Chef Douglas Keane at Two Birds One Stone in St. Helena, on Sunday, November 6, 2016. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
(Above: Dishes from Cyrus, Two Birds/One Stone)
Top Chef Masters winner and Michelin-starred restaurateur Douglas Keane is slated to reopen Cyrus restaurant with business partner Nick Peyton in 2019, according to a spokesperson for the restaurant.
“We are very excited to confirm that Cyrus will reopen in 2019 in a new building and location, taking advantage of the breathtaking vineyard views in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County. We look forward to offering a unique and evolved version of our carefully curated service and cuisine. We will have more information in the coming weeks/months,” said the rep.
It’s all a bit hush-hush still, but Keane’s involvement has been confirmed, along with an unnamed location in Alexander Valley location. Keane is not commenting publicly on the news.
The original Cyrus, which received two Michelin stars, closed in 2012 after wine magnate Bill Foley purchased the tony Les Mars Hotel, where Cyrus was located. In 2014, Keane hoped to re-open Cyrus at a property owned by Jackson Family Wines near Jimtown. The concept was for a reservation-only dining experience limited to just a handful of patrons each night. A small group of neighbors expressed concerns about zoning changes in the quiet vineyard area, and the plan for Cyrus 2.0 temporarily faltered. Keane has, for years, stood by his long-term vision to re-open Cyrus when the time was right.
Keane and his business partner Nick Peyton run Healdsburg Bar and Grill in Healdsburg, and Keane is a partner in the Napa restaurant, Two Birds/One Stone. The space currently houses Chalkboard restaurant.
(Photo: Chef Douglas Keane at Two Birds One Stone in St. Helena, BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Village Bakery bread, pastries and cake. (John Burgess)
Here are 20 of our favorite bakeries throughout Sonoma County. We’ve had to make some tough choices since there are far more bread bakers, pie shops and cookie chefs than we can list here. We’ll follow up with more favorites in select categories, or check out our guides to great local producers and great pies.
Rohnert Pork with fries, bacon, green onion, cheese and pulled pork at Smokin’ Bowls in Rohnert Park. Heather Irwin/PD
I promise not to make any puns about the new Rohnert Park restaurant, Smokin’ Bowls. I’d never be so blunt. Or say what high expectations I had.
Kidding aside, the bowls at this student and family-friendly restaurant have nothing to do with THC, though you may get a serious craving for their ice cream and french fry bowl after an afternoon smoke sesh.
Here, “bowl” is shorthand for piling a whole bunch of tasty comfort food into a portable container wherein you can easily stuff it all into your mouth with nothing more than a spork. The bowls aren’t really bowls either, but compostable rectangular boxes. So I guess it’s more like Smokin’ Rectangular Containers.
The Bowl Named Sue with mashed potatoes, corn, bacon and chicken at Smokin’ Bowls in Rohnert Park. Heather Irwin/PD
With a 17-item menu that includes entrees, salads, dessert and sides, this spanking new strip mall riffs on the common theme of starch, protein, and sauce. Like the Dragon Bowl, with fried rice, chicken and hot sweet sauce or the Rohnert Pork with fries, bbq pulled pork, cheese sauce and bacon. You get the idea.
We should call out something unique: The fries. Hand-cut and fried in beef fat, tossed with their own seasoning. There’s a reason this used to be the standard. So. Beefy. Good. Not for vegetarians or vegans, however.
No bowl is over $8.25, with a selection of items under $5, plus everything on the menu is gluten-free, and there are no peanuts or soy proteins on the menu. Smokin’.
Best Bets:
The S’mores bowl at Smokin’ Bowls in Rohnert Park. Heather Irwin/PD
– Bowl Named Sue, $7.25: A down-home combination of homemade mashed potatoes, corn, bacon, chicken (it would have been better fried) and gravy. The portions are ridiculously huge, but this little bit of southern comfort didn’t last 10 minutes before disappearing.
– Disco Fries, $3.75: Basically poutine, with fries, mozzarella and beef gravy.
– Rohnert Pork, $6.75: Fries, bbq pulled pork, cheese sauce, bacon. We’d say this was the most ridiculously indulgent bowl, but that would be far from the truth.
– S’mores Fries, $5.50: So crazy, even we were gobsmacked. French fries smothered in cinnamon, topped with ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallows and chocolate chips.
– Harvest Bowl, $8.25: For the virtuous eaters among us, brown rice with corn, carrots, peas, coconut curry and cashews. (Vegetarian)
– Buffalo Chicken Salad, $7.25: Romaine lettuce with chicken, spicy buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing and croutons.
