Former Healdsburg SHED Chef Takes Over Boonville Hotel Kitchen

By biteclub
A spring dish at Boonville Hotel from Chef Perry Hoffman. (Lucille Lawrence)

Chef Perry Hoffman is getting back to his roots, returning to the kitchen at the Boonville Hotel in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. The former SHED executive chef who also received a Michelin star for his work at Napa’s étoile at Domaine Chandon, grew up in a well-known restaurant family that includes Sally and Don Schmitt, the original owners of the French Laundry and the current owners of The Apple Farm in Philo as well as his uncle Johnny Schmitt’s Boonville Hotel.

Best known for his pristine sourcing and composed plates dishes that feature wildflowers, herbs, and other foraged food, it’s a, uh, boon to the Boonville Hotel’s restaurant program.

He’ll be tapping into hyperlocal foods like Steelhead tartar, with asparagus from Philo, celery, lovage, olive oil and preserved lemon; Mendocino purple sea urchin with asparagus, Koji and garden herbs; grilled local halibut with fermented green garlic and fingerling potatoes and, for dessert, Pennyroyal cheese tartine with herbs, bee pollen and local honey.

Dinner will be served Thursday through Saturday with a prix fixe menu or small plates ranging from $8 to $22. On Sunday, May 26, Paella dinners will return to the hotel courtyard on Sunday evenings.

“After cooking professionally for 20 years, it’s crazy to me that I didn’t see the writing on the wall, and return here sooner. Anderson Valley in its rural form couldn’t be a more beautiful place to cook,” said Hoffman. “I’m surrounded by artisans, farmers, family, and friends. I plan to cook for and with them, for the rest of my life.”

14050 CA-128, Boonville, 707-895-2210, boonvillehotel.com.

The Best Winery Patios in Sonoma and Napa

By Sarah Stierch
Patio at Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma, California
Chateau St. Jean Patio (Photo courtesy of Treasury Wine Estates)

Venture outside the winery cellars and tasting rooms and sip away in the sun. Click through the gallery for details.

 

Zazu Pulls Out of The Barlow Two Months After Flood

By biteclub
Zazu Kitchen and Farm Duskie Estes embraces Tomas Guzman, part of the maintenance crew of The Barlow, Thursday, April 18, 2019 in Sebastopol. Estes and her husband John Stewart pulled all of their equipment out of the restaurant on Thursday after February flooding of the Laguna shut them down. (Photo by Kent Porter)

Zazu Kitchen & Farm, one of Sonoma County’s high-profile restaurants, has left The Barlow two months after a major flood overwhelmed much of the upscale Sebastopol business district, dealing a crippling blow to shops and eateries that are struggling to reopen.

On Thursday, Zazu owners John Stewart and Duskie Estes began moving out what was left of their kitchen equipment — large pizza ovens, refrigerators and ranges — from the acclaimed Sebastopol location they’ve occupied for nearly six years.

Though reconstruction had progressed on the 3,600-square-foot restaurant, Stewart said that for now they are no longer occupying the building. Throughout the day, friends in the restaurant business brought flatbeds, trucks and brawn as the couple hastily packed up their equipment, sending everything to a shipping container at their home in Forestville.

Stewart said the exit stems from a communication breakdown with Barlow owner Barney Aldridge about the restaurant’s future after floodwaters in February caused an estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, leading to weeks of closure and layoffs for 35 staff members. Much of the restaurant equipment had already been moved off site while remodeling was taking place, but Stewart said the final straw was a rent-due notice emailed on Wednesday afternoon by Barlow management.

“We were really caught off guard,” Stewart said. His monthly bill including base rent, maintenance fees and taxes amounted to $8,000 per month, according to Aldridge. As one of the earliest occupants of The Barlow, Zazu’s rent was among the lowest, Aldridge said.

But with no income to cover rent, the couple couldn’t see how to move forward.

“We can’t occupy the building. There’s just no way we can open. I mean if there’s no way to get to the bathroom, you’re not opening,” said Stewart.

Zazu had several years left on its long-term lease, and its departure is the most significant exit yet of a flood-affected business at The Barlow.

