As New Windsor Restaurant Prepares to Open, Healdsburg’s Brass Rabbit Closes

By Heather Irwin
The Brass Rabbit in Healdsburg. Heather Irwin/PD

Here’s a big old smorgasbord of tasty news!

Opening: Grata 

Former Starks chef, Eric Foster, will be opening a modern Italian eatery in Windsor this fall with his wife, Christina. The couple says they’ll be doing appetizers, salads, pasta and some larger plates, along with “adult” low-ABV Italian sodas in the former Chinois space near the Town Green. Christina says it will be a fun place for families, dates, and “gal pals” to hang out.

Opening: Little Saint

After more than two years of sitting empty, the 10,000-square foot SHED location in Healdsburg may finally have a buyer.

The nonprofit Little Saint is slated to open later this fall in the hulking “modern grange” once owned by Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniel, according to a press release sent by San Francisco’s Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, an uber-chic arts incubator imagined by designer Ken Fulk.

Though the owners have not been named, Little Saint is launching as a nonprofit arm of the Saint Joseph’s Art Foundation. Little Saint will be open to the public daily for all-day dining, retail and ticketed events. Acknowledging the vision of Lipton and Daniel, the new project will foster at least some of the ideals of its former owners by creating a space to talk about sustainability and support the local community. Plus some really cool art and music.

“Little Saint will continue the legacy of SHED by offering delicious food, unique retail and intriguing programming with an added focus on music and art,” according to the press release.

Closed: Brass Rabbit

We’re super sad to hear that this cozy little bistro on the Healdsburg Plaza is another casualty of the pandemic, along with its entire staff. The sister restaurant to Chalkboard at Hotel Les Mars (a Bill Foley-owned project) closed temporarily in March, reopened briefly in May, then closed again, with much of the staff moving over to Chalkboard as a stop-gap through the summer. Insiders say the staff was let go on August 4 and the restaurant is now permanently shuttered. Brass Rabbit, which opened in 2017, was a special project for its former chef Shane McAnnelly, who featured fresh pasta and other signature dishes, but the small size and lack of any real patio seating seem to have been its death knell. McAnnelly is now at Bricoleur Vineyards. Before becoming Brass Rabbit, the space hosted longtime Healdsburg favorite Bistro Ralph.

Loving: Region + FernBar

There’s a reason that Sebastopol’s Barlow has been one of the biggest scenes to be seen lately — and I’m calling it choose-your-own-adventure dining. Taprooms and tasting rooms are pairing up with nearby eateries to offer al fresco dining wherever you choose. So, say you’re up for sushi with your Seismic? Yup. Golden State Cider with a slice? Yes, please. But what I’m feeling extra excited about is Fernbar’s pairing with Region, a new wine tasting room with — breathe — self-serve machines that feature 50 unique wines from 14 appellations. Choose from $1 to $4 single ounce “tastes” to larger pours or full bottles. It’s like a classy vending machine for top-shelf wines. Sit at their outdoor patio and have Fernbar’s Chicken Liver Mousse, Smash burger, fried chicken sando or my fave — the umami bomb with veggies, sticky rice and roasted mushrooms.

Do Good: Food for Thought

Food For Thought, a local non-profit that provides healing food and nutrition to Sonoma County residents with serious illnesses, is holding a drive-thru food drive at Santa Rosa Plaza on Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the corner of 2nd and B St. Canned tuna, olive oil and hearty soups are especially needed. And here’s my special request to you: Please don’t just clean out your cupboard and offload expired food. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and energy and ultimately goes into the garbage. Think about what you’d appreciate eating, and donate that. Or consider donating money to FFTfoodbank.org.

What’s Your Calling: Join Sonoma Women In Conversation at Home

By Heather Irwin

On Thursday, Sept. 17, join us for the first episode of our free three-part virtual series, Women in Conversation at Home, featuring amazing local women from around the county talking about finding their calling and following their passions.

Emmy-winning host Amy Gutierrez delves into the success stories of inspiring Sonoma County chefs, entrepreneurs, artists, writers and speakers who’ve pivoted their careers or followed their passion to find their true calling.

Sit back and join the conversation as we go virtual this year, talking about how remarkable women live their best life. Here are the women you will meet in the first episode of the series, called “Be Your Sustainable Self.” Click through the above gallery to meet the hosts and speakers.

