Pumpkin Spice latte from Plank Coffee in Healdsburg. The latte includes their roasted Pine Mountain espresso, organic pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Served here with whipped cream. (Plank Coffee)
Are you someone who eagerly awaits fall and winter for the spicy, sweet, fragrant, warm holiday drinks that arrive on menus at local restaurants and coffee shops?
To answer your craving for a delicious pumpkin spice latte or other warm and sweet holiday drinks, I set out to find the best sippers in Sonoma County.
I visited eight coffee shops across the county to sample each shop’s most popular or beloved holiday drink and bring you my findings. To be sure, it’s no scientific survey, but a good holiday drink is about more than the ingredients — ambiance and latte art get points, too.
Now for the holiday drink smackdown results:
Plank Coffee, Pumpkin Spice latte, rating: 10/10
Imagine all the best fall flavors in one cup. This latte is lightly sweet with a dash of invigorating spice. It includes organic pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, espresso and milk. 175 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. $5-$8. For more information: bit.ly/2ZjT3CC
Pumpkin Spice latte from Plank Coffee in Healdsburg. The latte includes their roasted Pine Mountain espresso, organic pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. (Plank Coffee)
Cotati Coffee Company, Brown Butter Bourbon Caramel latte, rating: 9/10
Take a sip of this buttery caramel goodness. It includes brown butter and bourbon caramel syrup, espresso and milk. Get it served in a unicorn cup! 8225 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati. $4.75-$5.75. For more information: bit.ly/3oV12yR
Brew Coffee and Beer House, Pumpkin Spice latte, rating: 8/10
This fall classic has actual pumpkin in it. Yes, you read that right. It includes real pumpkin puree, espresso, milk and nutmeg on top. The spacious tented patio is a pleasant place to sip on sunny, or even cloudy, days. 555 Healdsburg Ave., Santa Rosa. $4.25-$6.25. For more information: bit.ly/32vVqUe
Pumpkin pie chai latte with spicy chai, pumpkin pie syrup, espresso, milk and is topped with cinnamon at Crooks Coffee, Santa Rosa. (Mya Constantino)
Crooks Coffee, Pumpkin Pie Chai latte, rating: 8/10
Spicy chai and pumpkin pie? Talk about heaven. The drink includes spicy chai, pumpkin pie syrup, espresso, milk and a sprinkling of cinnamon on top. Check out their take-a-book-leave-a-book library, shelves full of games and local art on the walls. 404c Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. $4.50-$5.25. For more information: bit.ly/3r5Uy2M
Taylor Lane, Peppermint Mocha latte, rating: 7.5/10
This latte is the sweetest of the bunch. This holiday classic includes in-house organic peppermint syrup, Tcho dark chocolate, espresso and milk. Enjoy your warm cup on the second floor or outside the shop. 6790 McKinley St., Sebastopol. $5.50-$6.50. For more information: bit.ly/2ZqbAgM
Taylor Lane’s peppermint mocha latte with in-house organic peppermint syrup, Tcho dark chocolate, espresso and milk. (Mya Constantino)
Take a bite into peppermint bark as you sip on this tuxedo latte. It includes dark and white chocolate, vanilla and peppermint and is garnished with whipped cream and homemade peppermint bark. Say hello to the owner’s dogs, Chaz and Lady, when you visit. 101 Golf Course Drive A-3, Rohnert Park. $4.25-$5.10. For more information: bit.ly/3FNU05Y
Tuxedo peppermint latte with dark and white chocolate, vanilla, peppermint and is garnished with whipped cream and homemade peppermint bark at Honey Badger Coffee House, Rohnert Park. (Mya Constantino)
If you’re a mint lover, this one is for you. Lightly sweet, but heavy on the mint. It includes organic cane sugar, mint extract, Tcho dark chocolate, espresso and milk. Explore the vibrant local art inside this quaint shop, too. 130 S. Main St., No. 103, Sebastopol. $5.50-$8. For more information visit: bit.ly/3r36LFv
Avid Coffee, Peppermint Mocha latte, rating: 6/10
Avid’s peppermint mocha includes peppermint syrup, homemade dark chocolate, espresso and milk and is topped with something you’ll only see at the holidays — candy-cane sprinkles. 21 Fourth St., Petaluma. $5-$6. For more information: bit.ly/3p0wNXc
Clockwise from top left, Whole Deep Fried Tilapia, Torre de Mariscos,Pina Rellena, Camarones a la Momia, Molecajete Mar y Tierra and Tacos Dorados de Picadillo from Pezcow in Windsor on Friday, April 1, 2022. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Damian Zuniga has worked in restaurants since he was 15 — many of them owned by the Diaz family, successful Sonoma County restaurateurs who own Agave, El Gallo Negro, El Faralito and a bottled mole company, among their many entrepreneurial ventures.
Now 32, with three food businesses to his name, Zuniga is hoping to replicate the success of the Diazes with a food empire of his own. He’s part of a new generation of local immigrants who are launching off the shoulders of those who came before them, the immigrant business owners who gave them a start.
“I want to be like them,” said Zuniga, who hails from Guanajuato, Mexico.
Part of that dream of success includes the serious efforts of his extended family, who work in his two Lucha Sabina food trucks and a new restaurant, Pezcow in Windsor.
