çine Murphy of Birmingham, England tours Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville, Tuesday May 1, 2018. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2018
Already nostalgic for BottleRock Napa Valley or the Huichica Music Festival? It turns out the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods — yes, you read that right — have a cure for your Wine Country music festival blues.
In fact, their antidote might be even better.
The nonprofit in charge of caring for some of Sonoma County’s most beloved outdoor treasures — think Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, Austin Creek State Recreation Area and Sonoma Coast State Park — is partnering with the Save the Redwoods League and Bay Area event producer Noise Pop to bring iconic ’90s indie rockers Built to Spill to Sonoma County for the most perfectly indie rock performance your five senses have ever experienced.
The show, set for Sept. 16 (doors at 5 p.m.), will take place at dusk in the historic WPA-built Armstrong Redwoods Forest Theater just north of Guerneville. The outdoor venue features log benches surrounded by a thick canopy of redwood trees, including the Parson Jones tree, which measures in as the tallest in the grove at more than 310 feet, and the Colonel Armstrong Tree, estimated to be more than 1,400 years old.
Tickets range in price from $40-75. Grab yours before they’re gone here.
Have Spotify? Check out music by Built to Spill here.
We love any excuse to escape to the coast — from Marin to Mendocino — and, of course, Sonoma! Whether it is to reward ourselves with a local beer after a long day of hiking or biking, or toast to a special occasion as the sun sets, a cocktail with a coastal view never gets old. Click through the gallery above to discover our favorite coastal bars.
Sure, the North Bay has plenty of lovely patios, but how about an amazing view and great food to boot? Not quite as easy. We’ve culled through our favorites and created a carefully curated list of spots where you can dole out some serious cheddar (that’s seriously worth it) or just bundle up with a plate of tacos by the bay. In Wine Country, you don’t necessarily have to spend a mint for a million dollar view. Click through the gallery for all the details.
Alex Moore jumps into the pool at the San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA campground on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 in Petaluma, California. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
At first thought, camping in wine country sounds like the perfect way to relax and unwind. What’s not to like about playing in the shade of redwoods, and falling asleep under the stars? But before you get to the good stuff, first you need to find your gear, pack the car, pitch your tent, and if you’re traveling with kids, be ready to entertain during all waking moments. Right about when you go to sleep – on the ground – you remember camping is a lot of work.
That is, unless you’re experiencing the great outdoors in Sonoma County, at the San Francisco North/Petaluma KOA.
“If you want to rough it, we’re not for you,” said co-owner Pauline Wood.
Built in 1972, the 60-acre family-owned and operated campground resort is high end, but still Sonoma County country. Bathrooms and showers scattered throughout the resort are lined with granite. The camp store sells s’mores fixings alongside a varied selection of Sonoma County wines and craft beers.
If part of your family bonding experience requires sleeping on the ground, there are 38 tent campsites that deliver. More than 200 sites (many of them beautifully landscaped) are dedicated to travel trailers and RVs. But it’s the 60 accommodations at the Petaluma resort that make for a unique wine country glamping experience. Deluxe Cabins or Lodges come with kitchens or kitchenettes, bathrooms, and sleep up to six people. Studios sleep four, and offer perks including bathrooms, microwaves, toasters and small refrigerators.
Camping cabins are a bit more rustic, but still cozy, with a full bed, a set of bunk beds, and room outside to set up a tent. All accommodations have a television and there’s Wi-Fi throughout the resort, but the variety means there’s something for just about every family’s needs and budget.
Sleeping well means kids (and kids at heart) have plenty of energy to get the most out of long, summer days. Family-friendly amenities are plentiful and complimentary. In addition to outdoor games like cornhole, horse shoes, and bocce ball, there’s a pool, playground, jumping pillow, (it’s like a massive trampoline) rock wall and petting zoo. (The San Francisco North/Petaluma KOA Camping Resort is home to 100 animals ranging from cows and goats to sheep and miniature donkeys.) Hayrides roll through camp in the evening, and everyone is invited to Karaoke on Friday nights, and the poolside dance party on Saturdays.
For campers looking to spend days exploring wine country, concierges can help arrange everything from wine tastings and dinner reservations, to providing directions to nearby Lagunitas Brewing Company.
