Page 285 – Sonoma Magazine

KOSHO: Japanese Comfort Food in Sebastopol, From Sushi to Pancakes

October 2018

By biteclub

Japanese pancake at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

The seemingly simple act of making sushi is anything but. In Japan, apprentices sometimes spend decades perfecting things as mundane as washing the short grain rice properly and knowing the right proportion of vinegar to add to the warm-but-not-too-hot rice. And that’s before chefs can even think about touching a knife to fish.

Snapper sushi at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

So when Chef Jake Rand of Sushi Kosho restaurant scoops a deft hand into a wooden cask of red-vinegared sushi rice, it’s impossible not to ask how long it’s taken him to perfect his Tokyo-style version.

“I’ll let you know,” says Rand, who has worked in top sushi restaurants for much of his life and studied in Japan as a young “gaijin” (the Japanese word for “foreigner”). With practiced moves, he pushes the brown-tinted rice into the palm of his hand, flicks his wrists with feather-light pressure and a one-bite piece of nigiri magically appears.

Wagyu short ribs with potatoes and Korean bbq sauce at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

It’s a quest for perfection that anyone who’s seen the ornery, but arguably world’s best sushi chef, Jiro Takashi, explain in the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” For a sushi fan, it’s impossible not to nerd out on the process. For everyone else, it’s just good sushi, and for Rand, that’s just fine.

With a menu that ranges from simple nigiri, sashimi and rolls to Wagyu beef shortribs and okonomiyaki (a savory Japanese pancake), Sebastopol’s Kosho is far above industrial-grade all-you-can-eat sushi bars but less formal than white napkin Japanese restaurants. Somewhere in between, Rand wants Kosho to be a weeknight kind of place rather than a special occasion eatery.

Chicken meatball charcoal-grilled skewers at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Named for a ubiquitous condiment found in Japanese cooking, kosho is a combination of red chiles and yuzu (a tart Japanese citrus that merges lemon, orange and grapefruit) fermented into a paste. The spicy, sour, salty condiment plays a part in many of Rand’s dishes, as does shiso, soy and sesame — lending plenty of savory umami.

Housed in the former Vignette pizzeria, the airy Barlow space is a stone’s throw from the burgeoning craft brew scene all around it. Sit at the sushi bar for a front-row seat to the action in the quiet open kitchen. For sushi beginners, it’s a safe space to explore. For pros, savor some of the best-made nigiri and sashimi in Sonoma County, along with other Japanese comfort classics — at the right price.

Best Bets

Shishito peppers at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Blackened Shishito Peppers ($9): Blistered peppers get a kick from Japanese seven-spice and lime kosho. Sweet heat unless you get the one-in-10 hot shishito pepper that will have you reaching for water. Think of it as dining roulette.

Seaweed Salad ($11): Rather than the usual slippery green seaweed in most salads, Rand mixes red, green and white seaweeds together, giving a variety of bumpy, lumpy and tickly textures. Marinated in orange yuzu vinaigrette, avocado and fresh cherry tomatoes add a California touch.

Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Meatball ($9): Served on a skewer, these oval meatballs are crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside, gently seasoned and served with a raw egg and soy dipping sauce. Yes, it’s a raw egg. If you’re not into that, just ask for the soy sauce. But you’re missing out.

Sake at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. (Photo by Heather Irwin) — Sake at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Kanpachi Chili Sashimi ($17): Impossibly thin slices of radish and serrano chili atop what’s also known as amberjack fish. With a dot of yuzu citrus, the flavors of earth and sea, citrus and heat come together in a perfect bite. Sushi here isn’t cheap, but Rand sources impeccably from around the world to get fish that’s worth savoring with minimal fussery.

Okonomiyaki ($13): This rib-sticker is more like an omelet than a pancake, filled with mushrooms, bacon or seafood and topped with ribbons of mayonnaise. It’s sweet-salty and should be shared rather than trying to eat it on your own.

Seaweed salad at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Wagyu Short Ribs ($22): A steal of a deal that features Snake River Farms wagyu atop crispy smashed fingerlings and a Korean bbq sauce that’s all about the garlic, soy and sweet brown sugar.

Sushi and Sashimi ($6 to $15 for two pieces): Most of the fish is fairly mild, with fatty tuna, New Zealand king salmon, bright orange ocean trout, halibut and red snapper. Saba, a Japanese mackerel, is one of the few strongly flavored fishes. Sushi meals are $31 for a nine-piece nigiri and maki, $34 for a sashimi dinner and $32 for chirashi (sashimi over rice).

