The Livery on Main, a forthcoming 22,000-square-foot food and arts hub in downtown Sebastopol, is coming into focus as culinary heavy hitters like Village Bakery sign on for a space in the building’s food hall.
Slated for a late 2022 opening, the modern three-story space will take shape on a large parcel of unused real estate at 135 South Main St., next to K&L Bistro and across the street from Retrograde Coffee Roasters. The name refers to a livery, or stable, that once was on the property.
The food hall will be located on the first floor, called The Stables, and will feature food from a variety of small local restaurants, including vegan dishes from Santa Rosa’s Cozy Plum Bistro, burgers from the Lunch Box Sonoma County pop-up, Mexican-style mariscos (seafood dishes) from Santa Rosa’s El Charro Negro food truck and Greek food from Taverna Lithi, a new restaurant from Dino’s food truck owner and chef Dino Moniodis. Village Bakery, with two locations in Santa Rosa, will be making its return to Sebastopol in the food hall after losing its retail shop and production kitchen in The Barlow during the flooding in 2019.
An artist rendering of The Livery on Main, taking shape in Sebastopol. (Courtesy of The Beale Group)
Farm to Coast Collective, a “public benefit corporation” owned by Sebastopol company The Beale Group, will operate The Livery on Main and will provide on-site management, staffing and marketing to the food hall vendors in return for licensing fees (30% of gross revenue from food hall vendors). It’s a business model that, in different configurations, has gained traction in cities like New York and San Francisco with its lower startup costs compared to opening a stand-alone restaurant, plus other perks such as shared expenses and more consistent foot traffic.
“Restaurant startup and operational costs are expensive. We believe that our comprehensive shared services food hall model is the sustainable future of the (food and beverage) industry,” said Gregory Beale, founder of The Beale Group. As local restaurateurs continue to grapple with labor shortages and rising rents, the food hall concept can help address those challenges, The Beale Group said in a news release.
In addition to the food hall, The Livery on Main will be home to shared work spaces on its second floor, called The Loft, along with a speakeasy lounge called Farriers that will serve local beer, wine and spirits. The upper floor, The Rafters, will be dedicated to an event space and rooftop garden.
To finance The Farm to Coast Collective, The Beale Group has launched a campaign on WeFunder, a crowdfunding site that connects startups with investors. So far, $7,000 has been raised toward the $50,000 goal. According to the fundraising campaign, construction will begin in September 2021. Find more details at livery135.com.
Miyoko’s Creamery founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner (courtesy of Miyokoís Creamery)
“Vegan dairy” is no longer an oxymoron but rather a $5 billion industry that’s outgrown its hippy origins and become an artisan darling of the plant-based food movement.
Using ingredients like oats, coconut oil, nuts and vegetable proteins instead of animal products to mimic the taste, texture and mouthfeel of real dairy, two of the industry’s fastest-growing players, Sonoma County-based Miyoko’s Creamery and Wild Creamery, are gaining traction both nationally and internationally for their nondairy cheeses, buttery cream cheese, sour cream and dips.
As anyone who suffered through the early phases of the evolution of vegan cheese can attest, vegan dairy products weren’t always noteworthy — more vegan statement (a la Tofurkey) than party appetizer. But as diets change to include more mainstream meatless options — for better health, to reduce carbon footprints or over concern about animal welfare — diners are demanding quality alternatives like the Impossible Burger, Amy’s Drive Thru’s nondairy chocolate shake or a plant-based butter that spreads, melts and tastes like real butter.
With science, patience and fermentation wizardry, the inconceivable is becoming not just accessible but actually pretty tasty.
Miyoko’s Creamery sells an assortment of vegan products such as plant-based cheeses and “butter.” (Courtesy of Miyoko’s Creamery)
The upstart
For Wild Creamery owners Rick Goldberg and Chris Glad, the key to vegan dairy’s growth is something called lactobacillus.
Officially launched this year, Wild Creamery is an offshoot company of Wild Brine, makers of sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented salsas and sriracha. Based in Santa Rosa (the fermenter facility is in Windsor), the two companies are well-versed in this strain of lactic acid, required for fermentation such as pickling vegetables or making cheese and butter. Lactobacillus is also a natural preservative that gives tartness to sauerkraut or European-style butter. Existing naturally in the wild, it breaks down complex food molecules into simpler forms and changes their flavor and structure.
“There’s such a beauty in fermentation and the flavor profiles it offers,” Goldberg said. It’s that fermentation knowledge that gives their products a depth of flavor that’s both creamy and tart, more like actual dairy products.
Wild Brine cultivates its lactobacillus primarily from cabbage leaves, efficient carriers of the wild bacteria. It seemed natural to try to ferment plant-based dairy, using sauerkraut juice as their culture.