Friends enjoy a hike on the bluffs above Goat Rock beach in Jenner on Thursday. (JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat)
What happens when the Big Apple discovers Sonoma wine country? The New York Times recently published an article on how to spend 36 hours in Sonoma County as part of the newspaper’s popular travel reportage series, and our North Bay home received glowing reviews. “Sipping wine only scratches the surface of what California’s big-sky country has to offer,” said the article, “from 300-foot tall trees to manicured tea gardens to farm-to-table dining, it’s easy to fall under its spell.”
During a weekend in Sonoma County, Amy Thomas from The Times visited some of our favorite destinations, restaurants and, of course, wineries. Click through the gallery above to see which Sonoma spots the New York Times recommends, and how they suggest you spend a weekend in Sonoma County.
What do you think? Did The Times recommend the right spots? While they picked some of our local favorites, the itinerary includes a lot of driving back and forth between different locations in Sonoma County; on Saturday alone there’s a 90-mile drive to hit all the different spots. Seems a little…exhausting.
Sonoma County is a beer lover’s dream destination. From some of the highest ranked breweries in the world to unassuming yet well-stocked brew pubs, you can find it all here. Generally, local and visiting beer enthusiasts gravitate toward the cities of Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Sonoma and Healdsburg, but in between these wine country hot spots, just east of Hwy. 101, are two towns worth a visit.
We recently toured Rohnert Park and Cotati and checked out five beer venues you should add to your beer bucket list. From breweries and taprooms to family friendly venues and bottle shops, click through the gallery above for all the details.
Over the last 20 years, Basque Boulangerie has become the town of Sonoma’s gathering spot– where locals meet for coffee and fresh pastries or a sandwich. There’s usually a line of folks waiting to bring home a loaf of their Parisian style breads.
A number of local restaurants and groceries also stock their baguettes. The bakery has grown from three employees to more than 60.
Longtime owners sold the spot in 2012, but much remains the same.
460 First Street EastSonoma, (707) 935-7687
From the owners of Basque Boulangerie
Basque Boulangerie Café opened on the historic square of Sonoma in 1994 with an old-world feeling of an original French bakery. It is a second generation bakery, originally started in Sonoma in 1956 as the Sonoma French Bakery in the Sebastiani Theatre building.
Our founders’ family arrived in the United States from the southwest region of France, specifically the Pyrenees Mountains that separate France from Spain. They settled in the heart of the Valley of the Moon because of opportunity and since it reminded them of the villages in the Basque and Bearn regions of France that they were from. They had a family history of bakers, butchers and restauranteurs. The family learned the baking trade in their French small towns of Saint Etienne de Baigorry, and Oloron Sainte Marie and offers two generations of baking excellence. Our team of talented bakers The family learned the baking trade in their French small towns of Saint Etienne de Baigorry, and Oloron Sainte Marie and offers two generations of baking excellence. Our team of talented bakers start late at night, every night, using the old world European tradition of hand crafted baking artisanship in order to create these crusty, hand made loaves of peasant bread, inspired by our founders’ Basque ancestors.
We have brought traditional stone hearth ovens to Sonoma to assure the same consistent, traditional bread with no preservatives. Our pastries, baked goods and desserts are hand crafted in small batches using European-style techniques with quality ingredients.
“The Basque”, as we are affectionately known by locals and return customers, specializes in lightcrumb, crisp sourdough breads and assorted sweet French or Parisian style breads, Danish, morning rolls, cookies, pastries, desserts and cakes in our lively café, as well as delivering these fresh products daily to our wholesale customers. Our
Our breads have won the Sonoma County Harvest Fair’s Sweepstakes Awards. Our Pastry Chef has been featured on the Food Network for her famous Beehive Cake and has won awards for her Chocolate Truffle Gateau and Frangipane Tartes.
The rise of Instagram and crowdsourcing sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor have completely changed the dining game. Many people now plan their next restaurant visit by checking out reviews and photos by fellow diners – and they make sure to not put the fork in the food before the meal has been immortalized on Instagram.
In Sonoma County, there are plenty of restaurants that serve up photogenic presentations, and foodies flock here for exceptional bites and stunning shots. Click through the gallery above for some of the most Instagram-worthy restaurants and meals in Sonoma County, and share your Sonoma County restaurant pics with us by tagging @SonomaMag and using the hashtag #SonomaMagazine!
The Family Coppola announced today that they have secured a craft spirits license and will be launching a spirits line, adding another venture to the wineries, restaurants and hotels already run by the famous filmmaking family. The new brand of “small-batch, house-crafted, classically styled spirits” will be called Great Women Spirits and will include a gin, vodka and brandy.
