylor Lane latte. (Lonnie Hayes)
Taylor Lane Organic Coffee, Pumpkin latte, rating: 8/10
Taylor Lane brews their Pumpkin latte using their own beans, and they clearly know what they’re doing. Their housemade organic pumpkin syrup tastes as fresh as it sounds. It’s not too sweet, but the flavor mirrors the perfect pumpkin pie. 6790 McKinley St., Suite 170, Sebastopol. $5.50-$6.75. For more information, go to taylorlane.com.
Honey Badger Coffee House, Maple Sage latte, rating: 7.5/10
Coffee with a kick. The flavor of maple pairs nicely with the herbal touch of sage, which makes this latte from Honey Badger so special. The combination is unexpected but refreshing, with the maple creating warmth and the sage coming in like a breath of fresh air. $4.50-$6.50. 101 Golf Course Drive, Suite A3, Rohnert Park. For more information, call 707-585-6185.
Wine tasting at the holidays means so much more than simply the chance to pick out a special bottle to go with a holiday meal. You’re catching the crew at a quieter time of year, when the rush of harvest has passed, new baby wines are resting in the cellar, and vines have gone dormant for winter. Sparklers are being poured, decorations are up, and winemakers might even have a spare moment to chat. Click through the above gallery for four Sonoma wineries to visit this holiday season.
Entire worlds open up at artist Michael Dickinson’s glassblowing studio and gallery at The Barlow in Sebastopol.
Inside the 740-square-foot space, guests step into a wonderland of glass art: delicate holiday ornaments, stunning champagne flutes, jewel-toned wine glasses—even handblown glass marbles that encase a swirl of mesmerizing colors like something out of the deepest corner of the galaxy.
Dickinson’s studio space and gallery, Dickinson Glass, is a don’t-miss at the holidays, when the artist showcases not only his own one-of-a-kind creations, but curates displays of other glass art and ornaments for the season. And when Dickinson is not creating or exhibiting art, he brings his passion for glass alive by teaching.
Artist Michael Dickinson in his glassblowing studio and gallery at The Barlow in Sebastopol. (Eileen Roche)
His studio offers regular classes in beginning glassblowing and art glass, and he rents out bench space to other aspiring artists. “I see this is the ultimate space to share a passion for glasswork,” explains Dickinson. “Being able to create, working with my hands, and the meditative aspect are all reasons I love what I do.”
Dickinson grew up in San Mateo, where his parents owned a commercial glass business. As a child, he watched his parents create custom shower doors, glass windows, and other accent pieces. Most of the work created by his parents was flat, but Dickinson became captivated by the challenges and design possibilities of three-dimensional work.
In his late teens, he took a glass-blowing class in Berkeley and quickly became hooked on the creative prospects of the material. He rented a spot at a local studio and learned as much as he could from other artists. Eventually, the artist developed his own signature patterns for his glassware, a series of delicate, wavy patterns based on mathematical graphs that open up a feeling of movement and warmth.
“It’s always been so cool to me that you can melt glass and change its form,” says Dickinson. “I’ve been lucky to be able to build a career around it.”
Artist Michael Dickinson uses a benchtop torch to work on a custom ornament. The torch’s flame reaches 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit. (Eileen Roche)A caddy on artist Michael Dickinson’s workbench holds works in progress and tubes of borosilicate glass, his primary raw material. (Eileen Roche)
Dickinson and his wife, Nicolette, first fell in love with Sonoma while visiting friends in the area. They found space in The Barlow in 2021, first opening the glass art gallery and later, Dickinson’s public studio and teaching space. The couple have turned the growing business into a family affair: Nicolette, a former preschool teacher, now helps run the gallery, and the couple often bring their daughter, Luciana, now almost a year old, to work during the day.
Visitors often catch Dickinson in the middle of production. He manipulates the hot, molten glass with special propane oxygen torches that shoot out flames at a temperature of more than 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
His raw materials include an array of colorful stock tubes and rods of borosilicate glass, which is harder and stronger than typical glass.
Dickinson says his favorite things to create are drinking glasses of every shape and size, from brandy snifters to champagne flutes. The unique vessels have developed quite a following with design-savvy Californians— Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently bought a set of 80 custom glasses for his home. Dickinson says creating drinking glasses is a process that requires his full, total concentration. It’s a challenge to make each glass a uniform height, as each finished glass’s stem, foot, and vessel are made separately and then fused together by a torch. “If you’re not focused, it gets messed up, and you have to start over,” Dickinson says. “I come in here to make glasses and I’m totally zoned out of everything else when I’m working.”