“Everyone else uses the same foundation,” Glad said. The ingredients in their products include coconut oil, sunflower oil, cashews, oats, cabbage and other vegetables. “But we don’t come at this as scientists. We come at it as food people. We want it to have that same creamy mouthfeel, but it’s all plant-based,” he added.
“You notice what we want you to notice in the flavors because they’re very different,” Glad said.
Serial food business entrepreneurs, Glad and Goldberg started the Creamery for a new challenge, doing all the research and development themselves. Though the pandemic put them back a year, they’ve released a Brie-style cheese, butter, cream cheese and sour cream alternatives in addition to dips like French onion and chipotle lime.
Goldberg and Glad are continuing their research and development, hoping to create plant-based butter and cheese 2.0, a next-generation product. Moving beyond nuts (which people can be allergic to), they hope to incorporate oats and quinoa to find a “magic bullet” to mimic the proteins in milk — basically, to make a more cheese-like cheese.
“People now are plant-based not just because they’re vegan, but because they care about the planet, sustainability and animal welfare,” Goldberg said. “They’re consumers with a cause, and they want to know who’s making it. The vegans may have started this industry, but it’s vegans and flexitarians now.”
Though Wild Brine and Wild Creamery declined to give annual sales numbers, they said they’re the largest natural food fermenters in the country, purchasing 10 million pounds of fresh produce per year.
The duo has big plans for more vegan products in the coming months, including roasted garlic butter, but said their ultimate goals are far ahead.
“We’re always looking forward and not back,” Glad said. “I think success is when someone randomly buys your product and brings it to a party and wants to share it.”
The activist
Miyoko Schinner believes that, like the horse and buggy or kerosene lamp, plant-based eating is a necessary transition and evolution of the food industry.
The founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, a 30-year vegan and animal sanctuary founder has tapped into a consumer zeitgeist of concern for animal welfare, sustainability and plant-based eating over conventional food production.
“Consumers are ready and want to participate in driving changes. They want to be part of the solution, and food choices are a way to vote for sustainability and animals,” she said. “It’s part of our own human evolution to become more humane, sustainable beings. That’s our responsibility on our planet to take care of it.”
As a chef and cookbook author, she created her vegan butter recipe out of necessity.
“There were spreads like margarine, but nothing I would have considered butter. I create foods that I crave myself,” Schinner said.
That’s translated into serious wins for a company grown from a niche vegan cheese seller launched in 2014 to an international socially-conscious brand of nondairy products, including cultured plant-based butter, plant-based cheeses, cream cheese and cheese dip. Miyoko’s Creamery recently received a $52 million cash infusion and expanded to a 29,000 square foot facility in Petaluma. Trader Joe’s carries her plant-based butter.
Although her products use oats, cashews, sunflower and coconut oil and are dairy-free, they are marketed as “butter” and sit next to traditional dairy butters, sour cream, and cheeses, the result of a hard-fought victory for Schinner and the vegan dairy industry.
Vegan butter is Miyoko’s bestselling product and has boosted company sales by more than 160%. Recently, the company prevailed against state regulators who challenged its right to use the word “butter” and other dairy-related terms in its advertising. Represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the First Amendment lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture was a bellwether for what the state’s $6.4 billion dairy industry is up against.
That’s rubbed the local dairy industry the wrong way.
“I disagree with the decision,” said Tawny Tesconi, executive director for the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. “It’s not that I disagree with the idea of having cashew nut spread or nut juice, but I believe that when you look up the definition of milk is that it’s a white product from mammals,” she said.
Hoping to entice animal farmers to transition to plant farming, Schinner said the company is dedicated to financially supporting a dairy farm willing to convert to growing crops like legumes, hemp, oats or potatoes used at Miyoko’s Creamery.
“Consolidation is the biggest threat to small family farms. We recognize that and have empathy for these farmers, and we would like to help,” she said.
The company has also launched a local tourism campaign to bring together sustainable, inclusive, animal-friendly artisan wine and food producers for specialty experiences. Charter members include El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen, Renegade Foods, Green String Farm, Out in the Vineyard and Miyoko’s Rancho Compasión in Nicasio.
“We want to continue to lead, become change-makers not just with our products, but to pave a path for a more sustainable, compassionate food system. We want to become the leading global brand in premium plant-based dairy, and that’s a big goal,” Schinner said.
Soak up the sun while sipping on some excellent wine. Here are six favorite picks for wine tasting in Sonoma County.
Featured Winery: Lynmar Estate Winery
Lynmar Estate Winery has four distinct vineyards and an environmentally-friendly and gentle-on-the-grapes gravity-flow winery. Owners Lynn and Anisya Fritz bottle three tiers of wines, mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but also a few blends. New this summer? A renovation of the outdoor tasting areas, which are now perfect for enjoying new vintages of the summery Rosé of Pinot Noir and Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.