Depending on accommodations, rates range from $100 to $300 per night. Tent site average costs are $50 to $80. Midweek tends to be quieter with more availability. Friendly dogs are welcome. 20 Rainsville Road, Petaluma, 707-763-1492, koa.com/campgrounds/san-francisco/
If you can pull the kids away from the pool long enough to dry off, here are few other family friendly things to check out in Petaluma.
Mrs. Grossman’s Sticker Factory: Visit the factory floor and see how stickers are made at Mrs. Grossman’s Sticker Factory. Tours run Monday through Thursday at 10:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm and 2:00pm. Each tour is approximately 50 minutes, and includes free stickers. Admission: $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids age 3 to 11, under 3 are free. Reservations are required, no walk-ins. 3810 Cypress Drive, Petaluma, 707-765-8554, mrsgrossmans.com.
Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue: Public guided tours of the Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue are held on Saturdays, May through September, at 12:00pm and 2pm. (October through April, there is a tour at 2pm only.) Tours include a bag of pick your own produce from the organic Wildlife Education Garden. Admission: $25 adults and teens, $10 for kids age 4 to 12, under 4 are free. Reservations are recommended; tours can fill. 403 Mecham Road, Petaluma, 707-992-0274, scwildliferescue.org
Lala’s Creamery: Flavors the likes of Rocky Road, Salted Caramel, Banana Peanut Butter Fudge, and White Chocolate Blackberry Swirl are made using local organic Strauss dairy products. Dairy-free/vegan treats are made with coconut milk. Even the waffle cones and sauces are made from scratch. 134 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, 707-763-5252, lalascreamery.com.
Gyro at Yia Yia – The Grateful Greek in Penngrove. Heather Irwin, PD
“OK, ready?” asks Chef Chris Adams-Albrecht as he smashes down a hunk of saganaki on the flattop grill.
The Greek cheese has lacy, browned edges as it starts oozing into a puddle of yum, ready for its red-carpet moment. I brace myself as a squirt of brandy goes on top and hold my breath in the bantam-weight kitchen of YiaYia’s The Grateful Greek in Penngrove. OK, I’m ready.
Click, click, whoosh! Adams-Albrecht lights the whole thing on fire, resulting in a 2-foot ball of flames and rush of heat that threatens every eyebrow in the room. As this is a Greek restaurant, the requisite Opa! is yelled, and a stream of lemon juice puts the whole cheese inferno out.
Now that’s how you do saganaki.
The former Yanni’s Sausage Grill, which has always been little more than a counter and a compact kitchen, has become one of Sonoma County’s best Greek restaurants. Possibly its only Greek restaurant at this moment, but that’s beside the point. Owners Tom Adams and Dr. Thea Robb have converted the onetime sausage factory into a takeout-only gyro spot with a Sonoma County spin.
Popi’s Flaming Cheese at Yia Yia – The Grateful Greek in Penngrove. Heather Irwin, PD
Chris, who is owner Tom Adams’ nephew, mans the kitchen. A former Yanni’s chef who yearned to open a Greek restaurant of his own, he’s worked (literally) day and night to get the menu on par with his grandma’s recipes. That means everything from soup to the gyro meat has to be made by hand. The family comes from what Tom Adams jokingly refers to as local “Spiritual Royalty,” with his grandfather as the founding priest of Novato’s Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox church. You get the picture pretty quickly that the family doesn’t take Greek food lightly, especially when grandma’s well-worn church cookbook (“Greek Cookery Marin,” compiled by the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Church) has a place of honor in the kitchen and is bookmarked in several places.
“This is a family place,” says Thea, who attended Sonoma State University and returned with husband Tom from southern California recently. “We want you to feel like you’re eating in someone’s kitchen,” she adds. That’s not really difficult, because when you’re ordering, you’re pretty much standing inside the restaurant kitchen.
Tom Adams and Thea Rabb, owners of Yia Yia – The Grateful Greek in Penngrove. Heather Irwin, PD
Each of the menu items is named after a family member — from Brother Bill’s GBLT (Greek bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich, favored by Tom’s Penngrove firefighter brother) to Tom’s Burger (Thea says her husband eats at least six a week and demanded there be one on the menu) to Popi’s Flaming Cheese, named for grandma.