The spirits, made from spring water from the site of Coppola’s historic Inglenook winery in Napa and vineyard grapes and herbs, are named after three historic women. The gin pays tribute to English mathematician Ada Lovelace, who is considered the world’s first computer programmer. The vodka is named after Marie Walewska, the influential mistress to Napoleon. Finally, the brandy, commemorates Maria Gaetana Agnesi, the first woman to serve as a mathematics professor at a university.
“My mother, sister, wife, daughter, and granddaughters have all inspired me, as have all of the incredible women we celebrate with Great Women Spirits,” said Francis Ford Coppola, Oscar-winning filmmaker and co-proprietor of The Family Coppola brands, which he operates alongside his wife, filmmaker Eleanor Coppola.
Eleanor Coppola adds that the important role women have played and continue to play far surpasses one as simply a source of inspiration, but that this has been overshadowed by the fact that men have been the narrators of historic records: “You know why we don’t hear about famous women in history? Because the history books were written by men.”
Great Women Spirits are available poolside and at RUSTIC at Francis Ford Coppola in Geyserville. The new spirits officially launch October 10, on Ada Lovelace Day, at Cafe Zoetrope in San Francisco. TheFamilyCoppola.com
The downtown Santa Rosa brewpub and restaurant offers a full menu for lunch an dinner. Heather Irwin/PD
When life gives you lemons, serve Pabst Blue Ribbon, cocktails and a solid poutine.
After nearly a year of waiting, downtown Santa Rosa’s 2 Tread Brewing Company has opened in the Santa Rosa Plaza. That’s the good news, along with a 3,000 square foot patio, indoor/outdoor seating and a solid start for the kitchen and service. The bad news: The brewing part of 2 Tread isn’t quite up and brewing yet.
“Our beer should be available in about 4 to 8 weeks,” said co-owner Bill Drury. “We just want to do it right.”
2 Tread Brewing Company opens a craft brew and pub with a large patio where you can ride up on your bike for a pint. Heather Irwin/PD
Facing the dwindling days of summer, Drury and his business partners punted and opened in late September anyway. Until their own beers are ready, they’ve got some solid beers on draft including Founders Rubaeus (a raspberry brew that’s sweet, tart and very unbeer-like) and Founders Kentucky Bourbon Stout (stout with chocolate and coffee notes), along with Seismic PA Namazu,Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion, Barrel Brothers Dark Sarcasm Porter…along with PBR and Coors Light, natch.
“We don’t want to be snobby,” said Drury, who shared a few of his favorites in tiny tasting glasses. The beer selection will change up frequently and their own 2 Tread beers should take center stage in late fall, as brewmaster Christian August (formerly of Firestone Walker) gets the brewpub’s seven tanks up to speed.
The patio at 2 Tread Brewing Company opens a craft brew and pub with a large patio where you can ride up on your bike for a pint. Heather Irwin/PD
With more than 6,000 square feet of space, 2 Tread Brewing Company is now one of the largest restaurants downtown. But it’s also the sixth beer-focused pub in central Santa Rosa, begging the question of how many craft beer spots the city can really support. So far, the answer has been quite a few,–still somewhat ironic in Wine Country, though less and less surprising as Sonoma County embraces its hoppy past.
The distinguishing pluses for 2 Tread Brewing Company, at least before anyone tries the beer, is the outdoor space and the food. Roll-up doors increase the sizable beer garden that stretches to the sidewalk outside the Plaza. Owners also hope to capitalize on their own passion for bicycles (hence the name and the logo), offering on-site bike parking and a ride-up patio.
“It killed me that there weren’t places here where you could show up on your bike and have a beer outside,” said Drury, a former pharmaceutical researcher. “We’re filling a niche for people who like hanging out outside.”
2 Tread Brewing Company opens a craft brew and pub with a large patio where you can ride up on your bike for a pint. Heather Irwin/PD
The space formerly housed Fresh Choice, though it retains none of the original design. Or food philosophy.
Chef Mike Gaylord heads the kitchen, working with co-owner Tracy Heydorn on the menu. A vet of K&L Bistro, El Paseo in Mill Valley and Nick’s Cove in Marshall, Gaylord’s food has the rare quality of being both approachable and intriguing — sweet potato tots served alongside locally-grown citrus and herb marinated beets with whipped chevre; hot wings and burgers beside Caprese salad with housemade mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes or wild mushroom flatbread.
That kind of ambition, along with a staggering 34-item menu could go horribly wrong in less-capable hands. Despite normal glitches and inconsistencies of the opening weeks, the menu seems surprisingly settled in for a fledgling restaurant.
Caprese salad at 2 Tread Brewing Company opens a craft brew and pub with a large patio where you can ride up on your bike for a pint. Heather Irwin/PD
Here, families with toddlers can lounge outside while sports fans watch the game at the bar and young couples gather for after-work cocktails, a vibrant cross-section of the city where PBR and Coors Light can co-exist peacefully with craft brews, mountain bikes and croquettes.
