So…about Simply Vietnam closing in Santa Rosa

By biteclub

Lots of hubbub about the sudden closure of longtime Vietnamese destination, Simply Vietnam on Dutton Ave. in Santa Rosa. We sat down with co-owner Jon Nguyen at his family’s second location, Simply Vietnam Express (3381 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa), to see what happened and what’s in store.

“It’s been an emotional few weeks,” he said. After 10 years, the family was unable to come to an agreement on continued leasing terms with the property owner, according to Nguyen. “We were hoping to relocate, but couldn’t find anything,” Nguyen added.

The owner of the building did not immediately return calls.

So, the family has moved their operations to their second location. The team is working on the transfer, bringing staff, recipes and new equipment to the Cleveland Ave. location which has a smaller kitchen. “We’re not leaving. It’s the same owners, and we’re gonna tune this restaurant up,” Nguyen said.

Expect to see their stir fry, pho, and other favorite dishes, along with shaking beef and fried rice appear at Simply Vietnam Express. And, while the fast-casual tea, noodle and banh mi spot will remain a walk-up counter during the day, Nguyen plans sit-down restaurant seating after 4p.m. in the near future.

Current menu online at simplyvietnamexpress.com.

17 Hidden Gems & Secret Spots in Sonoma

By Sonoma Magazine Staff

It may be a hole-in-the-wall eatery down a remote country lane. Or a great place to visit, right there in plain sight, yet never before noticed. These hidden things give Sonoma County its texture, its, substance, its je ne sais quoi. They’re what you find if you stay awhile, and allow yourself to sink below the surface. And they’re yours for the seeking. Click through the gallery for our favorite hidden gems and secret spots in the town of Sonoma.

10 Sonoma County Bands You Should Know

By Estefany Gonzalez

The North Bay music community has a long and colorful tradition of local and regional bands jamming, innovating, mixing it up, and crossing genre lines in search of a beat, a sound, or an attitude. 

In the 60’s and 70’s, the North Bay was a hub for talented musicians playing venues as wide reaching and diverse as Cotati’s Inn of the Beginning, San Anselmo’s Lion’s Share, Fairfax’s Sleeping Lady, Marin’s Rancho Nicasio, and Mill Valley’s Sweetwater.

Today, following in this rich tradition, the Sonoma County music community is both tight-knit and diverse. You may discover the same musician popping up in three or four different bands, and you’ll also notice that the musical forms on display run the gamut of the genres: from honky-tonk to funk, bluegrass to indie – even punk.

Check out the list below of ten local bands you should know. (Listen to their music by clicking through the gallery above). This article kicks off our monthly “Sonoma Bands” series – a collection of music profiles and portraits to introduce you to the faces of music within the local scene.

Oddjob Ensemble is a collection of talented North Bay musicians lead by Kalei Yamanoha, whom you might have seen share the stage with a number of other local musical acts. The band integrates instruments such as the accordion, stand up bass, trombone and pump organ to create a wild sound you could imagine as the love child between a bohemian wanderer and a Carribbean pirate. Song to check out: “The Air Up Here,” live at The Lost Church in San Francisco, to hear the band’s quick yet catchy sound.

Trebuchet is the result of the coming together of four Sonoma State University College students to create sounds unobtainable in the classroom. The four-piece group met in the early 2000’s and has since played a number of shows, including Napa Valley’s BottleRock, and released a spectacular album named Volte-Face earlier this year. The band’s sound has evolved from indie-folk tunes (see the catchy bright tunes found on the band’s first album Carry On) to the more layered sounds of electric guitar and backing tracks evident in more recent concerts. Song to check out: “A Page From Someone Else’s Book,” off Volte-Face shows the band’s musical progression since the debut album.

OVVN (pronounced “Own”) blends distorted notes, gritty sounds, and feedback to inhabit a musical territory which is dark, gritty and at times odd. Its members choose clashing notes and dissonant tones to back vocals processed through both microphone and guitar pedal. Song to check out: “Sores,” off I Love Myself And Want To Live, has a cool music video that portrays the band’s sound and visual aesthetic.

The Easy Leaves brings together a pair of hard working Sonoma County cowboys. Whether you’ve caught them at OutsideLands, or a small intimate venue such as Bergamot Alley in Healdsburg – or perhaps you’ve seen them on the news as the first band to play an impromptu concert on a commercial airplane over the on-board PA system, this duo is constantly headed down some dirt road lassoing much more than their share of local shows. Song to check out: The music video for “Get Down” follows the North Bay duo around monkey ranch dairy farm in West Petaluma. The song is catchy and makes you want to get down.

