Occidental is about to get the buzzy, Instagram close-up it has so long deserved, thanks to the Altamont General Store.
This is no trust-funded, smoke-and-mirrors overnight success, however. Jenay and Andzia Hofftin’s labor of love was nearly 150 years and five generations in the making.
The wife-and-wife team spent nearly four years rehabbing the town’s iconic 1876 hotel, housed in the West County hamlet’s oldest building. Hailing from pioneering stock, Jenay’s family has been part of the town since the two-story way station was built.
The family also has run a century-long restaurant dynasty. Jenay’s mother owns Howard’s Station and her grandmother owns the iconic Negri’s.
“Now we each have our own restaurant,” Jenay said. But rather than competing with family, she’s offering up new fare, like soft serve ice cream, grab-and-go meals, an eclectic selection of wines, espresso drinks, Insta-worthy bowls and dolled-up hot dogs.
Nearly sidelined by the pandemic when they opened in March 2020, the couple say they’re thankful for a yearlong soft opening that let them evolve slowly.
“COVID allowed us to get our feet underneath us,” Jenay said. “This is a very family, grassroots thing. We didn’t have a huge financial cushion.” Knowing they had to open, however, they pivoted like everyone else, working at a deficit and feeling the squeeze.
With life beginning to return, their store is quietly but quickly becoming a destination-worthy eatery and market serving up wildly creative dishes that appeal to the diversity of West County residents as well as travelers heading to the forest or beach from farther afield.
Jenay and Andzia Hofftin run Altamont General Store, a friendly new cafe in Occidental. (Jenay and Andzia Hofftin)Mochi donuts from Altamont General Store in Occidental. (Courtesy photo)
“We want the food to be accessible and approachable,” said Andzia, who heads the kitchen. “There are so many kinds of people here — ranching, the commune element, a new wave of city people — and we didn’t want to be excluding anyone.”
That means plenty of vegan and vegetarian meals along with dishes like forbidden rice with chia and mango or egg salad toast with edible flowers that make foodies salivate. Families can find plenty on the menu, too, even those with picky eaters.
Though Jenay and Andzia collaborate on recipes, Andzia has a special fondness for the kitchen. With a background in fine dining service and a passion for the melting pot of flavors from her native Hawaii, she enjoys layering dishes with what she calls “sneaky vegetables, sneaky pickles and sneaky sauces” that include cleansing herbs from their farm.
“That’s our nonofficial official line. The goal is to be nourishing with as much that is healthy as possible. It’s about starting from the ground up. And it’s about how you feel after you eat,” Andzia said.
The two describe themselves as serial entrepreneurs. Jenay founded Lotus Feed, a yoga retreat on her family’s 108-acre farm. With Andzia, she later expanded it to include epic communal meals at an 80-foot-long table. Jenay also has a yoga studio above the marketplace called Anjenaya Yoga Studio. They also have a 2-year-old daughter and are expecting a new baby in July.
Their hope, after the pandemic, is to have not just a restaurant but a community hub as well.
“Slowly, slowly it’s coming into vision,” Jenay said. “We want this to be a place where you can get a glass of wine, a meal, a salad and just hang.”
Best Bets:
Boho Bowl, $15.50: It’s rare that I find a vegan bowl as thoughtfully composed as this. What sets it apart is the mix of textures, flavors and spices. There are calming lentils and rice, earthy sprouts, aromatic curry-spiced cauliflower, sour beets and kraut, piquant arugula and (should you choose to add it) cool and creamy crème fraîche.
Egg Salad Toast, $9: Whine if you will about fancy toast, but like fried chicken and pizza, it’s comforting. Creamy egg salad is so anachronistic, but we’re finding it on more and more menus as a nod to simpler days of picnics with family and friends. This version gets a boost with pickled mustard seeds, salty capers and arugula. The Swiss cheese seems an unnecessary addition to this perfect open-face sandwich, and I’d advise leaving it off.
Bodega Rancho Salad, $13.50: There is a special place in my heart for restaurants that can put together a big, fat salad with brilliantly curated ingredients layering fresh flavors on top of flavors. This is one of those spots. Carrots, pickled red onions, Rancho Gordo beans, roasted sweet potatoes and Little Gem salad greens are topped with an herbed ranch dressing that will make you wonder what you ever saw in Hidden Valley.
Beef Hot Dog, $10: There’s no shame in dressing up a dog here. Pickled green mango, kraut, mustard seeds, spicy ketchup, yuzu aioli and crispy shallots on a brioche bun turn my usual hot dog aversion into a craving. If you’re a traditionalist (or a child), they’ll dress it down to a simple dog with ketchup. Or mustard. Or whatever.
Rotisserie Chicken, $9.99/$16.95: The gals call this their labor of love, brined chicken with a spice rub. You’ll find it in several of their prepared dishes, including the chicken salad, chicken melt and roti chicken bowl, but if you want a straight-up bird, make sure to call ahead.
Straus Soft Serve, $3.95/$6.95: Chocolate, vanilla or swirl, this is the crème de la crème of soft serve. Daily toppings change up, but the shrub drizzle is what we’re talking about.
And the rest
What’s so much fun about Altamont is the discovery of everything that isn’t on the regular menu. A large display case of bakery goods changes daily — from muffins to vanilla Rice Crispy treats and freshly baked bread to (don’t be jealous) pineapple bread pudding with crème Anglaise that brought me to my knees. Pastry chef Desiree Blanc recently has taken over sweets duty, and we hear mochi doughnuts are on the way.
Nearly every dish is either gluten-free or can be made so with breads from Mama Mel’s Bread in Petaluma.
Drinks: Coffee and espresso, nitro cold-brewed milkshakes, small-production wines from around the world, super cool beer and all sorts of other drinks — alcoholic and not — you’re dying to try.
