Jewelry is the ultimate must-have accessory you don’t need. But it’s vital to sparkle in life, and a little gemstone or two might remind your spirits to soar. Sonoma County is rich with designers creating wearable art. See the gallery above to see the work of just a few.
Best Sonoma Restaurants. Well, it was the year the kale salad took center stage. Toast became an entree. Meatless dishes got really interesting. Comfort food got even more comforting. Lentils and uni became my favorite foods. Donuts made a bold return and we learned a thing or two about the authentic flavors of Thailand, Mexico, India and Hungary.
In an otherwise (let’s admit it) crap-tastic year, the dishes of Sonoma County’s restaurants were the constant surprise and delight in a 365-day slog of “did that seriously just happen?”
Here are some of the best, most interesting, beautiful, delightful, surprising and most of all delicious dishes of the year in pictures. And here’s to 2018, where the table’s set and our Sonoma County chefs are eagerly waiting to impress us yet again.
A few restaurants get multiple call outs for their incredible quality, care and passion for food. That, and the beauty of their dishes. I encourage you to click on the links and find out more about them.
Please note that restaurants like Single Thread in Healdsburg and a handful of others aren’t included because I simply didn’t take pictures there — not because they weren’t great. All photos by Heather Irwin.
I’m a sucker for secrets. I’m guessing you are too, because who doesn’t love a wink-wink moment that leaves everyone else wondering what you know? Oh, the smug deliciousness of it all.
Since it’s almost Christmas, however, here’s a little stocking stuffer I’m going to share: Bibi’s Indian Street Food menu.
This “secret” menu isn’t all that secret, they offer it Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, tucked into their regular menus. What’s on the down-low is that it’s the only place we know of that serves dosa—the big-as-your-forearm savory Indian crepes—along with crunchy bhel puri, paani-puri and an Indian rose syrup dessert called falooda kulfi.
This is real-deal Indian street food, things that can be found in the hawker stalls of Mumbai or Delhi. Though many of the names, flavors and textures may be new, it’s a window into possible things to come from the Chandi Hospitality Group, headed up by Punjab-native Sonu Chandi (Stout Brothers, Beer Baron, Bibi’s Burger Bar, Mountain Mike’s), who’ve long toyed with opening an Indian restaurant. After trying the flavorful vegan and vegetarian apps, along with more indulgent meat and cream dishes, we think they’re headed down the right track.
Here’s what to try:
– Bhel Puri ($6.50): Think rice crispies covered with tamarind and mint sauce with chickpea noodles, cilantro and onions. The mix of sweet, spicy, sour flavors and crunch made it our favorite dishes.
– Paani-Puri Shooters ($5.50): This street food is one of the most popular in India, and frankly, I don’t think we appreciated the dish without more of an explanation. Minty, spicy green water in shot glasses suspend hollow puri puffs filled with sprouted mung beans, chana (small garbanzo beans) and potatoes. Worth another try.
– Vegetable Samosa ($5.50): Fried pastry dough filled with curried green peas and potatoes, served with tamarind sauce and mint chutney. So tasty, you’ll want to gobble them up, but the inside is roughly the temperature of molten lava, so don’t pull a Hot Pocket moment.
– Paneer, Chicken Tikka Dosa ($10.50): Savory Indian crepes made with rice and lentils the size of a small bicycle wheel are stuffed and folded with seasoned potatoes and other goodies including fresh Indian cheese (paneer) or tandoori chicken tikka masala. Also a vegan option or cheddar cheese-filled dosa for people who like ruining perfectly good dosa with cheddar cheese.
– Falooda Kulfi ($7.50): Having just finished salivating over Chetna Makan’s “Chai, Chaat & Chutney: A street food journey through India”, finding a version this creamy frozen dessert was absolute serendipity. Kulfi (an eggless ice cream) is mixed with cold noodles, rose water and basil seeds. It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely for me. Warm Galub Jamun ($4.50), is a pretty standard Indian dessert of sweet donuts soaked in a cardamom-infused sugar syrup so sweet just thinking about it will give you a cavity. And I still don’t like it.