“Lynmar’s beautiful outdoor area has expanded with several new covered spaces where our guests can enjoy the natural setting in an elegant and safe manner,” says the winery’s Andrea Alcaro.
“On Your Own” tastings include a private lunch pairing with a gourmet meal for two created by estate chef David Frakes, and a half-bottle each of Chardonnay and Pinot ($110). The wine flight spotlights four or five estate-grown wines ($60), served with Lynmar’s house special: salty-smoked popcorn.
3909 Frei Rd., Sebastopol, 707-829-3374, lynmarestate.com. By appointment; call for reservations
4th Street Cellars
This is the only tasting room in Railroad Square, at the heart of a buzz-worthy dining scene. Guests can have restaurant food delivered to tables as they taste, and there’s also live acoustic music on Friday and Saturday nights. The tasting room features wines from Opal Moon, Bonneau, and Egret, and tastings run four pours for $20. “This summer we’ll likely be pouring the 2017 and 2018 vintages of our Bonneau Chardonnay and the 2017 Bonneau Pinot Noir, both made with fruit from the Los Carneros AVA,” says manager Erin McVicar.
Karah is an excellent choice to get to know wines from the county’s newest AVA, Petaluma Gap. Choose from three tasting options, each $20: a reds-only experience; whites and rosé; or a mix of rosé, Chardonnay, and three Pinots. “This summer we’ll be pouring several estate-grown Pinots, as well as two rosé of Pinot selections, and also a sparkling wine,” says manager Karima Karah.
A local collective representing ten boutique producers. “We always have rosé from the Kitfox and Peterson labels, and also all sorts of esoteric whites,” says the shop’s Patrick Llerena-Cruz. Tastings here are complimentary. “We haven’t charged for tasting in 19 years,” he says, “and we’re not about to start now.”
With annual production of about 1,000 cases, Sosie makes Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir, as well as Roussanne from Bennett Valley AVA vineyards. “Our 100 percent Roussanne has been popular, as it’s very much a northern Rhône style,” explains owner and winemaker Scott MacFiggen.
“We call it our ‘Goldilocks’ wine, because it has the richness of Chardonnay and the minerality of a Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a nice balance between the two. We don’t produce Chardonnays or big Napa Cabernets. We definitely try to do things differently.” A tasting of five wines — “and sometimes others,” adds MacFiggen — is $30.
Winemaker Scott Lindstrom-Dake founded this small artisan producer. “We specialize in reds such as Cabernet, and our flagship wine is Cabernet Franc,” says assistant manager Angie Malinski. “We’ve also added a new chilled red called Valdiguié, which is an uncommon varietal, especially for Dry Creek Valley, but our customers are really liking it.” Tastings ($20 for 75 minutes) typically include four wines from a list of eight. “We also provide a complimentary cheese plate and a vegan option with tastings, even for walk-in guests.”
Jorge Martinez works on creating a table out of a Parota tree at his Wine Country Decor store in Santa Rosa on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Woodworker and furniture maker Jorge Martinez took a leap of faith last February when he signed a lease for an empty storefront along Highway 12 on the eastern edge of Santa Rosa. The artisan, who grew up in a family of makers in Mexico (his father was a carpenter, and his mother was a painter), previously sold his designs at a furniture store in Napa, but had always longed for a space of his own. “My life is working hard,” Martinez says. “This is my passion.”
Now, in between helping customers at his new Santa Rosa store, Wine Country Decor, Martinez can be found at work on the patio outside, where he cuts wood and shapes new pieces. Martinez works primarily with recycled timbers, and nearly all of his designs can be customized, allowing clients to choose the size, type of wood, hardware, and finish.
A light fixture made by Jorge Martinez hangs at his Wine Country Decor showroom in Santa Rosa. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)A cabinet created by Jorge Martinez at his Wine Country Decor showroom in Santa Rosa. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
Wide tables of rustic pine or wavy-grained parota wood (common in Mexican furniture designs) can be finished in shellac or in wax for outdoor use. In addition to his own furniture pieces, Martinez also imports oversized terra- cotta pots, metal-framed mirrors, paintings, sculptures, and other decor from Mexico.
Martinez enjoys seeing the momentum for his designs build in the community. “It makes me so happy,” he says. “It’s opening my eyes. It makes me feel stable, like a rock.”
Napa Valley, CA, USA – March 21, 2019: The Lion at Del Dotto Winery. (djr8 / Shutterstock.com)
Visiting wineries and tasting wine today is about so much more than just, well, wine tasting. It’s about the whole experience: the ambiance, the architecture, the tasting room decor, the outdoor patio, the gardens, the view, the presentation of wine and food, the tours… And one of the most popular ways to capture and share this experience is through Instagram: local wineries take advantage of social media to invite people to their tasting rooms and wine lovers post photos from their latest winery visits to share the fun with family and friends.