Plus, Jenay said the building was so big, they needed help to sustain it. So, they created a marketplace concept with local makers selling their one-of-a-kind wares including from pottery maker Clay Folk, florist Studio Choo and Angeline Apparel, with more artisans to come.
Altamont General Store is at 3703 Main St., Occidental, 707-874-6053, altamontgeneralstore.com. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
If you’re not a frequent watcher of preschool TV shows, you may have missed the hubbub surrounding “Waffles + Mochi,” a culinary adventure for tots that features some of the biggest names in the food world, including West County-based chef Preeti Mistry, best known as the chef-owner of the now-closed Juhu Beach Club restaurant in Oakland. And, you know, Michelle Obama.
The 10-episode Netflix series, produced by the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground, teaches the kindergarten set about fresh food and yummy ingredients like tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes. The stars of the show are a fuzzy blue puppet named Waffles and a squeaky pink sidekick named Mochi, who live in a grocery store owned by the friendly Mrs. O (played by the former first lady).
In each episode, the two friends take off from their rooftop garden in a flying car and travel the world to meet up with restaurant luminaries like José Andrés, Samin Nosrat, Massimo Bottura, Mashama Bailey, Bricia Lopez and Pía León.
Mistry, the author of “The Juhu Beach Club Cookbook,” starred in an episode about herbs and spices. It was just the right topic for the chef, who has made bold Indian flavors their calling card. (Mistry’s chosen pronouns are they/them.)
A previous “Top Chef” contestant, Mistry enjoyed being on the “Waffles + Mochi” show.
“The best part for me was that I’m a big kid in my life. A lot of my friends have young kids, and I feel like I’m the fun uncle,” Mistry said.
Higher Ground contacted Mistry after seeing them on several other shows, including Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown.” In the Herbs & Spices episode of “Waffles + Mochi,” the grocery store where the puppets live is losing all of its color after the spices and herbs disappear from the shelves. Mistry comes to the rescue.
“That was so sweet and it was a good way to describe herbs and spices … being able to present it like this was exciting, invoking curiosity instead of fear and intimidation,” Mistry said.
Born in London and raised in the United States, Mistry recalled plenty of herbs and spices in their childhood meals. “I didn’t grow up getting upset with cilantro in my daal,” Mistry said. Blue cheese, however, was their kryptonite — their mother hated it. In culinary school, they decided to give it another chance.
“Sometimes you just have to sit with it (the ingredient) and see what other people love about it. Sometimes that unlocks something in your brain. We get these notions based on our childhood. … We all have these notions. I like to make something someone doesn’t like and get them to love it,” Mistry said.
Though Mistry didn’t get to meet Michelle Obama during filming due to the pandemic, the chef hopes to someday chat about food with the former first lady.
Mistry recently launched a podcast called “Loading Dock Talks.” Follow them on @chefpmistry on Twitter.
Delicata Rings in beer batter with house ranch dip from Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
It’s been a long, difficult winter as local chefs opened, closed, opened, went on hiatus, and tried everything they could to keep diners entertained. Now, as the spring weather warms and vaccinations increase, we can finally enjoy some outdoor dining together — and maybe even return to some indoor dining before the summer. Here are four Sonoma County restaurants to add to your must-visit list. Click through the above gallery for favorite dishes.
Table Culture Provisions
One of the most exciting new restaurants in Sonoma County launched with a dream and two well-invested stimulus checks.
Longtime Petaluma chef Stéphane Saint Louis, who has worked in some of the world’s top kitchens, says he and business partner and chef Steven Vargas invested their pandemic stimulus checks into electric-car company Tesla as a last resort when they realized their SBA loans simply weren’t going to be available to them during difficult restaurant times.
A $2,400 investment turned into a $17,000 windfall that’s launched not only a forthcoming mobile kitchen, but also a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Petaluma. You might say Tesla put them on the road to success.
Table Culture Provisions started quietly, popping up a night or two a week at Petaluma’s Wishbone restaurant and serving fried chicken. It caught my attention in early September as a word-of-mouth recommendation from a few locals. Then the hours expanded, and the menu started getting really interesting — a Haitian feast, classic French dishes like cassoulet, dry-aged steaks, trout en croute, and upscale brunch dishes, including an outstanding Monte Cristo. Mentions of brioche, homemade pomegranate raspberry jam, and delicate cross-cut potato chips with onion dip made it even more impossible to resist.
And so it went, the kitchen gaining steam as Saint Louis and Vargas tempted fans with their seductive Instagram feed, @tcprovisions. Fair warning, it’s not recommended on an empty stomach.
Table Culture Provisions owner/chefs Stephane Saint Louis, left, and Steven Vargas. (The Press Democrat)
In early January, the duo purchased Wishbone, the carefully-cultivated Petaluma space which owners Miriam Donaldson and Josh Norwitt put up for sale in 2019. What’s so special about the sale is that it allows for complete continuity of unfettered creativity, obsessive locality, and passion for of-the-moment ingredients. Serendipity? Maybe.
“We know how crazy the world is and how fast it changes, and we always had this mentality that we didn’t want to settle or be part of the chaos of the world. So while everything was happening, we still had to feed people — and Petaluma has a refined palate. We wanted to be here and do comfort food, things we like to cook and eat with the best ingredients in a 25- to 50-mile radius from us,” said Saint Louis. “It’s just about cooking for people, having fun, and having visions and dreams of where our careers can take us.”
Saint Louis, 34, and Vargas, 28, met at Della Fattoria, a launchpad for many restaurant careers, then later worked together as executive and sous chef at the Shuckery, my favorite Petaluma seafood spot. Donaldson knew Saint Louis from Della, they reconnected late last summer, and, voilà, the Table Culture Provisions pop-up was born as a way for Saint Louis and Vargas to make a little extra money to put to the long-term goal of buying a mobile kitchen.