It’s the gyro, however, that really puts the restaurant on the map. Made with a combination of beef and lamb, Chef Chris cooks it sous vide (basically a Cryovac-sealed meatloaf that’s cooked by circulating water). A technique often used by high-end chefs, it creates tender meat that’s given a crisping on the grill before slipping into a pita with its best friend, tzatziki (a cucumber yogurt sauce). This isn’t that rotating loaf of mystery meat imported from the far-off land of Chicago, where most pressed gyro is made. Instead, it’s the real-deal gyro made one loaf at a time in a tiny Penngrove kitchen.
The crew won’t laugh at you too much if you walk in and butcher the name gyro (pronounced yee-row, not ji-row) because really, it’s about sharing a passion for Greek food served up with a side of Opa!
Best Bets
One thing to know is that there are many “secret” menu items at YiaYia’s The Grateful Greek. You can find some of them at their Instagram account @thegratefulgreek. One to definitely try is the “Zeus,” a gyro with French fries on top.
King Christo’s The Grateful Greek Gyro, $9.95: This is what you’re here for. So just shut up and order it already.
Tom’s Burger, $9.95: Hat’s off to Tom, because this is one of the best burgers we’ve found lately. Made with a third-pound of fresh ground beef, there’s nothing fancy, but the luxe bun and piles of farm-fresh produce make it destination-worthy. The secret (we think) is all the gyro goodness that soaks into the flattop and brings this burger to life.
Popi’s Flaming Cheese at Yia Yia – The Grateful Greek in Penngrove. Heather Irwin, PD
Thea Thea’s Greek Salad, $7.75: You know that sad Greek salad with unripe tomatoes, bitter oregano and way too much olive oil you get at the salad bar? This is the opposite. Plump, juicy garden tomatoes, crisp fresh cucumber, red onion, fresh feta and a little bit of lemon juice and olive oil make this one divinely inspired. I even liked the Kalamata olives, and I’m not an olive fan.
Popi’s Flaming Cheese, $8.25: You had me at the buttered Italian bread, but the aforementioned fire show and salty, tart, crispy, melty cheese stuffed between two slices? Is it possible to marry a sandwich? Eat it immediately, because the ooey-gooey goodness is fleeting.
Fries, $3.75 to $4.75: Hand cut wedges fried within an inch of their lives, salted and topped with roasted garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and feta. These aren’t fries, these are a lifestyle choice that we all need to make.
If you go
The restaurant serves the nearby Penngrove Pub, and you can grab a pint and sit outside on the patio or have it delivered inside. Serious drinking food by the people that pretty much invented drinking.
Yanni’s sausage sandwiches are also available on request, you know, just for a little Greek continuity.
Details: 10007 Main St., Penngrove, 707-664-5442. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 11a.m. to 6p.m., website.
The annual Gravenstein Apple Fair takes place this weekend, August 11 and 12, at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol. Celebrating its 45th year, the apple fest hosted by Sonoma County Farm Trails is well-known for old-fashioned fun that includes everything from farm animals, and arts and crafts booths, to apple pie baking and eating contests. But the annual bash is gaining fans for its varied selection of artisan adult beverages. This year, fair-goers can choose from more than 35 Sonoma County wines, 17 ciders and 6 microbrews, all in one oak-shaded park. In other words, it’s hard to go wrong, no matter what you decide to fill your glass with. Click through the gallery for a preview of some of the delicious drinks on tap. Then get your fair tickets!
Admission to the Gravenstein Apple Fair: $15 adults (ages 13 and older), $12 adults who bike to the fair, $12 seniors and veterans, $10 kids (age 6 to 12), free for kids 5 and under. Advance tickets are available at discounted rates at all Copperfield’s Books locations, Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery, and Oliver’s Markets. Entrance to the Artisan Tasting Lounge is $20, in addition to fair admission. Drinks served in the Craft Cider Tent, Microbrew Tent, and Wine Tent cost $6. gravensteinapplefair.com
Getting your daily dose of fruits and veggies is easy in Sonoma County. Whether eating vegan, vegetarian or “mostly plants” is your aim, this is a great place to be for its abundant supply of wonderfully “clean,” ridiculously delicious, and healthful foods. Here are three great places, among many, to get quality fruits and veggies at fair prices.