We recently listed 14 of the most Instagrammable wineries in Sonoma County. On our quest to find Instagram-worthy wineries to visit in our neighboring Napa Valley, we reached out to a few local experts and asked them to share tips on where to find the kind of stunning views, beautifully presented wine pairings, gorgeous winery gardens, delicious-looking cheese plates and more that make an Instagram post stand out. Click through the above gallery for their tips and find more fun and unique Napa Valley tasting experiences here.
This is not a comprehensive list of all the photogenic wineries in Napa Valley, so please leave your favorites in the comments below.
Pork belly with mole and pineapple at Burdock Bar in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Burdock, the newly opened sister eatery to Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, is Healdsburg’s version of Harry Potter’s Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, existing only to a self-selecting crowd. Once inside, you see there’s a bit of magic about it.
Wedged between Duke’s and the former Brass Rabbit, the restaurant is an impossibly long and narrow passage, a secret alleyway edged in brick where wanderers discover a secluded market of top-shelf bourbon, tiki drinks and caviar puffs.
That may be overselling it, but after Beverage Director Michael Richardson makes you a stiff drink or four, dancing sprites aren’t out of the question.
So what is Burdock, exactly? Therein lies the quandary. Even the staff say it’s a work in progress, with ideas and menus inherited from the former Duke’s founders. On the cusp of the fifth anniversary of Duke’s Spirited Cocktails last April, the popular farm-to-glass bar was left rudderless when founders Tara Heffernon, Steven Maduro, Laura Sanfilippo and Cappy Sorentino left the business over a dispute with founding investor David “Duke” Ducommon.
Interior at Burdock Bar in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Burdock was slated to open soon after, but its debut was pushed back until late June, when it opened with Chef Michael Pihl and Richardson.
Both are ridiculously overqualified for the gig, Pihl with stints at the former Michelin-starred Cyrus, Mustards Grill in Napa, Bungalow 44 in Mill Valley and Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak and Richardson a bar veteran who opened high-end bar programs in Las Vegas and co-founded Frankie’s Tiki Room there.
Though the restaurant hasn’t quite settled on its point of view, and Pihl is already planning a new menu (possibly Southern with bourbon pairings), there’s still something extraordinary about its in-betweenness.
We should mention that this is upscale Healdsburg and the prices at Burdock can be shockingly high for small plates, depending on what you order, though the quality and flavors are outstanding at any cost. Cocktails are all $20, and shots of premium whiskeys can run into the triple digits. You also can order a beer (none on tap) for $10 or wine by the glass for $14 to $20.
Custom rum drink with warm spices at Burdock Bar in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Delicious dishes
It’s rare to be so moved by such minuscule portions — small plates are tiny here — but sometimes less is absolutely more.
Crispy Pork Belly, $14: Fatty, meaty, crispy squares of pork belly with soft, warm bites of pineapple. What takes this dish to the next level is the mole — a thick gravy of chiles, warm spices, chocolate and nuts. There’s no bitterness, just the lasting flavor of sweet-savory warmth. A steal of a deal.
Akaushi Beef Carpaccio, $26: It’s perhaps a splurge, but it’s so memorable you’ll forget the price and only remember the whisper-thin slices of premium raw beef, gooey egg yolk and the earthy note of mushroom and tangy Pecorino cheese. If swagger had a flavor, this would be it.
Ahi Tuna Tartare, $17: Three little spoons with barely a bite of raw tuna had us snorting in disbelief. Really? Then we ate them. Oh. A flavor bomb of clean and briny tuna, a zing of sweet-tart Meyer lemon, specks of porcini mushroom, a hint of olive oil, a dot of crème fraîche and a crunch of popped farro. The richness would have been overpowering in a larger portion.
Spanish Octopus Salad, $18: Tender tendrils of meat are piled with whipped avocado and tiny potatoes. Spots of saffron crema are so tasty you’ll want more. Perfection.
Baked Oysters Cubano, $4.50: Plain and simple little oysters get a mink stole of mustard butter, Gruyere and Jamon Serrano. Lucky little oysters.
Griddled Asparagus, $9: Excellent with crisp Calabrian chile, but sadly, it doesn’t pair well with anything but a crisp chardonnay or beer.
Your call
Caviar Puffs, $28: This is lily gilding at its best — tiny gougeres (cheese puffs) filled with whipped brie and topped with pearls of Israeli Ostera caviar. I don’t think the caviar makes this dish worth the price, especially when we have solid Californian caviar. Call me a rube.
The drinks: I wasn’t overwhelmed by the listed cocktails, but I went wild for Richardson’s custom tiki drinks. These aren’t the farm-to-glass cocktails you’ll get next door at Duke’s but more serious mixed drinks that show off his experience.
Just so you know, although Burdock and Duke’s share a kitchen, you can’t get Duke’s casual menu at Burdock nor Burdock’s menu at Duke’s. It’s worth experiencing both spots, however, for their unique vibes.