“We just want to be able to really appreciate where we live,” said Drury.
Best bets at 2 Tread Brewing Company
Citrus and herb marinated beets ($9): What could be a simple salad with beets is elevated with tangy whipped goat cheese, a pairing that brings out the earthiness in both. Arugula and vinegar give it a kick. You love it, or you gag, but hey, that’s beets for you.
Fried Shishito Peppers ($6): If you aren’t willing to play roulette with the chance you’ll get a hot pepper in the mix (about 1 in 10 are usually super spicy) steer clear. But creamy tarragon aioli helps temper any rogues.
Corn fritter at 2 Tread Brewing Company in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Roasted Corn Fritter ($6): These hush puppy-style fritters are beautifully presented, with a smear of spicy aioli. The carefully cut lime supremes may be lost on the beer crowd, but we liked them, despite needing a bit more sauce.
Caprese ($15): Though I usually hate wasting time talking about salads (it’s lettuce, people), the house mozzarella, basil and heirloom tomatoes, with just a hint of sweet balsamic, are so perfect this time of year, it’s worth a mention. We polished off two servings pretty handily.
Tempura Veggies with Yuzu aioli ($13): Yes, aioli is a thing here, because, well it’s basically flavored mayonnaise and it goes really well with beer. This addition happened after a vegan lettuce cup fell flat, and though the tempura is still a work in progress, the yuzu dip was a tasty surprise.
2 Tread Burger ($14): This one’s a beauty, though our medium-rare turned out well-done. With lots of fresh produce and tasty Niman Ranch grass-fed beef, a burger we’ll go back for.
Spice Rubbed Prime Hangar Steak ($30): Perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, with a light chimmichurri sauce, green beans and roasted garlic. Delightfully simple, but with a mystery. “What are you supposed to do with a bulb of roasted garlic?” we wondered.
Fisherman’s cocktail at 2 Tread Brewing Co. The downtown Santa Rosa brewpub and restaurant offers a full menu for lunch an dinner. Heather Irwin/PD
Fisherman’s Trail Cocktail ($11): Tito’s Vodka, Gifford’s elderflower liqueur, pomegranate and lime juice. A little light on vodka, but so quaffable. Tart, sweet, heavenly.
Also on the menu
Flat Breads ($15.50): These still needed work on our visits, either turning out a little doughy or a little overcooked.
Pan Roasted Pork Chop ($28): Can we just get a side of the insanely good roasted corn salsa with chorizo and lime crema?
Sweet Potato Tots ($6): Great for snacking. Nothing amazing, but who doesn’t live for chipotle aioli?
Poutine at 2 Tread Brewing Company opens a craft brew and pub with a large patio where you can ride up on your bike for a pint. Heather Irwin/PD
Poutine ($9): Fries, cheese curds, gravy. Never disparage this Canadian comfort food in front of our neighbors to the north. The gravy is the key, and should be beefy, but not gelatinous. Our first plate leaned toward the later, but a later version was excellent.
Good for: Families, first dates, comfort food, cocktails, small plates, under $10 dishes, burgers, large groups
Overall: A large beer garden, good food and a brewery (to come), 2 Tread rolls into Santa Rosa with some serious steam.
Time magazine’s personal finance site MONEY recently released a list of the top 10 cities in the U.S. for drinking beer, wine, and any other alcoholic beverage that wets your whistle. In order to make the top 10, the site evaluated over 2,000 data points from over 60 of the most popular U.S. destinations and then selected cities that offer a high proportion of bars, breweries and wineries at an affordable price.
With such a distinguished list of drinking destinations, let’s raise a glass to the town coming in at number 8: Sonoma.
(It is worth noting that MONEY refers to the town of Sonoma and Sonoma County almost interchangeably – but on closer inspection it appears as if they did intend to give the number 8 spot to the town of Sonoma).
While deemed an expensive destination (“a week for two will set you back almost $3,200”), Sonoma made the list thanks to the sheer amount of wine drinking locations available to visitors. MONEY recommends visitors “make time to check out Sonoma’s Plaza—the old adobe storefronts house trendy boutiques and restaurants” and visit Keller Estate in Petaluma and Trombetta Family Wines in Forestville. We were a little disappointed to see that MONEY failed to mention the many local breweries, cideries and distilleries. After all, there’s more than wine to Sonoma (County)!
Claiming the top spot on the list is a city that seems to be featured on every top ten list as of late, Portland, Oregon. MONEY mentions Oregon’s Willamette Valley, famous for its world-class pinot noir and chardonnay, as a top drinking destination. Portland also has an impressive beer and cider scene on tap for those looking for something other than wine.
