Do you love BBQ?
For a summer magazine story, we’re looking for YOUR favorite Sonoma County BBQ ideas. Please send the names of your top BBQ restaurants, pop-ups and food trucks to bbq@sonomamag.com by Wednesday, May 4. Suggestions should be located within Sonoma County and should be places where the public can go to eat (ie, not your friend’s house, even if his ‘cue is the best you’ve ever tasted!).
Can’t wait to hear from you, and thanks so much!
Healdsburg-based Costeaux Bakery will open a satellite cafe in the Hotel Petaluma this summer. The new location, which has walk-up counter service only, will sell coffee, bread, pastries, lunch and desserts.
“The loaf is out of the oven,” said owner Will Seppi in a social media post announcing the opening. The menu will include dishes like their Deep Dish Quiche, croissant breakfast sandwiches, salads, lemon tarts, French macarons and sourdough baguettes. The cafe will be open daily at 205 Kentucky St.
Founded in 1923, Costeaux is one of the oldest bakeries in the county, with locations in Healdsburg and at the Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, plus their traditional Latino bakery in Roseland, Tia Maria.
More details to come.
Any day is a good day to show your mom some extra appreciation. This Mother’s Day, May 8, treat her to a sunny gourmet brunch at a nice restaurant or scenic winery.
Bacchus Landing
14210 Bacchus Landing Way, Healdsburg, 707-395-0697, bacchuslanding.com
Breathless Wines
499 Moore Lane, Healdsburg, 707-395-7300, breathlesswines.com
Comstock Wines
1290 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 707-723-3011, comstockwines.com
Hazel Hill at Montage
100 Montage Way, Healdsburg, 707-979-9000, montagehotels.com/healdsburg/dining/hazel-hill
Flamingo Resort
2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-545 8530, flamingoresort.com
John Ash & Co.
4350 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa, 800-421-2584, vintnersresort.com/dining/john-ash-co
Ricky’s Eastbound
5755 Mountain Hawk Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-843-5143, rickyseastbound.com
Victory House at the Epicenter
The Epicenter’s sports bar and restaurant Victory House will celebrate Mother’s Day with a brunch starting at 10 a.m. and comedy show (for ages 18 and up) starting at 11 a.m. The brunch will include breakfast burritos, eggs Benedict, buttermilk pancakes, grilled flank steak, orange-marinated pork tenderloin, apple pie parfait and chocolate cake. San Jose comedian Jeanette Marin with headliner Dennis Gaxiola will perform. The comedy show is $50 per person. Purchase tickets on Victory House’s website.
3215 Coffey Lane, Santa Rosa, 707-757-9041, visitvictoryhouse.com
DeLoach Vineyards
1791 Olivet Road, Santa Rosa, 707-755-3300, deloachvineyards.com
TIPS Roadside
A family-style Mother’s Day brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The all-you-can-eat brunch will include cornbread with honey butter, vegetable quiche, shrimp and grits, fried chicken and sides of housemade breakfast sausage, applewood-smoked bacon, root vegetable hash, red-eyed gravy and beignets for dessert. There will be bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys for an extra $19. The meal is $55 for adults, $20 for children 12 and under and free for kids 6 and under. Reservations are required; reserve a table on Tock.
8445 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, 707-509-0078, tipsroadside.com
Salt & Stone
Mother’s Day brunch from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A la carte brunch menu includes seasonal fare and brunch favorites such as brioche French toast, huevos rancheros, steak and eggs, Shanghai chicken salad, Dungeness crab melt, sumac-crusted snapper, lamb burger and cauliflower gnocchi. Book a table on Salt and Stone’s website via Resy.
9900 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, 707-833-6326, saltstonekenwood.com
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, 707-939-2415, fairmont.com/sonoma
Wit & Wisdom
Three-course prix fixe Mother’s Day brunch served from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. includes brunch classics and fresh seasonal dishes such as roasted Pacific oysters, rigatoni arrabbiata with lobster, eggs Benedict, king salmon, creme brûlée French toast, charcoal-grilled lamb chops, wild mushroom pizza and Basque-style cheesecake. The brunch is $89 per person. See the full food and drink menu and make a reservation here.