The Down House came together after a Fourth of July party in 2013, and now create a blend of shoegaze music reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain or The Ronettes. The band channels a variety of musical eras: 60s psychedelic nostalgia, gritty grunge tunes and early punk. Song to check out: Wonder what happens in Petaluma Market after closing time? The Down House answer that question with its newest music video for “Parker Posey.”

Culture Abuse just signed with Epitaph Records and has toured the UK and United States. Garage, grunge or punk – the band’s tunes are good time and so is the band’s new single “So Busted.” It’s the band’s take on the modern love song – the world sucks; but love doesn’t. Song to check out: Life is a party and so is the video for “Perfect Light.”

Brown Bags delightfully combines punk-rock tunes with catchy hooks. The energetic four-piece Santa Rosa band carefully crafts heartfelt lyrics that entice you to dance and sing along. The Brown Bags’ rumbling bass lines, lively guitar riffs and powerful drums create a cool and unique sound. Song to check out: Despite its dark lyrics, “Ernest Goes to Jail” is a catchy song worth a listen. Check out the band’s OnStage with Jim and Tom performance at the Phoenix Theater.

The New Trust, formed in 2003 from members tired of hearing about good bands breaking up, are still together after 10 years and a number of amazing albums and US tours. This indie-rock band is clearly in it for the long haul. Song to check out: “Compromise” of the band’s album 2013 Keep Dreaming, gives you a few clues as to how the band manages to stay together after so many years of making killer music.

Slow Bloom has a nouveau approach to a post-punk/hardcore sound. Think Circa Survive and At The Drive In. The band, remnants of a national tour between State Faults and Strike to Survive, has a sound that’s raw, unique and unfitted. Song to check out: Gory, slightly creepy and horror-film inspired, the video for Slow Bloom’s “Phantom Tantrum” is directed by the band’s guitarist Timmy Lodhi.

Royal Jelly Jive treats audiences to a roaring good time with 1920’s band vibes mixed with soulful catchy hooks. The band has graced the stage of  OutsideLands, Santa Rosa’s Rail Road Square music festival and smaller venues such as HopMonk Sebastopol. Royal Jelly Jive offers a fresh mix of soul and hip-hop, a hint of swing and a feel-good rock n’ roll attitude. Song to check out: Recorded in the Victorian style library of the Petaluma home of two of the band’s members, their NPR Tiny Desk Contest performance of “Bad,” highlights the engaging way in which the band combines a variety of musical genres.

County Bench Closes in Santa Rosa

By biteclub
The County Bench in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
The County Bench in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD

A little more than a year after opening, downtown Santa Rosa restaurant County Bench has shuttered. The upscale-casual restaurant from the Chandi Hospitality Group (Bibi’s Burger Bar, Stout Bros., Beer Baron, Mountain Mike’s) never quite found its groove despite hiring two top-notch Sonoma County chefs, Bruce Frieseke (Applewood, Bella Vineyards) and Ben Davies (Petite Syrah, Spoonbar, Mirepoix) to lead the kitchen.

Locally-sourced food and creative takes on Wine Country cuisine, along with a stellar wine library were hallmarks of the restaurant, but a rainy winter spring along with ongoing construction during the reunification of Courthouse Square proved to be too much for several downtown spots. Though County Bench weathered the storm,  the departure of both chefs — Frieseke left County Bench earlier this spring, and Davies moved on to Russian River Vineyards’ restaurant in early summer — left the restaurant rudderless. 

“It has been a battle to find chef who can bring business and creativity together. We have a lot of connections in Indian chefs so we plan to reopen as Indian Food & Social Club–that has been in the plans for a long time. We anticipate to offer a much more friendly price point and still high quality food and drinks,” said Sonu Chandi of the Chandi Hospitality Group,.

In a note on the restaurant’s door reads “All good things must come to an end. We have decided to close the County Bench Kitchen and Bar for rebranding. We are thankful for all the love and support the community has given us over the last year. We are very excited to bring our new concept to downtown Santa Rosa!”

With so much invested in the renovation of the space, we look forward to seeing a new concept.

Meanwhile, Beer Baron has opened in the former Rendez Vous space on the downtown square.

