Santa Rosa’s Made Local Marketplace Continues to Grow

By Karen Kizer
Made Local Marketplace (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)

Usually, “downtown storefront” and “small batch artisan” don’t occur in the same sentence. Notoriously high retail rents and the low volume production of handmade goods tend to operate in different economic galaxies. But Made Local Marketplace on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa is striving for a greater overlap between prime real estate and small business.

At Made Local Marketplace, products of local artists and makers (some 450-500 active members) meet the small batch consumer. The densely stocked storefront sells items ranging from art to usable merchandise, but has a mission beyond just generating sales.

Co-owners Kelley Rajala and Pam Dale call their store “an incubator” of creative businesses.

While makers typically rely on seasonal trade shows to exhibit and sell their products, Rajala and Dale aim to get fledgling businesses in front of the public in a retail space “every day of the year,” according to Rajala.

The Santa Rosa store just added their 700th maker to their lineup of sellers and is celebrating with a May 17 Open House.

Driven by the localization movement, Rajala opened the store eight years ago. Rajala, who also co-founded the Go Local movement in Sonoma County, created Made Local Marketplace to support local producers, believing them to be agents of a strong local economy, a strong community and sound environmental practices.

Rajala is herself a SPIN farmer – the beginnings of her small scale farming business stem from her own front lawn in the Burbank Gardens neighborhood of Santa Rosa.

Dale joined the store four years ago as a consigned artist (she’s a Sonoma County Best of Show-winning weaver), but came on as a co-owner after working the sales floor for a few months when she was a new retiree from PG&E.

Made Local Marketplace has given Petaluma artist Alice Frost increased exposure and sales of her intricate nature designs: silhouettes of trees or animals made from hundreds of smaller silhouettes of native California birds. Frost’s detailed work, both studies and puzzles that feature no species twice, was inspired by her curiosity at seeing Bullock’s Oriel on a walk in midtown Petaluma.

Frost says Made Local Marketplace is “inclusive” and “supports so many residents.” Frost was allowed to feature her entire line in the store, and says the quick turnover of her products there taught her to increase production rate and volume. Frost is attending her first trade show in Richmond in June to find a wider wholesale market for her popular prints.

Tea and Trumpets creator, Mark Bowden, says Made Local Sonoma Marketplace was his Santa Rosa-based organic tea company’s first account, and he’s “still amazed at how much tea they sell, especially around the holidays.”

“Made Local Marketplace has been so supportive,” Bowden says. Mendocino country Store and Real Goods in Hopland now carry Tea and Trumpets blends thanks to the connection that Made Local Marketplace helped foster.

Artists can have their work considered for inclusion in Made Local  Marketplace via an application and meeting process. All accepted makers pay a yearly fee “so they have some skin in the game,” according to Dale. Makers who volunteer to work the sales floor earn a higher percentage of sales from their consigned items.

Dale considers the store, “a huge value” and “a central location for folks that are like-minded.” Dale says it’s place for artists to explore their businesses, receive mentoring and also gain inspiration from “some of the positive juju” of the Made Local Marketplace community.

Made Local Marketplace Open House, Thursday, May 17th, 4 p.m to 7pm., 529 4th St, Santa Rosa, 707-583-7667, madelocalmarketplace.com

The War on Straws Comes to Sonoma

By Sarah Stierch

First it was the plastic bag, now it’s the plastic straw.

A favorite way to sip everything from soda to shakes, plastic straws have recently gained a bad reputation for their negative impact on the environment. So much so, that Oakland is considering a proposal to ban food vendors from serving plastic straws unless requested, while Berkeley is considering a full out ban on plastic straws. And now, the war on straws has come to Sonoma.

ZeroWaste Sonoma County is leading the local fight against plastic straws, promoting “Sip It Sonoma,” a grassroots effort to empower citizens and businesses to say no to straws. In the city of Sonoma, the Community Services and Environmental Commission has been exploring ways to ban all single-use plastic at community events and the Sonoma City Council plans to revise their Special Events Policy regarding single use plastics, including plastic straws.