A New York-born world traveler, Saint Louis speaks with a hint of a French accent after having lived in Haiti for 17 years. He moved to Northern California in his late teens, attended the California Culinary Academy, then worked at restaurants in Palm Springs, Miami, and Sonoma. He moved to France to study at the Paul Bocuse Institute, parlaying that into stints in Shanghai and Copenhagen. Vargas is a Santa Rosa Junior College culinary graduate whom Saint Louis recruited to work at Della Fattoria. Together, they are an incredible team.
OVERALL: This tiny pop-up punches far above its weight class, harnessing passion, creativity, and classic techniques, making it one of the best and brightest openings in Sonoma County.
Open Thursday through Sunday for takeout, and brunch on the patio Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit the restaurant’s website for updated hours and to see what’s currently on offer — and if their Famous Fried Chicken is featured, order it post-haste.
Chef Casey Thompson of Folktable in Sonoma. (Courtesy of SBHG)
FolkTable
We can’t wait to sit in the lush Cornerstone gardens this summer, nibbling Black truffle-chicken hand pies, steak tartare with fried capers and hash browns, wild mushroom tartine, and fried chicken with hot honey at the newly opened Folktable at Cornerstone, a restaurant from Sonoma’s “Top Chef” finalist Casey Thompson.
The anchor restaurant at the evolving wine, art, and event space is the first of several eateries planned by the celebrity chef, who has gained national notoriety at her restaurants in Texas and San Francisco. Thompson announced plans to open another restaurant, Georgette, last February in the former General’s Daughter. Due to the pandemic, that project was put on hold. Folktable replaces the short-lived Palooza Beer Garden and Eatery, which opened last spring.
Executive sous chef Melanie Wilkerson oversees the creative — and expanding — menu that includes tasty dishes like salt and pepper fries with malt vinegar aioli, chicken soup with pancetta, open-faced Dungeness crab sandwiches, slowbraised lentil soup, an Angus beef burger, banana cream pie, and buttermilk carrot cake. Wilkerson and Thompson met while working at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.
23584 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-356-3569, folktable.com.
After closing their Santa Rosa courthouse square restaurant in 2016, Flavor Bistro has opened in Sebastopol. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Flavor Bistro
In 2016, when Flavor Bistro closed in downtown Santa Rosa, there was a collective groan. Gone was that perfect not-too-expensive spot to take Mom and Dad to dinner or to escape for date night. Gone was the place your boss took the team after a big project launch.
In October, however, Flavor made its valiant return — in Sebastopol.
Also returning are many classics: pillows of butternut squash ravioli in sage brown butter with walnut gremolata, the pork chop in cream sauce with gratin potatoes, the buttery apple tart with caramel sauce and Flavor Bistro’s famous dessert bombas. Oh yes, friends, they’re all back. Did I mention the crab cakes with crispy shoestring yams?
Before you get too wrapped up in the menu, however, I do have some bad news. The new menu is quite abbreviated and some favorites — the Singapore noodles, short ribs, and Croque-Madame — haven’t made the cut. I don’t doubt that will change as they bring back
lunch (and possibly breakfast), but do manage your expectations. Dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Outdoor patio, limited parking, simple online ordering at flavorbistro.com.
7365 Healdsburg Ave., Sebastopol, 707-861-3642.
Anna’s Seafood
Popular Petaluma fishmonger Annalicia Svedise has moved her fish market across town. The daughter of the late Mike Svedise of Santa Rosa Seafood, she’s built her own sustainable seafood empire with line-caught fish primarily sourced from local fishermen. Construction started before the pandemic, and now that it is finally complete, she’s planning to open a seafood restaurant this spring here as well.
We’ve been asking a lot of our patios and yards as we’ve spent more time at home. And, with springtime here, that’s not stopping any time soon. If you feel your outdoor space could use a bit of an upgrade, it’s not too late. We asked a few Sonoma stylists and designers for their best ideas and tips. Click through the above gallery for inspiration.
Carolyn Rebuffel has an eye for spotting the potential in an old or worn piece of furniture. Often, a little sanding, paint or varnish will fix it, she says.
The interior designer, whose career spans twenty years and includes working as an antiques dealer, is the founder of Make It Home, a local nonprofit that helps furnish the homes of low-income families.
Rebuffel was inspired to launch her nonprofit while working with foster children, as a volunteer.
When children age out of foster care, Rebuffel learned, they are offered little resources to aid their transition into independent living. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, an average of 1 out of every 4 youth in foster care will become homeless within 4 years of aging out of foster care. For former foster children who do manage to get accommodation as young adults, a major hurdle in the process of setting up a home is “furniture poverty” or lacking the means to buy furniture and basic essential items.
“The state gives (aged-out foster youth) almost nothing and furnishings is not one of those things,” says Rebuffel.
Meanwhile, Rebuffel had become increasingly frustrated by the amount of waste she saw in the interior design world: frequent redesigns meant gently used furniture got discarded, while damaged shipments were tossed by manufacturers. She thought these furnishings could be put to better use.
As part of Make it Home, Rebuffel operates a “furniture bank” — a studio in San Rafael where discarded furniture can find a new home.
“You can’t study without a desk, relax without a sofa, or get a good night’s sleep without a bed,” she says. “As soon as you get that piece, (it) makes it easier to live.”
Make It Home volunteers accept and organize furniture they receive from donors. The team only accepts quality pieces, some of which might require minor touch-ups. As the organization identifies families in need — mostly in Marin and Sonoma counties — they assemble furniture collections, tailored to the family’s needs and coordinated with an eye for design. Rebuffel then uses her design expertise to make final styling choices.