Is it a winery with a restaurant or a restaurant with a winery?
The distinction might not be obvious, but to Sonoma County regulators, there is a difference: Winery tasting rooms can have food pairings as part of their agriculturally-based marketing but can’t serve full meals or hand visitors a menu or even let them choose which dishes to eat. They can serve small bites of food to demonstrate the affinity with wine but can’t serve food without wine.
In contrast, a restaurant attached to a winery can operate separately. At Rustic: Francis’s Favorites, the Geyserville restaurant Francis Ford Coppola operated at Francis Ford Coppola Winery until June (when he sold to Delicato Family Wines), visitors could buy wines from the restaurant list to accompany their meals. Yet pairings of small portions of wine with food bites was not allowed under the county use permit.
The pandemic added a layer of complexity. If they wanted to stay open, tasting rooms had to move service outdoors and add food options. Charcuterie and cheese boards and baguettes for dunking in olive oil sprouted at wineries across the county, and guests embraced the wine-and-food concept. The recent outbreak of the delta variant hasn’t ended tastings, although they must still be outdoors and guests must wear masks until they’re seated at distanced tables.
Now, with those changes, visitors appear willing to pay up for a more satisfying, savory experience than simply standing at a wine bar to taste wine only.
These five northern Sonoma wineries don’t have restaurant permits, yet they go all-out with great dishes to accompany their wines, under their permits, of course. All experiences are by appointment only. Be sure to wear a mask, which you can remove when you sit down to taste and sip.
A note: wineries have not been immune to the shifting of careers of hospitality staffers during the pandemic. Restaurants woe the dearth of trained staff, and a few Sonoma wineries have lost their chefs, too. Shane McAnelly, who left Chalkboard Restaurant in Healdsburg to become estate chef at Bricoleur Vineyards in Windsor just before pandemic restrictions, recently moved to North Carolina. His protege, Evan Castro, has assumed the estate chef duties without a skipped beat. In Healdsburg, Estate Chef Carl Shelton has departed from J Vineyards & Winery. While the search is on for his successor, winery visitors should not be concerned: There is always a skilled chef to step into the void.
Bricoleur Vineyards
Mark and Elizabeth Wall Hanson and daughter Sarah Hanson Citron opened their Windsor wine visitor center at arguably the worst possible time: in 2020, just before COVID-19 ground tastings and group gatherings to a halt. They had transformed a horse ranch with vineyards into an outdoor haven for visitors, with a lake, culinary garden, rose garden (a perfect place for sipping Bricoleur’s two rosés) and a shaded pavilion ideal, as it turned out, for pandemic-times tastings.
Chef Evan Castro’s Sip & Savor outdoor tasting ($85) is a real treat, pairing small-plate courses with estate-grown wines from the Russian River Valley vineyard and the Hanson-owned Kick Ranch in the Fountaingrove AVA. The menu changes every two months: the August-September lineup includes Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc with Tomales Bay Marin Miyagi Oyster and cucumber mignonette; Kick Ranch Viognier with Compressed Piel de Sapo Melon, Serrano Peppers, Nasturtium Flower, Cilantro Flower and Estate Olive Oil; Estate Unoaked Chardonnay with Torched Skuna Bay Salmon; and Alexander Valley Zinfandel with Snake River Farms Tataki-style New York Strip steak.
The Our Roots pairing ($65) offers four similar dishes, with wines. On Fridays, Bricoleur hosts wine and pizza nights.
Brunch is back, big time, and this beautifully manicured Italianate estate in upper Dry Creek Valley delivers an inviting one.
Forget about brunches that promise “bottomless mimosas” made with cheap sparkling wines; Ferrari-Carano serves a sumptuous Sycamore Grove Wine & Brunch ($85) on Sundays through October, with dishes matched to its reserve wines. The “La Colazione Italiana” — breakfast, Italian style — can, on any day, serve Prosciutto Benedict with estate eggs, Hollandaise sauce and Italian prosciutto; a brunch pizza with Healdsburg’s Journeyman bacon; and a porchetta sandwich with herbed pork, truffle aioli and pecorino cheese on ciabatta bread. Ferrari-Carano’s wines are well-made and delicious, across multiple price points. The reserves served at brunch are top-shelf.
8761 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 800-831-0381, ferrari-carano.com
J Vineyards & Winery
This bubbly-centric Healdsburg winery, founded in 1986 by Judy Jordan and now owned by E. & J. Gallo, is on a brief hiatus from its outstanding Bubble Room wine and food pairing experience as a new culinary team is being assembled following Shelton’s recent departure.
