Pepperoni pizza from Pleasant Hill Pie in Sebastopol. (Pleasant Hill Pie)
Gravenstein Grill in Sebastopol is reviving its popular pizza concept, Pleasant Hill Pie, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights. During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, the restaurant sold takeout pizza and burgers. The latter was so successful it grew into the brick-and-mortar Sonoma Burger in 2021.
The pizza party happens on the Gravenstein Grill patio, with 12-inch pizzas, salads and drinks from the restaurant’s full bar (including happy hour discounts).
Pepperoni pizza from Pleasant Hill Pie in Sebastopol. (Pleasant Hill Pie)
Apple Fair food
The Gravenstein Apple Fair will return to Ragle Ranch Regional Park on Aug. 13 and 14 after a two-year hiatus, with creative fair food highlighting the iconic local apple.
On the menu are Farm Trails Apple Fritters, the Black Pig Bacon BLT, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches from The Farmer’s Wife and apples dipped in housemade goat-milk caramel from Rocker Oysterfellers.
A variety of apple ciders produced by Ethic Ciders in Sebastopol. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)BLT from Black Piglet food truck. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Bayou on the Bay will go all out with Cajun sausage rolls with Gravenstein caramelized onions, smoked Gravenstein barbecue macaroni and cheese, curried Gravenstein jambalaya, beignets with Gravenstein apple compote, Gravenstein apple pie bread pudding and Gravenstein apple Southern sweet tea.
Let’s say we’re thrilled to the core. Hard apple cider will, of course, be a huge part of the event, with top-notch craft brewers including Tilted Shed, Ethic Cider, Golden State Cider and Eye Cyder offering sips and pairings in the VIP tent. Oliver’s Craft Cider Tent will pour 15 ciders made with with apples grown within 100 miles of the fair’s home at Ragle Ranch.
If Sonoma County could be encapsulated into a restaurant, Willi’s Wine Bar would be it. Mark and Terri Stark’s first restaurant opened in 2002 near the Luther Burbank Center and quickly became a top destination for small plates — something rather daring at the time — along with great wines and a generally chill vibe. The restaurant was destroyed in the 2017 wildfires but rose again in 2019 in Santa Rosa’s Town and Country shopping center with many of the same menu favorites.
The original Willi’s Wine Bar.Guests at the new Willi’s Wine Bar in Santa Rosa, on opening day. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
In August, the restaurant turns 20, and to celebrate, the Starks are asking fans to make and post a short video on Facebook or Instagram sharing a memory of the restaurant with the tags @williswinebar and #willis20th. Twenty winners will be randomly selected from the entries to attend a private anniversary party on Aug. 21. Contest ends Aug. 15; complete rules at starkrestaurants.com.
When Allison Messner needed to completely redo her home’s landscape after the Tubbs fire destroyed it in 2017, she started looking for a local landscape designer to tackle the project. But as bids came in three to four times her budget, she thought, “There’s got to be a better way.” As it turned out, there was. But it hadn’t been invented yet.
Messner and her husband Adam, both technology entrepreneurs, decided to take matters into their own hands and developed an online design service called Yardzen, which allows users to work with landscape designers or architects remotely. Clients upload photos of their outdoor space and complete an online questionnaire to get the process started. They then select a designer, who will use their images, along with publicly available property information and a database of plants, to create a design plan.
Allison and Adam Messner and their children. (Yardzen)
For their own yard, the Messners hired a designer in another part of the country. The couple had decided that they only wanted to landscape a few areas of their woodsy four-acre property on the Sonoma County side of Calistoga. “We didn’t feel the need to plot the entire property,” says Messner. All they needed was a design plan. Thanks to the new technology they had developed, they could get that through their smartphones.
The Messners launched Yardzen in July 2018. Since then, the online design service has assisted people with thousands of projects across the country. Allison Messner describes it as similar to a concierge service that connects users to “heavily vetted” designers, contractors and garden products.
The 500 designers who work for Yardzen can further improve their skills and knowledge through online classes. Best practices like low-water and pollinator-friendly designs are company standard and designs are continually reviewed to ensure that they meet these standards.
“We take a pretty firm stance on things like lawns,” says Messner. “95% (of Western United States) is experiencing drought conditions, so we take a heavy hand to make sure we’re a good actor.” Lawns offer “virtually zero habitat value,” adds Kevin Lenhart, Yardzen’s design director, who also mentions that lawns are linked to pollution due to the pesticides, fertilizers and mowing they require.