1325 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-931-3405, witandwisdomsonoma.com
Murphy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
464 First St. East, Sonoma, 707-935-0660, sonomapub.com
Roche Winery & Vineyards
Roche Winery’s annual Mother’s Day Brunch in the Vineyard with seatings at 10 a.m. and noon will include a breakfast tower of bagels, rye toasts and baguettes with homemade jam and cream cheese, yogurt and granola parfaits, baked goods, spinach frittata, flat-iron steak and sweet potato hash. $85 per person, $65 for wine club members, $15 for children and free for kids 3 and younger. The last day to buy tickets is May 3. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
22097A Bonness Road, Sonoma, 707-935-7115, rochewinery.com
Viansa Winery
Mother’s Day picnic brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Viansa Winery’s scenic lawn with live music by Bay Area singer Lara Louise. A $125 ticket includes a spot on the lawn for up to six people, a bottle of wine with Govino wine glasses and a charcuterie spread of cheeses, baguettes, fruit and Italian desserts. Additional food and wine will be available to buy from the marketplace and the woodfired pizza oven. Wine club members get a 20% discount on tickets. Purchase a ticket on Tock.
25200 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 800-995-4740, viansa.com
Enriquez Estate Wines
5960 Eastside Road, Forestville, 707-347-9719, enriquezwines.com
Rio Nido Roadhouse
14540 Canyon 2 Road, Rio Nido, 707-869-0821, rionidoroadhouse.com
Rocker Oysterfeller’s
14415 Highway One, Valley Ford, 707-876-1983, rockeroysterfellers.com
Coast Kitchen at Timber Cove Resort
21780 Highway 1, Jenner, 707-847-3231, coastkitchensonoma.com
Indulge your mom’s sweet tooth this Mother’s Day with a special treat from one of these Sonoma County bakeries.
Costeaux French Bakery
Costeaux will be open Mother’s Day for its regular Sunday brunch, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The bakery is also offering a special “For Mom with Love” care package, which includes chocolate biscotti, cinnamon walnut bread, a dozen French macaroons and two handmade “mom” shortbread cookies. Order by Thursday, April 28, for the package to arrive in time for Mother’s Day.
417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-1913, costeaux.com
Nom Nom Cakes
Nom Nom Cakes is offering Mother’s Day specials such as themed cakes, cupcakes and fruit tarts. Order online for pickup or delivery.
390 Calle Del Sol, Bodega Bay, 805-350-0680, nomnombaking.com
BFF Collaborations
BFF Collaborations is selling Mother’s Day mugs with either a cookie bouquet or chocolate-covered strawberries. Last day for Mother’s Day orders is April 27.
Bffcollaborations.company.site
Frosty’z Bakery by Jaeden
Frosty’z Bakery has a special Mother’s Day cookie set available for pre-order. Pre-order early and pick-up on Saturday, May 7, between noon to 1 p.m. at Homespun Market in Rohnert Park.
Little Saint in Healdsburg, which opened Friday, features an international bounty of wines from 13 countries — including Greece, Croatia, Lebanon, France and South Africa. The 300-bottle list also has an impressive selection of exceptional wines made in Sonoma County.
For Wine Director Alexandria Sarovich, who joined Little Saint’s sister restaurant, Single Thread, as a sommelier three years ago, creating the wine program at the highly anticipated new restaurant was an exercise in curiosity and intuition. With a strong focus on sustainably produced wines and those made by women and people of color, the wines at Little Saint’s restaurant, bar and wine shop illustrate Sarovich’s interest in supporting winemakers from underrepresented communities.
“When choosing a wine, we choose what feels right,” she said. “I hadn’t tasted many BIPOC wines prior to starting this program, but that’s what I’m most curious about. It just feels right to look at these wines with an open mind.”
Located in the 10,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by SHED Modern Grange, Little Saint is a restaurant, cafe, wine shop and event space from Single Thread’s Kyle and Katina Connaughton, philanthropist Jeff Ubben, animal activist Laurie Ubben and designer Ken Fulk.
Approximately 80% of the wines available in the restaurant will be sold in the wine shop, with the remaining 20% reserved for restaurant guests only. Local winemakers will offer complimentary wine tastings to the public every other Tuesday, beginning with Tom Darling of Darling Wines on May 3.