So what are the environmental impacts driving these bans? Americans use 500 million plastic straws every day. Most plastic straws are used for only a few minutes before they are disposed of, but it can take hundreds of years for these straws to “biodegrade,” or disintegrate. Because plastic straws are hard to recycle, they are rarely accepted by recycling companies. Instead, they end up in the ocean, where they release harmful toxins that threaten the ecosystem, including wildlife. Straws have also been ingested by seabirds, and caused harm to animals in the ocean (for many, this video of a sea turtle with a straw in its nose was – no pun intended – the last straw).

From small mom and pop shops to big hospitality groups, a handful of local establishments are now joining Sonoma County straw wars. These businesses are leading the way by using compostable straws, including paper, or eliminating the use of straws altogether, with the goal to reduce their ecological footprint while educating customers. Below are a few of these businesses.

Perch + Plow, Santa Rosa
One of the newest restaurants in Sonoma County, Perch + Plow has gained a reputation for their pretty craft cocktails, featuring fresh, locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. To complement those cocktails, they use paper straws, many of which are as colorful as the cocktails. 707-541-6896, 90 Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, perchandplow.com.

Flying Goat Coffee, Healdsburg & Santa Rosa
Flying Goat Coffee serves sustainably grown, in-house roasted coffee in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa. Their to-go iced latte, chai and tea are served with paper straws at all Flying Goat Coffee locations. Multiple locations, flyinggoatcoffee.com.

Jackson’s Bar and Oven, Santa Rosa
With a bar constantly filled up with locals craving hot wood-fired pizzas and craft cocktails focused around locally crafted spirits, Jackson’s has shifted from plastic stirs and straws to strictly paper upon request. 707-545-6900, 135 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, jacksonsbarandoven.com.

Monti’s, Santa Rosa
One of the many restaurants in the Stark Reality Restaurants group, Monti’s serves up Mediterranean cuisine ranging from small plates to big plates, many of which are prepared in their large, wood-fired oven. Head to the patio on Sunday for chicken and waffles, but don’t expect a straw Aperol Spritz or mimosa, they only offer paper straws upon request. 707-568-4404, Montgomery Village Shopping Center, 714 Village Ct., Santa Rosa, starkrestaurants.com.

Stark’s Steak & Seafood, Santa Rosa
Big juicy steaks, fresh seafood and old school cocktails rule the roost at Stark’s, the art deco steakhouse in downtown Santa Rosa. It never fails – whether it’s happy hour or not – locals are there sucking down Moscow Mules and other vintage inspired cocktails – but not with straws. Paper straws are only available upon request. 707-546-5100, Railroad Square, 521 Adams St., Santa Rosa, 95401, starkrestaurants.com.

HopMonk, multiple locations
Pairing pub grub with local and international beers, HopMonk also has a cocktail program that many love and serves up plenty of waters, sodas and iced teas that are ready to be slurped down with a plastic straw. As of recently, the gastropubs, with locations in Sonoma, Sebastopol and Novato, have removed plastic straws from the menu and moved to compostable straws by request. Multiple locations, hopmonk.com.

Jimtown Store, Healdsburg
Whether you stop by Jimtown Store to browse proprietor Carrie Brown’s selection of homewares or to taste farm-to-table country food (which, in California, means non-GMO banh mi sandwiches and vegetarian chili), a visit to Jimtown isn’t complete without a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade – served with a paper straw, of course. 707-433-1252, 6706 Highway 128, Healdsburg, jimtown.com. 

Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, Healdsburg
Repurposing is a central theme at Duke’s – whether it’s a reclaimed wood bar, wallpaper made from old newspapers, or cocktail ingredients sourced from staff members’ gardens. The bar has switched from compostable straws to their current practice – no straws or metal straws, which are reserved for regulars or for bartenders to taste drinks. 707-431-1060, 111 Plaza St., Healdsburg, drinkatdukes.com.

Sweet Scoops Homemade Ice Cream, Sonoma
Sweet Scoops declared they were “going green” in March and introduced compostable straws, cups, napkins and reusable taster spoons. “We sure do love our Earth and are doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint,” says co-owner Ramie Hencmann. Whether you’ve got ice cream or milkshake on your mind – you can now indulge in tasty treats with less guilt. 408 1st St. E., Sonoma, sweetscoopsicecream.com. 