630 Third St., Santa Rosa, open daily from 11:30a.m. to 9p.m., bibisburgerbar.com.
You don’t have to be wealthy to eat well in Sonoma County. Sure, there are high-end restaurants with deep wine lists, $15 cocktails and menu items that include exotic and expensive ingredients. But beyond the gustatory glitz is a smorgasbord of good, honest and affordable eateries and dishes across the region. There are myriad options for delicious indulgence, but only if you know where to go. And we do. Click through the gallery above for cheap eats, Santa Rosa style. For more cheap eats in Sonoma County, click here.
Why isn’t there more great Mexican food in Sonoma County? There, I said it. You know we’ve all been thinking it for years.
It’s not for lack of talent, because just about any restaurant you visit — from fine dining to casual — has a cook from Oaxaca or Mexico City or the Yucatan who learned their trade from parents and grandparents who ground their own masa, spent days cooking mole or any of the other seven great sauces of the country, not to mention braised meats and hundreds of heirloom beans that rarely make it across the border. Or at least, out of the home kitchen.
Rich in culinary history and tradition, Mexican cooking has so much to offer beyond burritos and quesadillas. Sadly, however, most of what we eat in local taquerias are sad approximations of street food slathered with rubbery cheese, sad salsas and overcooked meat piled onto tasteless tortillas. It’s like America’s diverse cuisine being represented by Costco hot dogs and French fries.
Thankfully we have a handful of chefs dedicated to changing how we think of Mexican food: Mateo’s Cocina Latina, Agave Restaurant and Tequila Bar, El Molino Central, and now Barrio Fresca Cocina Mexicana, a walk-up cantina that recently opened in Sebastopol’s Barlow Center.
One of the most popular destinations at the Marin Civic Center’s Farmer’s Market, Carlos Rosas’ Barrio market stand has been a sell-out spot since 2013, serving heirloom corn tortillas, black rice, painstakingly-made sauces and a crave-worthy polenta that usually sells out by 9a.m. Now, Rosas’ and his wife, Mayra, have opened a brick and mortar featuring their most popular dishes throughout the week.
Standing at the entrance to the humble spot between Nectary Juice Bar and Village Bakery, Carlos serves as greeter, interpreter and chef at the Sebastopol Barrio. Dishes here deserve a bit of explaining: Achiote sauce, for one, or salsa de Chile Seco; Frida Kahlo microgreens he picked up at the market this morning, or the homemade chorizo mixed with salsa de chile Morita. Take the time for a lesson in history and culture that will make every bite all the more delicious.
Here are some explanations of a few special recipes we tried at Barrio…
Achiote sauce: This chicken marinade uses annatto seeds from the achiote tree to color it bright red. Mixed with cloves, Mexican oregano, cumin, garlic and citrus zest, it can be purchased pre-made and is typically found in dishes like cochinita pibil, tacos el pastor and chorizo. Rosas makes it from scratch.
Salsa de Chile Seco: Basically “dried chile” salsa, here made with chipotle chiles that are compressed and roasted, then cooked slowly with garlic and tomatoes. Most people think its a black mole, says Rosas. With a smokey, bittersweet dark chocolate flavor it’s a like wrapping yourself in an old lovers’ leather motorcycle jacket.
Salsa de Chile Morita: Compressed jalapeños and chiles are aged for 30 days, then roasted with tomatillos and tomatoes. Sassy and spicy, threatening to incinerate our paper plate.
As an alum of some of San Francisco’s top restaurants — Jardiniere, Cavallo Point, Kokkari, Zuni and Slanted Door — Rosas has a passion not just for recipes, but for ingredients. Fresh, non-GMO corn masa is mixed with chiles and salsa to create red, black, and green tortillas that taste like…tortillas. Rosas works with local farmers and ranchers including Stemple Ranch, Spring Hills Jersey, Liberty Farms, Devil’s Gulch and Toscano Family Farm spices.