Rebuffel’s work is buoyed by her connections in the design world. She works with professional stagers, and sometimes a local furniture retailer will fill a truck with beautiful pieces they were unable to sell and donate these to the nonprofit.
“We’re not just giving people furniture, we’re giving them pride of place.” says Rebuffel.
Rebuffel is currently working on a project she finds particularly meaningful: furnishing the space for Our Village Closet. The nonprofit, located in Guerneville, provides essential items — from clothing to furniture to items on holiday wish lists — to foster youths and their caregivers. Make It Home will furnish the organization’s office and meeting space, “retail” area and Teen Lounge.
Make It Home also works with Welcoming Home, an organization in San Rafael which provides furnishings and essential items to families who are transitioning out of homelessness in Marin and Sonoma counties. Referrals to the organization are received through social workers or organizations like Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa.
On “Welcoming Days,” founder Marsha Roberts and volunteers arrive at vacated homes with a moving truck full of goods. Volunteers place and style furniture, make beds with new sheets, and fill kitchen drawers with pots, pans and utensils. Hours later, when residents return to their newly transformed homes, there’s “a big reveal.”
Many of the donations to Welcoming Home are sourced locally on Nextdoor. “Our first objective is neighbors helping neighbors,” says Roberts, who fills in any gaps with donations from the organization’s website and with furniture pieces from Make It Home.
Roberts says that some might think that homeless people should be happy with whatever furniture they can get. She rejects this notion. “We think it makes a big difference to have a nice and comfortable home. There’s a surplus of nice furniture (in the area).”
Rebuffel lives by the same sentiment, and it inspires and informs the way she manages Make It Home. “We want pretty, sparkly things. We want to line the nest with ribbons. It feels better,” she says.
For more information on how to donate or volunteer:
Make It Home, San Francisco (showroom), San Rafael (storage warehouse), 415-578-3205, makeithomebayarea.org
Welcoming Home, Box 1500015, San Rafael, 415-482-8888, welcominghome.org
Our Village Closet, 16780 Armstrong Woods Rd., Guerneville, 707-867-5083, ourvillagecloset.org
When Petaluma pastry chef Ora Beth Mika headed to New York for the Food Network’s Easter Basket Challenge, there was one thing she knew had to be in her bag — a six-inch ruler she uses to ice all of her cakes.
“I call it my baby. It’s my security blanket and if it gets lost I have a moment,” said Mika, who owns Flour and Bloom Cakes in Napa.
It seems that little ruler worked like a charm because the 36-year-old ended up winning the competition and $25,000 with a monster-sized Faberge-style Easter Egg she built in just eight hours.
The epic Easter Egg that won the Food Network Easter Challenge. Photo: Food Network
“Normally a project of that size would take several weeks to actualize and because I’ve done these large-scale projects for high-profile clients before, it would usually be a year-long project. It had a lot of components,” she said.
But the judges were wildly wowed by the three-foot sculpture that included a gum paste crown, a cake covered in green modeling chocolate, floating ribbon balloons and twinkle lights — you know just for that added wow factor. Nearly all of the project was edible.
The three-week competition included several rounds where bakers were asked to incorporate different ingredients, including the one sweet Mika can’t stand. Milkshakes.
“I’ve never had one. I think it’s because when I was a baby my family lived in England and I didn’t like the milk when we came back to the States. I just developed a phobia. It was the only thing I made that I handed to the judges without tasting. I just don’t like milkshakes,” said Mika.
Other projects included a multi-level cake, Whoopie pies, peanut butter eggs (using a 3-D printed mold Mika had made), an edible garden party hat, a giant green rabbit, and a Teddy Bear Float wearing Peeps.
Though she missed her family — especially her 3-year-old son, Mika said she bonded with the other contestants, especially Gene Shepherd of Gene’s Cakes in Washington, D.C. The two helped each other throughout the competition, she said, but ended up competing in the finale.
“We were still rooting each other on. It’s too bad you can’t see all the footage. Gene’s work was gorgeous, and (when I won), the look of shock on my face is definitely genuine,” she said, adding that she and Gene continue to talk frequently.
Mika hasn’t always been a pastry chef. In fact, she worked in the medical profession for years, but enjoyed baking and entered several local competitions. Seeing her passion and competitive spirit, her husband purchased a mixer for her. At that point cakes became her life’s goal. She quit her job to follow her passion.
“I was always bound for medicine, that was my journey,” she said. With her family’s support, she got a pastry degree, worked for top-notch bakers, and recently purchased Flour and Bloom with her business partner, Kurt Yamada.
As a contestant, Mika said she’s gained a lot of insight into the crazy world of cooking competitions.
“I’ll never look at those competitions the same again. I always knew it was difficult, and I’d yell at people on the screen, but now I’m yelling at myself. I’m cutting other competitors some slack now,” she said, ready for her next challenge.
“I’m hoping they’ll give me a callback. I’d love to be on any of the Food Network holiday challenges,” Mika said.
She plans to invest the $25,000 back into her business and maybe, at some point, take her family on a well-deserved vacation.
We’re bonkers for a new delivery-only pizza pop-up that’s supernaturally awesome. And we’re not the only ones. The 9-inch-by-9-inch Roman-style al taglio pizzas are a side gig for longtime Bay Area baker Nicholi Ludlo and his wife, Leith Leiser. Leiser’s groovy hand-drawn pastry boxes had us smitten even before we turned on the oven (and frankly we kept it on the counter long after the pizza was gone because it was so cute).
Available Friday and Saturday only, Psychic Pie’s square sourdough pie comes par-baked with Bianco di Napoli tomato sauce and a blend of mozzarella cheese. Meant to be twice-baked for the perfect crispy crust and bubbly interior, our special BLT pie was topped with Zoe’s Meats bacon and included cold arugula and house-made ranch for a post-bake topping. Exacting instructions get it pizzeria perfect with bubbly, caramelized crusts.