Aldridge said he was shocked to see trucks pulling up to the restaurant Thursday morning and removing equipment. He said he remained committed to Zazu’s reopening, having hired workers to put up drywall and sanitize equipment. He said the rent-due notice sent to Stewart and Estes was in response to a letter from the couple’s attorney stating that they were not reopening.

Calls to the couple’s attorney were not returned Thursday.

“I’m there talking to them every day. I’ve been rebuilding their restaurant,” said Aldridge. “I want to be supportive of John and Duskie. They’ve worked super hard and we’ve been glad to have them, but if they’ve officially decided to move on … there’s not much that I can do.”

He said other restaurateurs have already shown interest in the Zazu location.

Nearly half of the roughly three dozen businesses in the chic shopping area were affected by floodwaters, with a handful declared a total loss. Zazu was swamped with 22 inches of water contaminated with gasoline and farm-runoff, requiring extensive cleanup, especially for food purveyors.

Their exit comes in the midst of several Barlow reopenings in the past two weeks, including Barrio Cocina Fresca and Community Market, along with Wm. Cofield Cheese and several retail businesses. Barrio owner Carlos Rosas and Village Bakery owner Patrick Lum said Barlow management have been responsive and financially helpful. Village Bakery, an anchor tenant, has signaled it hopes to reopen by early summer.

Friends and family of the Zazu owners set up crowdfunding sites that have brought in an estimated $70,000 so far, but the couple says that’s well below what it would cost to open the doors again.

“We have to come up with a really substantial amount of money to reopen,” said Stewart.

Natural disasters like fires and floods notwithstanding, restaurants already face significant hurdles just to stay open in high-cost parts of Sonoma County, according to former chef Lisa Hemenway, who now works in commercial real estate.

“It’s a very hard time to be in the restaurant business,” she said. Soaring rents can range from $2 to $2.25 per square foot in addition to costs for maintenance and taxes, often referred to as “triple net.” Just opening a restaurant usually costs at least $150,000, and profit margins are typically slim.

“People go into it for passion, and you end up in the school of hard knocks. What’s the magic formula? I can’t tell you, but I’m looking at profit and loss statements every day trying to help these restaurants,” Hemenway said.

Stewart and Estes were among those at the front lines providing aid during the October 2017 wildfires, cooking with celebrity chef Guy Fieri for first responders and fire victims for more than a week.

“It’s hard to be on the other end of needing help. It’s one thing to be high-fiving first responders. It’s been another thing to ask for help,” said Stewart.

Stewart said he hasn’t identified another potential home for the restaurant, but said he also isn’t quitting the business. “Owning a restaurant is all about crisis management. I can handle a crisis. We’ll figure this out,” said Stewart.

Saving the Sonoma Coast: How Environmentalists Helped Protect Our Natural Treasure

By Sam Schuchat
The Stewarts Point Ranch bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Gualala River to the east. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat)

California state officials are not allowed to play favorites, so as the head of the Coastal Conservancy I often say that I love all of our coastal counties equally and I am privileged to visit them frequently. But I am only human, and it is hard not to have extra reverence for the Sonoma Coast and the role that it has played in the history of conservation in California.

The coastline of Sonoma is one of our great natural treasures. From lush redwood forests to family-friendly beaches, these 64 miles fronting the Pacific remain a pristine and enchanting remnant of California’s natural heritage. This is not an accident. A storied list of environmental leaders from Sonoma County fought to ensure this coast would remain largely undeveloped, a vision that would turn many of those early activists into pioneering conservation legends.

Grassroots campaigns launched in Sonoma starting in the 1950s and running through the 1970s would prove to be among the most pivotal moments in California’s coastal protection movement. They included the defeat of the “Hole in the Head” nuclear power plant in Bodega Bay and the cry for public access at the Sea Ranch, which spurred the 1976 Coastal Act and spawned our modern era of coastal protection. The very notion of the public coast, now so dear to all Californians, emerged in Sonoma County. I have had the pleasure of biking many of Sonoma’s iconic, and often quite steep roads. The first time I went up Coleman Valley Road, I clearly recall — once I stopped gasping
for breath — the 360-degree view of hills and forest and ocean that have inspired so many residents for so many years.