On other days, guests can drop by the tasting area and buy a white, red or skin-contact wine by the glass from a list that is updated weekly.
“I want people to feel like they can come in on a regular basis and enjoy an affordable glass or bottle of wine, whether it’s a $13 bottle of cava or $40 bottle of nebbiolo,” Sarovich said. “I don’t want the space to feel like it’s reserved just for special occasions because of the price.”
In the future, Little Saint expects to host wine release parties, wine dinners and other special events.
The massive industrial-style space that once housed SHED Modern Grange in downtown Healdsburg opened Friday as Little Saint, a restaurant, cafe, bar and retail space from the owners of three-Michelin-starred Single Thread restaurant.
The much-anticipated opening comes four years after SHED closed in 2018, leaving the prime 10,000-square-foot space just off busy Healdsburg Avenue empty. Since it opened in 2013, SHED had been a popular central venue for an increasingly high-end Healdsburg dining scene.
On Friday, locals entered Little Saint unsure of what to expect and with faces registering a combination of recognition and surprise. Everything and nothing is different as you walk in. The layout of the cafe, coffee bar, mercantile and food cases have changed little since SHED closed, but there’s a new warmth with cozy banquettes, floor-to-ceiling drapes hung with modern art and double the seating. The 25 North St. location is welcoming in a way that builds on SHED’s original vision, but with the skilled hospitality and of-the-moment cuisine of Single Thread.
Behind the project are Kyle and Katina Connaughton of the upscale Single Thread, designer Ken Fulk of San Francisco nonprofit Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation, philanthropist Jeff Ubben and his wife, animal activist Laurie Ubben, and Program Director Jenny Hess. In addition to its food offerings, the expansive Healdsburg space will also be used as community hub for conversations with thought leaders, live music performances and events.
“This is a community gathering place that’s been missing for a few years,” said Little Saint General Manager Akeel Shah, most recently of Single Thread. “That’s what SHED was all about, and it’s exciting to bring this back.
“Immediately, when we told the community that we were opening our doors, it started a spark,” Shah said.
Little Saint both embraces and expands on the ideals of SHED founders Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniel, who took a leap of faith by self-funding the design and build of a “modern grange” in 2013. Considered groundbreaking at the time, their project aimed to celebrate the farms, wines, makers, artists and thought leaders of Sonoma County in a buzzy modern space.
When it closed at the end of 2018, the former SHED lay fallow, with ongoing rumors of purchase. When the Ubbens bought the building in 2020, they vowed to continue the SHED legacy.
Single Thread’s management arm, Vertice Hospitality Management, operates the food and wine components of the space. Chef de Cuisine Bryan Oliver will make a return to the kitchen, where he once worked with executive chef Perry Hoffman when SHED was in operation.
The restaurant’s plant-forward cafe and restaurant menus pay homage to 30 acres of Alexander Valley farmland: the 5-acre Little Saint Farm and the Connaughtons’ 25-acre Single Thread Farm.
The food, said Kyle Connaughton, showcases the micro-seasonal produce of the farms, a reflection of what’s happening today in Sonoma County. Restaurant dishes include lavash with togarashi, purple haze carrots with crunch rice and XO sauce, cauliflower biryani and rice pudding for dessert.
The cafe, open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., sells a variety of salads, bowls and desserts with dishes such as beets in coconut yogurt, potato salad with egg-less mayonnaise and orzo with asparagus and preserved lemons.
Fulk’s design elements include a cozy collection of upcycled vintage and custom pieces by local artisans. The curated art collection at Little Saint showcases Ken and Laurie Ubbens’ private collection as well as pieces from California expressionist artists Jack Freeman and Gerald Wasserma. Installations will change frequently.
Co-owner Laurie Ubben said that the timing for opening was perfect, after years of lockdown and social distancing. The result has far surpassed what she expected when the project began.
“How we engage with our surroundings is the future of food. Having connection to where things come from is important. In some small way, having everything here under one roof is representative of that,” she said.