Delicate handblown champagne flutes and cordial glasses sparkle for the holiday. (Eileen Roche)
The glasses are spectacular, but Dickinson’s galaxylike marbles are a creation unto themselves. He creates the marbles, which look almost like black holes, by heating clippings of gold and silver coins and trapping the smoke vapors they release as they’re heated inside multiple layers of glass. Each individual piece can take anywhere from two to eight hours to create, depending on the size.
While part of the space is a showroom for Dickinson’s own work, and, occasionally, the work of other glass artists he admires, his studio takes up over half the space.
The studio and gallery are separated by a glass wall created by his father at his parents’ glass-manufacturing space in San Mateo. The studio also has workstations that Dickinson uses for beginner glass art classes.
In the new year, Dickinson hopes to broaden his schedule of classes and continue to rent out bench space to aspiring artists and others who have taken his glassblowing classes and want to grow their skills—just as he once did. He also hopes to branch out into lighting, specifically large-scale statement chandeliers and other art pieces.
He also wants to continue working on smaller art glass pieces, including those he makes each year to decorate his family’s Thanksgiving table.
Dickinson has a tradition of creating a unique wine glass for each family member and friend who gathers for the holiday, a piece that each guest can take home at the end of the meal. “What I love about glass is that there’s really no limit to what you can create,” he says.
Handblown glass ornaments from Michael Dickinson of Dickinson Glass Studio in Sebastopol’s The Barlow. (Eileen Roche)
An Ornament Extravaganza
Dickinson Glass is partnering with 2BGlass in Sacramento to host “The Ornament Extravaganza” on December 3 and 4, featuring over 2,000 handmade holiday ornaments for sale from 10 artisan glassblowers. The event will be held in The Barlow’s event space, a short walk from the main gallery.
For those who would like to try their hand at glass art of their own this holiday, Michael Dickinson is planning special classes in ornament making. In the two-hour class, guests will experiment with making glass icicles and candy canes to take home; a more in-depth fourhour class will also explore changing the dimension of the glass by blowing a glass bubble and adding color. For class dates, prices, and sign-ups, please visit the website.
Dickinson Glass at The Barlow, 6770 McKinley St., Sebastopol. Open Thurs. to Sun., noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment. dickinsonglass.com
Exploring The Barlow
Glass artist Michael Dickinson and his wife, Nicolette, love to bring their baby daughter with them as they explore the scene in The Barlow market district. Here are a few of their go-to spots:
Barrio
Dickinson and his wife love the rustic Mexican cuisine at this walk-up spot near the community market. Dickinson, who mostly eats vegetarian food, calls the veggie burritos here “absolutely phenomenal.” 6760 McKinley St., Sebastopol. 707-329-6538, barriosebastopol.com
Dos Tacos with two yellow tortillas, your choice of meat, topped with chipotle aioli, pico de gallo, arugula and micro greens from Barrio in Sebastopol’s The Barlow. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)
Courtesy of Fern Bar.
Fern Bar
Stunningly creative cocktails and mocktails for a date night, and the most beautiful indoor hanging garden around. 6780 Depot St., Sebastopol. 707-861-9603, fernbarn.com
Crooked Goat Brewing
On Dickinson’s first-ever visit to The Barlow in 2019, he and his wife attended a dog birthday party at the local brewery—and ended up falling in love with the scene. They started exploring nearby spaces to rent, and their gallery opened the following year. 120 Morris St., Sebastopol. 707-827-3893, crookedgoatbrewing.com
Catalina Marin and Rodrigo Maturana have worked hard to create a family home their three children can love—a home that happens to be thousands of miles away from the couple’s own extended family. Catalina and Rodrigo were both raised in Chile and moved to Sonoma County nearly a decade ago for Rodrigo’s career. The home they’ve created here reflects both the history of the couple’s native country and new traditions they’ve formed within their Sonoma community.
Catalina was raised in the country’s capital, Santiago, in a family of artists and makers. She and Rodrigo met in business school, and they each built careers in marketing (Rodrigo in the wine industry, Catalina with international corporations like L’Oréal and PepsiCo). When the couple settled in Sonoma, they realized they had an opportunity to redefine the balance between their work and family lives and create a relaxed but design-forward home that connects the threads of the international life they’ve built together.