Instead of lawns, clients in Sonoma County should opt for drought-tolerant native plants for their yards, like California fuchsia, California buckwheat, yarrow and deer grass, advises Lenhart. Low-water, climate-adapted plants from other regions will work, too, he says, including lavender, bay laurel, smoke bush, sages and olive trees.
When it comes to designing your own yard, less is more. “From plant and materials selection to determining how many gathering spaces to include, focus on making fewer, stronger gestures,” advises Lenhart. “Don’t be boring or one-dimensional, but prioritize overall composition over individual detail.”
“Aesthetic beauty is crucial to a successful design because people aren’t motivated to maintain or spend time in landscapes that they don’t like,” he says. But landscape designs should also take into consideration and give back to the local ecosystem.
Allison Messner believes the key to her company’s success is its streamlined process and the flexibility the online design service offers: Instead of planning the landscape design during scheduled onsite, in-person meetings with a designer, clients can plan their dream yard from the comfort of their own home, wine glass in hand.
Yardzen offers small packages, starting at around $650. Larger projects, with more comprehensive services, like multiple project edits, start at $2400. yardzen.com
Shopping at a great home decor store can make putting those final, or new, touches to your space so much easier. Sonoma County has a number of excellent stores for those in search of interior design inspiration and, in the past year, several newcomers have set up shop here. Some local favorites also have expanded their offerings recently.
Here are four shops to visit on your next outing that will help infuse some fresh Sonoma style into your home. From new and vintage homewares to homespun novelties, there’s lots to peruse.
Forager
This newcomer to downtown Healdsburg turns 1 in August. It is a “modern mercantile with beautiful but useful finds,” says co-owner Karen Reul.
The curated items for sale here are an artful mix of vintage and new, ornate and modern. Brass candlesticks, vintage silver and botanical prints contrast with the store’s modern linens, earthy ceramics and handwoven gourd baskets from Zimbabwe. Maple breadboards and modern cast iron pans — made to replicate 19th century predecessors — can do kitchen duty but also serve as art on the wall.
Reul likes to carry products that tell a story, such as farmhouse pitchers made by Windsor ceramicist Chris Landwehr, and Treko woven textiles by Sonoma designer Catalina Marin, who partners with women artisans in Chile, where she grew up. Also available in the store are unique table top mounts for displaying branches and blooms, created by Artifact Design and Salvage in Sonoma, along with home decor finds from Sonoma Bee Company, San Francisco-based Austin Press, and specimen-nest photographer Sharon Beals.
Forage also sells a few, select pieces of furniture, from an antique marble-topped sideboard to a 1970s bar cart.
Emily Lynch has taken her successful candle making business and cast her entrepreneurial net out further to bring a wellness-oriented home store, Acorn, to Duncans Mills. Think of it as mindfulness meets home decor.
Motivated by the intention to bring “calm, joy and connection” life, Lynch sells her own popular line of candles in her store along with a curated selection of items that enhance everyday living: linens, dishware or glassware that might encourage someone to set a beautiful table — not just for the holidays, but on a weekday.
Acorn also carries kits from Farmsteady for easy bagel-making and from Elle Crée for exquisite paint-by-numbers. These kits allow busy people, who might be reluctant to take on more projects, to enjoy some mindful at-home activities. The store also sells kitchenware, furniture and textiles, including plenty of pillows.
All of the items for sale at Acorn align with Lynch’s belief that small mindful practices can yield greater satisfaction in life. “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow” goes the saying that inspired her store’s name.
25171 CA-116, Monte Rio, 415-269-7770, acornshop.co
Homespun Market
A longtime lover of handcrafted items, Alexis King opened Homespun Market in Rohnert Park last fall and recently opened a sister shop in Marin County. Her Rohnert Park shop carries products that were made in small batches, from homewares to novelties. Among the many locally-made items offered here are resin charcuterie boards from West Coast Vibez, propagation vases by Steve Keith, coasters by Wine Barrel Revival, and mini floral resin trays by Cositas Contreras.
And there are lots of candles. So many, in fact, that “you could spend a half hour finding your favorite,” says King. The store owner adds that she loves to offer a platform for people “who make cool things” and says she looks forward to the holiday season market. “The abundance of goods coming will be unimaginable!”
1460 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park; The Village at Corte Madera, 1806 Redwood Highway, Corte Madera, homespunmarket.shop
Hello Penngrove
Penngrove’s beloved little housewares store has expanded to offer more good-for-your-home items, including furniture and books. Fresh from a renovation, the store now has lots of wall-to-wall shelving and two new lounge areas, including one for children. The store sells all things tabletop and carries lots of kitchen items, along with novelties and gifts. Toys and children’s clothing are available, too.