The BLT Psychic special will soon be changing up to a mortadella, tomato, Estero Gold Reserve and basil pie, but pepperoni and vegan pies will be regulars.
“Our goal is hyper-local pizza that puts a big emphasis on naturally fermented dough. A truly Bay Area pizza,” Ludlo said.
It’s one of our new favorite pizzas, but the real endorsement came from PizzaLeah owner and award-winning pizzaiolo Leah Scurto, who gave props to Psychic Pie on Instagram, calling it “pretty f-ing good.”
The couple also send their Instant Karma pies ($13) to The Living Room, a nonprofit program that helps women and children in need. More details at psychicpie.com or @psychic_pie.
More dining news
Speaking of Zoe’s Meats: A shout out to the local artisan meat company that provides cured meats and bacon to restaurateurs (as well as grocers) for donating products to make approximately 15,000 meals for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants represent more than half their business, and as restaurants closed, Zoe’s ended up with extra inventory. Although their retail sales were increasing, restaurant products needed a home. The organization donated to Redwood Empire Food Bank, which in turn donated that food to Catholic Charities, COTS, the Living Room, Council on Aging and other agencies serving those with food insecurity during the pandemic.
Would you like to visit one of the best small towns in California? If you live in Sonoma County, you don’t have to travel far. Travel + Leisure magazine has just named the town of Sonoma among the top 10 towns in the Golden State with under 15,000 residents.
Published on March 30, Travel + Leisure’s list includes towns across California — from Avalon to Tahoe City — that “make for some of the most memorable vacations.” Sonoma, “cheaper and larger than Napa,” retains its “small-town appeal,” says the magazine. “It’s an affordable home base to explore nearby wineries, and it stands on its own for colonial architecture, fascinating statehood history, and a picturesque town center.”
The New York based travel magazine recommends that visitors to Sonoma make their way to the Sonoma Overlook Trail for its “breathtaking views … you might think you walked all the way to Italy.”
This is not the first time that Sonoma has been tapped for it small-town charm by a national publication or media company. In 2017, U.S. News & World Report, best known for its influential best colleges and hospitals rankings, listed the “best small towns to visit in the USA” — and the town of Sonoma came in on #1. In 2018, Budget Travel released their annual top 10 list of the “coolest small towns in America.” Sonoma snagged the second spot on that list. Travel + Leisure has also named Sonoma one of “America’s best towns for July 4th” (in 2016).
The Bay Area towns of Calistoga, St. Helena and Sausalito also made the Travel + Leisure list of best small towns in California. See the full list here.
What are some of your favorite spots in the town of Sonoma? See a few hidden gems in the gallery above.
Landscape painter Alex Cole at her home studio in Sonoma, California. January 12, 2021.
(Photo: Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Where were you last spring when you realized that the world was about to turn upside-down? What were you doing? Ask an artist, and they’ll tell you what they were working on — and what they lost. The shows that got canceled. The CD release that got delayed. The photo shoots and gallery visits that suddenly couldn’t be scheduled.
But, in the next breath, they’ll tell you how they took a moment, analyzed the new circumstances, and survived — even thrived — despite, or perhaps even because of, those constraints. Artists and creatives are adaptive, after all, and they know how badly in this darkness, we need their light.
“I ask a stone to work with me and perform, and what comes out of there sometimes surprises me, because it’s so cool, so beautiful,” says sculptor T Barny (Erik Castro)
T Barny — Sculptor
There are artists’ studios, and then there is T Barny’s studio. Everything about it is extraordinary. The soaring glass roof. The din of the fans, blowing full blast. The swirling marble dust. And, of course, the tools: forklift, chisels, and saws, a 5-ton diamond core drill. And, in the midst of it all, the artist himself, clad in boots, goggles, ear protection, and weight belt. Catch him when he isn’t mid-carve, and Barny, 64, will wax rhapsodic about chainsaws — “you gotta have three” — and his preferred medium: stone.
“Geology has made this, over millions and millions of years, combining all these different ingredients and all these different minerals, and then I carve it into something that’s more than just a rock you see in the field. It comes from the earth, and I give it life.”
In 2020, Barny, who lives in Alexander Valley with this wife and dogs, had big plans to celebrate his 40th year of sculpture: “We had a show planned every month for the whole year, and they all went away.”
Sculptor T Barny touches a block of Carrara statuario marble at his workshop in Healdsburg. (Erik Castro)
A piece titled ERIT made of Utah calcite by T Barny. (Erik Castro)
With shows canceled, the sculptor pivoted to virtual events, participating in open studios and working with his staff to create an online retrospective. He also remains something of a jokester; last March, when demand for toilet paper crescendoed, he took cylindrical cores he had drilled while working stones and made marble “toilet rolls.” “It became pretty popular,” he recalls. “The first roll I made sold in about seven minutes.”
In a chaotic year, Barny has felt a renewed commitment to his art. “I really wanted to keep making things that were beautiful, because of all of the trauma and tragedy that’s been going on. That’s my whole point, to make something that gives you a good feeling.” tbarny.com
PANDEMIC COMFORT FOOD: Spaghetti with meatballs from Catelli’s restaurant in Geyserville
BINGE-WATCHING: “Game of Thrones”
MAD LIB: During the pandemic, I have felt like M.C. Escher stuck in one of my artworks.
Muralist MJ Lindo-Lawyer relishes the sense of possibility in a blank wall. “Imagine what you can do with it. Imagine the impact. It’s so powerful!” (Erik Castro)
MJ Lindo-Lawyer — Muralist
“I think the scariest thing as an artist is the idea that art isn’t ‘essential,’ you know?” MJ Lindo-Lawyer pauses. “But a world without art? It’s almost, in my opinion, this unlivable space.”