Tania Soderman: Welcome to Chicken Paradise

A small city of handmade structures — just the right size for chickens — dot Tania Soderman’s Sonoma farm, which she’s named Sonoma Chicks. Tania, who spent her childhood between Norway, Kenya and Botswana, left fast-paced city life in San Francisco to enjoy a more rural existence, treating her 30 breeds of chickens to some seriously spiffy accommodations. Expect some fowl language in her talk about finding a purpose in poultry.

Duskie Estes: Replanting Yourself

A wildly popular chef who’s been on Food Network and named the U.S. Queen of Pork, Duskie Estes recently pivoted from chef whites to overalls as head of a local gleaning organization, Farm to Pantry. You’ll get to see her amazing new chef garden and hear what she’s doing in the community to give everyone access to the perfect peach.

Sofia Englund: Living The Lagom Life

Is a simple coffee break a recipe for inner peace? For Swedes like writer Sofia Englund, taking small moments of joy in each day helps achieve a work-life balance they call “lagom.” Roughly translated as “just the right amount,” she’ll explain how this simple principle of moderation in everything — from busy workdays to indulgences — can benefit your life.

Deb Rock: One Hot Momma

There’s nothing that can’t benefit from a little hot sauce, according to this local entrepreneur. A native of Mexico, Deb Rock is the mind behind Sonoma Hot Sauce, a spicy (but not too spicy) sauce that uses local peppers. Hear her inspiring story and learn how her sauce is made.

Heather Irwin & Mimo Ahmed: Eat The Season

Apples are at hot commodity everywhere in Sonoma County this time of year. A booming cider industry has brought Sonoma’s apple industry back to the forefront after years of orchards being plowed under for more profitable plants. Head to a local apple farm as Chef Mimo Ahmed talks about her favorite fall recipes with this of-the-moment fruit.

About Women in Conversation

Since its inception in 2016, The Press Democrat’s “Women in Conversation” event has become a popular annual happening in Sonoma County. Over the years, the event has featured a series of inspiring women speakers, including Ayesha Curry, Geena Davis, Ashley Judd, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Lesley Stahl. This year, the event will take place online.

Register and read more about this free, three-part virtual series here: pressdemocrat.com/article/multimedia/wic-2020.

Compliment the first episode of Women in Conversation at Home with wine and food! See Specials

Woman-Owned Winery in Healdsburg Wins “Winery of the Year” Award

By Grace Yarrow
The four leaders of Breathless Wines in Healdsburg. The winery’s méthode traditionnelle sparklers are fresh and lively, with three new wines introduced in 2021: two single-vineyard blancs de noir from the Robledo Vineyard in Sonoma and a blanc de blancs from the McMinn Vineyard in Russian River Valley. (Courtesy of Breathless Wines)

Breathless Wines in Healdsburg, known for its refreshing sparkling wines, has been named “Winery of the Year” in LuxeSF’s Rising Wine Star Awards for 2020.

The awards are given annually by LuxeSF, formerly known as The Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco, with the help of a panel of industry leaders.

The “Winery of the Year” award was established in 2017 and is given to an industry leader that is innovating and experimenting with new trends and generating excitement in the industry, according to a press release.

Breathless Wines is a female-led winery that specializes in sparkling wines created in the traditional French method. The winery was started by three sisters, Sharon Cohn, Cynthia Faust and Rebecca Faust, as a tribute to their mother. Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster is the fourth “sister,” who brings with her years of wine experience and expertise.

“We are humbled by this tremendous recognition,” said Sharon Cohn, co-founder of Breathless Wines, in a press release. “In what has been a very tumultuous year, we are so grateful for our loyal, inspiriting supporters and are honored to be the recipients of this award.”

Breathless Wines is now offering tastings on its outdoor patio and garden by reservation only. For more information, visit its website here.

Face to Face’s Art for Life Auction Moves Online

By Grace Yarrow

Face to Face, which aims to end HIV in Sonoma County and supports the health of people living with HIV and AIDS, is getting extra-creative with its fundraising events this year.

After its Beerfest event was canceled in June because of the pandemic, Face to Face organizers knew they had to focus on their next fundraising event, the annual Art for Life auction, said Gary Saperstein, development director at Face to Face.

Now, Art for Life is going virtual, which Saperstein said is an opportunity for the organization to reach an even wider audience.

“It’s fun. As I say, it’s making lemonade out of lemons. We’ve been handed what we’re going through right now, so trying to make the best of it,” he said.

The Art for Life fundraiser, now in its 32nd year, is a widely popular event, drawing artists and art lovers from across the Bay Area and beyond. This year’s online auction will run Sept. 17-22 and feature art from many local artists that can be previewed before the auction goes live.