Community Market: Veggie Wonderland
Community Market’s Santa Rosa location is an all-vegetarian, “natural foods” store that’s got several decades of supplying sustainable foods under its belt. You can find many varieties of vegetarian foods here (mostly organic and different from your typical fare). It’s kind of like finding that part of campus where the popular kids don’t hang out and feeling like, “Ohhh, I’ve finally found my people and where have they been all this time?”
Your buttered popcorn could use an upgrade? Oh My Ghee has a more virtuous grass-fed ghee version with pink Himalayan salt. There are natural, upgraded alternatives to snack foods like hazelnut spread. Chili sauce options are sweetened with agave nectar rather than sugar. And the freezers stock items like Hilary’s allergen free veggie burgers and Tres Latin Foods non-GMO, vegetarian papusas.
Gipson Golden is being dispensed here too, for only $6.99 per pound of raw, unfiltered (comb removed only) honey. Compared to the jarred versions elsewhere, this seems like such a steal you feel you should be handcuffed in the parking lot for buying it.
If that’s not enough savings for you, how about vats of Hummingbird Olive Oil and soy sauce? And Singing Dog vanilla extract? You can bring your own bottle to help save the planet – and your wallet.
With a lovely collection of essential oils, a miniature library of incense sticks, an all-organic produce department, add Santa Rosa’s Community Market as a must-stop. Even the magazine rack won’t have regular finds. You can get those elsewhere. But Community Market is the perfect place to pick the latest issue of, say, Bitch Magazine.
Community Market Natural Foods, 1899 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, 707-546-1806, cmnaturalfoods.com
Green String Farm: The Field Where it Happens
Green String Farm is just a decade old, but when you consider that its lead farmer Bobby Cannard has been supplying food to Berkeley’s famed Chez Panisse restaurant for 30 years, it makes you feel like you’re shopping on the “(field) where it happens” – to borrow a phrase from the musical Hamilton. By “it” we mean the slow food movement which Chez Panisse creator Alice Waters has been credited with spearheading. And by “it” we also mean that the food in the bins for sale was grown a few dozen yards away.
Green String Farm is situated on 60 acres at the end of Old Adobe Road in Petaluma and sells its crops of the moment from 10 to 6 daily. Under an overhang are bins full of a rainbow of offerings, from herbs and potatoes, fruits and vegetables, to flowers and fledgling trees.
Inside the adjoining farm store, you can find grass-fed, free range meats (porks and beef) from Green String’s Meadowbrook Ranch in Tehama County, as well super flavorful raw almonds. Fresh pressed olive oil (at $1 an ounce) and Olive Press vinegar (at 50 cents an ounce) is available for dispensing. There’s dried homegrown corn available, too, which you can scoop into an old fashioned tabletop mill to grind as polenta.
Green String Farm, 3571 Old Adobe Rd, Petaluma, 707-778-7500, greenstringfarm.com
Tierra Vegetable Farm: All Taste and No Waste
Every pretty vegetable or fruit for sale in the white barn at Tierra Vegetable Farm is grown on the adjacent 20 acres of farmland. Any surplus of the yield is processed into foods: pepper jellies, chile sauce, salsas, tzatzikis and more. And anything not sold or processed is fed to the sheep and chicken on the property. That’s what zero waste looks like.
Tierra Vegetables grinds some of their corn harvest into masa, and fashions it into tamales. There are even taco days with housemade corn tortillas, squash filling and house-made salsa. It’s like a farm-to-everything concept that never quits.
Customers follow the farm’s lead in making a little more out of the quality crops. August is the time to make pickles and customers come in looking to buy cucumbers and fresh dill.
Tierra Vegetable Farm’s sustainable focus doesn’t stop at the crops. They aim to preserve heirloom seeds as well as the health of the soil. And in another preservation victory, they saved the Big White Barn, which currently houses the farm store, from dismantling, via a community-funded move to their property on Airport Boulevard.