Yuzu granita, lemon curd panna cotta at Sushi Kosho in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Rolls ($12-$17): Not really my jam, but they have a handful that seem less offensive than most mayonnaise covered horrors.

Yuzu granita and Lemon Curd Panna Cotta ($6): Oh, my God. Tart, tart, tart, creamy amazement.

Overall: Approachable Japanese, impeccably sourced with high-end flavors in a casual environment.

Open for dinner daily from 5-9p.m., 6750 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-827-6373, koshosushi.com.

Still Standing: Owners of Fountaingrove Homes That Survived the Firestorm Share Their Stories

October 2018

By Matt Villano

They are the lucky few: those whose homes were spared; the owners of the only structures that remain in the burn areas of Fountaingrove hill.

Yet for these residents, the survivor experience is fraught with guilt, anxiety, and red tape.

There is guilt that their homes survived when many others lost everything. There are anxieties—about safety, about environmental dangers. Then there are the enervating and time consuming processes: the repair and remediation efforts, the red tape pertaining to insurance claims, the permits for home improvement.

“These fires have brought different challenges for everyone,” says Lisa Mattson, whose home was one of the only houses on her street left standing. “What we’ve learned is that we need to stick together.”

Mattson has tried to play an active role in strengthening the community.

She and her husband were vacationing in Europe when the fires of October 2017 ravaged Santa Rosa. They assumed their house was one of the many burned in the fire. Thankfully, they were wrong. Their detached garage and three cars were destroyed, but their home was saved by ten firefighters from three different Sonoma County stations.

Two weeks later, the Mattsons were back in Santa Rosa, standing in their house with masks and gloves, sifting through the things that remained.

A neighbor knocked on the door, introducing herself by saying her house had also survived. Immediately, the neighbor and Mattson found themselves commiserating about their new reality.

“We bonded instantly,” says Mattson, who is communications director at Jordan Winery in Healdsburg. “Our situation sucked, but it was nice having someone going through the same thing who was willing to talk.”

The conversation gave Mattson an idea: Why not create a support group? Over the next week, she collected email addresses and leveraged data from Nextdoor to launch Fountaingrove Homes Still Standing. She organized a get-together. Many residents of the neighborhood whose homes had survived attended.

Together, they shared stories from the fire, aired frustrations about the rebuilding process, exchanged tips about managing contractors, and shared feelings about being spared by the flames. There were tears and hugs. New friendships were made. The experience was cathartic.

“We’d all lived in the same neighborhood for years, but in most cases none of us had met,” says Mattson, who expects to move back into her house in April. “While it was nice to have a place to talk about our experiences [as survivors], it was even nicer to make new friends and build a new sense of community in this time of horrible loss.”

Zarina DeCastro was the neighbor who approached Mattson that morning. For her the grieving process continues.

DeCastro was scheduled to start a new job at the front desk of the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country the morning after the fire. Instead, she and her husband and two sons evacuated to San Francisco around midnight. They were convinced that their house would be destroyed. Later that day, a friend texted a picture confirming that the structure of their house had been spared. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Then began a true roller-coaster of emotions.

Upon returning to their house twelve days after the fire, the DeCastros confronted the immensity of the devastation in the neighborhood. They found themselves both scared by the present and uncertain about their next steps. “How could we move back into a house with nothing around it? Was it safe? Would it feel weird?” These thoughts nagged at Zarina, heightening her anxiety and her sense of discomfort.

But then the DeCastros began attending to the myriad details attendant to the repair of the damaged house: new stucco, new electrical system, new landscaping, new paint, and more.

“I’m not going to lie, I asked myself, ‘Are we better off this way?’” she admitted.

Six months after the fires, Zarina and her husband moved back into their home and began getting reacquainted with the house they knew and loved. They redecorated the best they could. They strung up outdoor lights to make it look pretty. They reminded themselves that, while their block was a veritable ghost town, everything would return in time.

“Somebody had to be the first,” she said of the family’s return. “We bought this house because we loved it and we loved the neighborhood. The house is still here. The neighborhood will come back soon enough.”

Rob and Sallie Morris, Fountaingrove residents whose house also survived the fire, have a similar perspective.