Until the Bubble Room reopens for its five-course tasting menu (paired with a selection of sparkling and still wines), J offers a decadent outdoor summertime tasting experience, “Best of Both Coasts” ($90). It includes a New England lobster roll, truffle chips, local kale slaw and a fruit dessert, each matched to Nicole Hitchcock’s immaculately made wines. Stay tuned for the reopening of the Bubble Room; it will be worth the wait, based on J’s track record of delivering exceptional pairings of its wine with food.
11447 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 888-594-6326, jwine.com
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens
No stranger to blending a culinary team and winemaking crew, K-J continues its food and wine pairing program at its northern Santa Rosa visitor center.
Shining-light chefs Justin Wangler, Tracey Shepos Cenami and pastry/chocolate Chef extraordinaire Robert Nieto remain the bedrock of the K-J kitchen. While they work with parent company Jackson Family Wines’ multiple wineries and winemakers, their talent is most prominently showcased at the Santa Rosa winery headquarters where they draw on the fruits, vegetables and herbs grown by estate gardener Tucker Taylor, aka “Farmer T.”
A recent pairing menu ($85) included the Jackson Estate Cloud Landing Petaluma Gap Chardonnay with Farmer T’s Lettuce Mix with watermelon radish, oranges and Nicasio Valley Reserve Foggy Morning cheese; Jackson Estate Outland Ridge Anderson Valley Pinot Noir with red wine and mushroom risotto; and Jackson Estate Trace Ridge Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with coffee-crusted Snake River Farms coulotte steak. The visitor center also offers more casual wine and chocolate pairings ($25) and cheese and charcuterie ($45 per board) with wine tastings.
Lynmar Estate Winery
Restaurant-quality dishes matched to truly outstanding chardonnays and pinot noirs (including a stellar rosé of pinot noir) have long been offered at this Sebastopol wine estate. Lynn Fritz purchased the Quail Hill Ranch in 1980 as a getaway from his hectic CEO life (in 2001, he sold his Fritz Companies logistics business to UPS) and planted grapevines over the years, with the estate now totaling 100 acres.
A series of winemaking stars have mastered the cellar, the latest being Pete Soergel, Lynmar winemaker since 2015. To show off his wines, Lynn and Anisya Fritz offer two ways to enjoy the bounty of their now-bursting garden and ingredients acquired from mostly local purveyors. Estate Chef David Frakes’ Collector’s Pairing Lunch (Thursday to Sunday, $200 per person) is a three-course meal at a private table in the Quail Hill Vineyard, with each course paired to wine. The more casual, three-course Lynmar On Your Own Pairing (Thursday to Sunday, $110) allows guests to create their own gourmet boxed lunch, served in the garden and matched to a chardonnay and pinot noir. Both menus reflect what’s at peak ripeness for the season. Hello, tomatoes!
Brownies from Sister Sweet Shoppe in Santa Rosa. (Courtesy of Sister Sweet Shoppe)
If you’re one of those disciplined people who don’t eat after 8 p.m. and only have sweets on your “cheat day,” read no further; this is not for you.
But if you’re like every other normal person on the planet and the 10 p.m. sweet cravings come on like a freight train and you’re seriously considering those two-week-old Teddy Grahams you found in your kid’s backpack, then we have the solution: Sister Sweet Shoppe. The late-night snack business features homemade brownies, Rice Krispies “cereal bowl” treats, salty snack mix and custom-made soda concoctions from 6 p.m. to midnight.
The delivery-only kitchen is headed by sisters Elease and Elaina Dimond, both in their 20s, who know from personal experience that sometimes you just need a tasty snack after a little home-based adult relaxation.
“There are so many winos and green lovers around here that it’s enough of a market,” Elaina said. On nights when we’re tethered to our couches, she said, the choices were a bit limited in Sonoma County.
“I got over mug cakes so quickly, and people don’t always want Jack in the Box,” the former Sonoma State University student said. “We’ve all had that struggle.”
Cookies from Sister Sweet Shoppe in Santa Rosa. (Courtesy of Sister Sweet Shoppe)Elaina and Elease Dimond of Sister Sweet Shoppe in Santa Rosa. (Courtesy of Elaina Dimond)
Using family recipes and diligent testing and tasting, they’ve come up with a stable of goodies that they bake from scratch at their 1229 N. Dutton Ave. kitchen (Franchetti’s restaurant during the day) in Santa Rosa. The number-one seller? Double Trouble Brownies made with three types of chocolate, a gooey center and crispy edges took three years to perfect.
Also on the menu are Brown Sugar Meringue Brunetties (shortbread blondies with marshmallows and chocolate chips); Cereal Bowl Bars with all your favorite childhood flavors; homemade Cracker Jack corn with peanuts; and salty pub snack mix in ranch, chile or crab boil seasoning. Grab a thirst quencher like the Maui Wowie, a combination of Sprite and pineapple, coconut and lime flavors. Party-size stashes are available, including trays of brownies, along with weekly specialty snack cakes.