Camarones a la Momia are shrimp wrapped like a mummy in bacon from Pezcow in Windsor. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
With Pezcow, the former location of Tu Mole Madre (owned by brothers Octavio and Pedro Diaz) has been transformed into a bustling commissary kitchen for Zuniga’s mobile kitchens and an impressive restaurant featuring brilliantly executed dishes that make use of the wood-fired oven and the culinary skills of Zuniga’s brother, Luis Zuniga.
The name, Pezcow, Luis explained through a translator, means hillside and sea. It plays off the flavors of local seafood and from local ranches, but with a Latin bent. The whimsical logo — a mermaid-cow blowing a conch — is a visual cue to what Zuniga calls surf-and-turf, or “fresh catch.”
Whatever the exact meaning, there is plenty to explore on the menu, from a ruby-red glass of Campechana ($18) filled with octopus and shrimp ceviche in a quaffable lime-orange tomato juice to Pollo al Horno Con Mole ($22) with a homemade mole negro I’d put up against any other (including the Diaz brothers’ — sorry, not sorry).
The well-appointed dining room, mostly left from Tu Mole Madre, is comfortable with long wooden tables, large hammered-bronze light fixtures that cast a warm yellow glow and an open kitchen with handmade tiles from Oaxaca. (Tu Mole Madre had been sporadically open and closed before the pandemic, but closed in 2020.) Don’t be put off by the strip-mall location. Nearby are Castaneda’s (a Latin grocer with many tasty imported products) and, across the parking lot, El Gallo Negro (for great margaritas).
Prices for entrees at Pezcow range from $20 to $45 for a whole fried fish and other seafood (enough for at least four people). Pizzas and appetizers are $8 to $19.
Overall: These are well-crafted dishes that elevate the flavors of Mexico well beyond simple taqueria fare. The seafood is outstanding, but don’t ignore the chicken mole and other land-based entrees.
Best Bets
Queso Fundido, $12: This dish is best right out of the wood-fired oven, with bubbling melted quesillo cheese and homemade chorizo. It’s truly the chorizo you’ll die for, made with freshly ground pork and a mix of warm adobo spices known only to Chef Luis. It will make a chorizo-lover out of you, because you’ll be hard-pressed to find any better.
Pollo Al Horno Con Mole, $22: A large half-chicken cooked in the wood-fired oven, then slathered with mole negro. It’s hard to capture the magic of mole, but this version has a gentle sweetness, warm baking spices and smoky chiles that meld so harmoniously you’ll be humming a happy tune while you lick the plate.
Molcajete Mariscos, $25: First things first — A molcajete (the volcanic stone bowl and the name of the dish inside it) should never, and I mean never, be anything less than sizzling hot. That’s part of the magic of this stew of shrimp, clams, scallops, octopus and crab legs (with nopales and fried cheese). I look at it as a distant cousin of fondue, mostly because it’s best shared with friends as they dip forks and spoons into the deep bowl and don’t get too worked up if someone sticks their fingers in to fish out a rogue scallop or two.
Campechana, $18: A glass chalice fit for royalty holds piles of octopus and shrimp ceviche swimming in citrus and tomato juices. Chiles add a savory, earthy quality, but little heat. Required.
Pizza Al Pastor, $18: Spit-grilled al pastor is legit (and frankly I’d be glad to eat it plain), tossed over a wood-fired pizza crust and laden with cheese, pineapple, onion and salsa de aguacate. It’s kind of like a Hawaiian pizza, but so darn much better.
Beer and wine are available, along with agua fresca.
8465 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor, open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. 707-393, 8370. bit.ly/31k9I9X.
Nine years is a pretty long time to wait for your first harvest, but not if you’re a truffle grower in Sonoma County.
Last Wednesday, after pacing through his family’s Geyserville hazelnut orchards with Leo the truffle dog, Seth Angerer finally found a truffle — specifically, a 5.03-ounce Sonoma County black melanosporum.
It’s the first cultivated truffle found in Alexander Valley, according to Angerer’s father and collaborator, Fran Angerer. The family seek out the rare and valuable culinary fungus with their truffle-hunting Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, a specialized breed with a keen sense of smell and a curly-haired face so cute it’s painful.
“We’ve been waiting nine years and eight months, and we haven’t found anything. Every year we get more and more discouraged,” said Fran Angerer, who previously worked with Jackson Family Wines on their truffle properties in Sonoma County.
Sonoma County’s first cultivated black truffles (a species called Périgord truffles) were harvested in 2017 by the Jackson Family Wines team after inoculating hazelnut and oak trees in 2011. (Farmers grow truffles by inoculating the roots of saplings with truffle spores. Years later, they harvest the truffles, hopefully.)
The truffle hunting season typically runs from January to March, so an early truffle in November was a particularly exciting find for the Angerers. The fact that black truffles can command up to $95 per ounce is just as exciting.
Seth Angerer and his dog, Leo. And the black truffle. (Photo: Fran Angerer)The black truffle found by Seth Angerer. (Photo: Fran Angerer)
Upon finding the esteemed fungi, Seth Angerer posted a Facebook video in which he pointed at the still-earthbound truffle with a spade. “It’s a big deal for us,” he said in the video. “We’re waiting for the whole family to show up so we can all (dig it up) together and take it in.”