SMART Shopping: 8 Buys That Help You Ride in Style

By Karen Kizer

The much anticipated, often opposed, voter-approved SMART train is finally in full operation. Whether the new train puts you in a Quiet Zone envisioning a greener, traffic-free future, or the thought of steep fares and raised taxes makes you to want to blow your horn, there’s no excuse for riding the train sans style. Click through the gallery above for some shopping suggestions for the maiden voyage. 

 

New Luxury Shopping Experience Comes to Napa

By Karen Kizer

Planning a lavish Napa getaway but not quite sure what to pack? If you’re staying at Carneros Resort & Spa, you can now shop your Wine Country outfits at Coop, a bespoke fashion boutique that offers “luxury resort wear” and accessories. Coop is one of 26 stores in the Maris Collective, a Santa Monica-based retailer that operates boutiques located within luxury resorts.

“When I  think of the Sonoma/Napa guest at Coop,” says Maris Collective Creative Director Eric Lopez, “I envision a sense of refinement. While the aesthetic is casual, it’s still thoughtful.”

Maris Collective formed in 2008, in response to what many have termed the “retailpocalypse,” and has since created a customer-influenced shopping experience in luxury resorts, where travelers have lots of time but few places to shop. Maris Collective founder LeAnn Sauter told Fashionista.com the Maris Collective offerings are the antidote to the “rhinestone hat that says Ritz Carlton,” which epitomizes the gift shop buys in many resorts.

Coop occupies a small space in the Carneros Resort & Spa compound. An industrial-looking copper light fixture with filament bulbs hangs over the store’s center. Space is optimized from floor to ceiling with a variety of finds for men and women, in a range of prices. The clothing collection is rounded out with fashion jewelry, personal accessories, some barware items and home accent pieces. The collection isn’t vast, but layered with both useful and unique pieces.

Regional Manager, Christina Walton, says her personal style is “everyday chic” and she shops the store’s finds from Frank and Eileen and James Perse for her “everyday staples.” For evening dress-up she turns to the Figue collection.

Creative Director Eric Lopez frequents Sonoma and Napa with his family on weekend getaways from his San Francisco home. He further explains his sense of Sonoma/Napa style as including “high quality and heritage items.”

“I pack differently when I head to Wine Country,” he says.

To shop Coop, visit the Carneros Resort & Spa at 4048 Sonoma Hwy in Napa, 707-299-4900‬, carnerosresort.com.

World’s First Chicken Nugget Tasting Room Opens in Sebastopol

By biteclub
the owners of HipChick Farms in Sebastopol have opened the nation's first chicken nugget tasting room. Courtesy photo
the owners of HipChick Farms in Sebastopol have opened the nation’s first chicken nugget tasting room. Courtesy photo

CLOSED
Why did the chicken cross the road? To pair its nuggets with a tasty chardonnay at Wine Country’s newest tasting room.

Sebastopol’s Hip Chicks, whose organic chicken fingers are now sold in more than 5,000 stores, have opened The Kitchen, a chicken nugget tasting room and lunch counter featuring “flights” of their original, ketchup and maple chicken fingers, fried buttermilk chicken sandos, a chicken meatball sub, turkey burger, egg sandwich with sweet potato hash, apple cider corn dogs and local beer and wine selections.

Chef/owner Jennifer Johnson, a Chez Panisse alum founded the company with her wife, Serafina Palandech, to provide healthy, sustainable and most-importantly family-friendly foods, starting with their nuggets, and expanding to other products like breakfast sausage, meatballs and grilled chicken strips. 

124 South Main St., Sebastopol, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11a.m. to 2p.m., hipchickfarms.com

5 Hot Wine Country Dates for Culture Vultures

By Peg Melnik

Still not sure if you’re a Culture Vulture? Answer these questions:

1. Do you crave all things art and always keep a careful eye on performances happening in your own backyard?

2. Do you make art social with pre-performance gatherings?

3. Are you determined to witness unforgettable, uplifting performances at (almost) any cost?

If your answer is ‘oui’ to all three, you got it bad. You are, without a doubt, an irrepressible Culture Vulture. Click through the gallery above for five hot Wine Country dates for Culture Vultures. 

Petaluma’s Thistle Meats Butcher Shop a Cut Above

By biteclub
Charcuterie at Thistle Meats butcher shop in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD
Charcuterie at Thistle Meats butcher shop in Petaluma. Heather Irwin/PD

I want this to be the best butcher shop in the Bay Area

— Travis Day, Chef/Owner Thistle Meats

In an instant, a drunk driver changed the trajectory of Chef Travis Day’s life.