Allah-Las, ESG, Turnover, W.I.T.C.H., Damien Jurado, La Luz and Woods are among the more than three dozen music acts lined up to play June 10-11 at the Huichica Music Festival at the Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma.
Two-day general admission passes go on sale at huichica.com at $295 each at 10 a.m. Friday, with single-day tickets to follow later. Children under 12 are free. A portion of the proceeds from Huichica will benefit the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation.
Presented in partnership between sixth-generation vintner Jeff Bundschu and Bay Area promoter and curator FolkYEAH Presents, the all-ages, family-friendly music festival takes place throughout Gundlach Bundschu’s winery estate in Sonoma, including its historic barn and outdoor amphitheater.
The Huichica 2022 lineup includes: Allah-Las, ESG, Turnover, W.I.T.C.H., Woods, La Luz, Damien Jurado, Midlake, Tamaryn, Avey Tare, Isobel Campbell, Bobby Oroza, Wand, Lilys, The Altons, Mega Bog, Mary Lattimore, Tropa Magica, Mystic Chords Of Memory, Dummy, Starcrawler, Tapers Choice, Spaceface, Jess Williamson, Oog Bogo, Brigid Dawson, Frank Locrasto, Thumpasuraus, Light Fantastic, Oliver Ray, Sylvie, Uni Boys, Madeline Kenney, The Shacks, Nico Georis, Matt Baldwin and Companion. The lineup may be subject to change.
Founded in 2009 by Jeff Bundschu, president of Gundlach Bundschu, and musician Eric D. Johnson, the festival joined forces with famed Northern California concert promoter and curator FolkYEAH in 2010.
“We created Huichica because we believe that music and wine is best shared in intimate and epic settings with our community, family (and) friends,” Bundschu said in a statement.
The festival was not held in 2020 due to coronavirus concerns.
“After a couple of tough years for live events and the music industry, it means the world to us to present this fun and diverse music experience at the oldest family-owned winery in California — it’s always one of my favorite music and family weekends of the year,” said Britt Govea, founder of FolkYEAH Presents, in a press release.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase from the winery and local food purveyors.
The Huichica Music Festival will comply with any laws and mandates recommended by the county and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information on attending Huichica or to buy tickets, visit huichica.com or connect through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts. This article was originally published in The Press Democrat.
Burgers don’t have to be fancy to be incredible. And while we wouldn’t turn down a patty smothered with foie gras or brie, we’re usually perfectly content with some nice ground beef, American cheese and lettuce. Maybe a pickle if you want to get fancy. That’s precisely what we’ve found in Santa Rosa — terrific burgers that keep it simple (mostly) with only the best stuff between their buns.
Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
Lunch Box, a semi-frequent pop-up burger grill at Henhouse Brewing, Shady Oak and Bacchus Landing, has taken over the former East West Cafe spot in Sebastopol as a brick-and-mortar home.
Owner Derek Harn has been renovating the space over the last few weeks with plans for about 50 seats, including a chef’s counter with five bar seats facing the open kitchen. The menu will feature locally sourced ingredients, craft burgers, sandwiches, fries and salads. They’ll also prepare much of their own food in-house including bacon, special sauce and French fries and will cure their own pastrami and grind their own meat.
Lunch Box burgers are the kind of messy, smushy, everything-good-about-beef burgers paired with “dirty fries,” a pile of crispy fries, chevre ranch dressing, bacon, green onion, roasted garlic and pepperoncini. You’ll need a handful of napkins and a stout appetite.
Lunch Box had planned to be part of the forthcoming Livery on Main food hall but the owners decided to open the larger space instead. No word yet on an opening date, but you can follow their progress at lunchboxsonomacounty.com.
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Speaking of pop-ups: Sangsan, a pop-up from chefs Ploypailin “Ploy” Sakornsin and Jeremy Kuo (both alums of the Michelin-starred SingleThread), is Thai and Korean cuisine like you’ve never tried.
After hosting dinners at Lioco winery and special take-out dinners at Quail & Condor, now they’re dishing up shrimp patties with plum sauce, rich shrimp and pork peanut sauce with rice cakes, grilled turmeric chicken thighs with tamarind sauce and a sweet-sour cold Thai pork salad on Saturday and Sunday nights at the Miracle Plum Kitchen in Santa Rosa (the menu changes and you need to order ahead, to get a pick-up time).