Catalina, whose eye for design was cultivated by her artist mother, envisioned the family’s home in Healdsburg with a blend of midcentury and contemporary pieces, all united by a sense of history.
“Your house has to speak your language,” she says. “A home without a story has no soul.”
Catalina Marin in her Healdsburg home. (Eileen Roche)
The couple’s own story centers on an appreciation of craft and nature: the lamp made by a local friend from a gourd grown on their farm, seashells and stones collected on Chilean beaches during trips to visit family, paintings by their oldest daughter on the walls—and now, hand-loomed pillows and blankets from Catalina’s textile business.
Growing up, Catalina spent summers camping and riding horses on the rugged coastal island of Chiloé, near Patagonia, where subsistence traditions of farming and weaving carry local families through the seasons. The island displays a wildly beautiful landscape of beaches, weathered wooden churches, brightly painted fishing cabins, and lush pastures dotted with sheep. Local artisans weave wool blankets and other textiles to earn income in the winter, when farming and fishing aren’t as fruitful.
Catalina’s business, TREKO Chile, imports the creations of these rural artisans, preserving traditional sheepshearing, weaving, and dyeing techniques while opening up the beauty of their craftsmanship to new eyes.
“It’s not just preserving Chilean craft, but the specific traditions of this one island,” explains Catalina. “I’ll ask one of our artists, for example, ‘How did you make this particular loop,’ and then we might create a design together with a thousand of those same loops in one pillow. It’s embracing all of that beauty that they have in a contemporary way.”
A holiday meal of homemade empanadas. (Eileen Roche)
Designer Catalina Marin, owner of a Healdsburg company that imports textiles from her native Chile, sets the table with simple, handthrown ceramics and eucalyptus branches. (Eileen Roche)
One advantage of the natural wools and dyes used in Treko designs is that they are incredibly resilient and family friendly. At the family’s Healdsburg home, these traditional textiles are lived with every day—and hold up well with all of the small (and sometimes large) messes that come along with three kids. There’s an heirloom-quality wool throw on the back of the couch and hand-loomed pillows on the beds, all done with a casual care that communicates that this is a family home.
“A house cannot be a museum,” says Catalina. “My kids know they can put their feet up on things; they can jump on the couch. It is a resilient home.”
Older daughter Renata at work on a series of abstract portraits. (Eileen Roche)A black-and-white wool throw from TREKO in the living room. (Eileen Roche)
There are also big meals around the dining table, games of soccer in the backyard (both Rodrigo and son Santiago, 11, are huge soccer fans), and getting together with the neighbors. “I feel that’s what we do in Chile,” says Catalina. “We’re always with our families, and now our friends here are our family.”
Barbecues are popular, as are empanada-making parties where the couple’s younger daughter, 9-yearold Catita, takes the lead in kneading the dough and spooning in the filling. At the New Year, Catalina makes pastel de choclo, a casserole of sweet corn, onions, ground beef, and eggs cooked in individual clay pots for each member of the family.
Catalina cultivates an appreciation for art with her children, in the way that her parents did as she was growing up. “The gift of art is everywhere,” she says, explaining how her grandfather took her hiking, pointing out tiny details in the way the leaves of a plant grew together.
The couple’s older daughter, Renata, 12, carries on the family artistic tradition, recently working on a series of beautifully expressive black-and-white portraits on brown butcher paper that Catalina had framed for the corner of the living room. Catalina keeps all three of the kids busy with open-ended art projects and outdoorsy experiences to continue to foster creativity.
“We have different pens, crayons, Legos, scissors everywhere. So it’s all your imagination—it’s like you’re creating your thing,” she says.
“Your house has to speak your language,” says designer Catalina Marin. Her home has a focus on natural materials, including a handcarved wood vase in the living room. (Eileen Roche)Son Santi and younger daughter Catita lounge in the playroom, where family artwork decorates the walls. (Eileen Roche)
Big projects, like repainting a room or hanging a piece of art or reviewing future designs for the textile business, are another way for the family to be creative together.
“It’s important that they always see us doing projects and working hard, so they know what it takes,” says Catalina.
As her business grows, Catalina says she will work to continue to find the balance between a busy family life and a creative, design-focused one. She would like to explore Indigenous designs from other regions of Chile as well as different natural materials like copper and ceramics.
“My dream would be the whole island and different regions of the country to be able to show what they do,” she says. “But we need to always keep our feet on the ground—and keep who we are at heart.”