Amy’s Drive Thru, Rohnert Park
This “runs on love,” fast food restaurant serves up vegetable-based burgers and vegan friendly mac ‘n’ cheese, paired with eco-friendly business practices. Those practices include earth-friendly fast food packaging and paper straws for sipping vegan milkshakes and cane sugar colas. 707-755-3629, 58 Golf Course Dr. W., Rohnert Park, amysdrivethru.com. 

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, Sonoma
The Fairmont keeps their guests happy and relaxed with luxury amenities, a four star restaurant and a spa known for its natural hot springs. However, there is one thing you won’t get at the Fairmont: plastic straws. “We are continually expanding our scope and taking a more holistic approach to operational responsibility with particular focus on economic, environmental and social priorities,” shares the Fairmont’s Michelle Heston, who says that the Sonoma hotel – along with Fairmont properties nationwide – are transitioning to paper straws. 707-938-9000, 100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, fairmont.com. 

Starling Bar, Sonoma
The Starling creates adult beverages with a backyard-to-bar ethos and innovative techniques – locals and staff bring in seasonally grown produce to create craft cocktails meant to question the norm, including how cocktails are served. “You may have noticed two things at the Starling,” says co-owner Elizabeth Takeuchi-Krist, “your drink doesn’t come with a straw and, if you request one, you’ll be given a compostable one” 707-938-7442, 19380 CA-12, Sonoma, starlingsonoma.com. 

Slice Shack by Mary’s, Sonoma
Many people have these two things in common: they love pizza and want to be more eco-friendly. If you identify as one of these people, then the Slice Shack is your own slice of heaven. Created by the family behind Mary’s Pizza Shack, the Slice Shack serves jumbo slices on biodegradable trays and fountain sodas in biodegradable cups with paper straws. 707-938-9290, 14 W. Spain St., Sonoma, maryssliceshack.com. 

Sunflower Caffé, Sonoma
“Keeping it simple, keeping it real, keeping it sunny, keeping it sustainable,” is the motto at Sunflower Caffé. This Sonoma spot prides itself on its efforts to create a more sustainable community – whether it’s by using locally sourced ingredients or eco-friendly products, including compostable straws made from cornstarch, served with their iced lattes and Bloody Marys. “We highly value the importance of reducing our environmental footprint,” says the cafe’s Julianna Ferrara, “small changes make a huge difference.” 707-996-6645, 421 1st St. W., Sonoma, sonomasunflower.com.

Cafe La Haye, Sonoma
Sonoma continues to build its reputation as an anti-plastic straw community at Cafe La Haye. The intimate restaurant, a popular spot for foodies, has been offering only paper straws since 2008 – the oldest restaurant in Sonoma to do so. So opt for your water or iced tea without a straw, or be prepared for a paper straw, or just stick to the wine list. Reservations recommended, 707-935-5994, 140 E. Napa St., Sonoma, cafelahaye.com. 

The Red Grape, Sonoma
Sonoma restaurant The Red Grape has also gone eco-friendly. The New Haven-style pizza restaurant is popular with families, and the pizza and soda combination is in high demand. But no more plastic straws for your soda here, instead guests get paper straws with their beverages serves up locally made pastas, big salads, and burgers. 707-996-4103, 529 1st St. W., Sonoma, theredgrape.com.

Do you know of an establishment that is using eco-friendly straws or no longer offer straws? Let us known in an email.

8 Great Sonoma Wineries for Mother’s Day Wine Tasting

By Sarah Stierch

Forget the flowers, the card and the carefully crafted post on social media – this Mother’s Day, treat Mom to something that she could really use: some downtime with a nice glass of wine. We’ve rounded up some of the best Sonoma County wineries for Mother’s Day visits. Click through the above gallery for details.

Santa Rosa Event Offers Behind the Scenes Look at “Angels in America”

By Sofia Englund

“Angels in America,” Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic, began with a dream and a poem. It was late 1985, Kushner had recently graduated from NYU’s directing program and the first person that he knew personally had just died of AIDS.