For her part, Lindo-Lawyer, 32, has been working to make the world more livable for some 15 years. In fact, the Roseland-based painter, who was born in Miami to Nicaraguan parents who fled the civil war, can’t ever remember not painting.
“My parents bought me an easel when I was, like, two.”
Lindo-Lawyer progressed into a style that mingles fantasy with reality in vivid-hued images. About a decade ago, in the ultimate art world meet-cute, Lindo-Lawyer met her future husband at a San Francisco gallery, where she couldn’t take her eyes off his work. With more time now for art (both MJ and her husband were laid off from their day jobs during the pandemic), the couple has taken the year to “hyper-focus”: painting a half-dozen murals; adding merchandise in their shops; and sketching and planning new work. Still, the year hasn’t been without challenges. The artists create their pieces based on reference photos with models, but with the pandemic, it’s been impossible to arrange their usual shoots in Los Angeles. Instead, they’ve adapted.
“We did a shoot outside, in our backyard. And we kinda told our neighbor, ’Hey, heads up, we’re gonna have a naked lady in our backyard!’”
Artwork by painter and muralist MJ Lindo-Lawyer at her home in Santa Rosa. (Erik Castro)MJ Lindo-Lawyer has some of her artwork on a label for Cooperage Brewing Company. (Erik Castro)
Last November, Lindo-Lawyer had her first solo show, at Stone Sparrow NYC. For that show, she created five pieces in different colors, exploring the theme of how we cope. She named the show “Seasons” in a nod to this surreal year.
“I feel like so many of us have felt stuck during Covid,” explains Lindo-Lawyer, “like, it still feels like March 2020, because that’s when everything kind of stopped. But regardless of what’s happening, time is moving forward, and seasons are changing. The world is still moving forward.” mjlindoart.com
PANDEMIC COMFORT FOOD: Homemade sourdough bread
INSPIRATION: Fuco Ueda
MAD LIB: During the pandemic, I have felt like No-Face from the movie “Spirited Away” in my shelter- in-place home.
Furniture designer Paul Benson uses tools that have been in his family for generations. ‘It’s a reminder of that connection to people who have created in the past.’ (Erik Castro)
Paul Benson — Furniture Designer
Paul Benson came into 2020 with momentum. Coming off fresh collaborations with interior-design world heavyweights, he exhibited his work at contemporary design fairs in Miami and San Francisco and was accepted at a gallery in New York. But now, with things “more localized and slowed-down,” Benson says, “I feel like we’re having that intimate experience of exploring, ’Well, what’s our place in the world?’”
The pandemic has brought Benson, 51, back to his roots, both geographically — he’s Sonoma County born and raised — and creatively. His exquisite walnut tables and enameled metal cabinets are created with antique chisels and custom metal lathes and other machinery handed down from his father and grandfather. It’s an artistic tradition Benson now carries forward with his wife and two sons, who often help in his Sonoma studio.
Hand-drawn ideas for handles for a piece of furniture along with a variety of tools at Paul Benson’s workshop in Sonoma. (Erik Castro)
Furniture designer Paul Benson shapes a piece of naval brass on a machine called a power hammer that his father made for him. (Erik Castro)
For the walnut tables he’s working on — all thoughtful rhythms, organic lines, and finely lacquered surfaces — Benson has been seeking new inspiration and thinking through new approaches to create the energy and texture he’s looking for. “I make small samples that I carry with me, chunks of laminated wood or pieces of textured bronze or whatever — and I take them when I go to the beach and think about it. It’s a process.”
And, in this quieter moment, Benson has been doing a lot of processing. “What is the real purpose of my creativity? For me, the end result is, it’s about community. I think we’re at a time in history where we have to create some new beginnings and reckon with the past. We have to start understanding each other and seeing each other as valuable and important. And I think creative people can help with that.” paulbenson.us
PANDEMIC PLAYLIST: Dave Brubeck; jazz; hip-hop
INSPIRATION: Artists Wendell Castle, Ruth Asawa
MAD LIB: During the pandemic, I have felt like Dustin Hoffman gardening in the later scenes of “Papillon.”
C.K. Itamura says she spends a lot of time thinking about the things in our world that don’t always make sense. “So it’s been really easy to stay creative this year.” (Erik Castro)
C.K. Itamura — Artist
“I think of my studio as — literally — a physical extension of my brain, says C.K. Itamura. “When I walk in, I feel like, ’I’m in my brain! I’m gonna do some thinking!’”
When the pandemic struck, the artist was working on a long-term project focused on building community by getting people off their screens and into a space together, to chat, drink tea, and paint paper teacups that she had made by hand. With that work on hold — and other large-scale exhibitions impossible — Itamura took a moment to pause, and as she puts it, “be still and distill.” Into that stillness came a note from the Imaginists, a Santa Rosa experimental theater group, asking to collaborate.
Itamura arrived at a unique solution for the Imaginists commission, an at-home theater experience to be performed by the recipient — a play in a box, with hand-painted props.
Lately, the artist has also been teaching virtual classes on bookmaking and distilling some bigger ideas down “into snack-sized tidbits of art.” She made two zines: a graphic celebration of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and an outer space– themed meditation on fear.