For more information on Catalina Marin’s line of imported Chilean textiles, visit trekochile.com.
Like a local
Owner/designer Catalina Marin of the Healdsburg textile company TREKO Chile loves uncovering pieces with history as a way to layer texture and art in her own home. Not surprisingly, she’s a big vintage shopper.
Here are a few of her favorite spots:
Antique Society
This collection of 100-plus vintage vendors in an Art Deco building in Sebastopol has a wonderful bakery alongside. 2661 Gravenstein Hwy. S., Sebastopol. 707-829-1733, antiquesociety.com
Elsie Green
Catalina says she mourns the loss of the local brick-and-mortar location of this unique spot for housewares and other antiques. Fortunately, there’s still an online shop. elsiegreen.com
Gallery Lulo
Elegant, one-of-a-kind jewelry and art pieces for the home, including ceramic vases and delicate wall hangings. Beautifully curated, and every artisan featured has a story to share. 303 Center St., Healdsburg. 707-433-7533, gallerylulo.com
Urban Tree Farm
Catalina loves exploring the trees, shrubs, and plants at this destination nursery. Bonus points for the chance to ride in a golf cart through the 20 acres of displays. 3010 Fulton Rd., Fulton. 707-544-4446, urbantreefarm.com
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang may be recognized around the world, but to the people of Sonoma County, they are simply our neighbors.
“Peanuts” creator Charles “Sparky” Schulz, who lived and worked in Sonoma County from 1958 until his death in 2000, remains a powerful presence. While the world knows of his comic strips and the animated cartoons they inspired, locals have many ways to mark the Schulz influence in the county—not only by visiting the places he loved, but by remembering a legacy of local philanthropy that carries through to this day.
The spirit of Schulz rings strong in Sonoma County, from the statues of “Peanuts” characters that dot the city of Santa Rosa, to the vintage “Peanuts” comic strips still reprinted daily in our local newspaper. At the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, known as Snoopy’s Home Ice, there is still a “reserved” sign on Schulz’s favorite table in the arena’s Warm Puppy Café coffee shop, where he sat so many mornings. “The ice arena is still a big part of Santa Rosa,” says Schulz’s widow, Jean Schulz, who still lives in Santa Rosa. “It’s a happy place. Sparky said people needed to hang out, whether they were watching their kids skate or just having a cup of coffee.”
But it’s not just the local institutions that bring Sparky’s legacy alive. It’s also that Charlie Brown and the rest of Schulz’s characters remain some of the most iconic in all of American culture—“right up there with the March sisters and Tom Sawyer,” according to author Bruce Handy in The Atlantic magazine. The gang’s small dramas—hitting a baseball, making friends, struggling to impress a first crush—belie profoundly moving observations about the nature of childhood itself, says Handy.
British curator Claire Catterall, in an introduction to an exhibit about the legacy of Schulz’s characters, says the “Peanuts” gang became, for many, an important part of their daily life, a cast of friends accompanying fans on a journey of love, laughter, tears, and fears. “[The comic strips] didn’t offer any answers, only comfort in knowing that we all suffer the same worries and disappointments,” Catterall writes, “and it showed us how these bittersweet moments could form the wellspring of humanity itself.”
A worldwide following
Charles M. Schulz was born Nov. 26, 1922, in Minneapolis and would have turned 100 this year. By the time of his death of colon cancer in Santa Rosa at age 77, he had written and drawn the “Peanuts” comic strip for nearly 50 years. (Perhaps cartoons were in his destiny; Schulz’s lifelong nickname, Sparky, was a reference to a comic his family enjoyed as a child.)
Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip debuted in 1950 and over the following decades, it garnered hundreds of millions of readers and spawned some 50 television specials, as well as movies, books, toys—even a Broadway show. At its height, “Peanuts” readership was estimated at around 355 million people. The daily strip was syndicated to over 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries around the world and translated into 21 languages.
Paloma, 6, and Fernando Lopez, 4, of Healdsburg celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Charles M. Schulz Museum Monday, August 15, 2022. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
A circa-1960s image of a young Schulz demonstrating how to draw his most famous character.
Five years after the comic strip’s debut, Schulz won the first of two awards from the National Cartoonists Society for outstanding cartoonist of the year. He moved to Sonoma County in 1958, and quickly made a home, eventually raising five children here—all of whom attended public schools in the area. (Schulz famously served as PTA president at his kids’ elementary school and wrote the monthly parents’ newsletter.) Local landmarks regularly appeared in Schulz’s work, including Santa Rosa’s Spring Lake Park, Sebastopol’s Pine Crest Elementary School, and the communities of Bodega Bay and Petaluma, to name a few.