Interior designer Jay Jeffers wasn’t in the market to buy a hotel. It had never even crossed his mind. But when a friend suggested that he check out an inn for sale in Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Valley, he shrugged, “Why not?”
It was Memorial Day weekend 2020. Most businesses were shut down, and there was nothing else to compete with a guided tour of an 1881-era mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It was a chance to get out of the house,” he says, laughing. But the former Madrona Manor had him at the gate. Passing through the distinctive twin pillars at the entrance at Westside Road, he was thunderstruck by the whole package—a Gilded Age “cottage,” lush grounds, vineyard views—and a sense of stepping into another world.
“I had never seen it before. I didn’t even know it existed,” says Jeffers. “You come into the gates to these beautiful gardens and suddenly the mansion presents itself to you. And then you turn your head and look over the Dry Creek Valley. It was just one of those things. I could see its future immediately.”
The dramatic entry features an artist-crafted ceiling and rug. (Matthew Millmann)Light now streams into this sitting room filled with art and a sofa with foxes and rabbits in the Aesthetic style of 19th century England. (Matthew Millman)
After a 2 ½-hour tour, he was sold. Jeffers recruited a group of investors, who purchased the 8-acre estate for $8.6 million in February 2021. By April, they were “swinging hammers,” as Jeffers enthusiastically dove into a $6 million makeover in partnership with Santa Rosa architect Daniel Strening and Petaluma-based Redwood Builders. The restored building, now a 24-room boutique hotel, reopened in April 2022.
Longtime fans will feel a difference the minute they pull up to the mansion. A sophisticated pale grey replaces the yellow on the exterior. Inside, down came heavy Victorian drapes, letting the Sonoma sun stream in. Jeffers installed new European herringbone oak floors, and he commissioned dramatic, painted ceilings, one by San Francisco artist Willem Racké that incorporates designs found on 18th century china.
To furnish the space, the designer incorporated antiques original to the 1881 mansion alongside custom furniture he designed himself and commissioned pieces from makers and artists. Much of the art comes from his friend Lisa Chadwick’s Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco. “We catalogued about 750 pieces of furniture, fixtures and artwork, and we did end up using about 250 of them,” Jeffers says. “I tried to use at least one piece from the property in every room,” Jeffers says, noting that the historic pieces give the hotel a “rich character that has been built over the years.”
The remodeled Madrona has a plush look that is comfortable yet elegant. (Matthew Millmann)A guest bathroom at The Madrona in Healdsburg. (Matthew Millman)
Jeffers explains he was inspired by the 19th century British Aesthetic movement, which embraced beauty and art. “It was about art for art’s sake, and beauty for beauty’s sake,” he says. “It was about joy and having fun. They say in some ways, it was the birth of residential interior design, because it was about how your home made you feel instead of what your home meant to other people who saw it.”
That feeling of hospitality extends outward, not only to The Madrona’s guests, but across the wider community. “I feel like this is part of the Healdsburg community,” Jeffers says. “I don’t want it to be so insular…We have a whole bar menu if you want to come up and sit at the bar and have a burger or pizza and a snack and sit out on the front porch. It’s a 24-room hotel. We want there to be energy, vibrations, and people enjoying the space at all times.”
Touched by the many stories people have shared about their weddings, romantic dinners, and other special occasions marked at The Madrona over the years, Jeffers has big plans to invite in the community, perhaps with outdoor movie nights featuring theater food that is a cut above—like executive chef Jesse Mallgren’s exceptional fried chicken. And he looks forward to a more relaxed summer season, after the flurry of renovations.
“In a way we were pushing it to get it done,” Jeffers says. “I always felt like we were behind. But when I look back on it, I think what we did in a year is quite an accomplishment.”
The Madrona’s revamped dining program
Longtime executive chef Jesse Mallgren has remained at The Madrona through the renovation. And it’s in Mallgren’s Michelin-starred restaurant where guests of the property will perhaps notice the most dramatic changes. Gone are the creaky, uneven floors, heavy white tablecloths, and petticoat drapes that never jived with Mallgren’s forward-thinking culinary prowess.
Onion Velouté with slow cooked egg, croutons, Banyuls vinegar, and Parmeggiano-Reggiano from The Madrona in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Caviar and Onion Dip with trout roe, warm potato chips from The Madrona in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Instead, modern lighting and bold, pinstriped outdoor furniture hint at Mallgren’s simplified new menu. Complex molecular gastronomy has been tossed aside for more approachable, but still opulent dishes like caviar and onion dip with trout roe and homemade potato chips, fresh estate-grown green salads, and chicken paillard with spicy brown butter and rice powder.
And yes, Mallgren’s famous tableside ice cream made with liquid nitrogen is gone from the menu—but so are the early 2000s, and we’re all ready to move on.