“I had this dream,” Kushner said in a Slate cover story titled “The Oral History of Angels in America.” “Bill is dying…and the ceiling collapsed and this angel comes into the room. And then I wrote a poem. I’m not a poet, but I wrote this thing. It was many pages long. After I finished it, I put it away. No one will ever see it. Its title was “Angels in America.”

Six years later, Kushner’s poem had become a play. It premiered at the Eureka Theater in San Francisco’s Mission District and when it hit Broadway in 1993, The New York Times called it “the most thrilling American play in years.”

Set against the AIDS crisis and Reagan era politics, “Angels in America” surveys a fragmented United States in a time defined by fear. In Kushner’s version, America is a puzzle where the pieces don’t fit together; a mythological melting pot where spirits of the past and of the yet to come hover over people who haven’t quite found a way to melt.

The play, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” is fiercely political — it portrays the pervasive nature of oppression, prejudice and power struggle — but it also prompts the audience to ask bigger questions: What shapes my identity? Are we the product of immutable circumstance? Or can we shed skin and change?

While “Angels in America” is specifically about the experience of gay men in the mid 1980s, Kushner extends the use of his leitmotif to examine the intersecting topics of sexuality, race, religion, democracy and freedom (among others). Through a series of intimate two-person scenes, he exposes conflicting beliefs and viewpoints and, while he’s at it, reveals both the serious and the humorous implications of those conflicts.

At the center of this spinning wheel of ideology is Roy Cohn, a modern Mephistopheles (or a Scrooge that never turns good) based on the real-life McCarthy aide and defense lawyer by the same name (Roy Cohn was also a lawyer and mentor to Donald Trump).

At once timely and timeless, “Angels in America” has become a cultural blockbuster, adapted on stages around the world and made into an award-winning film. Last year, the play was revived at the National Theater in London. This spring, it returned to Broadway with a cast led by Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane. (Bay Area theatergoers can see “Angels in America” at the Berkeley Rep through July 22.)

As it turns out, the story behind “Angels in America” is as captivating as the play itself. On the 25th anniversary of its premiere, Slate published “The Oral History of Angels in America” in which Mr. Kushner, directors, producers and actors, tell the story of the play’s “turbulent ascension into the pantheon of great American storytelling.” This collection of stories has now been expanded into a book by authors Isaac Butler and Dan Kois (who both authored the Slate article).

On May 8, at 5:30 p.m., Isaac Butler and members of The Imaginists Theatre Collective will read from “The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America” at the Astro Motel in Santa Rosa. The event is free and open to the public. (Tickets are required – get them here.)

Mr. Butler is a writer and theater director, most recently of “The Trump Card,” “a meditation on the peculiar rise of Donald Trump.” Below, Butler talks about the story behind his book, his first experience of “Angels in America,” the revival of the play in a time of Trump, and more.

What inspired you to write a book about “Angels in America?”

“When Dan and I started working on the Slate article, it quickly became clear that the history of “Angels in America” was too big for an article. The story was complicated, dramatic, thematically rich and often very funny — much like the play itself — and the people we interviewed, particularly Tony Kushner, were great storytellers [Butler and Kois interviewed some 250 people for the book].

When it came to assembling these stories, the feel we wanted to create was that of an infinite, rollicking cocktail party where everyone has had a couple of drinks and are more honest than they normally would be.”

When did you first see “Angels in America,” and what was your experience?

“It was the early ‘90s, I was a teenager acting in local productions and my parents bought me tickets to “Angels” on Broadway. It was this utterly life changing experience. It felt like the play contained everything that was going on in the world around me — all at once. I remember leaving the theater and feeling like everything had changed: I was walking through Times Square and the neon lights looked different, the air felt different on my skin. I had become a new person and I understood for the first time how my artistic and political inclinations could live together.

When Dan and I started working on this project, it turned out that almost everyone we interviewed — whether they were in the play, taught the play, directed the play, saw the play, read the play — shared a similar experience. This isn’t a play that a lot of people have a casual experience of; people feel transformed by it.”

Do you see any similarities between the America described in the play, and America today?

“In our book, Tony Kushner says: ‘the play doesn’t describe a time of great triumph, it describes a time of great terror, underneath the surface of which seeds of change are beginning to push upward and brew. Apparently nothing good is happening, but good things are happening.’