Face to Face also is hosting a Zoom reception for artists and sponsors who will receive a delivery of wine from MacRostie Winery in Healdsburg and refreshments from the girl & the fig restaurant in Sonoma. Donors can meet the artists who have worked with Art for Life for years.

The connection between artists and the cause is what makes the event special, said Linda Galletta, development assistant at Face to Face.

“Sometimes, with charity art auctions, you may get things from artists that they haven’t been able to sell or that have been around for a long time, but that is not the case with this event,” she said. “This event is supported generously by these artists.”

Art for Life was launched in 1988 as a way for artists to contribute to Face to Face’s work. A number of the artists involved donate their work every year to the fundraiser, typically held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

“It really brings the art community together to help us in our mission while we work with our clients to maintain their health and well-being,” Saperstein said.

There are more than 500 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Sonoma County, Face to Face Executive Director Sara Brewer said.

“Just like we’re seeing with COVID, it’s very much a disease of inequity. The same is true of HIV and it has been since the beginning. So everything we’ve seen with COVID is something we’ve been dealing with for almost 40 years.”

What: Art for Life Auction
When: Sept. 17-22, 2020
Where: Online at artforlife.f2f.org

Wit and Wisdom Tavern to Open in Sonoma in September

By Heather Irwin
The Lodge at Sonoma. (Courtesy photo)

Wit and Wisdom Tavern, a Michael Mina project at The Lodge at Sonoma, is slated for a September opening at the former Carneros Bistro. The restaurant, inspired by author Jack London’s collection of writings by the same name, will highlight locally sourced ingredients, open-fire cooking and a wood-burning stove. It’s the first Mina restaurant in Wine Country, so expect a stellar wine program as well.

Click through the above gallery for images. More details at michaelmina.net

Top Chef Contestant Opens ‘Preview Pop-Up’ of New Sonoma Restaurant

By Heather Irwin

Like many chefs who had planned to open restaurants in 2020, Top Chef contestant Casey Thompson has been patiently biding her time. Her previously-announced “Georgette”, located in the former General’s Daughter seems to be on hold while a new concept, Folktable, is now in previews at Cornerstone Sonoma.

Thompson and her crew are doing weekend pop-ups from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m with craft cocktails and an abbreviated menu at the gardens’ Sonoma Sunset Test Kitchen until the new restaurant opens at the former Palooza space also in Cornerstone. Over the years, that location has hosted a number of concepts that never really took off, but with backing from Sonoma developers (and now Cornerstone owners) Ken and Stacy Mattson behind her, that could change.

The pop-up menu will feature lobster, along with fresh tomatoes and seasonally-inspired dishes like Panzanella salad with peaches, mint and sumac, tostadas, hand-pulled mozzarella, a Wagyu hotdog, and funnel cakes.

Folktable is part of the Sonoma’s Best Hospitality Group, a Mattson-owned holding that includes Sonoma’s Best Mercantile and cottages, Dirty Girl Donuts, Ramekins, the General’s Daughter, Harrow Cellars and Cornerstone Sonoma. More info here.

New Fried Chicken Pop-Up Comes to Petaluma

By Heather Irwin

Table Culture Provisions will be popping up for a fried chicken takeout dinner deluxe at Wishbone restaurant in Petaluma on Sunday.

The fledgling project from the Shuckery’s Executive Chef Stephane Saint Louis and business partner Steven Vargas is a toe-dip for a mobile bistro the two plan to launch in the future. The menu includes fig, capicola and baked Red Hawk cheese; fried chicken with farmers vegetables and caramel flan.

We’re looking forward to hearing more about this project, along with the reopening of Wishbone. It seems chef/owner Miriam Donaldson has been keeping herself rather busy lately with disaster relief and setting up emergency kitchens in her spare time.

Patio dining and curbside pickup only. Pre-orders required at tablecultureprovisions.square.site.

The North Bay Fires in Photos

By Sofia Englund
The eastern flank of the Hennessey fire burns through the Rumsey Canyon along Highway 16 at the Yolo/Colusa County line, Friday, August 28, 2020. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2020

As wildfires raged in August, The Press Democrat photographers John Burgess, Christopher Chung, Alvin Jornada, Kent Porter and Beth Schlanker worked tirelessly to document the destruction and the efforts to contain the fires.

In one moment, just behind the fire line, they captured the dreadful, yet insidiously haunting flames and the firefighters’ valiant efforts to protect us from them — in another, they turned their lenses to the flight of the evacuees.

