Wine Country is home to a thriving art community. From sculpture gardens ideal for wandering on summer days, to street art, and wineries with meticulously curated exhibits, Wine Country isn’t shy about showing off its artsy side. Click through the gallery above for some new colorful additions, along with the return of an old favorite you’ll want to visit asap.
Recently, two Sonoma County restaurants, El Molino Central and SHED, made the very legit list of Eater’s 38 Essential California Restaurants.
Now, I usually balk at “reporting” on the cringeworthy “Best Of” superlatives being tossed out like chicken feed to every restaurant in the Bay Area. At best, they’re usually just misleading; at worst, they’re thinly veiled advertising clickbait.
But occasionally, a food writer I respect spends some real time putting together a list of really great, destination-worthy restaurants. That’s what’s recently happened with Eater National’s 38 Essential California Restaurants, curated by dining editor, Bill Addison.
After spending several months eating his way through the Golden State, Addison tagged “the most important and defining restaurants right this minute”. In fact, Addison made the additional stance of saying that California has surpassed New York as “setting the pace” for how we eat now. Snap!
Of course, I could name many more amazing pace-setting spots in Sonoma County, but it came down to just two in the Eater list. First up, El Molino Central (11 Central Ave., Sonoma) gets a nod for its corn tortillas, which are hand-milled onsite and authentic tamales and seafood dishes.
“The masa wonderland has that unique quality of feeling simultaneously like a secret, but also like an essential destination — so charming that those in the know can’t bear to keep it to themselves, ” says the write up.
SHED (25 North St., Healdsburg) is “where all your “wouldn’t it be nice to live in Sonoma” fantasies come to life, better than you even imagined, if only for a couple hours,” according to the guide.
We agree wholeheartedly.
Nearby Hog Island Oyster Co. (Marshall), and The Restaurant at Meadowood (St. Helena) also represented the North Bay. Other Bay Area restaurants included Atelier Crenn, Cala, Benu, Cotagna, Swan Oyster Depot, Tartine Manufactory, Zuni Cafe, The Cafe at Chez Panisse (Berkeley), Commis (Oakland), Manresa, Koi Palace in Daly City and Brown Sugar Kitchen (Oakland) among others.
Sacramento’s Localis is noted for its farm to table philosophy, while Los Angeles gets a wild variety of thumbs-ups from simple strip mall Thai to the trendy Sqirl.
Bastille Day, the French national day which commemorates the 1789 storming of the fortress Bastille Saint-Antoine as a turning point in the French revolution, is this Saturday, July 14. In Paris, French folks and tourists alike will line river, rues and boulevards. They’ll picnic to the sound of symphonic music on the Champs de Mars, see firework displays from the Eiffel Tower, and then dance the night away with firemen at the Bals des Pompiers. This year, on the following day, they’ll also watch the World Cup final between Croatia and France.
In Sonoma County, there may not be an Eiffel Tower or a fireman’s ball (or a lot of soccer, for that matter) but that won’t stop Francophiles from celebrating La Fête Nationale. After all, we share a passion for fine food and wines – so the more reason to say a resounding Vive la France! If you’d like to celebrate all things French, click through the above gallery for local Bastille Day events.
Ready for cuteness overload? We present 60+ adorable cats, waiting for you to cast your vote. Vote in Sonoma Magazine’s Cutest Cat Contest here.
Local radio host and author Marcy Carriker Smothers quickly switches to superlatives when speaking about Disneyland. “It’s a magical place where kids young and old get to step away from reality. As a child, going to Disneyland was always my favorite day of the year.” She also swears that food tastes better there, and her new book, Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food, sets out to illustrate why.
“Walt was most definitely not a foodie; however, he cared deeply about the guest experience at Disneyland and wanted to make the food immersive and entertaining, just like the rides,” Smothers explains. Walt’s Imagineers were very involved in the design of all the restaurants’ interiors and exteriors, she adds, and food offerings matched the themes of the rides as closely as possible.
There are even accounts that Walt cared so deeply about Disneyland cuisine that he would sit by himself at the various venues to observe visitors’ reactions to their meals.
Smothers spent two years meticulously researching and writing the book, in which she shares never-before-seen photographs, as well as tips that only a true insider could know — like where to find the best corndogs, or fun facts about Walt’s Club 33.
There are many classic recipes as well, including the Monte Cristo sandwich from the Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans Square. The result is a resplendent thing, part history book, part cookbook, part coffee table book, part time capsule of Walt’s life. It’s a tribute filled with old menus, recipes, family stories, and certainly, more than a little pixie dust.
eatlikewalt.com
Photography by Ron Koeberer
To some it’s a source of artistic inspiration. To others it’s an endangered natural wonder in grave need of protection. But to most who make an annual summer pilgrimage to the Russian River — whether for an afternoon’s respite or a week’s true escape — it’s a place to shed worldly concerns and embrace the season’s mandate: relax.
Nature’s tranquility sets the pace (leisurely) and the mood (dreamy), as vacationers submerge in the river’s depths or float on its surface, relinquishing control and letting the gentle current chart their course for a time.
It was the sight of several such summer revelers that literally stopped Windsor-based photographer Ron Koeberer in his tracks one July day a few years back.
Koeberer and his wife were returning home from a hike in Occidental, and as they drove across the bridge that spans the river into Monte Rio, Koeberer was struck by the vision of “a sea of people” in the water and on the beach. He asked his wife to stop and let him out, and he spent that afternoon capturing the first images in what became a creative project that still brings him to that bridge every warm summer weekend.
From that perfect vantage point, he finds a different vista every time — with a cast of characters that changes as endlessly as the river itself. Click through the above gallery to see for yourself.
If you’re trying to beat the summer heat, and you’re focusing on fixing cooler foods for hot days, here are a few items and ingredients for your kitchen to help keep things cool – Click through the above gallery for details.
Traveling long distances in cramped quarters makes most of us feel sleepy, unkempt and not extremely fashionable. A cute and well-built suitcase or handbag upgrade could enliven your tired look though. Here are a few basics that are both quality and stylish. While they can’t reduce travel time or expand the space in your car or Economy class, they could help you feel a little more chic about lugging your things around the planet —Click through the above gallery for details.
It’s always the perfect season to feel good in your own skin. Summer with all its adventures like time in the sun and water (and all that use of sunscreen) is a good time to focus on cleansing and hydration. Here are some Sonoma-based finds that tend to skin matters from head to toe – click through the above gallery for details.
Hungry for something new? You’ve come to the right place. Click through the above gallery for a collection of restaurants that define Sonoma County’s dining scene right now. These restaurant picks will satisfy locals and visitors alike: some are classics and some are new twists; there are a range of styles, price points, and cuisines. With every new issue of Sonoma Magazine, a few restaurants drop out of the list to make room for new places that have stepped up their game or have increasing relevance. (You can view the previous roundup here).