While the plot mechanics of the AIDS crisis and gay rights don’t have the same immediacy today as they did during the time “Angels” was written — although people are of course still dying from AIDS and there’s still a lot of progress to be made when it comes to gay and lesbian, and especially transgender, rights — the themes of the play have even more immediacy today than they did when it premiered in the early ‘90s.

The themes of ‘are we going to change or are we going to stay the same,’ ‘what kind of America do we want to live in,’ ‘what is a citizen,’ ‘who gets access to the rights of citizenship’ — those questions are very much front and center today. And then, of course, Roy Cohn’s protege is now our president.”

Are there any particular lessons in “Angels in America” worth considering today?

“There are two core things in “Angels” that are important to keep in mind: First, that change is fundamentally a part of the human condition. It is part of being alive, and change cannot be stopped. The idea that you can turn back the time on progress is abhorrent, and it comes at a great cost. Second, the play has encoded in it this strong, implicit argument for the necessity of hope; the belief that hope can be a political force for good even in the darkest time. But it’s not a myopic hope, it’s not a hope born out of denial, it is a furious, hard-won kind of hope.

The play is charging you, very overtly, with its last line: “The Great Work Begins” — that great work is you. It is now your task to drive change and move forward with hope.”

What: Isaac Butler Reads from “The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America”
When: Tuesday, May 8, at 5:30 p.m.
Where: The Astro Lounge at The Astro Motel, 323 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa 95404
Cost: Free (tickets are required as the event is expected to reach capacity). All guests will receive a $10 voucher toward dinner at The Spinster Sisters that evening.
Tickets: eventbrite.com

Slurp All You Want at Ippinn Udon in Santa Rosa

By biteclub
Tofu udon with birds nest veggies, pumpkin, prawn tempura at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Tofu udon with birds nest veggies, pumpkin, prawn tempura at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

Move over ramen, it’s udon’s turn in the spotlight.

The thicker, sassier noodle cousin to ramen, udon are chewy, slippery strands of cooked wheat and water that beg to be sauced, souped and slurped. Served hot in winter and cold in the summer, they’ve been a Japanese staple for nearly a thousand years — far longer than the two-hundred or so years since the introduction of ramen from China. Though, to be clear, nobody puts ramen in a corner.

It’s just that this simple homey dish is so, well, simple. While ramen lovers argue over the types of broth particular to the many variations of ramen noodles, how to make the ramen, and the specifics of each prefecture’s style, udon is classically served with dashi broth (a briny broth made with seaweed and shrimp flakes), some scallions and a soy dipping sauce — and that’s it.

Not that we’re exactly udon experts, but a brief lesson from newly-opened Ippinn Udon & Tempura owner Frank Wu helped to dispel some of the mystery of this very Japanese experience. The Mendocino Avenue shop he recently opened with collaborators Teng Yushu and Mason Lin is a sort of upscale cafeteria experience where you order a type of udon — from simple kama udon to cross-over dishes like spicy beef or curry udon noodles — then slide the tray past a variety of tempura, grabbing (with tongs of course) whatever tickles your fancy.

“ People are already familiar with ramen. We wanted to introduce udon to this region,” said Wu who, along with his business partners, hails from China rather than Japan. A businessman through and through, Wu saw the popularity of udon bars in San Francisco and wanted to bring the first to the North Bay. He is already planning a similar fast-casual concept for sushi in the nearby Big Lots shopping center.

Interior at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Interior at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

Like all the staff, Wu wears dentist-like face shields to keep things nice and sanitary. It’s like a personal sneeze guard, and more than a little funny when you try to figure out how the contraption stays on.

Ippin Udon & Tempura has been in development for nearly two years, and business partner Teng Yushu spent a month enrolled in “noodle school” in Kagawa, Japan learning the art of udon noodle making.

Part of the instruction is how to keep their $50,000 Yamato udon machine in good repair, since there’s no way to get a quick service call from across the ocean.

Interior at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Interior at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

The nondescript appliance sits by the window, quietly chopping noodles for hours.

It’s a fascinating process to observe, as Yushu fires up the noodle maker that does everything from mixing the flour and saltwater mixture to kneading, rolling and cutting the noodles.