“We’re never boring, and we want our products to be extra, like us,” Elaina said. “It’s about happiness through sugar and butter. Happiness through calories,” Elease added.
The business was a pandemic project, according to Elease, who urged her sister to come home from Southern California, where she was working as a candy maker at Disneyland (which closed during the quarantine).
“This was our time, and I said, ‘Let’s start our business.’ We always wanted to do something together, but we hadn’t decided on anything,” Elease said.
They quickly found an audience using social media and delivery apps like Door Dash and UberEats, now ubiquitous. In addition to getting their late-night deliveries, Thursday through Saturday, you also can order ahead and pick up at the kitchen or find them at the Saturday farmers market at the Luther Burbank Center.
The two hope to add a late-night cafe later in the year and have plenty of other treats they’re excited to add to the menu.
After working double with full-time day jobs and their night hustle since December, the Dimond sisters now are ready to devote their time exclusively to their sweet shop.
“For this whole year, we were women hustling all day and all night. We just put in our notice (at work), so now we can focus,” Elaina said.
“We just appreciate all the community support. People reaching out to us through our Instagram just motivates us to work even harder,” she added. “Were glad this is stuff people want and are craving at night.”
Kebab plate with garlic yogurt from Stockhome restaurant in Petaluma. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Doner. Shawarma. Gyro. Kebab. Al pastor. Whatever you call it, wherever you’re from, there’s a word for one of the greatest inventions of all person-kind: spit-fired meat. Or maybe you call it rotisserie? In more direct terms, it’s putting pork, lamb, beef or chicken on a rod and letting it slowly roast for hours, marinating itself in its own delicious juices.
The practice is one of the simplest and oldest forms of cooking, allowing meat to cook from both inside and outside either over an open flame or coals or in an oven.
As my current obsession with al pastor (Mexican marinated pork cooked on a rotisserie) deepened, its history as a Lebanese import compelled me to look into its roots as shawarma. Which has its roots in Turkish doner. Which beget the gyro and kebab. Not that anyone can exactly lay claim to inventing a cooking method estimated to be more than 8,000 years old.
Unfortunately in Sonoma County, finding the familiar cone-shaped gyro broilers spinning with al pastor, gyro or doner isn’t easy. Most restaurants here don’t sell enough meat in a day to warrant the expensive spits, so when you find one it’s a special moment. For an eating adventure inspired by ancient flavors, here are recommended local places to take a bite.
Shawarma
While working in Manhattan, I became obsessed with halal carts offering shawarma. Shawarma can be made from pretty much any kind of meat, but chicken marinated in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, cardamom, turmeric, cumin and oregano was my favorite, served with yellow rice and a ribbon of white garlic sauce. Decades later, I still remember the flavors.
Recently, while perusing a menu at East West Cafe in Santa Rosa, I saw shawarma listed. That old hankering returned, sending me on a hunt for other shawarma in the North Bay. Here’s what I found.
Sam’s Mediterranean Cafe, Chicken Shawarma Plate, $15.99. You don’t stumble on this out-of-the-way deli unless you spend a lot of time cruising quiet office parks looking for hole-in-the-wall lunch spots. Thankfully, I do, and this charming little place is a Middle Eastern gem. Their panini -style chicken shawarma wraps are a delicious entry point, with gently-spiced meat and melted cheese. Comes with garlic and hot sauces and a Greek salad. 613 Martin Ave., Suite 111, Rohnert Park, 707-584-0220, samsmeddeli.com
East West Cafe, Chicken Shawarma Plate, $15.95. Marinated chicken breast with grilled tomato, onion and tahini sauce on a pita. It’s a hearty stick-to-your-ribs meal with a side of fries to mop up anything you missed. Breast meat can be a little drier than thighs, but we won’t hold that against the lovely spices in this version. 557 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa, 707-546-6142, eastwestcafesantarosa.com. Also in Sebastopol.
King Falafel, Arabic Shawarma Plate, $14.99. Beef or chicken versions of this classic dish served with fries and white sauce. It’s the closest approximation of NYC’s halal carts. 100 Brown St., #150, Sebastopol, 707-824-4800.
Grossman’s Noshery & Bar, Chicken Shawarma Kebabs, $18. The touch of a chef makes these real-deal skewered chicken thighs marinated in warm spices a favorite. Served with yam fries, red and green schug (a hot sauce originating in Yemen) and an Israeli salad. 308 Wilson St., Santa Rosa, 707-595-7707, grossmanssr.com
Zaina’s Bellini Cafe. Just-opened cafe in Cotati serves both chicken and beef shawarma wraps. 7981 Old Redwood Hwy., Cotati, 707-664-5956.
Al pastor
Meaning “shepherd style,” this Middle Eastern-spiced meat stems from an influx of Lebanese immigrants to Mexico in the late 19th century. The spit-grilled shawarma, usually using lamb, was adapted and localized using pork and pineapple. You can usually spot it by its bright red-orange color.