As Rob describes it, the fire came right up to every doorway, but miraculously did not take the house. He and Sallie have spent months trying to understand why other houses burned and theirs survived. They believe their windows helped— the panes of the double-paned windows held and prevented the inside of the house from catching fire.

Rob says additionally that a water pipe also may have melted; the leaking water helping to douse the fire.

The Morrises moved back in April after repairs and renovations. They now wait patiently for the rest of the block to come back to life.

“Normally when you take out the garbage every week, you look down the street and see lots of garbage cans,” says Sallie. “These days I look up the street and our garbage cans are the only ones. That’s not necessarily something you become immune to. Every time that happens, every time we drive in, it’s like, ‘Oh right.’ But this is home. It’ll be home. We know a sense of normalcy will return soon.”

Acclaimed LGBTQ+ Films to Screen at New Santa Rosa Festival

October 2018

By Christi Warren

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy has been fighting for the rights of trans women of color for more than 40 years.

A veteran of the Stonewall riots, a former sex worker, and a formerly incarcerated inmate, Griffin-Gracy has spent her life raising up trans youth and fighting intolerance. Now, Sonoma County residents will get a chance to see that life in documentary form at the Bay Area Arts Fest, a festival of documentaries, feature films, live music, activists and comic artists that takes place October 13-16.

The 2015 documentary “Major!” is set to screen at 7 p.m. Saturday at Santa Rosa’s Arlene Francis Center as part of the opening night of the festival. The film received the Audience Award and Special Jury Mention at Outfest in Los Angeles and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Insideout Toronto.

The screening will be followed by a performance from Oakland-based singer and composer Ah Mer Ah Su, who contributed music for the film and whose EP “Rebecca” was named one of KQED’s “10 Best Bay Area Albums of 2017.”

The opening night is presented by the Arlene Francis Center and United Against Sexual Oppression North Bay, and is a fundraiser for San Francisco’s Saint James Infirmary, a peer-based health and safety clinic for sex workers. Tickets are on a sliding scale from $10-20, and can be purchased here.

Day two of the Bay Area Arts Fest, October 14, will feature Emmy award-winning documentary “Screaming Queens,” which tells the story of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot in San Francisco – one of the first collective acts of militant resistance against the social oppression of queer people in the United States.

The screening will take place at Brew Coffee & Beer in Santa Rosa and will be followed by a talk by Janetta Louise Johnson, Executive Director at TGI Justice Project and co-founder of the Comptons Transgender Cultural District, the first transgender cultural district in the country. Tickets can be purchased here.

The festival will close on October 16 with a screening of Tangerine, an acclaimed comedy-drama directed by Sean Baker. The film follows transgender sex worker Sin-Dee Rella who, upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend has been unfaithful to her while she was in prison, embarks on a mission with her best friend Alexandra to get to the bottom of the rumor. Their “rip-roaring odyssey” leads them through various Los Angeles subcultures.

Tangerine premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received glowing reviews from film critics. Alex Star, author of the webcomic Tittybar Tales, will give a talk before the screening. Tickets to day three of the festival can be found here.

After the Firestorm, Shelter and Solace at Santa Rosa’s Astro Motel

October 2018

By Matt Villano

The new Astro Hotel sign lights up the evening while ongoing renovations transform the former infamous motel into a boutique hotel, in Santa Rosa, California on Thursday, September 28, 2017. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

A year ago this week, after wildfires bore down on Fountaingrove, Mark West, Larkfield/Wikiup, and Coffey Park, a handful of Santa Rosa residents who lost their homes found shelter and solace in an unlikely spot: the Astro Motel.

Technically, the 34-room hotel in Santa Rosa’s SOFA neighborhood was still a few weeks away from welcoming the public; it wasn’t supposed to start checking-in guests until early November.

That didn’t stop the Astro from opening its doors to locals who needed a place to stay. For free.

“People needed rooms and we had them,” says Liza Hinman, executive chef at Spinster Sisters restaurant and general manager of Spinster Hospitality, which owns the Astro. “I know that sounds really simple, but we were glad we could get our act together and open and provide a safe space for members of our community.”

Technically, because the hotel was just entering its final punch list, the kind gesture couldn’t have happened without explicit blessings from the City of Santa Rosa.

As soon as the fires hit, Astro co-owner Eric Anderson reached out to the city and asked how the hotel could help. The city responded by saying it would grant the Astro a temporary occupancy permit to open early and give people a place to stay.

Next, Anderson and Hinman reached out through their personal networks to get the word out: There was room at the inn.