Tierra Vegetables, 51 Airport Blvd, Santa Rosa, 707-544-6141, tierravegetables.com
The kalua pork bowl at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
The Sonoma County Fair is on, and with it, the delicious fair food we all get super excited about exactly once per year. With good reason, because it would kill you if you ate all that greasy, salty, sugary, luxuriously yummy food more than a few times each year.
This year, however, I found myself less than eager for the challenge of stuffing thousands of calories into my face in 98 degree heat and minimal shade.
Instead,I did something far more entertaining and eminently more kind to my fellow fairgoers—I took a bite or two then handed it over to an unsuspecting person to finish. Really. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to eat my leftovers. I know I was. But it seems such a waste to throw away perfectly good fair food, and man, people are stoked to eat free food.
So after two hours of annoying people, spending a whole lot of money and walking around in circles, here’s my lineup of everything I wanted someone else to eat. And a few things I wanted to eat. Mostly in order of awesomeness. (PS read on, because I got Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane to eat a gold leaf ice cream cone).
The Unicorn Shake at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
The Unicorn Shake, $14
A unicorn among unicorns, this is the shining beacon of happiness at this year’s fair. I have no idea what it tastes like, because really, I don’t care. It’s everything that is right and good and happy in this firestorm of a summer. I think it involves a strawberry shake, a whole bunch of candy, marshmallows and actual fairy dust. Look deep into its rainbow mane, golden horn, whipped creamy goodness and multicolored sprinkles and sigh. You’re at the Sonoma County Fair and for a moment, everything is good in the world.
The Handoff: I wanted to give this to a shrieking little girl who would faint with happiness. I got this guy instead. He later fainted with happiness just after sharing it with his young friend and her mom. Find it at OMG Ice Cream.
The Capn’ Crunch Fried Chicken Sandwich at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Cap’n Crunch Fried Chicken Sandwich, $13
No. Seriously. This is really good. A little sweet, plenty crunchy, totally yum. I ate half, then put the rest in my purse for later. And later, I actually ate it. The Handoff: Nope. All mine. Sharky’s near the Shade Park Stage.
Chicken teriyaki pineapple bowl at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Chicken Mowie in a Pineapple, $14
Anything in a pineapple is good. Teriyaki chicken in a pineapple with rice is even better. I love this addition, and so does my daughter. She refused to be photographed eating it. I also asked a really cute firefighter to take a picture with his pineapple bowl. That is not a double entendre, but he said no, anyway. So, a beautiful picture of the bowl will have to suffice. The Handoff: My kid destroyed it. I got a bite. Then she got mad that I didn’t have a way to save the leftover pineapple bowl. Kids. Find it near the Shade Park.
The kalua pork bowl at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Kalua Pork Bowl, $13
Slow roasted pulled pork atop brown rice and mixed greens with pineapple mango salsa and mango cream sauce. The presentation was a little off, so I decided to class it up with a shot near the hall of flowers. I dug into this one pretty hard, friends, and would return repeatedly for the Ahi Poke Bowl, Rainbow Bowl (with avocado, beets, carrots and a ginger miso dressing). For heartier appetites, the Loco Moco Bowl has a burger patty, beef gravy, rice and fried egg. Find it at Kalikos Hawaiian Kitchen (Mexican Village). The Handoff: Finger-lickin good, even sans fork. But he was pretty bummed I didn’t offer him a fork.
Peter and the corndog at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PDPronto Pup with Jason. 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
The Pronto Pup Corn Dog versus Rocket Dog Corn Dog, Both $10
Peter is my nephew. He loves fair food because his parents are horrible people who feed him very healthy food all of the time. We didn’t tell his parents I fed him this Rocket Dog. Peter was pretty sure it was the best thing he ever ate. Jason is my husband. He refused to go to the fair with us but asked us to bring him back a Pronto Pup. He said it was the best thing he ever ate, especially since his actual dinner was a Hungry Man. I take no responsibility for his food choices. I’m pretty sure the corndogs were exactly the same, but my spiritual beliefs don’t allow for corn dogs so I couldn’t eat one. At least that’s what I tell people because I hate corn dogs. Pronto Pup: Magnolia Ave., Rocket Corn Dog, Shade Park.