The Madrona 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-395-6700, themadronahotel.com
-Heather Irwin
Best Bets
Onion Veloute: One of the only dishes that remain from the original menu, this creamy soup features a floating slowcooked egg that melts into the dish, adding a second layer of luxury.
Grilled Local Black Cod: Gently poached cod is gets a bath of lemon-thyme broth studded with fresh peas and estate carrots. So simple, yet so good.
Guava Sours: Don’t overlook the house cocktail menu, which plays to seasonal, estate-grown fruits and herbs. This tart vodka sour gets a mix of guava nectar, lime, orange oil, Lillet, and black salt with just a hint of herbaceous absinthe.
From left, friends Sydney Manka, Ruby Paschoal, Ava Staub and Sydney Doyle dig into a funnel cake on the opening day of the 80th annual Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma. (photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
As an 18-year-old in Sonoma County, your options for fun activities can be limited. You can drive, sure, but you can’t take full advantage of the Wine Country culture — the tasting rooms, the tap rooms, the farm-to-table food are off limits because of your age and skinny wallet. But with some creativity, and a few good friends in tow, there’s actually a lot to enjoy in Sonoma County that doesn’t involve fancy wine and food.
We’ve narrowed down some free (or almost-free) things to do if you want to take advantage of summer in Sonoma County, or just can’t stand scrolling through Stranger Things season 5 theories any more. Click through the gallery for details.
On five sprawling acres on the edge of Sonoma, Peter and Louise Hassen live among sculptures and succulents, bees and birdhouses, wildflowers and herb gardens. Here, on a former poultry farm, the couple has built a life where art and business thrive together.
Louise is the founder of Sonoma Apothecary, a company that produces bath and body products made with organic herbs. She’s also the head gardener for the property, which they’ve named Terraplane Farm. Her husband, Peter, is a multidisciplinary artist, working with video, painting, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. Last summer, Peter displayed three sculptures on the nearby Sonoma Plaza, part of his “Cycles” series.
The works were designed to make both visitors and residents stop to consider the challenges and opportunities of the moment.
Peter explains that his art has connections to recurring themes of nature, science, and spirituality and attempts to connect the dots between people, ideas, and cultures. “I mine the icons and memes of history, looking for commonalities in ideas from the earliest of cultures to contemporary times,” he says. “My goal is to engage viewers in conversation about issues relevant in all of our lives.”
On a former poultry farm, the couple has built a life where art and business thrive together. (Eileen Roche)
Louise and Peter met in San Francisco, then hopscotched their way northward to Sonoma. They purchased their current farm, a former poultry operation that once provided chicken, ducks, and eggs to sailors at a nearby Navy yard, in 2008. “We knew about this property from driving by it over the years and joking about walking up and making an offer.” Turns out, through lucky timing—or perhaps destiny—the Hassens were ready to move just as the farm came on the market. They made an offer immediately.
The Hassens now live in the original 1,500-square-foot, one-bedroom farmhouse, which was built in 1923. The home needed only a light touch with renovations. “Our goal then, and since, is to keep all the old charm of an original stick-built Craftsman style ‘kit house.’ It probably came off a railcar,” explains Peter. “All the 100-year-old double-hung windows still work and have the original wavy glass.”
At the time the couple moved in, very little landscaping existed. Sheets of plywood laid on bare ground formed the walkway up to the house. “The first thing we did was call Tony at Sonoma Materials and order 70 yards of half-inch crushed drain rock to get us off the mud.”
A large bronze sculpture by artist Peter Hassen anchors a path through the meadow on his Sonoma farm. (Eileen Roche)
Louise Hassen harvests herbs to use in custom bath and body products. (Eileen Roche)
Louise, who studied garden design through UC Berkeley Extension (Sonoma landscape architect Nancy Roche was one of her instructors), saw the property as a perfect blank slate on which to create a vibrant and ever-evolving series of outdoor spaces. “I wanted to create enclosed garden ‘rooms’ that felt different from each other,” Louise says. To define and enclose the different spaces, she planted hedges of flowering cherry laurel, boxwood, and Grecian bay laurel.
Inside, the rooms were finished with drought tolerant and deer resistant plants. There’s also a separate agave garden, and another plot where Louise grows cut flowers for bouquets.
Recently, Louise added an apothecary garden of healing plants like lavender, clary sage, aloe, calendula, and lemongrass, many which she uses in her line of bath and body products. She grows other plants just for their fragrance—bergamot, cistus (rockrose) and a collection of scented geraniums.