That rich conservation legacy has been expanded in Sonoma over the past three decades by one of the most effective environmental coalitions in the nation. The results are there for you to experience firsthand, stretching from the protected Estero Americano tidal slough at the county’s southern end to the lovely, tree-lined Gualala River that defines its northern border. In between are unrivaled gems: the 5,600-acre Jenner Headlands Preserve, newly opened to the public, and the 700-acre Kashia Coastal Reserve north of Salt Point State Park, which returns ancestral lands stripped 150 years ago from the Kashia Pomo when they were forced inland.

Sonoma is an exciting place to do this kind of work. The breadth of opportunities here leaves me feeling exhilarated about our ability to safeguard the natural world while opening it up for sustainable use and enjoyment by our growing population. You might not know, but the region’s innovative timber and farming industries play leading roles in this effort. The Coastal Conservancy’s largest single acquisition in Sonoma County, the 19,645-acre property once known as Preservation Ranch, is now being restored using sustainable forestry. And the county’s thriving outdoor recreation economy is propelling other initiatives, including extension of the California Coastal Trail, a public right-of-way envisioned to one day traverse the state’s entire 840-mile coast. Already, hikers can follow trails and beaches for about 60 percent of the Sonoma Coast. One of my favorite places is Stewarts Point. The view is sublime, and the general store is usually stocked with IT’s-IT, the ice cream sandwiches that are my favorite snack in the middle of a long bike ride.

To the south, I like to think of the Russian River and its sprawling network of tributaries as the Pacific’s great inland arteries. They served that purpose for generations of Native Americans and settlers that preceded us, conveying people and goods up- and downstream. For even longer, they have carried the North Coast’s salmon and steelhead trout, another natural spectacle that makes this region so special. From remote reaches of the watershed down to its powerful mainstem, work continues to restore access and habitat for these majestic fish. Underwater window panels at the Mirabel Fish Ladder in Forestville give you an otherworldly view into their ancient migration.

Sonoma County has a well-deserved reputation for being a great place to live, visit, and do business. My wife and I have celebrated wedding anniversaries on the Sonoma coast, and my daughter’s first camping trip was near the mouth of the Russian River, where there is a fabulous walking campground. I have biked the entire Sonoma Coast more than once, and the hardest day I ever spent on a bike involved an epic ride from Duncans Mills to Warm Springs Dam, up and down Skaggs Spring Road to the coast, and back via Fort Ross Road and Cazadero. Sonoma County residents deserve full credit for protecting their natural lands, farms, and ranches while inspiring the rest of us to do the same for all of California. The Coastal Conservancy and its partners are working to uphold that legacy of conservation to preserve and protect the coast we love.

Sam Schuchat has served as executive officer of the California State Coastal Conservancy for nearly two decades and has devoted more than 30 years to preserving California’s natural resources.

Sonoma Coast Conservation: Four Decades of Enduring Projects 

Since its founding in 1976, the Coastal Conservancy has provided over $100 million to more than 200 projects in Sonoma County, opening coastal access, preserving open space, farm, and timber lands, restoring salmon habitat, and preparing for climate change.

1981: After years of fighting for public access, the Coastal Conservancy transfers easements for five public trailheads and a bluff-top path in Sea Ranch to Sonoma County. The Conservancy also grants the county $255,000 to upgrade the trail network.

1989: $655,000 is put toward State Parks’ acquisition of Black Ranch, now the Vista Point Unit of Sonoma Coast State Beach, and $235,000 goes to Coastwalk to build a wheelchair accessible trail on the property.

1999: The Coastal Conservancy grants $1 million to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 910-acre Red Hill property south of Jenner overlooking the Russian River’s mouth. The property, protected by an easement held by Sonoma County’s Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, is transferred to State Parks.

2002: The Conservancy launches its Bodega Bay Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails program, including planning and construction of a 110-foot bridge over Cheney Creek Gulch connecting the Bird Walk Coastal Access Park with Doran Beach Regional Park.

2004: The Conservancy grants State Parks $4.2 million to buy 3,200 acres in the Willow Creek watershed, now part of the Sonoma Coast State Beach.

2008: Conservancy grants totaling nearly $14 million support the purchase of the 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands Preserve. Grants totaling $925,000 help Sonoma Land Trust to protect the adjacent 238-acre Pole Mountain property and construct parking and a public trailhead for the headlands, opened in 2018.