Artist C.K. Itamura with a dress titled “Behavior” that she made out of paper found in shoeboxes. (Erik Castro)
Artist C.K. Itamura’s “12 Steps to Free” is a self-contained play for one actor, in five acts which includes a script, artist notes and props. The project was commissioned by The Imaginists theater company. (Erik Castro)Artist C.K. Itamura with her mini zines at her home studio in Santa Rosa. (Erik Castro)
Working across different media feels natural for Itamura, thanks to wide-ranging explorations as a child growing up in San Francisco and Sacramento. “My mom had this worldview that you should learn as much as you can about as much as you can,” remembers Itamura, 57, who lives in Santa Rosa with her partner, musician Conrad Praetzel. And, while this year has had challenges, Itamura takes comfort in the instances of light. “When there’s that little interval between disasters, it’s almost like, just hold onto that moment, and remember, ’This is what it feels like for everything to be okay.’” peachfarmstudio.net
BINGE-WATCHING: All eleven “Star Wars” movies in chronological order; “The Mandalorian”
MAD LIB: During the pandemic, I have felt like the crew of the starship Enterprise standing on the bridge observing planet Earth, and going, “What is wrong with these aliens?”
Alex Cole, painter. “Even in difficult times, I try to think, ’Where’s the beauty? And how do you find the beauty in the moment of something really dark?’’ (Erik Castro)
Alex Cole — Painter
“When I paint, the world just kind of falls away,” Alex Cole explains. “I forget that I have worries. I forget that I have kids. I forget that I have dishes. I feel like I’m at a dance party. It’s just like, ’Ahhh!’ It’s so good!” The 47-year-old artist, who lives in Sonoma with her husband, daughter, son, and dog, discovered the joy of creativity early, growing up with a jazz piano–playing father and a mother with an eye for interiors. Now, Cole creates vibrant abstract landscape paintings, posts insights on Instagram, and teaches. “I teach my students how to just play and let go, get back to their 5-year-old selves!”
When Covid hit, Cole wasn’t sure how she felt about going about business as usual, selling her art. “So, I said, ’What’s the other thing I do for people? I bring joy.’” To that end, she decided to create one 5 x 7 piece each day and post it on Instagram. The first person to choose that painting would get to name their price. She continued the project for a month, shipping her art as far as the Netherlands. Cole also spread joy in the form of free virtual painting classes and through the mural she painted in downtown Santa Rosa.
Landscape painter Alex Cole with some works in progress at her home studio in Sonoma. (Erik Castro)A collage of old family photos hangs in Alex Cole’s home studio in Sonoma. (Erik Castro)
Looking ahead, the artist hopes to create additional collections and to offer skillshare classes online. She loves teaching painting, of course, but more than that, she loves sharing her philosophy of life. “I think all of us, in our lives, get wrapped up in, ’What’s it going to look like?’ before we even start. And it just stops us in our tracks,” Cole says. “Why are we doing that to ourselves? Like, just take one step and see how it feels. You don’t have to take a hundred steps all at the same time. You’re just taking one. The word is, ’ Yes!’” alexcolestudio.com
BINGE-WATCHING: “Bridgerton” “The Crown” “The Queen’s Gambit”
INSPIRATION: Rufus Wainwright; Tracee Ellis Ross
MAD LIB: During the pandemic, I have felt like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde riding on a rollercoaster.
Singer-songwriter Eki Shola says she often feels the strongest urge to create in the wake of loss. ‘I mean, really, creating my own medicine, right?’ (Erik Castro)
Eki Shola — Musician
Eki Shola will never forget the moment that led her back into music. It was 2012; she had just lost her mother; and she and her dad and siblings had gathered to plan the memorial. The mood was tense; someone suggested a break. “And so,” recalls the London-born physician, “we went up into my old bedroom, and I found my old keyboard.” Her father, sister, and brother picked up their old instruments, “and we just jammed for several hours. And it was incredible! And I remember saying, ’I need to do music.’”
The past four years have been intense. She and her family lost their home in the Tubbs fire, a tragedy which prompted Shola, 44, into making even more music — as she puts it, “creating my own medicine.” Her latest album was slated for release in February 2020. “Then Covid hits, Black Lives Matter begins, and I had more things to say. I had to stop because I actually ran out of physical space on the CD!” Naturally, recording in her Santa Rosa home studio during the pandemic — with husband, kids, and a dog at home — has presented its own set of challenges. “I remember doing a song, and I had to hide in the laundry room to record the vocals,” Shola recalls.
Singer-Songwriter Eki Shola has written and recorded four albums. (Erik Castro)
Singer-songwriter Eki Shola at her home studio in Santa Rosa. (Erik Castro)Singer-songwriter Eki Shola at her home studio in Santa Rosa. (Erik Castro)
It’s a lot to balance, but when she’s able to see the way her music touches people, it makes everything worth it. “I just see that, despite whatever differences we have — culture, gender, ethnicity, political beliefs, geography — music, because it’s frequency, it’s energy, it supersedes all those perceived differences, and just connects us on a feelings level. And that is so powerful.” ekishola.com
PANDEMIC COMFORT FOOD: Peanut butter–chocolate chip cookies; sweet potatoes chopped up with black rice, avocado, cilantro and lime
PLAYLIST: “Grounding” (off her third album, “Drift”); “Can I Believe You?” by Fleet Foxes
MAD LIB: During the pandemic, I have felt like a bear hunkering down in a cozy den.
Easter is almost here. And though things are still a little different, hope is on the horizon. This year, restaurants are offering outdoor dining, pickup meals and some limited indoor dining. We hope you’ll get out and support local restaurants and enjoy the warm weather as we look forward to being together as families, friends and neighbors.
Barndiva: Three course brunch includes asparagus with morel mushrooms, avocado toast with sunflower sprouts, salad Lyonnaise with bacon lardons, French toast with strawberry compote and Chantilly cream, Dungeness crab Benedict, black truffle Croque Madame, omelet with caviar, S’mores bar. $68 per person, reservations required, 231 Center St, Healdsburg, 707-431-0100, barndiva.com.