The operation is a family affair, with Carlos’ mother as director of kitchen operations and his son behind the stove, continuing cherished traditions. “Every day we get better, every day we try harder,” he says.
Best Bets at Sebastopol’s Barrio:
Sunday is a great day to check out Barrio Fresca Cocina Mexicana, because it’s the only day Carlos makes some of his signature brunch offerings: Grits, Choriloco and the El Mananero. The grits (polenta) is worth the trip alone. Portions are large and perfect for sharing.
– Grits ($12): Creamy polenta made with sharp cheddar cheese from Point Reyes, plenty of butter, and cornmeal, topped with scrambled eggs, salsa de Chile Seco and (for an additional $3) the best carnitas we’ve ever tasted. And by best, we mean tender, intensely spiced and with a hint of orange that’s such a treat in this often flavor-free fried pork. (Sunday only)
– Choriloco ($12): I’ve hated chorizo for years, mostly because it’s usually very greasy, very over or under spiced and adds pretty much nothing to a dish. Barrio’s homemade chorizo adds the perfect accent to a breakfast taco with scrambled eggs, melted cheese curds, pumpkin seeds, potatoes and Chile Morita atop a fried red corn tortilla. (Sunday only)
– Trust Me Taco, ($9): A daily special, which we suggest you just trust. Our version was a red corn tortilla with black rice and scrambled eggs, with chile seco and aji chiles.
– Torta El Chavo ($12): This is a sandwich you won’t soon forget. Traditional torpedo bread piled with crispy pork belly, creamy chipotle aioli, pico de gallo and not-too-fatty, not-too-lean pork belly from Devil’s Gulch ranch. Stake your claim on this one early, or you’ll be facing down an empty plate and a friend with a guilty grin on their face. And a few incriminating dribbles of aioli.
– Escabache ($5): Carrots, onions, and cauliflower are pickled and fermented for 30 days, making them a worthy side for any of the tacos or plates. Simple, yes. Worth $5, yes.
The spot: Kid-friendly quesadillas and tacos available for the less-adventurous tots. Outdoor patio seating or to-go.
The takeaway: An authentic, yet unpretentious find in a sea of taqueria sameness.
Barrio Fresca Cocina Mexicana: 6760 McKinley St., Suite 120, Sebastopol, 707-329-6538, barlow.barriobayarea.com. Open Monday through Saturday from 11a.m. to 8p.m., Sunday from 11a.m. to 6p.m.
Get ready for some cuteness overload! Voting in Sonoma Magazine’s Cutest Dog Contest, the public has picked the 10 most adorable pups in Sonoma County and our dog-loving hearts are melting. With so many darling dogs being entered into the contest, it must have been a tough choice for voters, but here they are – in the gallery above – the cutest of them all. Now, we certainly don’t envy the panel of judges from Sonoma Magazine and our beneficiary Pets Lifeline that will have to pick a winner from this gorgeous group of 10… stay tuned for the announcement.
Unfortunately, far-off family and friends can’t always make it “home” for the holidays. Send your love and a bit of Wine Country flair and flavor via these unique finds, all from Sonoma and available for shipping anywhere in the U.S. Click through the above gallery for details.
You can’t buy time or happiness, but you can make purchases that encourage some satisfying togetherness. If you’re spending the holidays with family and friends, here are some purchases to help bring about some serious fun-making.
Quite possibly the most popular “hair of the dog” drink, the Bloody Mary is an American icon. While its origins are debated (various bartenders claim to have invented it in early 20th century New York City), as is its name (Queen Mary or actress Mary Pickford?), there’s no doubt that this spicy libation is a go-to when one needs a “healthy” booze-laden start to the day after long night out. So what’s in a classic Bloody Mary? Vodka, tomato juice, and a combination of other spices, many of which remain secrets to the bartenders who create them. After a lot of hard research, we present to you the best Bloody Marys in Sonoma County. From the town of Sonoma to the coast, click through the gallery above to discover where to find our favorite hangover cure.