Sometimes, Schulz’s friends even made an appearance in print. Harriet Crossland, a friend of Schulz’s from Snoopy’s Home Ice, became the namesake for Woodstock’s tiny bird friend Harriet, a member of the scout troop led by Snoopy. And sweet, philosophical Linus, little brother of often-crabby Lucy, was named after Linus Maurer, the longtime cartoonist for the Sonoma Index-Tribune.
“Peanuts” on display
One of the Schulz family’s greatest gifts to the county is the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, which opened two decades ago near Schulz’s beloved Santa Rosa ice rink. Over the years, the center has welcomed Peanuts fans from as far away as the Netherlands and Japan, who make the pilgrimage to understand the history behind Schulz’s creations.
“The museum has given depth and richness to the work of Charles Schulz,” says museum director Gina Huntsinger.
Over two decades, the museum has hosted over 350 visiting cartoonists, including Patrick McDonnell, the creator of “Mutts,” Cathy Guisewite of “Cathy,” and Mo Willems, author of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” Exhibitions developed by the center travel around the world, and pretty much any schoolchild in the county has experienced the museum’s riches through field trips and other outreach. The museum estimates they reach 12,000 local students each year with their programming.
The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa. (Brennan Spark Photography)The cartoonist’s studio, now a part of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa. (Brennan Spark Photography)
Current Miss California Catherine Liang, who grew up in Windsor, remembers visiting the museum often as a child. “I was in an after-school art and cartoon program, though I can’t say I was talented at it,” she jokes. “My stick figures struggled.”
Liang particularly remembers the museum’s bedroom wall mural retrieved from a Colorado house Schulz once lived in, a piece which shows early versions of some of his characters. She also loves the mosaic made up of numerous “Peanuts” comic strips, which stands in the museum’s main hall. Schulz’s creations have remained deeply impactful to Liang. “It shows how powerful a storyteller Charles Schulz was,” she says. “His legacy is his personal storytelling.”
Tough guys on the ice
Schulz, who made Snoopy riding atop the Zamboni ice resurfacer a recurring motif in his comic strips, was a lifelong hockey player and fan. Snoopy’s Home Ice was originally conceived by Schulz’s first wife, Joyce Schulz, and opened to the public in northwest Santa Rosa in 1969. “Charles Schulz enjoyed this ice arena so much, and he loved what happened here,” says Tamara Stanley, the arena’s general manager.
Snoopy’s Home Ice became one of the main places where Schulz interacted with other locals on a day-to-day, neighbor-to-neighbor basis. Rick Denniston of Santa Rosa recalls how Schulz hosted high-level skaters, including Olympians Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill, for holiday ice shows each Christmas. In 1999, at one of the holiday previews, Denniston and his wife were surprised to see Schulz get in line right behind the couple. “As the line slowly moved forward … one of his employees, with a shocked look on her face, said, ‘Mr. Schulz, you can just go in!’ He waved her off and continued in line with us and sat next to us for the first half of the show.”
Schulz in action at Snoopy’s Home Ice.
The arena still hosts the annual Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament and is home to popular youth, adult, and community college teams. Roland Thibault, who coached and played hockey with Schulz, says though Schulz was generally known as a quiet figure in public, he was an aggressive player on the ice. “He was very reserved, but he was very competitive. He wanted to win,” Thibault says. “He was a fairly good skater, and he was tough. You didn’t try to take the puck away from him.”
The connection between Schulz’s real life and the storyline in the “Peanuts” comic strip was ever-present, Thibault later discovered. “He did create a character named after me: Tibo,” he says. “Tibo was cranky. It’s not me. I have no idea why he made me a tough guy—but I was playing hockey, so I guess I was tough.”
Surprising legacies
The ice rink and museum are not the only gifts Schulz and his family have left to the people of Sonoma. Two major gifts to Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park have benefited thousands of students. The Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center, which houses the university’s library and student academic services, opened in 2000 after a $5 million gift from the Schulzes.
The family also created an endowment, which allows the library to keep pace with ongoing changes in technology. It’s a comfortable meeting place for students and faculty, says the library’s dean, Karen G. Schneider. “We have a lot of prints on the wall, and Jeannie Schulz provided the captions,” she says. “And we have a great photo of Sparky on the third floor.”