2009: A $1 million grant to the open space district preserves the 873-acre Stewarts Point Ranch on the northern Sonoma Coast and provides for future public recreation.

2012: A $10 million grant supports the purchase of the 19,600-acre property formerly known as Preservation Ranch in the Gualala River watershed, preventing its subdivision, protecting fish and wildlife habitat, and enabling future sustainable timber production.

2015: A grant of $900,000 to the Wildlands Conservancy supports purchase of the 547- acre Estero Ranch at the mouth of the Estero Americano, safeguarding the waterway, wildlife habitat, and farming operations, and allowing for expansion of the California Coastal Trail.

2015: A $500,000 grant to the Trust for Public Land supports the purchase of 688-acre Richardson Ranch, extending the California Coastal Trail by a mile from Salt Point State Park and returning ancestral lands to the Kashia Pomo. A $160,000 grant to Sonoma County Regional Parks supports Coastal Trail planning.

2018: A $750,000 grant to the open space district helps set aside a forested 1,620-acre property along the South Fork of the Gualala River, providing for future public access.

 

Amy Poehler’s ‘Wine Country’ Movie Inspired by Real Trip to Sonoma County

By biteclub

Napa may be the backdrop for Amy Poehler’s new Netflix movie, “Wine Country,” but the real story took place in Sonoma County in 2016. Sort of.

According to Santa Rosa restaurateur Gerard Nebesky (aka The Paella Guy), the forthcoming girls getaway flick, starring Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Maya Rudolph, and Emily Spivey, was actually inspired by Dratch’s gal-pal weekend in the Alexander Valley three years ago, which Nebesky coordinated. 

Gerard's Paella founder/owner Gerard Nebesky. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Gerard’s Paella founder and owner Gerard Nebesky. (Photo by John Burgess)

Celebrating her milestone 50th, Nebesky says Dratch and her A-list comedy friends – Poehler, Rudolph, Gasteyer, Pell, and Spivey – rented a house in the Valley, visited Sebastopol’s Lynmar Estate and Healdsburg’s Longboard Vineyards and dined at Healdsburg SHED with Nebesky. (During their 2016 Wine Country vacation, Dratch and her “SNL” friends also stayed at a Napa Valley airbnb and visited Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga, Oxbow Public Market and Oenotri in Napa, and The French Laundry and Ad Hoc in Yountville.)

“They were doing a bunch of girly stuff,” says Nebesky, “but that’s when the germ of the movie was born.”

Director Amy Poehler ran with the idea for a movie soon after the trip, spinning the roots of the birthday celebration into a dark comedy to be released on Netflix on May 10. Locations in the movie include Quintessa and Artesa Vineyards in Napa.

Actor Jason Schwartzman plays a character in the movie loosely based on Nebesky, who has been friends with Rachel Dratch for more than a decade. A pre-release trailer includes a clip of Schwartzman stirring a huge paella pan with a wooden spatula, confirming that there is, at the very least, a paella-making character. 

Actor Jason Schwartzman plays a character in the movie loosely based on Gerard Nebesky, who has been friends with Rachel Dratch for more than a decade. (Photo courtesy of IMDB)

Nebesky isn’t sure if there are many other similarities between himself and Schwartzman’s character, Devon, but claims the actor confided at the film’s wrap party that ‘Gerard Nebesky’ autofilled his search page every time he hit the letter ‘G’ on the keyboard.

“He’s a really disciplined actor. I think he was really taking it seriously,” says Nebesky, who hasn’t seen “Wine Country” and doesn’t know exactly the role Schwartzman plays in the movie. “I don’t think it’s all that much based on me, though. I just make paella. Rachel says there’s no comparison,” he laughs.

Nebesky met Dratch at a party ten years ago, where he was cooking his signature paella. They struck up a friendship and kept in touch. He went to Manhattan to see Saturday Night Live when she was a cast member. She asked him to cater her star-studded 40th birthday.

“Everyone turns out for Rachel. She’s so well-liked,” he says.