“We didn’t want to exclude anybody, but we really were trying to keep it to fire victims and their immediate families,” Hinman says, noting that they included employees and regulars at the restaurant in the initial stage. “It was amazing how many members of the community we were able to cover with such a small search.”

Within two days, 28 of the 34 rooms were full. (The other six weren’t finished yet.)

The offer to stay for free at the Astro didn’t just include lodging; it included Internet, laundry services, breakfast, and dinner, too. Indefinitely—or at least as long as guests needed to make longer-term arrangements for housing.

These benefits were a huge relief for Brenda Fox, a resident of Coffey Park.

Fox left her house at 2:30 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 9, 2017 and made her way toward Piner Road with no idea where she was headed. While she inched away from the flames, Fox texted with her friend Amy Pinto, co-director of The Imaginists, a theater troupe with a small theater on Sebastopol Avenue in the SOFA district. Pinto told Fox to head to the theater, so she did.

The next morning, after learning that her house had burned, Fox heard that Anderson and Hinman were opening the Astro. When she received an invite to stay, she seized the opportunity. Fox was one of the first to check-in.

When Fox and a family friend arrived at the hotel, they had nothing but a plastic Target bag full of clothes to their names. Between the contents of the bag and the generosity of the hotel staff, this was more than enough to survive that first week.

“Everyone was so gracious—they didn’t bother us and gave us whatever they could,” she says. “Just knowing we had a home base and a place we could call ‘home’ during that incredibly stressful time was huge. To be honest, I’m not sure I could have focused on getting our lives together without their help that first week.”

Sara Joslyn, who fled her family’s home on Mark West Springs Road as a wall of flames advanced from the east, is also grateful for her time at the Astro.

Joslyn and her husband arrived at the hotel with one of their teenage sons, and hotel staff assigned them two rooms that connected via a private door. The three got accommodation with the help of a friend, who was also staying at the hotel.

What Joslyn remembers most about their time at the Astro is the service.

“The [employees] were so eager to help, so determined to make us feel comfortable in these obviously temporary surroundings,” she says. “They also were very self-reflective, and asked us constantly how they were doing, what they could be doing better, and what extra items like soap and shampoo we might need.”

Joslyn says she also remembers the sense of community on display across the street from the Astro at Dierk’s Parkside Café. Every morning, temporary residents from the Astro, neighbors, and first responders would gather in the parking lot to share stories and connect.

After their stay at the Astro, Joslyn and her family relocated to Annadel Apartments; their temporary home while they rebuild. Joslyn says they expect their new house to be finished by this time next year.

The Astro said goodbye to its last evacuee three months after the fires hit—well past the final extensions for FEMA housing. Since then, the hotel has celebrated steady occupancy, rave reviews and media hits. But, for Hinman and hotel manager Lisa Robbins, all of these milestones pale in comparison to knowing they were able to help friends and community members in need.

“We opened our doors and our hearts,” Robbins says. “It was transformative for everyone involved.”

‘We Had to Cancel Christmas:’ One Year Later, Stories from The Fires

October 2018

By Matt Villano

On the anniversary of the firestorm, Sonoma Magazine shines a light on those who fought through our region’s darkest hours. Over the course of the next four weeks, we’ll introduce you to some of our neighbors who sought to make a positive difference.

Out of the ashes, heroes emerged: firefighters, paramedics and police officers; friends and strangers. Chefs cooked and distributed food. Neighbors took us into their homes and shared clothes, housewares and compassion. Caped crusaders entertained children in shelters. Mental health professionals gave counseling. Artists sought to make sense of the catastrophe, console and inspire.

Piece by piece, kindness by kindness, shingle by shingle, we came together to help our community on that long road back to normalcy. This is a part of the story we should remember as vividly as the fires themselves—the sense of hope borne out of acts of compassion.