In 2014, the $9.5 million Schroeder Hall chamber and choral music space opened opposite Weill Hall at Sonoma State’s Green Music Center. The hall is named for the small blonde character who played Beethoven on his toy piano, ignoring bossy Lucy as she talked of marriage. Jean Schulz suggested the name, explaining that her husband had loved classical music.
“It’s no small thing to say [the family’s] philanthropic support allowed the Santa Rosa Symphony to go from a really good local orchestra to a professional regional orchestra that is nationally recognized,” says Alan Silow, the symphony’s president and CEO, noting that the cartoonist also made anonymous donations to support individual concerts. “And even with his passing, Jeannie Schulz and the Schulz Fund have continued his philanthropic legacy,” Silow says.
Jean Schulz at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, in Santa Rosa.
But perhaps one of the most tender ongoing legacies of the Schulz family is their relationship with Canine Companions—a relationship befitting a lifelong animal lover and the creator of one of the most memorable canine characters in history. Founded in 1975 and based in Santa Rosa, Canine Companions provides service dogs to those in need and has six campuses across the country. They broke ground earlier this year on a new 32,000-square-foot center in Santa Rosa, which will open next summer.
CEO Paige Mazzoni says the Schulzes first got involved with Canine Companions in the mid-1980s after Sparky saw a demonstration given by a service dog recipient and her canine partner. When asked to join the organization’s board of directors, Sparky declined, but his wife Jean accepted and continues to serve on the board. “A huge part of what the Schulzes have done is bring attention to the concept of service dogs,” Mazzoni says.
Lasting memories
In Sonoma County, Charles Schulz and his family ultimately found a comfortable balance between worldwide fame and being part of a community, say those who knew him. “When Sparky first moved from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa in the early ‘70s, I think a lot of people didn’t know who he was,” says his wife, Jean Schulz. “He wasn’t famous the way a movie star is famous.”
“He liked it here, because he could go places and be a regular person in the community,” explains Gina Huntsinger of the Schulz Museum. “People here let him be.”
In later years, Schulz got more notice from the locals, says Jean. On his walks around the Coddingtown area, near the arena and his studio, passing drivers would hail him.
There is no question that Charles Schulz is still remembered as Sonoma’s most wellknown resident. Even the airport is named for him. “I think there’s a heck of a lot of people who miss him,” says Thibault, Schulz’s onetime hockey pal. “He was a genius.”
And they don’t intend to forget him, his work, or the local landmarks he left behind. This is an important time for Sonoma County and its many Schulz fans. Catherine Liang, the current Miss California, expresses the love of an entire community as she reflects on the cartoonist’s long life: “It’s monumental that we get to celebrate 100 years of Charles Schulz.”
Caroling with Snoopy and the Gang
Over the years, Schulz’s beloved “Peanuts” gang has appeared in nearly 50 animated TV specials, including the first, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 23-minute show has become a cherished holiday tradition for generations of viewers since its debut, amid modest expectations, in December of 1965. “My whole family can recite every line,” says super-fan Candace Hackett Shively, an artist and retired teacher.
Shively holds a rare connection to the production. In the fall of 1965, when she was 12 years old, Shively and other members of her youth church choir in San Rafael were invited to sing on the show’s hurriedly recorded music soundtrack. Here’s what she remembers of that whirlwind adventure.
– Chris Smith
Candace Shively in 1965.
A call for volunteers
“It was just part of my childhood to sing in the junior choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. At practice one Saturday morning, our director, Barry Mineah, asked if anyone would volunteer to do something for the choir, but he did not say what. We who volunteered eventually were told we were going to be recorded. Barry took us on a Monday afternoon to South San Francisco, to Fantasy Records. There were about eight of us who went on that first trip.”
The work at hand
“They gave us the lyrics to ‘Christmas Time is Here,’ and we practiced it. Later, we were accompanied by (famous jazz pianist and composer) Vince Guaraldi and his trio. I think we would have been terrified if we hadn’t performed with him before. He’d had us as part of a jazz Mass at Grace Cathedral in 1963. The trio skateboarded with us during the choir breaks.”
The sound of laughter
“I think I went to South San Francisco for two of the three recording sessions. We also sang ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’ And they recorded us laughing, making crowd noises. We had no image of what the TV show was going to look like—there had never been an animated Christmas special.