The Funnel Cake at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake, $9
It’s a funnel cake. With a gel-like raspberry sauce and whipped cream from a can. I still love everything about it even though it is so very wrong. Crispy, crunchy, sweet and lovely that will burn your tongue if it has half the chance. The Handoff: ME: “You look like you could use a funnel cake. But can I take a bite first?” HER: “Sure?” It was a little weird, but she was totally stoked for the free funnel cake. I knew she wanted a funnel cake. I have ESPN. Linwood Avenue.
The Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Fries at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PDThe Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Fries at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Flaming Hot Cheetos Cheese Fries, $8
I was hoping for something a lot more horrifying than the meek bowl of fries covered with cheese sauce, a few desiccated slices of jalapeno and exactly six Flaming Hot Cheetos. I’m not even sure they were the real deal. Oh, and a bit of Flaming Hot Cheeto Dust. I’m not saying they were exactly bad, but the whole thing just seemed like it could have been more intestinally volcanic. Paired with Ranch dip. The Handoff: Despite not exactly knowing what she was getting into, our taste-tester dug right in with glee. Which turned to a bit of horror. And then glee again. Sharkey’s Fish Fry, Magnolia South. Apparently, there is also a Flamin’ Cheeto fried onion for your pleasure at Sharky’s Corndogs & Onions.
The Hot Mess Cookie at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Hot Mess Cookie, $6
It’s not hot, which would be so great, but it is a beast filled with M&M’s, chocolate chips, and a bunch of other candy crispies. It is a mess, kind of like me trying to balance four plates of fair food on my arm. Easily sharable with a hungry group who have the munchies. Just saying. The Handoff: We encountered a bit of suspicion with this one, but really, who can deny a cookie? “Yum!” Last seen being pounced on by several friends. This photo in no way implies that the lady eating it is a Hot Mess. She seemed pretty nice, actually. At Monster Bakery, Kidland inside the carnival.
Bucket O’ Soda at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Bucket O’ Soda, $14
No fair food tasting can begin without a solid beverage source of at least 64 ounces, with a cup that can later double as a paint can or small animal transport. Refill it with water, or another $7 worth of soda. Bonus: Just wait until 7-11’s free Slurpee day and you have a heck of a cup to fill. The Handoff: No freaking way. All mine. Various locations around the fair.
The Golden Cone at the 2018 Sonoma County Fair Food. Heather Irwin/PD
Gold Leaf Covered Ice Cream Cone, $8
We ripped Golden Girl and Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane and her friends away from the fudge counter to experience something a little more regal. Gold-covered chocolate soft serve was just her speed, though we struggled over whether the Oreo Bubble Waffle (waffles filled with cookies, whipped cream and ice cream) was a better choice. Nope. Gold for Shirlee. Gold leaf, she said doesn’t really taste like much. I thought it looked nice with her hair. Doesn’t she look relaxed? I think its the gold. Find it at OMG Ice Cream near the Shade Park. The Handoff: This one was all Shirlee, who said it was delish. You don’t exactly ask a Supervisor for a lick of their ice cream, cause that would be weird.
Surfing down 4th Street during the 31st annual Sonoma County Pride Festival held Saturday for the first time in downtown Santa Rosa, California at Old Courthouse Square. June 2, 2018 (Photo: Erik Castro/for The Press Democrat)
Forget National Rosé Day. In what is maybe the most chill move in the history of government, this week the California state legislature officially declared September 20 “California Surfing Day.”
According to the resolution, passed Tuesday, the holiday is intended to “celebrate the California surfing lifestyle.”
With some 3.3 million surfers nationwide, the industry — almost exclusively based in California — accounts for more than $6 billion in United States retail sales annually, according to the resolution’s text.
From “Gidget” to the Beach Boys to (love it or hate it) Tom Wolfe’s “The Pump House Gang” to the iconic surf documentary “Endless Summer,” surfing is unquestionably engrained in California’s fabric. The holiday is intended to make sure it stays that way, honoring the “history, culture and future of surfing” and inspiring future surfers to keep the sport alive.