Cattlemens: Pre-order meals available for pickup in Santa Rosa and Petaluma. Prime rib dinners for 2 or 4 includes baked potatoes, garden salad, bread, beans. Call to order. Santa Rosa: 707- 546-1446, Petaluma: 707-763-4114. cattlemens.com.
Charlie’s Restaurant at Windsor Golf Club: Easter brunch Saturday and Sunday. Regular menu plus Florentine scramble, bacon and mushroom quiche, eggs Benedict, biscuits and gravy, Belgian waffles, French toast. Reserve in advance, 707-838-8802, 1320 19th Hole Dr, Windsor, windsorgolf.com/charlies-restaurant.
Dinucci’s: Minestrone soup with warm sourdough, green salad, pasta with Bolognese, Easter ham with honey cranberry glaze, roasted potatoes, sautéed green beans with bacon, $30 per person. Plus boozy adult Easter baskets with five “boozy bunny” shots with mixers, chocolate bunnies and shaker, $45. Call for reservations or pre-orders, 707-876-3260.
Down to Earth Cafe and Deli: A la carte family-style meals for pickup include short ribs with mashed potatoes, fried chicken, smoked pulled pork, stuffed portabellas with choice of sides including shells and cheese, coleslaw, salads, deviled eggs, pulled pork sundae, butterscotch pudding. Order by calling 707-753-4925. 8204 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati.
Estero Cafe: Full menu plus Easter specials. 14450 CA-1, Valley Ford, facebook.com/esterocafe.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn will host a Children’s Easter Egg Hunt from 9:30 a.m. for ages 7 and younger, and 10:30 a.m. for ages 8 and up. (Courtesy of Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn)
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn: Family-style brunch includes mini smoked salmon bagels, avocado toast, truffle asparagus, butter poached lobster Benedict with saffron Hollandaise, fried chicken and waffle with candied bacon, caramelized brioche french toast, braised short rib hash, grilled lamb lollipops, mini carrot cupcakes, milk chocolate tart. $75 per person. Reservations required, 939-2410. 100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, fairmont.com/sonoma.
Pasta King: Take and bake try of lasagna in marinara, meat sauce or pesto. Serves 9 to 12 people. Call 707-792-2712 to order. 1492 Lowell Ave, Cotati, pastaking.com.
Preferred Sonoma Caterers: Pickup a la carte or complete meal. Menu includes spiral ham with apricot bourbon glaze, salmon with dijon maple glaze, cheesy hash brown potatoes, roasted asparagus and rainbow carrots, leek and Gruyere quiche, spinach salad with goat cheese and poppy seed dressing, lemon raspberry bundt cake. Order at 707-769-7208, 416 East D Street, Petaluma, sonomacaterers.com.
Ricky’s Eastbound: Takeout Easter dinner available for pickup or delivery. Honey glazed smoked pork loin chop with grilled pineapple, vegetable frittata, roasted sweet potatoes with orange, spring asparagus with feta and lemon dressing, baby greens. Dessert add-ons: Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, butterscotch pots de creme. $70 to $225 (depending on serving size). Order at 707-536-6606, 5755 Mountain Hawk Dr, Santa Rosa, rickyseastbound.com.
Rio Nido Roadhouse: Brunch includes quiche Benedict, breakfast potatoes, buttermilk popovers, sliced ham, spring pea salad, bottomless Mimosas. 14540 Canyon 2 Rd, Rio Nido, rionidoroadhouse.com.
Seared: A la carte brunch includes housemade doughnut holes, buttermilk waffles, Dungeness crab Benedict, prime rib sash, avocado toast, buttermilk fried chicken, grits and spring vegetable succotash and plenty of libations. 170 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma. Reservations at petalumaseared.com or 707-762-5997.
Spinster Sisters: Easter pickup meal serve a la carte with smoked pate, buttermilk biscuits with honey butter, slab of frittata, strawberry salad kit, apple crumb cake, kimchi bacon deviled eggs, seasonal jam, strawberry shortcake kit. Order by calling 707-528-7100, 401 South A. Street, Santa Rosa, thespinstersisters.com.
Spoonbar: Bottomless bellinis, and al la carte menu with Dungeness crab and apple salad, yellowfin tuna sashimi, warm mushroom and goat cheese quiche, lobster eggs Benny, Niman Ranch kobe smash burger, crispy duck leg hash, herb roasted king salmon, filet mignon. Book at spoonbar.com or 707-433-7222. 219 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg.
Sweet Pea Bakeshop: Easter cupcakes come in cute gift boxes. Order yours today for pick up April 3. Call or email info@sweetpeanapa.com. 720 W Napa St, Sonoma, 707-934-8797.
Tips Roadside: Bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys plus family-style options include grilled tri-tip, smoked brisket, fried chicken, shrimp and grits, scrambled eggs, Brussels and root vegetable hash, bacon and beignets. $55 per person, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Advance tickets required at tipsroadside.com. 8445 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood.
Volo Chocolate: Chocolate Bunny Season has arrived at this Windsor chocolate factory. This year, a special 2021 edition of Volo’s bunny is available: The Essential ‘Bean to Bunny’ is made from 62 % dark milk chocolate and comes with face mask and vaccination band aid, hand painted with white chocolate. Order online to get shipped to your home or pick up in Windsor. Bunny pick up is Wednesday, March 31st, Thursday April 1st and Friday, April 2nd between 2-5:30 p.m. A line will form outside. 399 Business Park Ct, Windsor, volochocolate.com.
Wing Man: Skip the ham and pick up crispy chicken wings with special sauces and sides along with more than 70 kinds of beer and growlers available. Open noon to 8 p.m. Order online at wingmanfoodtruck.com, 101 E Cotati Ave, Cotati.