“You just don’t dig it up,” Fran said by phone. “Seth called me and was shaking. I called my wife and we all hopped in the car.”
Fran’s other son, Nathan, also chimed in. “The feeling is just unbelievable after all this time. We were all crying and laughing and the dogs were going crazy,” he said.
To mark the occasion, the family took the prized truffle to Valette restaurant in Healdsburg, where Chef Dustin Valette prepared a seven-course meal with their truffle as the star of the show.
“It was awesome. We had quite a celebration,” Fran said.
Truffle growing is a long game, typically marked by frustration and disappointment. In the 1970s Henry Trione sparked truffle fever in Sonoma County when he staged the first California Truffle Congress in Santa Rosa with hopes that the oaks in Northern California could be hiding the same delicious fungi as their cousins in France and Italy. And while truffles were found, they weren’t high-quality, or even edible, quashing early enthusiasm. Trione’s passion did, however, spark an ongoing interest in truffle growing here.
That enthusiasm spawned the decade-long dream of growing truffles for the Angerers, who own Angerer Family Farm and Alexander Valley Truffle Co. They’ve have gone at it alone, investing in several hazelnut orchards that are inoculated with the Tuber melanosporum, a prized strain of truffles from Burgundy. They’re also experimenting with white Italian truffles that Fran hopes will come to fruition soon.
“It’s a huge investment to maintain with no product for nine or 10 years,” Fran said. “Every truffle grower goes through a time when you start asking yourself if you’re crazy. You start having a bad attitude going into the hunt, but then all of the sudden, there it is. That’s the truffle experience.”
Sonoma County hotels are helping guests and visitors get into the festive spirit with special events, treats and holiday decor. Click through the above gallery for details.
The family’s dining table overlooks acres of oak woodlands. An arrangement of foraged olive branches and red dahlias feels simple and festive. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)
“It’s magical to wake up here,” says Gretchen Krebs, relaxing on a tranquil morning with her husband Ian Read on their outdoor deck overlooking acres of dense oak woodlands. It’s the view a hawk might see, descending the steep hillside to scan the valley floor. In the distance, an antiquated water tower rises above Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. Beyond it, the sun sets every evening behind Sonoma Mountain. (That’s when the coyotes start to howl.) But for now, the only sound is the low chatter of songbirds. “Being upstairs, our bedroom window looks out onto the landscape. The house is very thoughtful in that way, facing out toward the land.”
Last August, Krebs and Read, founders of the Oakland architecture and design firm Medium Plenty, took a huge leap of faith, moving with their 8-year-old daughter, Mica, to Sonoma after living for 16 years in downtown Oakland, where they had renovated a picturesque Victorian.
Designers Gretchen Krebs and Ian Read on the deck of their Sonoma home. The couple and their young daughter moved from downtown Oakland last year, driven by an appreciation of nature and a desire for a better work-life balance. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)View from the deck. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)
“If you can picture the house in the Pixar film ‘Up,” that was us,” jokes Krebs. As condos and office buildings went up all around them, they tried to coexist with the constant beeping of trucks, waking up each morning to workers peering down from scaffolding. But when the pandemic hit, they felt it was time to go.
“We told ourselves, if we’re going to uproot our lives and put ourselves through all this, we’d better land in a cool spot,” says Read.
They soon stumbled on the white tri-level rental home perched on a shoulder high in the Mayacamas, just outside the town of Sonoma. Their shady neighborhood winds up through the foothills overlooking Montini Open Space Preserve, meandering woods to the west and vineyards to the north. Likely built in the ‘80s, with Scandinavian farmhouse ideals in mind, the rental might be a little dated, to the point that the wide-tiled kitchen counters are actually coming back in style. But the home is their foothold in a new community, where more than a year later, the daily grind of city life (and repeated car break-ins) has totally washed away.
For Krebs, who grew up in Bonny Doon outside Santa Cruz, and Read, who was born in the Pennsylvania town of Stroudsburg in the Poconos – it’s a return to small-town life. “It’s kind of the antithesis of what we were in before,” says Krebs. “We were in a fishbowl in a city with not a lot of breathing room. And then to come here and to have this endless expanse of land, it felt really calming and it felt like the right place for us.”
Almost sprawling compared to the tall, narrow confines of their urban Victorian, the family’s new house expands in all directions, which means they spend a lot of time playing and dancing in the great room, which is filled with natural light. This is also where they set up camp for movie nights, which they project on the wall across from the fireplace.
The family snuggles with dog Nori in the main living area. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)
It didn’t take long for Mica to find what she calls her “secret room,” a hidden space tucked beneath the lower staircase on the bottom floor (picture where Harry Potter lives with the Dursleys). And a few weeks after they moved in, Read also discovered an unfinished basement space off the lower deck. He’s converted it into his shop, where he works with Mica on new DIY projects – a toy boat that floats, a stage for her stuffed animals and a refurbished outdoor table. The backyard has enough terraced space for a trampoline, a small garden, and plenty of room to roam for Nori, their ever-curious 4-year-old beagle mix.
Only a couple of weeks after moving in, the family was invited to a sing-along as neighbors joined together to belt out classics like “Stand by Me” on the hilltop just up the road. It’s a community tradition going back years, held on the last Thursday of each month. As the holidays approach, the trees lose their leaves, and heat lamps warm the back deck, one of the neighbors will resurrect an annual high-wattage Christmas wonderland – a beacon for miles around, decked out with animatronics synched to a seasonal soundtrack.