A long, low shed, formerly a poultry barn, is now shared studio space for seven local artists. (Eileen Roche)
Raised beds for flowers, herbs, and veggies are tucked throughout. (Eileen Roche)Raised beds for flowers, herbs, and veggies are tucked throughout. (Eileen Roche)
Both Peter and Louise work the edible garden, which was expanded as part of the landscape remodel. This time of year, they’re harvesting plenty of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and squash, and every week in summer, they are able to donate 50 pounds or more of fresh produce to local nonprofit Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH). And in a few of the beds, more fragrant herbs, like verbascum, lemon verbena, salvia, and myrtle are grown for their good friend Alison Kilmer, founder of Sonoma’s Uppercase Tea Company.
Beyond the garden, Peter says, “the property has outdoor living for days,” with sitting areas and gathering spaces tucked into the orchard and the apothecary garden. A series of smaller outbuildings includes a farm office, a dining shed in a former garage, a water tower remade into a beautiful library, and a small barn converted into a lounge for music, dancing, and hanging out in the evening, loaded with comfy sofas and seats the couple made from wooden pallets and cushions. And seven local artists of every stripe, from landscape to abstract to pop art, work on the property in studio spaces that have been built into one of the low-slung chicken barns.
The farm’s water tower was repurposed as a library and study. (Eileen Roche)
The covered dining area, fitted into a former garage. (Eileen Roche)
As finicky Sonoma summer weather takes shape, the Hassens find the outdoor spaces offer flexibility for entertaining. One minute, the wind may be howling as it comes in over the Petaluma Gap, then suddenly it switches off. On calm nights, Louise and Peter will welcome guests at long picnic tables in the courtyard or in the garden shed and have dessert in the music lounge, which is often lit by candlelight. If it’s windy, they eat in the covered dining room. “Basically, it’s impossible to make the location call until about 15 minutes before we eat and we know what the weather is doing,” laughs Louise.
The Hassens say they’re continually inspired by the property and work to make it more resilient for the future, and more inviting to the friends and fellow artists they host. “In so many ways, we feel like caretakers for the next generation,” says Louise, “saving the traditional, rustic nature of the old chicken farm at the edge of town, but making it more livable for the 21st century.”
Peter and Louise Hassen. (Eileen Roche)
A Life in Art
“Sonoma is full of such incredibly creative people,” says Louise Hassen, noting how happy she and her husband are to find a network of fellow artists in town. A few favorites:
Leslie Whitelaw
Louise Hassen points to the high-end interior designer’s work at Frog’s Leap Winery as the epitome of simple elegance. nedforrest.com
Roche + Roche Landscape Architecture
Louise studied landscape design with principal Nancy Roche and says she admires how the firm is able to integrate “a sense of the wild” into their designs. 1055 Broadway, Sonoma. 707-933-8302, rocheandroche.com
Sonoma Mission Gardens
The local nursery has a “friendly and knowledgeable staff,” says Louise. A strong selection not only of vegetables and ornamentals, but also succulents and drought-tolerant plants. 851 Craig Ave, Sonoma. 707-938-5775, sonomamissiongardens.com
Fineline Art & Frame
Their framing is high-quality and beautifully done, says Louise, and the owners are always interested in hearing about their customers’ art projects. A lovely place to buy gift wrap, too. 201 W. Napa St., Sonoma. 707-935-3199, finelineartandframe.com
Modern Art West Gallery
A landmark downtown gallery representing the work of Bay Area artists, with a focus on postwar abstract expressionism in California. The gallery will host a solo show of Peter Hassen’s work in the fall. 521 Broadway, Sonoma. 707-210-5275, modernartwest.com
The former Jack & Tony’s in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square will reopen as 1910 Bar and Provisions later this year.
Windsor restaurateurs JC Adams and Brad Barmore of Kin and Healdsburg’s Kin Smoke will turn the long-fallow space in the historic Jacobs building into a cocktail-focused eatery with pizza, sliders and shared plates. Unlike their family-focused restaurants in Windsor and Healdsburg, 1910 Bar and Provisions will have late-night offerings and a full bar, said Adams.
“It will be somewhat like KIN in concept, with something for everyone,” said Barmore.
Known for its iconic brick facade and faded neon “Hotel” sign, the Jacobs building at 115 Fourth St. has a colorful history, most recently as a whiskey bar and modern American restaurant owned by the late Jack Mitchell. (It has been closed since Mitchell’s death in 2020.) Prior to that, it was Capri restaurant, but for many years it was known as Hotel Oliver. (Hotel Oliver was built in 1910.)
Adams and Barmore opened Kin in 2011 and barbecue restaurant Kin Smoke in 2015.