“California Surfing Day” is not the only surfing-related piece of legislation making its way through Sacramento. Another bill, co-authored by two Southern California assemblymen aims to make surfing the official state sport.
Fifteen miles outside of Redding, you start to see the signs. Handwritten posters bright markers thanking first responders and firefighters posted on overpasses: “Firefighters Kick Ash!” “Thank you firefighters!” and “We Love You!” are among the sentiments welcoming incoming workers to the hellish burn zone of Shasta County.
It’s all too reminiscent of October 2017 here in Sonoma County, and after a three-and-a-half hour drive up I-5, visibility has gone from grey haze to a yellow fog that obscures everything farther than a few hundred feet away. Ash covers the car. I’m sobbing uncontrollaby.
After nine months of running a non-profit fire survivor feeding program in Sonoma County, Sonoma Family Meal, I made the decision to head into the fire-ravaged community to help where I could. After talking to a handful of local chefs, including James Vereb of Mosiac Restaurant at the Sheraton Redding Hotel at the Sundial Bridge, I found out I wasn’t alone.
At its height, the Carr Fire raging through Shasta County reached 121,000 acres, with nearly 40,000 people evacuated in a city of just 91,000 residents. More than 700 homes have been lost, and the relatively remote Northern California location is just one of Northern California communities on fire.
From celebrity chef Guy Fieri and Missouri’s Operation Barbecue to Mercy Chefs and Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen, disaster survivors throughout the world are benefitting from the deep knowledge chefs bring to feeding hundreds — and even thousands of people at a time with limited resources, space and funding.
Traditional relief agencies like the Salvation Army and Red Cross, focus on the most immediate of needs. When thousands of people are streaming into a shelter, a cheese sandwich or a bag of potato chips, or a fast-food hamburger is good enough. But long-term, food is one of the greatest comforts to those experiencing trauma.
And while local chefs and the food community are the key to the long-term recovery of fire victims, in the heat of the moment, the World Central Kitchen may be one of the fastest-growing and most effective chef teams in the world.
I met Jason Collins two glasses of red wine into Tuesday night. We both happened to be outside our hotel in the ashy smoke having a stress cigarette. I know, ironic. Don’t judge us.
His World Central Kitchen T-shirt was the entry to a conversation about the program. He had just come from a WCK recovery kitchen in Kona, Hawaii via Guatemala, where volcanoes were exploding, via Ventura County, where he is a chef who helped serve survivors after a fire raged in his own community.
The organization sets up in disaster zones, paying local purveyors, local kitchens and farmers — stimulating the local economy — and turning out thousands of beautifully made meals in record time. Jason explained that WCK’s Chef Andres has access to a lot of funds, and the 8-year-old nonprofit has fed more than 4.5 million since January 2018. And counting.
The next morning, we met at the downtown Redding kitchen for their first full day of service.
Volunteers with World Central Kitchen
At 8:30a.m., the kitchen was already quietly buzzing with a handful of volunteers, and everyone there was a volunteer — from the chef lead (who lives in Guatemala and flew up with his wife to help) to Collins himself, who runs a catering business in Ventura. “My wife is holding things down,” he said.
The day’s meals were neatly written on a Post-It easel pad. Red Cross would be there at 10:30 a.m. Two easy breezy hours to prep a dozen hotel pans of Mexican Rice, 20 gallons of salsa verde, hundreds of pounds of sausage (purchased from a local purveyor) and an avocado salad with pepitas, cherry tomatoes and tortilla strips that would rival one in any upscale bistro.
World Central Kitchen volunteers unloading
“Presentation counts!” was announced repeatedly, reminder and serious request. For the WCK team, nothing goes out without considering how it looks. “We want it to look like it came from a restaurant,” said one chef. “It has to.”
The team powered through and, at 10:35 a.m., hot boxes filled with beautiful, nourishing, healthy, chef-made — and most importantly, safely made — meals went out to the Red Cross.
Moments later, after a quick picture and round of applause, the team went back to work on the next meal going out in two hours, lunch bags for firefighters. With 300 bags to fill, the volunteers for WCK got back to work, because there were thousands of mouths to feed in the hellish burn zone of Shasta County.