Jenny Chamberlain, 47, President, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Sonoma County, Director, Sonoma County District 4, Windsor
“I was the one who woke up Supervisor James Gore on the night of the fires. He had strep throat and had gone to bed early. I called him as soon as I started getting Nixle alerts. Once we got the word out, I noticed that none of the alerts were in Spanish. There’s a huge Latino population in Santa Rosa, especially in Coffey Park, and I knew we needed to get the alerts translated into something these people could read. I started contacting people to see who could translate. I got a few takers, but we needed more. That’s when I went to social media and put out a request on Facebook. When I did that I expected maybe 20 people to respond. I got almost 1,000 people saying they would help. There were people from other parts of California. People from other states. Even people from South America! Locally I heard from the Graton Day Labor Center and the North Bay Organizing Project. Other groups, too. Many people offered to help with verbal translation at shelters. People offered to help with written translations, too. As we translated messages and got them out in Spanish, I also started putting together a database of people who could translate. From that point on, whenever we had something we needed to get translated, the process was smooth. Eventually, we worked with 300 translators and got the word out. It meant so much to me that people wanted to help; not just people from the Latino community but people from everywhere. In this time of crisis, people didn’t look at each other as being this or that, they just saw each other as fellow human beings who needed help. It was an honor be a part of that.”

Ariel Kelley, 36, Board Chair, Corazon, Healdsburg
“On the morning of the fire, we woke up at 4 a.m. to friends on our doorstep. They evacuated and came straight to us. The mom didn’t have anything with her and she had a baby. I immediately went into our garage and started pulling stuff she’d need: a Pack-n-Play, 12-month girl clothes, diapers and so on. Later that morning I checked in with someone from our city who had set up an emergency shelter and he mentioned they needed baby stuff, too. At the time Corazon had a program for expecting moms so we had some supplies in storage. I pulled it and brought it to the shelter. The next day people just started calling me with donations, not only for babies but for older kids and grownups, too. We worked with Healdsburg Community Church to set up a place where victims could come and ‘shop’ for what they needed. The program kept growing; soon enough we filled a 104,000-square-foot warehouse space at Foss Creek Partners in town. Within days we had furniture, clothes, games, books, bikes, and dozens of other items. All of it was free. Word got out that this was a place where victims could come, no questions asked, no documentation required. We just wanted to help. Between the week of the fires and the last week of November we helped 2,500 families and had hundreds of volunteers. We set up online registry and people purchased $100,000 worth of brand-new items that got shipped to us. Overall, we moved $500,000 worth of merchandise. We’re actually still helping people; now that people who lost their homes are finding new places, we’re still delivering free furniture to help them out. Healdsburg was one of the communities that was unscathed in the fires and we know we dodged a huge bullet. Instead we had an opportunity to show up for our neighbors. The way I see it, we did what we were supposed to do.”

Derek Webb, 58, Owner, Triple S Ranch, Calistoga
“This is one of the oldest resorts in Northern California; the main building dates back to 1860. There was no way in hell I was going to let this fire come through here without a fight; I’m not the kind of guy who believes in running or letting other people solve my problems. I ended up being one of 10 people who fought the thing off for 10 hours. We were all civilians; fire crews didn’t help. The first thing we did was shut every door and every window—I didn’t want any fire getting inside the buildings and burning them from the inside out. Next we put all of the flammable stuff inside the buildings; I know that seems counterintuitive but we did that to minimize the risk of more fires outside. We parked the cars in the middle of the property. We took a water truck and turned it into a makeshift fire truck. We felled trees to limit fuel for the fire. We drained my hot tub, filled up garbage cans with water, and doused every towel with water so we could throw them on embers. I cut up hoses and told people that in the worst-case scenario, they should jump in the pool and use them as snorkel tubes to breathe. The fire came to every side of the property and we beat it back on all fronts. We fought from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. Looking back I can’t even remember what I was thinking during the night. I know I was scared. I know I was running on adrenaline. I don’t know how I knew what to do that night but I’ve spent a bunch of time in the wilderness in high-risk situations. I wasn’t going to let that fire burn my place down. And I didn’t.”

Norma Quintana, 63, Photographer/Artist, Silverado Country Club, Napa
“My family and I were some of the first people to be victimized by the fires. We left without taking much. We always assumed we were going to come back. When we did go back, our house was gone. It was if an explosion had occurred. I tried to look to see if I recognized anything, but I didn’t. It was just ash. Then someone made us some screens, and we started sifting through what was left. The first thing I found was this image of a clown. Then I found a silver pin I used to wear all the time. I found scissors, a plastic ball, Christmas ornaments, doll parts, and other random stuff. Gradually it wasn’t about finding something major and meaningful, it was about finding little things. The only thing I had to photograph the items I found was my iPhone X. So I took pictures of them. For me, the objects became my home. I started posting the pictures on social media and people gave me feedback. Some people said it was sad. Many more said it was hopeful. I just kept sharing. In the process of putting together the photos, the objects themselves started telling a story. That story is very powerful. Usually I really think through a project and I’m tormented about it. This was an example of me just doing it, not overthinking it at all. I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason our things bring us pleasure is because they’re tied to memories. We are more than our things, yet we are our things. Everyone can relate to that.”