Nashville Fried Chicken at Delicious Dish in Sonoma (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Hidden well off the Sonoma Square, Delicious Dish is an inconspicuous roadhouse that flies so far under the radar that most locals don’t even know about it. And if you’re from out of town, you’d likely only find this offbeat restaurant and outdoor patio by chance.
But with some of the best comfort food around, it’s time for their close-up.
Delicious Dish’s chef/owner Lauren Cotner describes the spot as west Sonoma’s “punk rock little sister.”
Cotner loves to surprise and delight visitors with the unexpected: Snort-worthy Barbie dioramas peek from corners; in a hand-drawn sketch near the front door, SNL actor Chris Farley sports a crown. And in-the-know diners frequent the monthly Delicious Dish movie nights in costume.
You can’t not have fun here.
While sitting on the shady patio filled with blue metal chairs and wooden tables, you’ll find Delicious Dish is one of the few casual, affordable and family-friendly dining spots in the town of Sonoma. The menu isn’t a laundry list of dishes but a curated selection of Cotner’s greatest hits. Going hungry here is not an option.
With food that’s tasty and universally appealing, she and her husband, Charles, focus on nosh-worthy fried chicken sandwiches, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salads and an often-changing lineup of sandwiches, bowls and weekly specials instead of ego-based menu showpieces.
Chef Lauren Cotner at Delicious Dish in Sonoma (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)California Fried Chicken at Delicious Dish in Sonoma (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
So why hasn’t the restaurant blown up on social media?
In recent years, the roadhouse has suffered some confusion over its mission. To meet business demands, Cotner has offered weekday to-go lunches, catering, weeknight dinners for pickup and delivery and the monthly movie night on the roadhouse’s expansive covered porch. The newly renovated outdoor dining area has a fire pit, movie screen and plenty of space for kids to roam.
The restaurant has been closed on weekends, which means missing out on visitors to Sonoma. But weekend outdoor patio service will begin July 30 (check delicious-dish.square.site for updates).
Cotner also plans to give the roadhouse a funky graffiti art makeover and will expand hours when she can find more help, a current challenge for restaurants everywhere.
Pivoting again and again has been a common response for restaurateurs facing ongoing challenges in the face of the pandemic. Sonoma County’s lack of progress in rebounding from the pandemic worries her. She’s vocal about wanting to attract new visitors with more dynamic businesses in Sonoma.
“I sometimes see parts of the downtown Plaza tumble-weeding. It can be a ghost town. Times are changing, and people need something fresh to keep them coming back,” she said.
Strawberry and blueberry milkshakes at Delicious Dish in Sonoma (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
But Cotner remains optimistic about her adopted hometown. During the pandemic, she donated hundreds of meals to neighbors in need and she pays her staff living wages. She continues to find opportunities to share Delicious Dish food with a larger audience, such as with the dinner boxes she makes for Gold season ticket holders at Transcendence Theater’s summer shows.
Delicious Dish is ready to meet you with warmth and tasty goodness. Just look for the quiet little roadhouse a few blocks down the road from Expected and down the hill from Dullsville.
Best Bets
Fried Chicken Sandwiches, $16: These are the Goldilocks fried chicken sandwiches I’ve been searching for. The chicken breast isn’t too thick or too thin. The buns are soft but not wimpy. The toppings are an absolutely perfect complement, with fresh produce and flavor-packed condiments; and the breading stays crispy-crunchy long enough to eat the whole sandwich. The California is a Lizzo-thick ’wich with avocado, pickled red onion, ranch dressing, roasted poblano peppers and thick heirloom tomatoes. My favorite, however, had to be the Nashville, dripping with pimento cheese, sweet pickled jalapeños, ranch dressing and shredded lettuce. So naughty, but so nice.
Hot Dungeness Crab Melt, $24: Another “where have you been all my life” sandwich loaded with warm Old Bay-spiced crab salad on a buttery brioche bun. A slice of cheddar, thick tomato slices and Meyer lemon mayonnaise elevate this work of food art into Louvre material. It’s worth the price, unlike so many other anemic crab sandos that are just a whisper of seafood on a raft of a bun.
Crab sandwich melt at Delicious Dish in Sonoma (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Fresh Catch Burger, as quoted: Fresh whole fish (usually local halibut) is broken down daily at the shop, and it shows in the clean flavor and moistness of this generously sized burger. A big chunk is sandwiched between potato buns, melted American cheese, fresh dill tartar sauce and pickled cabbage. I’m a serious seafood snob, and this easily satisfied me.