Last year, on Christmas morning, Mica awoke to a scavenger hunt as the family wondered around the property to find a new swing hanging from an oak tree, a custom fairy house Read built from foraged branches, rocks, and acorns, and a new telescope to explore a night sky far brighter than anything they gazed upon in downtown Oakland.
In many ways, their journey, part of a larger migration of urban dwellers escaping to rural hamlets during the pandemic, recalls the allure of the back-to-the-land movement of the ‘60s. They might not be hippies – although Krebs and Read were both raised by hippie parents. But like many families who ditched gridlocked cities, they’re drawn by a similar appreciation of nature and land, while reprioritizing family over work, exercise over multi-tasking, and quality time over commuting.
A rustic Scandinavian aesthetic defines many of the spaces in the family’s home, including a display of ceramics in the kitchen. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)A teak mid-century tray corrals a sprig of Thai basil gone to root. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)A clean-lined walnut headboard in the main bedroom. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)
Before, Mica would often stay in Oakland after-school care until 6 p.m. Now, mostly working from home, Krebs and Read try to wrap up their work-days by 3 p.m. so they can pick her up from school and go on an afternoon adventure, whether it’s a trip to get ice cream or embarking upon a new art project. Krebs walks at least an hour a day, exploring new neighborhoods, and Read rides his bicycle in the surrounding hills. Dinners are out on the deck whenever possible, where Read likes to fire up the grill, only steps from the kitchen, for spatchcock chicken with grilled onions, peppers and zucchini – all served on one platter for everyone to share.
Some days, it feels like their biggest worries are how to win the ongoing war with ground squirrels invading the garden, what to do with five gallons of olives they harvested from trees below their deck or what to mix for “mandatory cocktail hour” that kicks off the back-deck sunset party nearly every day.
The more balanced daily routine fits perfectly with the Medium Plenty ethos, focusing on a holistic design process where the interiors and architecture blend and resonate together. Over the years, they’ve redesigned an industrial warehouse to create a modular, moveable, multi-functional space for a philanthropic incubator. They’ve done residential add-ons and renovations as far flung as Pasadena, Boulder, and Seattle. After recently restoring the Thatcher Hotel in Hopland, the couple took on a reimagining of the tasting room at Merriam Vineyards in Healdsburg.
Happy in their rental, but looking for a place of their own, Krebs and Read hope to stay in Sonoma if possible. They still make the occasional trek to the office in Oakland, but every time they drive home, there’s a feeling that returns—a simple reminder that they made the right decision to flee the city for the country, Krebs says. “As soon as you turn onto Highway 12, you can feel the decompressing.”
Mica on her swing. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)Art projects in Mica’s room. (Eileen Roche/for Sonoma Magazine)
Encouraging Art
Imagination is everywhere in the Sonoma home of designers Ian Read and Gretchen Krebs. Sculptures and vibrant paintings hang from walls all over the house, many made by artists with developmental disabilities enrolled at the Creative Growth arts center across the street from the family’s former home in Oakland. On the lower deck, there’s a fairy house that Ian made from foraged branches Read found around the property. And upstairs, the family carved out a narrow space between the stairs and a bedroom to create Mica’s art studio. Sometimes they disappear into Read’s repurposed shop to see if they can build a tiny boat or remodel a fairy house. Above the shop counter, pinned to 2x4s, are ongoing project plans that Mica has drawn for reference. At 8, “she can use the drill and the jig saw,” says Ian. “I don’t have her on the chop saw yet, but she’s getting the hang of it.” For the holidays and beyond, here are a few tips Gretchen Krebs offers to foster creativity.
Make space
A regular, intentional space to work on your art is so important. It can be just a table in the corner of a room, but make it a space that you can call your own.
Keep supplies in the open
The risk with putting things away is that they don’t get used as often. For Mica, we have bins of Legos and yarn and fabric she sews with. She likes to use her old clothes that get holes in them to make outfits for her stuffies. And we keep a cart on wheels loaded with pens, pencils, markers, all kinds of stuff.
Welcome some mess
I think it’s important not to keep the house too tidy. When we ask Mica to pick up her things, she keeps a few projects out that she has in the works, just to let her have them out in the open. That’s the fun, right? The mess! We call it contained chaos.
Owner Stephen Singer, left, and Patricia Buse chat with a couple of volunteers during a lunch break at the olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Olive oil is never better, never more compelling, than it is at the moment it first streams into the world, straight from the press. It is the purest expression of the olive, an elixir that delights with field-fresh flavors and a texture best described as both lean and rich.
This is olio nuovo, the new oil.
Olio nuovo is a treasure of early winter in Sonoma. It cannot be separated from its season and cannot be preserved, as its bold flavors begin to fade not long after pressing. The decline is subtle at first, but within a month or two, the new oil loses its unique spark and begins to mellow. By early spring, it will be a memory until the next vintage.
“When olive oil comes out of the funnel during pressing, there is always a feeling of renewal and exuberance. The vibrant green and gold hues, the fresh aromas, and the healthy vegetative and fruity flavors are intoxicating, full of the strength and health of the trees, only an hour removed,” says Brooke Hazen, who oversees 70 acres of olive trees at his Gold Ridge Organic Farms in the rolling hills southeast of Sebastopol.