In less than 5 minutes, three balls of rested dough (they rest about 18 hours after kneading) have gone through rollers with increasing pressure to get just the right thickness. The dough is carefully folded, then fed through a chopper, where ribbons of udon noodles fall onto a tray.
They’re almost immediately tossed into a vat of boiling water, where Yushu stirs the noodles constantly with a large wooden roller. Watching the noodles twist and turn in the boiling pot is hypnotic.

Udon and Tempura at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Udon and Tempura at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

After about six minutes, he scoops the noodles into a cloth net, shocks them with cold water, swirling the noodles to release starch.

They’re shocked in ice, and twisted into small ropes to later be portioned into bowls.

Wu is carefully monitoring what udon dishes work, like the spicy beef, and which are less approachable. Like California rolls, which are a uniquely American invention, giving traditional recipes a little wiggle room tends to bring more folks to the table.

As the weather warms, they will be serving cold udon noodle dishes as well.

Overall: It’s best to approach Ippinn with a sense of curiosity and enthusiasm because there are things on the menu even seasoned foodies won’t immediately recognize. A welcoming and explanatory staff make the adventure fun, and student-friendly prices make it a quick grub stop that almost anyone can appreciate. Slurping welcome!

Best Bets
Curry Udon, $6.99: A creamy coconut milk broth with bits of beef, noodles and (optional) cilantro. It’s an easy introduction to udon that marries Indian and Japanese cuisine. A favorite.

Kama-Age, $4.99: Served in wooden noodle bowls (kama), this is the most classic udon dish. Noodles, clear broth, grated daikon and a soy-based dipping sauce. Light, bright flavors and super simple.

Tofu udon with birds nest veggies, pumpkin, prawn tempura at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Tofu udon at Ippinn Udon and Tempura in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

Tofu Udon $5.49: Sweet fried tofu skin, fish cakes, egg and a dashi base. A great lunch bowl.
Tonkatsu Udon, $7.99: Pork belly chashu with pork broth. The most popular udon, it’s super rich and hearty.

Tempura: Udon’s best friend, tempura are frequently dipped into the broth. Selections change daily, but expect things like panko-breaded and fried pumpkin, fish cakes, prawns, potato croquettes, and vegetable nests. They range from .60 to $1.70 for each piece. Pumpkin is our favorite.

Ippinn Udon and Tempura, 1880 Mendocino Ave #D, (near Mombo’s Pizza) Santa Rosa, 707-521-9911, ippinnllc.com

From Fiestas to Tequila Trains: 9 Ways to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Sonoma and Napa

By Sarah Stierch
Danielle Alvarez, center, toasts to friends and family during a special dinner menu at Mateo’s Cocina Latina in Healdsburg, Calif. Saturday, June 25, 2016. Mateo’s Cocina Latina is beginning to offer sustainable feasts that include every part of the animals butchered for the dinner, including suckling pig brain mousse and pigs tails. (Jeremy Portje / For The Press Democrat)

The first commemoration of Cinco de Mayo took place in California in 1863, one year after a stunning Mexican victory over a much larger invading French army at the Battle of Puebla. 155 years later, Cinco de Mayo continues to be a cause for celebration — and Wine Country serves up a variety of opportunities to enjoy the day with food, fun and, of course, margaritas, cerveza and vino. Check out the gallery above for nine seriously cinco events in Sonoma and Napa, 2018.

Middle East Feast at Petaluma’s Pearl

By biteclub
Smoked trout and house ricotta jar with semolina flatbread at Pearl in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
Smoked trout and house ricotta jar with semolina flatbread at Pearl in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD

Hold onto your za’atar, Sonoma County is finally getting some Israeli and North African cuisine worthy of Wine Country.

Chez Panisse alum Brian Leitner has opened a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with partner Annette Yang at the former Luma space in Petaluma. But where “Mediterranean” often means Italian or Greek, menu-wise, the newly opened Pearl takes inspiration from the exotic, warm-weather cuisines of Spain, Morocco, Southern France and the Middle East.