Banh Mi Ahi Poke Bowl Salad, $18: It’s no exaggeration to say I could eat this rainbow of black rice, pickled daikon, cucumber, watermelon radish, cilantro, mint and ruby red chunks of tuna every day. Each bite reveals something new — sweet, crunchy, sour, bitter, herby, umami — presented in a giant bowl that’s heartbreakingly beautiful. Cotner understands the sauce game — she puts both sriracha aioli and a creamy miso dressing on the side.
Homemade shakes, $7: Just yum. No fillers or artificial gunk, just creamy frozen goodness with fresh ingredients and a swirl of whipped cream.
Margherita pizza from L’Oro Di Napoli in Santa Rosa. (L’Oro Di Napoli)
With the downtown Santa Rosa closure of La Vera in 2019 and Mary’s Pizza Shack this year, Fourth Street has been all but crustless. Thankfully, L’Oro Di Napoli has come to the rescue, throwing some seriously Italian pies.
Their Neopolitan-style pizzas have thin centers and signature charred crusts that need little more than a few toppings. We couldn’t get enough of the simple Margherita with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, Parmesan, olive oil and basil ($20). The Caprese Salad ($13) was also impressive, with a hefty ball of creamy burrata, tomatoes and basil drizzled with olive oil.
The menu is still in development and is currently limited to pizzas and salads. Takeout was a little confusing, but at first blush, we’re hopeful about this new spot.
Canevari’s Deli, famous for its homemade ravioli and stuffed Italian sandwiches, has taken over the kitchens of Third Street Aleworks for a limited pop-up on Fridays and Saturdays.
Serving up crave-worthy checkered tablecloth favorites including meatball sliders, mushroom polenta, Italian cheesesteak, chicken Parmesan, spaghetti and their signature ravioli, the restaurant has become an in-the-know talker, only advertising the pop-up on Instagram.
In May, the popular downtown Santa Rosa brewery announced it was closing its kitchen to focus on opening a new production facility and converting its brewpub into a beer-only taproom.
Kyle and Katina Connaughton during the grand opening of Little Saint in downtown Healdsburg on April 22, 2022. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
Healdsburg’s Single Thread is the only California restaurant to make this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, as announced Monday at a live ceremony in London.
Though the Michelin-starred restaurant slipped from last year’s No. 37 position to No. 50, it bested San Francisco’s Benu and Atelier Crenn, which made the top 50 list in 2021. (Benu came in at No. 97 and Atelier Crenn at No. 72 on a 51 to 100 ranking released before the awards ceremony.)
Single Thread’s top ranking comes on the heels of pandemic challenges for the industry and just five months after the fine-dining destination was forced to close for two months due to a duct fire.
“I’m incredibly proud. It was such a tough year for everyone last year. We’re really honored to have made (the list). It’s such an incredible community of people and friends,” said Single Thread owner and chef Kyle Connaughton from London.
Single Thread is one of only three U.S. restaurants included in the highly competitive awards this year. New York’s Atomix (No. 33, up from No. 43) and Le Bernardin (holding at No. 44) also were on the list.
The Art of Plating dinner with Single Thread’s Kyle and Katina Connaughton in 2018. (Courtesy of Single Thread)
A luxurious dining experience
Opened in 2016, the 55-seat Single Thread restaurant is known for its luxurious dining experience presented over nearly a dozen courses. Chef Connaughton’s painstakingly plated dishes are as much pieces of art as they are food. His menu is inspired by Japanese cuisine and the micro-seasons of the local farm he owns with his wife, Katina, who manages the farm and creates dynamic floral centerpieces for each table in the restaurant.
Each guest receives a bespoke experience, with a custom menu that in past years has included homemade tofu with Osetra caviar, black cod with squash blossoms or kanpachi with wild seaweed and oyster emulsion. The price tag per person can range from $325 to more than $500 with wine pairings. Reservations typically book out months in advance.
“It was just an amazing experience,” said Timo Rivetti, a real estate broker in Petaluma who visited the restaurant recently. “The first impression with the 17 small bites in a floral arrangement was incredible. The combinations of food just melt in your mouth.”
“The service was impeccable, the waiters are impeccably dressed and just everything had an exquisite taste,” he said.
Rhubarb and green tea with almond cream from Single Thread in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of Single Thread)
International spotlight on Healdsburg
This is the fourth time Single Thread has made the top restaurants lists released annually by the organization The World’s 50 Best.
The restaurant debuted on the 51-100 list in 2018, taking the No. 91 spot. That year, it was noted as “One to Watch,” which recognizes “rising star” restaurants. It leapfrogged to No. 71 the following year and then to No. 37 in 2021 (the event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic).