A bin in the back of a pickup truck is filling with olives during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)Olive trees nestled between rows of vineyards during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Typically, quality olive oil rests in bulk for a few months after being pressed, a process that allows it to settle and become shelf-stable. Olio nuovo, in contrast, is bottled and released straight from the press, skipping the step during which the oil rests, allowing fresh, peppery, straight-from-the-tree flavors to shine. Until quite recently, only a handful of local growers, including Healdsburg’s DaVero and Petaluma’s McEvoy Ranch, celebrated a separate release of the new oil before the more widely available extra virgin olive oil came to market.
Sonoma County’s olive harvest begins around the time the grape harvest concludes, typically in late October or early November, and continues for several weeks. By the winter holidays, prized bottles of olio nuovo are available locally, many of them from small-scale, family-owned farms and olive mills. These days, there’s recognition that Sonoma County-grown olio nuovo holds its own alongside prized oils from Tuscany such as Ardoino, a favorite of olive oil pioneer Ridgely Evers at DaVero, and Poggio Lamentano, the favorite of renowned food writer M. F. K. Fisher.
“There is al ways a feeling of renewal and exuberance. The vibrant green and gold hues, the fresh aromas…full of the strength and health of the trees, only an hour removed.” ~ Brooke Hazen
Producer Stephen Singer of Baker Lane Vineyards likens olio nuovo to the elusive white truffle, another early-winter treasure. “The early vivid expression of olive oil doesn’t last long, nor does the flavor of the truffle,” he says. “Both are transitory, deeply seasonal, momentary, and ephemeral.” Singer, the former wine director at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, used to be in the business of importing premium olive oil from Tuscany. Now, settled in the hills outside Sebastopol, he makes wine and produces estate olive oil.
Growers say that to understand olio nuovo, it is essential to understand olive oil itself. The characteristic flavors of an olive’s oil are determined almost entirely by which type of olive tree the olive grows upon (over 2,000 types of trees exist). The trees must be properly tended and pruned, and farmers must choose the right moment to pick. The olives must be harvested gently, without stems and leaves, then transported as quickly as possible to the mill, before they begin to ferment. It is the job of the miller to press the oil out of the olive as gently as possible. Nearly all premium oils are made with olives processed and pressed within 24 hours of being harvested.
The hand of a young boy, Ruben Howell, 11, picking olives during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Olives ready for the picking during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)The small plastic rakes used to pick olives during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
The best olive oils are made with a mix of green fruit and ripe fruit. Green fruit has the bitterness and peppery qualities considered essential; when olives ripen to purple-black, as they all eventually do, their oil takes on more buttery characteristics. The mix of both green and purple olives at different stages of ripeness creates the complexity of flavor that makes olive oil lovers wax poetic.
Six local mills serve the olive growers of Sonoma County. Recently, these mills have also become home to a new seasonal tradition: the community milling day. At one of these events, typically held in November or early December, anyone with an olive tree or two can be part of the magic of olio nuovo. Small-scale growers and backyard hobbyists bring their freshly-picked fruit—in buckets, bags, and bins—to the mill on the day of the press. After checking the olives for pests and for ripeness, the miller adds the fruit to the press to become part of a community blend. This is grassroots local food production at its best: Each grower gets back containers of the fresh-pressed oil in proportion to what they contributed. The more olives you bring, the more oil you receive.
Standing in the orchard, watching as olives are gently tugged from their slender stems, it all comes full circle—the care put into tending the trees, the flurry of harvest day, the quick rush to the press. After an hour or two of picking, you can smell on your hands the subtle aroma of the olive and the oil within— all peppery and grassy, the sunlight and rain together. “Olive oil is priceless,” says Ridgely Evers. “And it is sacred.”
A couple from Oakland, California drove up to help owner Stephen Singer during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Tasting Sonoma’s Olio Nuovo
There are nearly a dozen commercial olio nuovo producers in Sonoma County, plus hundreds of backyard growers who either do a custom milling for oil to share with friends and neighbors, or who bring their olives to community milling events.
Baker Lane Vineyards: Stephen Singer’s 2021 Occidental Blend is not labeled “olio nuovo,” but is available soon enough after pressing that it is a de facto nuovo, with vivid flavors of artichoke, new mown hay, and green apple. Online sales only. bakerlanevineyards.com
DaVero Farms & Winery: The benchmark estate olio nuovo is sassy and elegant, with complex bitter and pepper flavors—the signature liquid nirvana. It is available by appointment at the tasting room and online, from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. 766 Westside Rd., Healdsburg. 707431-8000, davero.com
Dry Creek Olive Company: A blend of olives from 100-year-old trees and newly-planted cultivars goes into a bright, herbaceous olio nuovo, available shortly after pressing and prior to the release of estate’s signature flavored olive oils. 7878 Dry Creek Rd., Geyserville. 707-431-7200, trattorefarms.com
Olive oil pouring out of a spout into a large plastic container at Gold Ridge Organic Farms custom milling service facility in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)A bottle of Estate Tuscan Blend extra virgin olive oil on the lunch table during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Eyrie Olive Oil: This delicious Tuscan-style olio nuovo is available on Saturdays at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, 50 Mark West Springs Rd., and at Lazzini’s Market, 3449 Bennett Valley Rd., Santa Rosa. Email suzanne@eyrieoliveoil.com for information.