It was late when we finished up that first Monday night. We all had to go to school the next morning. At the end of the night, (show producer) Lee Mendelson handed Barry a $20 bill and said, ‘Take them all for ice cream.’ I was most excited to see a $20 bill!”
Showtime
“At last, it was the night of the airing. We didn’t have a color TV, so I saw it in black-and-white. It was over so fast! I could hear myself for sure.
I would have done it for free, but we were paid $5 per session. That was a lot of money then. I bought Christmas presents for my family, at Woolworths in San Rafael.
I became an elementary school teacher and every year, I would play ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ for my students on the day before Christmas break. I’d tell them, ‘Volunteer for something. You never know what will happen!’”
Sakiko Yazawa, left, and Chisa Tatsumi, tourists from Japan, pose as their friend, Yuka Shimada, takes their photo with Charlie Brown at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
Centennial Celebrations
A series of special events at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa lead up to Schulz’s 100th birthday weekend in late November. “The Spark of Schulz: A Centennial Celebration,” an exhibit tracing the impact of his work on modern cartooning, continues through March. And a new book, “Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the Peanuts Creator in 100 Objects,” co-written by museum curator Benjamin Clark, was released earlier this year.
On Schulz’s actual birthday, November 26, the museum will host a daylong celebration with cake for all, live cartooning events, and other special performances. Also on November 26, Snoopy’s Home Ice will host a fundraiser to benefit cancer research and a special ice show, “Sparky’s Ice Spectacular,” hosted by Olympic skater Scott Hamilton.
Charles M.Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa. 707-579-4452, schulzmuseum.org
Redwood Empire Ice Arena (Snoopy’s Home Ice), 1667 W. Steele Lane, Santa Rosa. 707-546-7147, snoopyshomeice.com
Sonoma County Poultry founder Jim Reichardt, left, with his children Jennifer and Eric. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
The ducks go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah…OK, make that thousands by thousands, strutting in their barns on the scenic Liberty Duck ranch in west Petaluma. They’re beautiful creatures—fluffy golden peeps as babies, then sleek, buttery yellow juveniles, and finally, snowy white, elegant adults.
They nest on comfy straw litter in an open environment, free to live their lives without interference, except at feeding time, when they receive nutritious meals of corn and other whole grains.
And after they’re humanely harvested, their rich, deep pink Liberty Duck meat is listed by name at dozens of high-end restaurants, including John Ash & Co. in Santa Rosa, Barndiva in Healdsburg, Della Fattoria in Petaluma, Terrapin Creek in Bodega Bay, and The French Laundry in Napa.
When Jim Reichardt founded the family-owned company in 1992, it was all about serving restaurant clients. Chefs were asking Reichardt, a fourth-generation duck farmer who had just split away from his family’s Reichardt Duck Farm, for a larger, more flavorful bird. He introduced Liberty Ducks, a breed developed in Denmark and suited to a slower, less stressful style of rearing.
This slower pace of growth results in a meatier bird with exceptional flavor and a distinct layer of fat under the skin—just enough to keep the meat succulent but still lean.
Diners loved the duck, but when the pandemic hit two years ago, many restaurants closed or turned to more casual options. So the Reichardt family—Jim, daughter Jennifer Reichardt, and son Eric Reichardt—launched a new retail website and started selling their duck meat directly to home cooks. As the business pivoted, the team all pitched in to make deliveries. “We saw parts of the Bay Area we didn’t know existed,” Jennifer Reichardt jokes. “So many houses, with stairs climbing to the tops of mountains.”
Siblings Eric and Jennifer Reichardt prepare Duck Sugo Cavatelli at their father’s home in Petaluma on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
The Reichardts found sustainably minded foodies are increasingly eager to cook with locally raised duck as an ingredient for home meals. That demand in home kitchens quickly led to the launch of a new cookbook, “The Whole Duck,” which came out last month.
Written by Jennifer Reichardt, the book includes original family recipes plus contributions from more than 50 chefs and butchers showcasing marvelous ways to prepare Liberty’s smoked duck breast, duck legs, ground duck meat, and specialty duck chorizo.
The book encourages even beginner cooks to master the secret to crispy bronzed skin, make impossibly rich bone broth, and render duck fat for frying exquisite latkes. And then, there’s this: Cabernet Sauvignon chocolate cake laced with silky duck fat and slathered in duck fat chocolate frosting, from Kendall-Jackson pastry chef Alexa Sayad.