As Single Thread has continued to garner international acclaim — from the Michelin Guide’s three-star rating to a recent Grand Award from Wine Spectator magazine — it has brought more attention to Healdsburg and other restaurants in the city.
“They have really changed the town. For us to have such a big spotlight just opens the lens for all of us,” said Melissa Yanc, a former Single Thread employee and the co-owner of Healdsburg’s Quail and Condor Bakery and Troubadour Bread and Sandwiches.
“Kyle and Katina’s level of hospitality isn’t just being nice, but being genuine and sincere. They just breathe that,” she said.
Before receiving this year’s World’s 50 Best recognition, the Connaughtons were the driving force behind the highly anticipated, plant-based restaurant Little Saint, which opened in April in the 10,000-square-foot building in downtown Healdsburg that once housed SHED Modern Grange.
Copenhagen restaurant tops the list
Copenhagen’s Geranium was named the best restaurant in the world at Monday’s awards ceremony in London. The Danish capital continued its run as one of the top dining destinations in the world, with three restaurants among the top 50, following last year’s No. 1 ranking from Chef Rene Redzepi’s Noma restaurant.
European restaurants in Italy and Spain were among the most celebrated, though showings from South America (notably Peru), Tokyo and Mexico were strong, too. Pujol in Mexico City was this year’s “Best Restaurant in North America” at No. 5 on the list.
Actor Stanley Tucci hosted this year’s awards ceremony and described Single Thread as “a destination for transportive, seasonal tasting menus as well as for its adjoining, upscale, five-room inn.” The Connaughtons were in the audience in London and shared a hug when their No. 50 position was announced.
The restaurants featured on the coveted list are chosen by a collective of 1,000 international restaurant experts and gourmets, according to The World’s 50 Best group. The list has repeatedly been criticized for its lack of diversity. Male-run restaurants in Europe and North America have dominated the list since it launched 20 years ago, while certain regions and continents, such as the Middle East and Africa, and restaurants run by women have remained absent or underrepresented on the list.
Some also view the individual award “Best Female Chef” as an outdated categorization. This year, Leonor Espinosa of Leo restaurant in Bogotá, Columbia, won the controversial honor.
World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022
50. Single Thread, Healdsburg, California (down from 37)
49. Ikoyi, London, United Kingdom (up from 87)
48. Leo, Bogota, Colombia (down from 46)
47. Oteque, Rio de Janiero, Brazil (new entry)
46. Belcanto, Lisbon, Portugal (down from 42)
45. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan (down from 19)
44. Le Bernadin, New York City (same)
43. Boragó, Santiago, Chile (down from 38)
42. Quique Dacosta, Dénia, Spain (up from 74)
41. La Cime, Osaka, Japan (new entry)
40. Schloss Schauenstein, Furstenau, Switzerland (up from 59)
39. Sorn, Bangkok, Thailand (new entry)
38. Jordnær, Copenhagen, Denmark (new entry)
37. Fyn, Cape Town, South Africa (new entry)
36. Odette, Singapore (down from 8)
35. The Clove Club, London, United Kingdom (down from 32)
34. Hisa Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia (down from 21)
33. Atomix, New York City (up from 43)
32. Maido, Lima, Peru (down from 7)
31. Arpege, Paris, France (down from 23)
30. Florilege, Tokyo, Japan (up from 39)
29 St Hubertus, San Cassiano, Italy (new entry)
28. Le Clarence, Paris, France (new entry)
27. Hof van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium (up from 36)
26. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin, Germany (up from 31)
25. Frantzen, Stockholm, Sweden (down from 6)
24. The Chairman, Hong Kong, China (down from 10)
23. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium (new entry)
22. Septime, Paris, France (up from 24)
21. Mugariz, San Sebastian, Spain (down from 14)
20. Den, Tokyo, Japan (down from 11)
19. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy (down from 18)
18. Alchemist, Copenhagen, Denmark (new entry)
17. Nobelhart & Shmutizg, Berlin, Germany (up from 45)
16. Elkano, Getaria, Spain (same)
15. Reale, Castel Di Sangro, Italy (up from 29)
14. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina (down from 13)
13. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria (down from 12)
12. Uliassi, Senigallia, Italy (Highest Climber; up from 52)
11. Maido, Lima, Peru (down from 7)
10. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy (up from 26)
9. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico (up from 27)
8. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera, Italy (up from 84)
7. A Casa do Porco, Sao Paolo, Brazil (up from 17)
6. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain (down from 3)
5. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico (up from 9)
4. Diverxo, Madrid, Spain (up from 20)
3. Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain (up from 5)
2. Central, Lima, Peru (up from 4)
1. Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark (up from 2)