Figone Olive Oil Company: The group releases an olio nuovo blend of Spanish and Italian varieties. 483 First St. West, Sonoma. 707-282-9092, figoneoliveoil.com
Gold Ridge Organic Farms: Brooke Hazen offers four olio nuovos, each made from a different variety of olive, including Picholine, Minerva, Tuscan, and Arbequina. The varieties ripen in succession, not simultaneously, and all are picked a bit later in the season, producing oils with a voluptuous buttery texture. The olio nuovos are released in late December and available through February. 3387 Canfield Rd., Sebastopol. 707-8233110, goldridgeorganicfarms.com
McEvoy Ranch: This olio nuovo evokes the subtle flavors of winter greens – think cardoons, chicories, and dandelions – with a trail of peppery heat, a signature quality of the estate’s seven Tuscan cultivars. Available at the ranch store and online. 5935 Red Hill Rd., Petaluma. 707-7782307, mcevoyranch.com
Monte-Bellaria di California: Proprietor Bill MacElroy typically harvests his olives on the last Sunday of October. His olive oil is available within about 24 hours of pressing, and though it is not labeled as olio nuovo, that’s what it is. 3518 Bloomfield Rd., Sebastopol. 707829-2645, monte-bellaria.com
Olivino: Their olio nuovo is a blend of five Tuscan cultivars from a 2,500-tree orchard that straddles the border of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. It shows classic flavors of fresh grass, fruit, nuts, and pepper. It is released near Christmas and available until Easter. 14160 Mountain Home Rd., Hopland. 707744-1114, olivino.com
Preston Farm & Winery: Chaste Maiden Early Release Organic Olive Oil is a blend of ten Italian and Spanish cultivars. Even in its youth, it is a delicate oil, with a modicum of the peppery heat that defines many other oils. As it ages, the oil softens even more, and develops buttery characteristics, making it ideal for anyone who balks at “two cough” olive oils, as some people call robust olio nuovos. 9282 West Dry Creek Rd., Healdsburg, 707-433-3372, prestonfarmandwinery.com
The Olive Press: Their olio nuovo is made from the Spanish cultivar Arbequina, which has suggestions of newly-mown grass, artichoke, apple, and banana. 24724 Arnold Dr., Sonoma, 800-9654839, theolivepress.com
Ann Bui, left, and William Liow of Oakland, California volunteered to pick olives during olive harvest at Baker Lane Vineyards in Sebastopol. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Community Milling Days
Community milling days are a special way to participate in the feel and flavors of olive oil production. Some mills require a minimum quantity, while others will take even just a hatful of olives. The mills will generally ask for a specific mix of ripeness in the olives and that participants pick their olives within 24 hours of the event.
They’ll also inspect the olives for signs of damage from the olive fruit fly. For additional information and requirements, please contact each mill directly.
Dry Creek Olive Company, Geyserville: Oct. 31, Nov. 21, Dec. 5. 5 pound minimum, $1 per pound. 707-431-7200, trattorefarms.com
Figone’s Olive Oil Co.: Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 9-Dec. 12. 5 pound minimum, $1.12 per pound. 707-244-9148, figoneoliveoil.com
McEvoy Ranch, Petaluma: Nov. 14; register by Nov. 10. $1 per pound. 707-778-2307, mcevoyranch.com
Olivino, Hopland: Call for information. 707-744-1114, olivino.com
The Olive Press, Sonoma: Nov. 7 and Nov. 21. 800-965-4839, theolivepress.com
Tacos from EDK Cantina at El Dorado Hotel in Sonoma. (Mariana Calderon Photography)
New restaurants, new dishes and favorite spots for the holidays. Click through the above gallery to find out what to order.
Stellina Pronto
Chef Christian Caiazzo didn’t spend 35 years behind the stoves of Michelin-starred restaurants to become a barista, but that’s where the former owner of Point Reyes’ celebrated Osteria Stellina has found himself — slinging cappuccinos and lattes in downtown Petaluma. And he’s OK with that.
Standing behind the espresso machine at his new bakery-café, Stellina Pronto, Caiazzo is back in the game and pumping out orders. After closing their critically acclaimed restaurant in August 2020, citing the pandemic and other pressures, Caiazzo and his wife, Katrina Fried, opened the ever-evolving Italian bakery early this summer. “This is me reinventing myself,” he said recently at the cafe, as he made a perfect foam with extra-rich milk from Straus Family Creamery. It is, admittedly, pretty delightful.
Owners Christian Caiazzo and Katrina Fried at Stellina Pronto in Petaluma. (Courtesy of Stellina Pronto)
Customers stream regularly through the doors, eager to get their hands on still-warm morning buns, chocolate hazelnut cornettos, olive oil cakes and cookies. There is also warm focaccia, buns filled with pastry cream, and a changing lineup of Italian-inspired sweets and savories. Sandwiches and salads appear later in the day.
There’s no table service, no line cooks. The staff is limited, and the focus is on high-efficiency output to keep costs low. But don’t confuse Stellina Pronto with a massproduction operation—Caiazzo is passionate about Slow Food, high-quality ingredients, and supporting the regional food system.