Some of the recipes feature fancy restaurant dishes, but others are simply personal favorites. Restaurateur Ken Frank of Napa’s Michelin-starred La Toque perhaps wouldn’t serve duck chili at his restaurant—but he’ll share his recipe with readers, noting it’s perfect for a big party.
“I think most people only think of duck a l’orange, and we do have a recipe for that, but it’s a modern take, not so sickly-sweet sugary,” Jennifer says. “And we have duck nuggets, and sliders, and Sichuan pepper duck tongue: fun, versatile stuff that’s more than just duck confit legs, but not complicated.” In the book, Jennifer also leans into her other career as owner/ winemaker at Sonoma County’s Raft Wines to recommend drink pairings.
Duck has long been seen as intimidating chef food, Jim says—something you’d order in a French restaurant but not necessarily cook at home. “The older generations would try to cook it like chicken at home, and it didn’t work,” he says. “They’d overcook it, fill the house with smoke, and end up with this burned mess.”
But anyone can succeed with duck, he insists. Son Eric, while away at college, received care packages of duck meat from the family back home and made all kinds of dishes for his buddies, some avid cooks and outdoorsmen. “Most of my friends had only eaten (wild) mallards they’d shot,” Eric recalls. “They were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is such a different, richer flavor, more like steak.’ And I didn’t do anything special to it… just salt-and-pepper roasted the legs or made tacos on the stove.”
The Reichardts credit longtime restaurant clients that have supported the family-owned business for the last three decades. “We’ve never asked any restaurant to put our name on their menu,” says Jennifer. “It’s an honor that they decide to do it and believe in our product so much that they’re willing to tell everyone, ‘This is what we’re serving to you.’”
Duck Sugo Cavatelli prepared by siblings Jennifer and Eric Reichardt, from chef Tony Ferrari’s recipe, in Petaluma on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
Chef Tony Ferrari’s Duck Sugo Pasta with Herbs and Orange Zest
From “The Whole Duck” by Jennifer Reichardt
Jennifer Reichardt of Petaluma’s Liberty Duck family business says this dish yields twice the amount of sugo (Italian for “sauce”) that you’ll need to serve four people. Freeze half of the sauce for another meal—or double the amount of pasta to feed a holiday crowd. “I am the first to say that there’s nothing better than a bursting-at-the-seams table, as it’s always full of love,” she notes.
Ingredients
2 pounds ground duck meat
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with juices
1 can (28 oz) tomato sauce
1 to 2 tbsp. finely grated orange zest
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cavatelli, rigatoni, or other short, ridged pasta Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
To make the sugo, place a large cast-iron or other large, heavy frying pan over medium heat. Crumble the ground duck into the pan and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is browned, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a bowl.
In the same pan over medium heat, add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and golden, about 3 minutes.
Return the meat to the pan, add the vinegar, and deglaze the pan, using the wooden spoon or a spatula to dislodge the crispy browned bits from the pan bottom. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, orange zest (to taste), bay leaves, thyme, oregano, basil, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to mix well and bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally.
Turn down the heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring every now and again, until the meat is very tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced, about 30 minutes. (You can instead cover the pan and simmer the sauce over low heat for up to 2 hours.)
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. You will have about 8 cups sugo. Transfer half to an airtight container, let cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Leave the remaining sugo in the pan and cover to keep warm.
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.
Just before the pasta is ready, reheat the sauce over medium heat. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat evenly, loosening the sauce as needed with the reserved pasta water. Transfer to a warmed platter or individual bowls, sprinkle with plenty of Parmesan, and serve.
Celebrating with the Reichardts
To purchase the family’s new cookbook, “The Whole Duck,” ($35) or to buy Liberty Duck for the holidays, visit libertyducks. com. Check the website, too, for a calendar of upcoming chef dinners featuring recipes from the new book.
At the website, you can order ground duck meat for the warming duck sugo recipe on the following page. Liberty Duck products are also carried at many local grocery stores, including Oliver’s Markets and Sonoma Market.
Ironically, you may not necessarily wish to take holiday menu cues from the Reichardt family themselves. After filling special seasonal orders, there usually isn’t any of the prized poultry left over for the family’s own holiday meals. “We do a lot of Dungeness crab, we’re involved with the (annual Sonoma County) 4-H Heritage Turkey Project, and we’re suckers for big, juicy steaks,” says Jim.
And yes, he once tried making a turducken, but says he never will again. “Why would you want a chicken stuffed inside of a duck inside of a turkey, and the skin never gets crispy?”