Editor’s note: Quintana’s photos will be on display in a show titled “Forage From Fire” at SF Camerawork in San Francisco from Oct. 4-10. For more information about the show, visit normaiquintana.com.

Jessica Heyfron, 38, Mom, Wife of a Firefighter, Healdsburg
“My husband, Mike, has been working for CalFire since he was 18. This year—2018—is our 16th fire season together. Most years, he usually goes off to fight fires somewhere else in the state. Of course in 2017 he was fighting them right here in our backyard, and the houses that were burning belonged to friends and colleagues. Mike was gone essentially from the morning of Oct. 9 until Christmas. He was in the thick of it. Thank goodness he was OK. When he’s fighting fires, I’m all by myself. Our two daughters (ages 9 and 5) are completely dependent on me for school drop-offs and pickups and meals and bedtimes. My husband counts on me to hold down the house. I embrace that role but sometimes it can be overwhelming to do it without backup. It’s mostly just survival until he gets home. My No. 1 strategy for staying sane is getting together with family and friends. One of my best friends is married to a Santa Rosa firefighter, so she and I are in the same boat. I’m not going to lie, another strategy for staying sane is drinking wine. When my husband isn’t fighting fires we also really value our family vacations. We do a lot of Disneyland trips and trips to Tahoe. We make the most of our time together when he’s off. During the fires last year, I missed him the most at our older daughter’s spring concert. He couldn’t make it home for that. We also had to cancel Christmas because we weren’t sure when he’d be home. None of us minded changing the traditions. We were just happy when he came back. Really the only thing that mattered to us was when we were back together again. We couldn’t wait to have him home.”

Open This Fall: 18 New Sonoma County Restaurants We Can’t Wait to Try

October 2018

By biteclub

Wagyu short ribs at Kosho Restaurant in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Restaurant openings continue throughout the county, with a who new batch of fall announcements including new Japanese, pizza, fish and chips and much more. Check out what we’ve tried and what we’re waiting for this fall.

NOW OPEN

Chicken meatball skewers at Kosho Restaurant in Sebastopol. Heather Irwin/PD

Kosho Japanese: Legendary Sushi Ran chef Jake Rand opens a top-notch sushi bar and yakitori, along with homey okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes), tempura and katsu. 6750 McKinley St., Sebastopol. Open daily 5 p.m.to 9p.m., 707-827-6373, koshosushi.com.

Crooks Coffee: After a year of renovations, this Edgar Allen Poe-themed coffee shop is a haven for aspiring writers and in-need-of-caffeine scribes from the nearby Press Democrat. Family-owned spot features clever coffee drinks (including a creme brulee latte and turmeric “mylk”), along with teas, grab-and-go pastries and lunchtime sandos and salads. A cozy addition that’s quickly becoming a popular hangout. 404c Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa., 707-791-3365.

Urban Pizza Co.: Simple, honest hand-tossed pizza from a family that’s been in the biz for decades, serving up solid classics and a killer piadine. 500 Mission Blvd., Santa Rosa, 707-978-4668, urbanpizzasantarosa.com.

Crooks Coffee in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

Boardwalk Kitchen: Stellar Windsor location with plenty of outdoor seating serving up fish and chips, fish tacos, chowder, chicken waffles and salads. 9238 Old Redwood Hwy., Suite 128, Windsor, theboardwalkkitchen.com.

Paradise Sushi & Hibachi: Popular all-you-can-eat sushi chain has taken over the former Hikuni, serving up solid sushi and continued hibachi service. 4100 Montgomery Dr., Suite C, Santa Rosa, 707-539-9188.

Veggie miso mabo don with organic tofu, tempeh, eggplant and spicy bean sauce with garlic, ginger and greens at Raku Ramen and Rolls in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

Freaking Tacos: Cheap, tasty tacos served up quick. 400 W. Third St., Santa Rosa, 707-890-5003.

Raku Ramen: The owner of Sea Thai Bistro and Sea Noodle Bar has paired up with popular sushi burrito food truck chef Takeshi Uchida to create Raku Ramen and Rolls in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village. More than just a ramen shop, Shoubu Japanese’s Uchida has created a menu inspired by his sustainable vision for Japanese cuisine — and it’s something to write home about. Excellent poke, ramen, simple rolls.2424 Midway Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-623-9668.