They buy much of their produce from Green String Farm in Petaluma and local markets.
“The support we’ve received from Petaluma has exceeded our every expectation,” says Fried, as Caiazzo continued filling drink orders from behind the espresso machine. “We’re working our hearts out to keep up with demand, and we’re having a ball.”
Open Thursday through Monday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 23 Kentucky St., Petaluma. 707-789-9556, stellinapronto.com
El Dorado Cantina
This takeout only, side-street cantina at the El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen gives executive chef Armando Navarro a casual outlet for approachable, crave-worthy tacos, ceviche, enchiladas, pupusas and burritos. Think high-end flavors and ingredients— duck carnitas, barbacoa short ribs, rock cod ceviche—to eat with your hands in the park across the street.
Best bets include crispy vegetarian taquitos with fresh corn tortillas, potatoes ($9.95), caramelized onions, crema and cotija cheese; crispy fish tacos ($12.95), chicken enchiladas with mole or suiza sauce ($14.95), and chicharron pupusas with pork belly, cheese corn, spinach and black beans ($15.95). Grab a margarita ($12) to wash it all down, and don’t miss caramel-sauced churros ($8) for dessert.
Open daily from noon to 7:30 p.m., 405 First Street West, Sonoma. 707-996-3030, eldoradosonoma.com/cantina
Plate of sliced turkey with all the fixings at Willie Bird restaurant in Santa Rosa. (Chris Hardy/Sonoma Magazine)
The Bird
The original Willie Bird’s on Santa Rosa Avenue served up Thanksgiving dinner 52 weeks of the year for nearly 40 years. That restaurant has now closed but, good gravy, The Bird has risen from the ashes at a new location in Rincon Valley that boasts the same gritty authenticity that turkey lovers have come to expect. The tables are wobbly and the banquettes are worn in spots, but the vibe is welcoming.
Expect to go down a tryptophan rabbit hole on your visit. Favorites include a surprisingly addictive turkey dip served with house-made potato chips ($9.50); the Mama Bird sandwich ($16.25), which is like a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey breast, stuffing, and cranberry sauce between two slices of toasted bread; or turkey scaloppini ($23.95), a homey plate of sautéed turkey breast and mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce with creamy mashed potatoes that’s cozier than a pair of slippers. The turkey pot pie ($17.95) is a hangover miracle or marathon fuel. The Bird has also added pulled pork throughout the week and barbecue on Fridays.
Sonoma County has struggled to attract high-end, regional Mexican cuisine, which is a tragedy considering the number of talented chefs who have immigrated here from Oaxaca and Jalisco. These coastal western states, renowned for their food, are home to flavorful seafood dishes, a variety of mole and, of course, sizzling molcajete stews, made with a volcanic stone mortar and pestle of the same name.
In other words, there’s a lot more to Mexican cuisine than burritos and street tacos, just like there’s more to American cuisine than burgers and fries. The owners of new Santa Rosa restaurant El Meson de los Molcajetes want to fill the gap by introducing diners to the rich and diverse cuisine of Mexico. The menu, delivered with graceful service, includes thoughtfully-prepared regional dishes such as their signature molcajete and two types of mole, luxurious cocktails and well-sourced ingredients. The restaurant strays a bit with fusion preparations, like chimichurri filet mignon and salmon with tropical pico de gallo, but generally stays close to its Mexican roots.
Arroz con Leche prepared at El Meson De Los Molcajetes in Santa Rosa. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
There are lovely moments of transcendence with dishes like the Jalisco mole rojo ($26) and the grilled octopus with lime-chile salsa ($29). The Mexican fresh ceviche ($18) is a cocktail of raw fish marinated in citrus, nicely balanced with avocado instead of being overpowered by too much heat or acid. The Mexican cinnamon donut ($14) is more of a sweet bread ( pan dulce), with a layer of cajeta (Mexican goat’s milk caramel sauce) slathered in the middle. On weekends, the brunch menu gets rave reviews for its chilaquiles and shrimp tacos.
It’s Thai food. It’s sushi. It’s both? We’re rarely fans of disparate cuisines trying to be all things to all people, but we’re willing to be a bit flexible in the case of Little Thai & Sushi because it’s a takeout dream for picky families. The food is solid, if not stunning, as long as they put the hot entrees in a different bag than the cold sushi for your takeout. Because no one likes a melted California roll.
Best bets include basil chicken with anise-flavored Thai basil and oyster sauce ($12.95); cashew nut chicken ($12.95); and papaya salad Laos-style ($13.95). Made with a fermented Laotian crab and fish sauce, it’s an intensely stinky, muddy-colored mess with crunchy green papaya, green beans and lime sauce. This version will arm wrestle your taste buds and perfume your refrigerator for weeks.
1791 Marlow Road, Unit 4, Santa Rosa. 707-541-6242
The Matheson in Healdsburg. (Photo by Deb Wilson)
The Matheson
Four long years in the making, Chef Dustin Valette’s epic The Matheson and Roof 106 finally opened in early September. The three-story concept includes the Matheson on the ground floor, a private mezzanine, and Roof 106, a casual bar and café.