Open for breakfast and lunch only, the menu includes “Israeli breakfast” of green hummus, labneh (it’s somewhere between yogurt and cream cheese) and fresh pita with olive oil and za’atar (a spice blend of cumin, sumac, thyme, coriander and sesame seeds); smoked trout with house ricotta and semolina flatbread, cassoulet of duck confit and beans; chicken tagine, with yogurt and couscous; lamb tongue fattoush (a salad with toasted pita) and shakshuka, a vivid tomato stew with chickpeas, fresh fava, baked eggs and grilled sheeps milk cheese I can’t get enough of.

We’ll have plenty more to say about this spot in the coming weeks, but one of the biggest surprises was the no tipping policy. Menu prices include all service, rather than having the restaurant automatically tack on a “service charge” or depend on customers to tip staff. Love that.

Prices range from $8 to $20 with both small and larger plates. 500 First St., Petaluma, 707-559-5187, pearlpetaluma.com.

Santa Rosa’s Sprenger’s Taproom Closing

By biteclub
Fans watch and cheer at Sprenger’s Tap Room in downtown Santa Rosa as the Golden State Warriors win their first NBA title in 40 years, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. (CRISTA JEREMIASON / The Press Democrat)

Popular Santa Rosa downtown taproom Sprenger’s is closing in June, according to owner Kevin Sprenger. When the Brickyard spot opened in 2012 with 40 taps, Sprenger claimed to have more beers on tap than any other bar north of San Francisco. With the ballooning of downtown taprooms and breweries (there are now six just in downtown and more than 35 in Santa Rosa), along with ongoing problems with vandalism and downtown parking costs, Sprenger says he’s throwing in the towel.

“It’s been a slow fall for the last 2.5 years,” said Sprenger. “Businesses in downtown Santa Rosa are being impacted,” he added, saying that customers aren’t willing to pay for metered parking. Sprenger also said he was frustrated by security footage of what he believes to be transients in the downtown area vandalizing his taproom. The culprits have broken outdoor television sets and windows at the taproom and frequently urinate and defecate on his patio.

“My family has lived in Santa Rosa for nearly 50 years. I’ve lost everything,” he said.

9 Sonoma Wineries You Didn’t Know Made Sparkling Wine

By Sarah Stierch

Sparkling wine houses like Gloria Ferrer, Korbel and Domaine Carneros may rule the roost when it comes to Wine Country bubbles, but there are plenty of awesome sparklers to sip at “regular” wineries too. Sparkling wines made by still wine houses are often small production and may involve unique varietals or vineyard specific creations that one wouldn’t find in the sparkling producers’ repertoires. Pop a bottle of bubbly from one of these nine Sonoma County wineries to taste something new – details in the gallery above.

French Flea Market Brings Paris to Sonoma

By Sarah Stierch

Oui! Annual favorite fête the “French Flea Market” returns to Cornerstone Sonoma on May 26 and 27. This year’s market will feature over 30 antique and vintage dealers showcasing handpicked wares sure to fascinate even the fussiest of Francophiles. 

Hosted by Cornerstone’s French-inspired boutique Chateau Sonoma, the weekend aims to transport visitors to a classic Parisian flea market, such as Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. Rummaging flea markets is a tradition for the French who, with Gallic intensity, explore markets in cities and villages to find an overlooked Louis Vuitton suitcase, an undiscovered impressionist painting, delicate table linens, wooden wine openers, or perhaps a gently used little black dress (made by Chanel, preferably!).  

At Cornerstone, French-born musician Michel Saga provides an antique barrel organ soundtrack for a weekend of perusing the creme de la creme of bric-a-brac, exotic curios and antiques on display.

The French Flea Market has been named thee “Best French Flea in America” by French Country Style magazine; its vendors come from throughout the Northwestern United States to barter and bargain their wares, which include trinkets and treasures as varied as clay pots to handcrafted furniture. Prices are reasonable: items are sold at wholesale prices with the hope that everyone leaves avec un petit souvenir.

Realizing that treasure hunting can be energy intensive, the market serves sausages and rosé to quaff with your beret at a rakish tilt. 

The French Flea Market takes place May 26 & 27, 10am-5pm. The market is free. 23588 Arnold Dr., Sonoma. chateausonoma.com