Boxcar Fried Chicken and Biscuits. Heather Irwin/PD

Boxcar Fried Chicken & Biscuits: Former Fremont Diner reopens with a simpler, fried-chicken focused menu. Hours currently limited to Monday through Friday from 11a.m. to 3p.m., 2698 Fremont Dr., Sonoma, 707-938-7370, boxcar-friedchicken.com.

Stockhome: Swedish comfort classics like meatballs, Swedish pancakes and plank steak along with Turkish street food (inspired by the popular Stockholm street food) including kebabs and falafel. Don’t miss small plates like pickled herring, grilled Halloumi and celery root gratin. 220 Western Ave., Petaluma, 707-981-8511, stockhomerestaurant.com

Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven. Courtesy photo: Facebook

MOMENTS AWAY
Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven: Nationally-recognized Indian chef Niven Patel is helming a farm-to-table menu at Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven that, even in previews, was inspired. Indian spices that line the pantry of the young chef’s pantry are meticulously sourced from a small village in the Indian state of Gujarat. Cocktail heavy-weights Scott Beattie and Andrea Mota are going all in on Indian-inspired libations. 537 4th St,, Santa Rosa, bollywoodbar.net. Opening Oct. 17.

Farmer’s Wife
Popular farm market sandwich vendor gets a spot in the Barlow. thefarmerswifesonoma.com

COMING SOON
Fern Bar: Much-anticipated collaboration between restaurateur Lowell Sheldon (Lowell’s, Handline) with Lowell’s chef Joseph Zobel, Sam Levy (Bar Manager of the Restaurant at Meadowood) and Gia Baiocchi (Nectary). Anticipated late fall, early winter at the Barlow.

Christian (front) and Ozvaldo (thumbs up) in front of the forthcoming Noble Folk. Courtesy photo.

Noble Folk Santa Rosa: Known for their ridiculously delicious house-made ice creams (strawberry miso, Thai tea, raspberry lychee sorbet) and pies (peach bourbon with streusel, vanilla sweet corn custard with strawberry compote), along with sleek aesthetics and community-minded activism, Healdsburg’s Ozvaldo Jimenez and Christian Sullberg will open an outpost in downtown Santa Rosa in the coming months at 539 Fourth Street.

Hyatt Regency’s Revamped Brasserie: After a major renovation to the hotel, the restaurant also gets a facelift and a new chef — Executive Chef Rene Jakushak formerly of Santa Rosa’s Hilton restaurant, which was lost in the wildfires.

Sweet T’s: Revamp of Fountaingrove barbecue spot is near completion and slated for an October opening.

IN THE WORKS
Willi’s Wine Bar: Look for an early 2019 opening of the Stark’s iconic wine bar. They will also be opening a Jewish deli in downtown Santa Rosa sometime in 2019.

Mint and Liberty: Former Breakaway Cafe in Sonoma will be reborn with a new look, feel and chef.

Jade Room: Ongoing renovations in downtown Santa Rosa in anticipation of an oyster bar and hangout spot.

Russian River Getaway: Where to Sip, Snack and Shop in Guerneville

October 2018

By Karen Kizer

Equal parts quaint and quirky, away from it all and where it’s at, the Russian River town of Guerneville has been a longtime host to summertime fun-seekers. A hot spot with a cool river is a draw for many in the Bay Area, where an abundance of foggy beaches make for shivering summer outings. Guernevilles’s beloved Johnson’s Beach closes from late September to late May, but the wine and redwood rich, LGBT-proud region still draws in the off-season. Guerneville’s Main Street offers a unique shopping experience, from fine art to five-and-dime finds. Check out the shops you might have missed while being distracted by all that festive fun and natural beauty. Click through the above gallery for details.

Deck the Halloween Halls With Vintage Finds From Petaluma Stores

October 2018

By Karen Kizer

Don’t let your Halloween decor have a trend-to-trash lifespan. Forgo the big box pre-fab wares that don’t wear well from year to year, and visit a vintage store for some unique resale finds. The antique look lends itself nicely to Halloween decor with the haunted mansion vibe it evokes. Petaluma’s great antique stores always deliver in the resale realm—click through the above gallery for details.