The Matheson’s open kitchen serves high-end New American cuisine as well as Japanese-inspired dishes — including nigiri stunners created by Hana Japanese chef Ken Tominaga and executed by sushi chef Daisuke Somato. The Tamanishiki rice porridge ($19), a risottolike starter of black rice, a single perfectly-cooked day boat scallop, and preserved lemon, was the star of the night. Seasonal tomato salad with whipped burrata, lovage, sea beans, and rye “soil” ($15) also was excellent. The tasting menu, always a solid choice at nearby the chef’s nearby Valette restaurant, includes a “best of” with sashimi, tomato salad, king salmon, Sonoma lamb and a dark chocolate pavé for $95. Reservations are recommended.
Flatbreads from The Matheson in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of Michael Woolsey)
Upstairs, Roof 106 is first come, first serve, with both lunch and dinner menus. Diners here will find a more casual indoor-outdoor setting, with a cozy bar inside and a mix of sofa-style and chair seating outside under an airy, extended pergola.
Opening dishes include a tasty fried sweet corn with citrus crema ($9); Tominaga’s hand rolls ($4-6); and wood-fired pizzas like the cured pork belly with Gruyère, red onion, and roasted-garlic crème fraîche ($21).
Larger plates of steak, crispy pork belly and a burrata and peach salad round out the menu, along with entertaining frozen “push pops” ($5) of our youth in grown-up flavors like coconut-rum mojito and yuzu-strawberry. Roof 106 also serves up their own list of cocktails, among them the Modern Margarita ($10) with tequila and clarified lime, a molecular-gastronomy take on a classic. Don’t miss the beehive-themed details either, including the hexagon-shaped tiles surrounding the bar.
Tali Bouskila, owner of Flower Casita, builds a wreath at her shop in Petaluma. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
“Our landscape helps inspire my color palettes,” says local floral designer Tali Bouskila of Flower Casita. “Going into winter, I really want to do those eucalyptus blues, the grassy golden yellows—more of the dried colors. I think there’s just something just so pretty, when we have huge storm clouds and the bright yellow of wild dill.”
Flower Casita opened five years ago, after Bouskila spent nearly a decade working in flower shops in San Francisco and freelancing for studios that focused on weddings and large events. She signed the lease on her Petaluma studio a few months before her daughter was born and quickly developed a following. “A lot of my customers met me as a pregnant woman, climbing ladders and cleaning and mopping the store,” she laughs.
Bouskila and her team prefer to work with local growers and unique foraged finds. Neighbors will sometimes stop by the shop with something interesting from their garden—an armful of prunings from an olive tree, or a few branches from a birch that came down—and ask if Bouskila can use the materials.
Tali Bouskila, owner of Flower Casita, uses dried Banksia formosa in a wreath at her shop in Petaluma. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
Wreath by Tali Bouskila, owner of Flower Casita in Petaluma. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
Her hallmark is a looser, less tightly-defined look, one that has its roots in the idiosyncratic shapes and structures of plants in the wild. “We’re inspired by what already happens in nature. We find the shape of each stem, we find the colors; we like to look at things for what they really are and emphasize their natural beauty, as opposed to manipulating them into a tight, ball-like design,” she explains.
Bouskila draws lines between her natural approach to floral design and the farm-to-table approach to eating well in Sonoma County. “It speaks a lot to what we do out here, even the way we make our wines. There’s a lot in common with what we’re doing and what chefs are doing, the up-and-comers curating menus that are super seasonally-inspired, lighter and brighter, tasting each element of the dish.”
Going into the holidays, Bouskila says she appreciates the gifts offered up by our farmers and foragers at all times of the year. “Being in Northern California, we actually do have flowers all year round, as opposed to the snowy parts of the country. So it’s about being really thankful that we always have something… that there’s always something popping up out of the ground.”
Dried Leucadendron is used in a wreath made by Tali Bouskila, owner of Flower Casita. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
Koelreuteria paniculata, commonly called golden raintree, is incorporated in a a wreath by Tali Bouskila, owner of Flower Casita. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
Tali Bouskila’s favorite tips for holiday wreath-making
Palettes and plans: Before Bouskila makes a wreath, she likes to have a sense of where it’s going to go and the size it needs to be. She will often use a base of grapevine or curly willow, and sometimes will suspend a wreath horizontally to create a floral chandelier.
Seasonal texture: Working with what’s locally grown and available fresh, Bouskila looks for interesting shapes in evergreens and blooms: “Not everything is a stiff, straight stem; it’s a combination of shapes and curls, then bringing in textures of seedpods and grasses.”
A focal point: Bouskila typically builds a single point of interest into a wreath—a bloom of dried hydrangea, a sprig of orchids, or a loosely knotted bow of velvet or raw silk. But there’s no rule that she follows 100% of the time; Bouskila says you should let your decisions be guided by the materials at hand.
Wreath-making classes, $100 per person, five-person minimum. Flower Casita, 140 Second St., Suite 116, Petaluma, 707-559-5243, flowercasita.com
Santa sure knows how to make an entrance. Whether it’s stealth-style through a chimney or via a reindeer-pulled flying sleigh, his arrival never fails to impress. In Wine Country, he likes to arrive by different modes of transportation: tractor, boat, train — even helicopter. Due to the pandemic, however, Santa had to cancel a few appearances this year. But there are still plenty of places to see him this December in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties. Click through the above gallery for details. Let us know in the comments if we missed a public appearance.