In more intimate scenes, we see sheltered people and animals, prepared community members, and those who have lost their homes. Finally, there are glimpses of hope — the arrival of air tankers, a neighborhood and trees saved, and signs that containment is near. 

Click through the gallery to see some of the images.

Healdsburg’s SHED To Become Little Saint in Late 2020

By Heather Irwin
The former Healdsburg SHED. (Courtesy photo)

After more than two years of sitting empty, the 10,000 square-foot SHED location in Healdsburg may finally have a buyer.

Little Saint is slated to open in the hulking “modern grange” once owned by Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniel later this fall, according to a press release sent by San Francisco’s Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, an uber-chic arts incubator imagined by designer Ken Fulk and housed in a converted catholic church.

Though the owners have not been named, the project is launching as a non-profit arm of the Saint Joseph’s Art Foundation. Little Saint will be open to the public daily for all-day dining, retail and ticketed events. Acknowledging the vision of Lipton and Daniel, the new project will foster at least some of the ideals of its former owners by creating a space to talk about sustainability and support the local community. Plus some really cool art and music.

“Little Saint will continue the legacy of SHED by offering delicious food, unique retail and intriguing programming with an added focus on music and art,” according to the press release, adding that owners purchased the building to give back to their longtime home away from home.

Taste of Sonoma Goes Virtual: 7 Reasons to Not Miss This Year’s Event

By Grace Yarrow
The annual Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch on Saturday, September 5, 2015. (JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat)

Taste of Sonoma has adapted its annual program of tastings and presentations by local chefs and vintners to an online format this year after the in-person event was canceled due to coronavirus restrictions.

The event, put on by Sonoma County Vintners, has planned a series of dates throughout September with at-home wine tastings, educational webinars, cooking classes and food pairings. Taste of Sonoma initially was scheduled for Sept. 5 at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens in Santa Rosa.

Here’s a look at seven virtual dates for Taste of Sonoma. Register ahead of time at tasteofsonoma.com, where you can also find more information about the event.

Wednesday, Sept. 2: Kendall-Jackson, with Winemaster Randy Ullom and Executive Chef Justin Wrangler, will present a farm-to-table wine and cooking class on Zoom at 4 p.m. For participants wanting to follow along with the wine pairings, Kendall-Jackson is selling a pack of three wines for $105 at kj.com/wine/sonoma-county-tasting-pack.

Randy Ullom, winemaster at Kendall-Jackson, will help kick off the Taste of Sonoma event this year. (C. Higley)

Friday, Sept. 4: “Sparkling Sonoma,” on Zoom at 4 p.m., will explore how sparkling wine is made and which varieties are produced in Sonoma County. Speakers will include Jen Walsh of La Crema, Chris Christensen of Bodkin Wines, Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines and Nicole Hitchcock of J Vineyards & Winery.

Wednesday, Sept. 9: Francis Ford Coppola Winery will host a virtual cooking and wine pairing at 4 p.m. with Sonoma County chefs Tim Bodell from RUSTIC, Dustin Valette from Valette Healdsburg and Mark Stark from Bravas Bar de Tapas. Each chef will demonstrate one course for a progressive dinner.

Friday, Sept. 11: In the “New Gen, Old Wine” webinar at 4 p.m., speakers will talk about the families of the Sonoma County wine community that have been participating in the business for several generations. Panelists will be Alan Ramey of Ramey Cellars, Nicole Bacigalupi of Bacigalupi Vineyards, Cecilia Enriquez of Enriquez Estate and Alexia Pellegrini of Pellegrini-Olivet Lane.

Wednesday, Sept. 16: Bricoleur Vineyards will present “Quarantine Kitchen” at 5:30 p.m. Executive Chef Shane McAnelly will host the virtual cooking class and demonstrate summer dishes.

Friday, Sept. 18: “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhoods” at 4 p.m. is a virtual tour, presented by The Press Democrat, of Russian River Valley neighborhoods and a look at the role each location plays in the production of pinot noir.

Friday, Sept. 25: In “Harvest Beyond the Grape” at 4 p.m., winery representatives will talk about the importance of biodiversity in Sonoma County, plus what seasonal produce they are pairing with their wines now.

Outside of webinars, the Taste of Sonoma website has a number of wine pairings and recipes from local restaurants to make at home, from a summer peach gazpacho to pan-seared halibut.

“We are thrilled to curate these exclusive programs to continue to show the world how our wine community and our essential culinary partners are unique,” said Michael Haney, executive director of Sonoma County Vintners.