Ten years later, the celebrity asked Nebesky to coordinate her 50th in Wine Country. “The whole thing took place in Sonoma County. We went to Lynmar winery and there was lots of singing and craziness. They really took care of them and Chef David Rakes poured it on thick with goodies,” he says. “They had such a good time.”

Nebesky says Dratch and her real-life comedian friends aren’t all that removed from the characters they play.

“Rachel always seems like she’s a little uncomfortable in her surroundings. She’s quirky, self-admittedly. She’s so funny. They’re all real pros, and it’s amazing when you’re around them,” Nebesky says. 

The cast is returning to Wine Country later this month for the movie premiere, according to Nebesky, and he hopes to get them back to Sonoma County to check out his downtown Santa Rosa restaurant, Gerard’s Paella.

“They’re all staying in Napa, which I’m peeved about, but it was all Sonoma County that set the original scene,” he adds, laughing. 

 

Best Sonoma Restaurants: 25 Picks from the Food Critics

By Carey Sweet
Chef de cuisine Stéphane Saint Louis adds chimichurri sauce to a plate of steak frites at Della Fattoria in Petaluma, California, on Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

Hungry for something new? Click through the gallery for restaurant picks from Sonoma Magazine food critic Carey Sweet.

Italian Aperitivo Hour Arrives in Sonoma County

By biteclub

Fern Bar at The Barlow in Sebastopol has launched an Italian Apertivo Hour, serving up low-ABV cocktails from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday.

On the menu are classic herbal aperitifs made to stimulate the appetite including the Aperol Spritz, Biciletta (Campari, white wine, soda) and French 75 (Gin, sparkling wine, simple syrup).

Guests can also mix and match liqueurs, vermouth and bitters for a personalized drink.

Need something stronger? Draft cocktails will be offered at a discount during happy hour.

There are special nibbles, natch, from Chef Joe Zobel who will riff on cicchetti — small snacks made to accompany cocktails (curried dumplings with roasted vegetable yogurt, beer-battered spring onion with fermented allium aioli or cabbage rabe kimchi with burnt sesame).

6780 Depot St Suite 120, Sebastopol, 707-861-9603, fernbar.com.

 

Santa Rosa Bar Serving Game of Thrones Cocktails

By biteclub

I lost interest in GoT a few years ago when they killed off every character I liked in the most disgusting and horrible ways possible.

Call me fickle, but I do still hold a place in my heart for Jon Snow.

If you’re a former fan, a current fan or just want to lament the fact that Khal Drago left us too soon, a lineup of GoT-themed cocktails at the new Railroad Stop Bar & Kitchen will have you drinking like a Lannister.

Starting today and running every Sunday from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. throughout the final season, the revamped restaurant at Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country has drinks like the Blood & Sand ($12) with blood orange, Johnnie Walker GoT White Walker Scotch, Cherry liqueur and sweet Vermouth.

They’ll also have Game of Thrones Chardonnay spritzers with club soda and cranberry and Ommegang GoT Beer along with steamed Manila clams with chorizo, Cubano sliders and grilled New York strip loin. 170 Railroad St., Santa Rosa, 707-636-7388.

(Did you know that a Sonoma winemaker produced GoT wines?)

 

 

Sonoma County Easter Brunch Eggstravaganza 2019

By biteclub

by Lindsay Musco

With Easter hopping around the corner, it’s time to make plans for where to eat. We’ve rounded up a few delicious brunches (plus a couple of dinners) for your Easter celebrations on Sunday, April 21. Click through the gallery for details. 

The Best Sonoma County Wines at Trader Joe’s, Spring 2019 Edition

By Chelsea Kurnick
Sonoma County wines at Trader Joe’s

It’s no secret that Trader Joe’s is a favorite among foodies on a budget, but what about wine lovers in search of a steal? Sure, you can always count on finding a great deal at TJ’s (the grocery store’s most popular wine brand “Charles Shaw” is aptly nicknamed “Two-Buck Chuck”) but discerning wine drinkers might worry about the quality. As it turns out, there’s no reason to turn your oenophile nose up at Trader Joe’s wine selection if you know what you’re looking for – there are even local labels on the shelves! To aid my fellow wine lovers, I headed to the Cleveland Avenue store to check out their current selection of Sonoma County wines. Click through the gallery for my spring 2019 favorites.