Though he was nowhere near Petaluma when an impaired motorist plowed into the storefront of Thistle Meats in early 2016 — all but destroying it — little more than a year later, he would officially reopen it to the public.

In mid-May, Day took over the downtown artisan butcher shop from founder Molly Best. It had been a rough year for the business.
The drunk driver had done so much structural damage to the building that it had been “red-tagged” as uninhabitable. Best was forced to sell her bone broth and meats to loyal customers from behind their Petaluma Boulevard shop for months.

When Day’s childhood friend and former Thistle butcher Aaron Gilliam said the shop was for sale, Day pounced. After a two week shutter, Thistle was reborn.

“People were breaking down the door for bone broth,” said Day. “We couldn’t stay closed.”

More than just a butchery, the space has been opened up to include a small seating area serving sandwiches, soups and charcuterie plates that go far beyond deli fare.

The open butcher table remains, and a charming brick patio has become the setting for Day’s monthly Sunday suppers with some of San Francisco’s top toques. Day has kept on the former staff.

“I wanted to buy Thistle because I just love the product. I want this to be the best butcher shop in the Bay Area,” Day said. Continuing to focus on ethically raised meats from local ranches, Day knows his purveyors personally, describing everything from their animals’ feed program to how they are processed.

“Meat tastes bad because of stress to the animal,” Day said. His pork comes from Rancho Llano Seco in Chico where pigs are allowed to forage and wander. Other ranchers he works with include Monkey Ranch in Petaluma (lamb), Stemple Creek and Magruder Ranch for beef, Marin Sun Farms for chicken and Liberty Duck.

With years of study as a salumist and butcher, Day is a chef’s chef — working his way up the kitchen ladder with the kind of intense focus and passion that results in 25 journals filled with business plans and recipes, traveling to 20 countries with his chef’s knives and developing a resume that includes some of the best restaurants in the world. Not that he’d really tell you that. Day and his staff are usually too busy learning Argentinian butchering techniques or describing “secreto” or “secret” cuts of pork.

“I used to cure duck prosciutto in the rafters and stay up until 3 a.m. translating old French cookbooks,” Day said.

“I feel like this is the natural progression.” Part of what Day hopes to improve at Thistle are recipes and its prepared dishes like the simple-but-not-simple Jambon Royal sandwich with Humboldt Fog cheese, wild arugula and mustard aioli; heirloom melon with guanciale, cucumber and Italian burrata; or gazpacho with herbs and pan-fried bread. Each showcases the meat and the techniques of the chef.

Monthly dinners are intimate gatherings that amount to Day hanging with his chef besties that happen to be highly sought-after restaurateurs: Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s (recently nominated as “Best New Restaurant in the West”), Jason Fox of Michelin-starred Commonwealth (August 20) and Christie Peters and Kyle Michaels of Primal and The Hollows, in Saskatoon, Canada (September 10). Details on joining the dinners here.

It’s also a way to make use of 100 percent of the product, because it’s not all filet mignon.

On the open butcher table, there’s a whole lot of, well, it’s hard to say other than its a lot of fat, sinew and meat. It will all find a home somewhere in the case or on the table. Cows aren’t just big steaks, after all. There are organs, gristly bits and fat that need to be utilized.

Day says he reduces the prices on lesser-known cuts and offal (organs) for customers to try.

Some cuts are unique, like the velvet steak, from the heel of the cow. Filets come at a premium.

“I’ve worked for years at restaurants trying to find new creative ways to use products and reduce waste,” Day said. “It all starts with the animals. We pay more for the animals because they are pasture-raised,” he said. “We try to use every scrap and do the right thing for all the farmers.”

If you go:

  • Thistle has daily specials, so you won’t always know what’s on the menu.
  • The shop will continue to source grass-fed, pasture-raised meats and offer a charcuterie program featuring handmade pates, salumi, terrines and other house-cured meats.
  • Day plans to also offer an expanded, new menu of prepared foods including sandwiches, salads and soups, along with marinated and seasoned meat cuts and other local items.
  • We were fascinated with the preserved duck eggs, which look like little apricot gelees. Shaved over sandwiches, they’re divine.
  • There’s also bread from Red Bird and Della Fattoria, local cheeses from Andante and Cowgirl Creamery, honey, bone broth and other local goods.