On Tuesdays through May 24, find them at Lo & Behold in Healdsburg, 214 Healdsburg Ave. Find details and ordering info at sangsanhealdsburg.com.
Chef Krisztian Karkus of the former Tisza Bistro in Windsor is planning a second act, to open sometime this year, at the one-time location of Singletree diner in Healdsburg.
Karkus closed Tisza, his Eastern European restaurant, in August 2020 after a three-year stint complicated by multiple fires including the 2017 wildfires that closed the restaurant just days after it opened.
When I first met Karkus, he was trying to feed wildfire evacuees, cooking with a waffle iron he bought a Kohl’s. Since then, Karkus has been popping up at the Windsor Certified Farmers Market serving schnitzel and holding over his grateful fans. Rumor has it Karkus may be making his own beer at his new location, also to be named Tisza Bistro.
Singletree Cafe closed in February after more than 20 years in business. It arrived in Healdsburg long before the many high-end restaurants now in the area created the current Beverly Hills vibe. A major struggle for Singletree, at 165 Healdsburg Ave., was ongoing construction of the Mill District just across the street. Ongoing road closures made it difficult to turn left into the restaurant’s parking lot.
Depending on which winemaker you ask, 1,500 cases of wine may seem like a lot — or a little. For the major wineries that make upward of 500,000 cases per year, it’s merely a drop in the wine barrel.
For others, like winemaker Bart Hansen, 1,500 cases is more than double what he makes. That’s why his wines are perfect for the upcoming Garagiste Festival on April 30 at the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall.
Launched in Paso Robles in 2011, with satellite events in Sonoma County since 2018, the Garagiste Festival invites winemakers who produce 1,500 cases of wine or fewer per year to share their wines with consumers at the one-day event. Hansen, who previously made medium- to large-production wines for Kenwood Vineyards and Benziger Family Winery, now makes just 625 cases under his own label, Dane Cellars.
“When you work at a large winery, you understand the importance of producing a consistent product for consumers every year,” Hansen said. “You’re always looking at previous vintages to see where you need to go. With small-production wines, I can fully embrace the diversity of each vintage and make the wines I truly want to make.”
Coined in Bordeaux, France, in the early 1990s, the term garagiste was given to rebellious winemakers who were fed up with the region’s strict, centuries-old rules for winemaking. Rather than adhere to tradition, these adventurous men and women made small lots of uncharacteristically robust wines in garages, warehouses and anywhere else they wanted. Threatened by this novel way of making wine, the traditionalists called these turncoat winemakers garagistes. While the term was intended to insult, it was eventually a badge of honor to those who took pride in going rogue.
The Garagiste Festival was inspired by the pluck of these independent French winemakers and their determination to forge a new, creative path. While American winemakers don’t face the same stylistic limitations many French winemakers do, they do share the burden of needing a cash flow.
Winemaker Perri Haughwout, who produces about 100 cases of wine for her micro-winery, Perri Jaye Vineyards, funds the small label by selling the pinot noir grapes she grows in her 2.6-acre vineyard. Winemaking is a passion project she took up later in life, and she only reserves a small lot of the fruit for herself.
“I am not driven by aspirations of fame and fortune. I just want to showcase my beautiful vineyard and the special wine it produces,” Haughwout said.
“When you are as tiny as I am and you don’t have access to a tasting room, the Garagiste Festival is a great opportunity to connect with consumers who are looking for small wine gems. I feel like I fit right in.”
At the Garagiste Festival, the wines are poured by the winemakers themselves, which lends an air of intimacy to the wine tastings and encourages dialogue among the winemakers and attendees. Great varietal diversity is nearly always present, so there is plenty of opportunity to expand your palate and try something new.
The red wines average no more than $45 a bottle, and there is nary a limo or bachelorette party in sight. What you will find, however, are limited-production wines you can’t taste anywhere else.
“There is a real sense of community at the Garagiste Festival, “ said Hansen, who also hosts the popular wine-centric podcast, The Winemakers. “I’ve had people who listen to my podcast come up to me and introduce themselves. For me, that builds connection.”