Best Sonoma Wineries to Visit This Fall

October 2018

By Jean Saylor Doppenberg

Summer’s slow fade into fall brings with it the harvest and many delicious reasons to seek out small, intimate tasting rooms. Some are located on rural country roads, others down quaint and quiet alleys. Many are featuring special food-pairing events and live music through October. Click through the above gallery for details.

Sonoma County Restaurants: 5 Hot Places to Eat and Drink Right Now

October 2018

By Heather Irwin

Miso katsu, pank fried kurobuta pork with owari style sauce at Sake 107 in Petaluma. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)

Dining Editor Heather Irwin hoists a fork each week at the latest restaurant openings throughout Sonoma County — from hidden ice cream shops to Michelin-starred dining rooms — for her longtime online food column, BiteClub. As Wine Country’s farming and tourism seasons reach their zenith, she’s picked out a handful of spots to check out before winter approaches.

Gerard Nebesky, owner of Gerard's Paella y Tapas in Santa Rosa. Photo by Shana Bull. — Gerard Nebesky, owner of Gerard’s Paella y Tapas in Santa Rosa. Photo by Shana Bull.

Gerard’s Paella y Tapas, Santa Rosa: A local master shares his art.

With a mop top of curly white hair and a grin that rarely leaves his face, restaurateur Gerard Nebesky is the kind of guy who invites you to his longtime camp at Burning Man after knowing you for 15 minutes — and really means it.

The owner of Gerard’s Paella Y Tapas, which recently opened in downtown Santa Rosa, routinely dives for abalone and other local seafood for his Spanish rice dishes and learned to make paella on a backcountry ski trip. In 2008, he bested Iron Chef Bobby Flay in a paella smackdown in San Francisco. If you’ve ever been to a big Wine Country event, you’ve probably seen him hovered over hot 4-foot pans of rice and vegetables and shaking hands with pretty much everyone who stops by to say hello.

To say he’s something of a celebrity adventurer is putting it mildly, even before he reveals that he’s tight with former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Rachel Dratch (he catered her birthday party) and, with more glee than ego, that actor Jason Schwartzman will portray him in the upcoming Netflix movie “Wine Country.” The Napa-based “dark comedy” directed by Amy Poehler recently wrapped in Napa Valley and stars Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, and a host of other SNL folks.

“I’m the ‘Annoying Paella Guy,’” he says, holding up a caricature drawing of the cast — with himself in the corner as the Paella Guy. Meanwhile, pans of paella bubble away on his home burners, getting the perfect crispy crunch on the bottom of the pan. Those small paella pans, however, are pipsqueaks compared to the 10-foot pans he’s used at major events like the Maker Faire in New York City. “I can serve 1,200 with one of those,” he said.

Inside the restaurant, the menu is divided into “pintxo” (little bites often eaten with long wooden picks) and tapas (heartier small bites) along with paella, salads, “bocadillos” (baguette sandwiches), and desserts. It’s best to order at least a few smaller dishes to share, our favorites being paella croquettes with Manchego cheese, or goat cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers (both $5) along with sweet-spicy fried potatoes (Papas Bravas, $8).

If you get one thing at Gerard’s, get the El Pescador paella ($14) — assuming you dig shellfish. Filled with clams, mussels, prawns, and squid, the beauty of this dish is the “arroz negro,” or black rice, created with cuttlefish ink. It’s a classic, and the ink gives a slightly briny taste to the rice, complementing the fresh seafood. A few dabs of aioli add richness and a hint of sweet, along with green peas for color and additional sweetness. We kind of can’t get enough of this dish.

El Valedon ($15), also known as the #flayslayer, is the winning Food Network paella and features a mix of seafood and marinated chicken with sweet peppers and garbanzo beans. Think of it as more of a crowd-pleaser with a variety of ingredients rather than a single point of view.

Don’t miss the special cocktails, like the housemade sangria, a lemon and lager shandy and our favorite, white port, tonic, and lime — truly a little bit of sunshine in a glass.

With this brick and mortar restaurant, Nebesky is finding a new audience for his charm and his paella. Having redesigned the former Persona Pizza in downtown Santa Rosa (also previously the longtime Arrigoni’s) into a welcoming spot with a cool sunroom, bright and open dining area, and open kitchen, the madeto- order paella is as much spectacle as meal.

Open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. No reservations. 701 Fourth St., Santa Rosa 707-708-8686 gerardspaella.com.

Click through the gallery above for more hot restaurants in Sonoma.