Cancun. The online menu doesn’t say “al pastor” but instead, “Marinated Mexican Pork.” Small shreds of pork are studded with bits of pineapple, which makes it one of my favorites so far. 443 Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-528-8933, ordercancunmexicanrestaurantca.com
El Fogon. Uses an al pastor spit and is a fan favorite. 6650 Commerce Blvd., Suite 5, Rohnert Park, 707-585-1623.
Cielito Lindo. Impressive flavors and generous portions from a Bennett Valley newcomer. 52 Mission Blvd., #110, Santa Rosa, 707-978-2070.
Tonayan. Super. Solid. Enough said. 500 Raley’s Town Centre, Rohnert Park, 707-588,0893, tonyanmex.com
Gyro, souvlaki and kebab
Greeks, as well as Turks and other Middle Easterners who have used spit roasting for millennia, would take issue with lumping these three dishes together. But in the United States they’re fairly interchangeable. What separates them from shawarma is their pairing with tasty tzatziki, a tart cucumber and yogurt dip.
I’m going to be honest and say I’ve always been a huge fan of the classic mystery meat “cones” of gyro that are shaved into long strips, but your experience may be different. Kebab and souvlaki tend to have larger chunks of skewered meat. The trick to great kebab is to avoid drying out the meat, and that’s hard to get right (which is why I don’t go nuts for kebab or its Indian counterpart, tandoor).
Dino’s Greek Food. Mobile gyro/souvlaki awesomeness. Don’t miss the loaded Greek fries either. The food truck is currently closed, but look for Dino’s to reopen at the forthcoming Livery in Sebastopol in 2022. facebook.com/dinosgreekfood
Real Doner. Doner is the Turkish word for gyro, and this spot is legit. 307 F St., Petaluma, 707-765-9555.
Ulia’s. I’ve always been impressed by the gyros at this warm little Santa Rosa deli (their Petaluma outpost closed). Family-operated, they’ve been through tough times during the pandemic, as much of their sales are business park- and catering-related. 130 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa, 707-525-8542, uliasdeli.com
Stockhome. A Swedish take on kebab? The Scandinavian country can’t get enough of kebab as a late-night snack and tummy-filler. This version isn’t the most authentic you’ll ever have, but it’s truly delicious. Plus, I love it when my Swedish friends come with me and roll back their eyes in pleasure, remembering wild nights with old friends and post-party kebab. 220 Western Ave., Petaluma, 707-981-8511, stockhomerestaurant.com
There’s no shortage of top-notch hotels and resorts that promise memorable stays when visiting Sonoma County, but how about spending the night at a winery? Recently, a few local wineries have started to offer overnight stays in adjacent guesthouses. At Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg, however, you can book a stay at the winery chateau — recently renovated to the tune of $1 million — if you join the winery’s membership program.
Tom and Sally Jordan, the founders of the northern Sonoma winery, added the French-style chateau to their vineyard estate in the 1970s with the intent to offer lodgings as well as culinary experiences to their guests. Along with a commercial kitchen and formal dining room, three guest suites were incorporated into the design. Since then, members of the winery’s loyalty program, Jordan Estate Rewards, have been able to book a stay at the winery chateau, a perk many have taken advantage of. Following the recently completed $1 million remodel, those stays, still only available to loyalty program members, are likely to become even more sought-after.
The newly remodeled Cépage Suite at Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of R. Brad Knipstein)
John Jordan, Tom and Sally’s son, is now at the helm at Jordan Vineyard & Winery. When he first envisioned the renovation of the chateau guest suites, he planned to do it in phases. But when the pandemic hit, he saw an opportunity to invest in the future during a quiet phase in the wine industry and called on San Francisco interior designer Maria Haidamus to spearhead the renovation project. While modernizing the suites, Haidamus made sure that any design upgrades resonated with the time period and style the original design sought to emulate.
Original French-inspired features, such as rustic wood beams in the high ceilings and hexagon tile floors imported from southern France nearly four decades ago, were preserved. Antiques from the Louis XV period, collected by Sally Jordan, were also incorporated into the suites. Additional furniture and decor pieces, as well as art work, had to be sourced online due to pandemic travel restrictions and shutdowns.
“I didn’t want to make (the redesign) too traditional, so the challenge was to strike the right balance between making it updated (and) comfortable, but still true to the design period,” says Haidamus.
A late 19th century neoclassical pair of biscuit plates in antique brass frames hang next to a window in the newly remodeled Cépage Suite at Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of R. Brad Knipstein)
The remodel of Jordan’s guest suites — from picking wallpaper to installing new light fixtures to hanging 19th century paintings — took only eight months to complete. Click through the gallery above for a peek at the luxurious new chateau suites.
