I rarely get too excited when random magazines and websites celebrate Sonoma County as a best foodie destination. I mean, duh, we all know that. But its a little more interesting when Condé Nast Traveler readers pin Healdsburg (12), Napa(8) and San Francisco (9) among the 15 Best Food Cities in the U.S.
From the website, the Healdsburg caption reads: “An hour outside San Francisco, tiny Healdsburg is our favorite Sonoma County stopover—and a welcome respite after all those oyster crackers at wine tastings in Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys. Opened in 2013, mixed-use Healdsburg SHED (pictured) is a 10,000-square-foot prefab structure with a fermentation bar, coffee shop, and the excellent Shed Café, showcasing vegetables grown nearby. Meanwhile, on Healdsburg Square, Valette is the hip cured meats-and-chandeliers newcomer by a former Dry Creek Kitchen chef, and Italian restaurant Scopa is chef Charlie Palmer’s go-to spot for wood-fired, thin-crust pies.”
SF: “Out-there ideas thrive in the Bay Area—where punk-rock Mission Chinese Food chef Danny Bowien made critics swoon when he opened his groundbreaking Chinese-American restaurant in a sticky dive. Another Mission eatery, Al’s Place (pictured), has picked up the mantle; chef Aaron London’s fluffy French fries and spiced fish dishes won him the top spot on Bon Appetit’s 2015 Top Restaurants list. At gray-walled Atelier Crenn, chef Dominique Crenn decorates dishes with rocks, moss, and branches. A decidedly more simple offering, the roasted chicken for two at 37-year-old Zuni Cafe remains a dish worth waiting for.”
And Napa, which is truly one of the most burgeoning food scenes around, is described as: “The country’s most storied wine region should boast a first-rate food scene, and Napa doesn’t disappoint. Downtown on Main Street, Mick Salyer’s duo of Spanish restaurants—Zuzu and La Taberna—showcase his devotion to Iberian meats and Basque-style seafood dishes, while trendsetters head to stylish Ninebark(pictured), a three-story riverfront spot with rooftop views and two-Michelin-star chef Matthew Lightner at the helm. Up north in Yountville, foodie pilgrims who can’t score a reservation at Thomas Keller’s the French Laundry head to easier-going eatery Ad Hoc for the chef’s technique-driven takes on comfort foods like fried chicken and pot roast. His bustling Bouchon Bakery, meanwhile, is a must-stop for macarons and a freshly pulled espresso.”
The rest of the lineup includes Sarasota, Fl., San Antonio, Boston, Aspen, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, NYC (3), New Orleans (2) and the surprise winner, Charleston, South Carolina at #1.
Small creeks run along the trials in Bartholomew Memorial Park near the heart of Sonoma. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)
Some days all you need is a little walk through the woods, with enough ups and downs to make the blood pump and enough shade to keep you cool. If it comes with a little refreshment at the end, who could complain?
That’s the formula for this “only in Sonoma” hike, the 2.4-mile Bartholomew Memorial Park trail. It packs a workout into a 90-minute loop, takes you through a deep oak woodland and, in the process delivers postcard-worthy views of the Sonoma Valley, two historic wineries and, when the weather cooperates, the Golden Gate Bridge.
Turn the outing into an occasion by packing a picnic to eat on the landscaped grounds and pairing it with a bottle of wine from Buena Vista Winery or Bartholomew Park Winery. Both maintain tasting rooms within each reach.
The entire park was once home to Hungarian Count Agoston Haraszthy, who planted grapevines there in 1861 and built the Buena Vista winery to process them. A villa for his family soon followed.
A bench provides rest for hikers and spectacular views of Sonoma from an overlook along the Bartholomew Memorial Park loop. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)
Less than a decade later, the vines were wiped out by Phylloxera and Haraszthy abandoned them. He died in 1869 in Central America, and his villa later burned. It was replaced by a replica.
The overgrown property was purchased in 1943 by a war correspondent named Frank Bartholomew and his wife, Toni. They eventually sold the winery. After Frank’s death, she created the memorial park and built a replica of the count’s villa. It now holds the Bartholomew Park Winery’s tasting room.
Visitors can park near the villa and hike the loop in either direction. About midway, Benicia’s Lake is a natural shady rest stop. During wet months it is filled with pollywogs, singing frogs and mosquitoes.
Benches are located on either end of the loop, providing another chance to stop and drink in the scenic landscape below.
Stair-stepped hillsides help hikers and runners navitage Bartholomew Park’s undulating trail. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)
Sonoma’s Bartholomew Memorial Park
(Closed from January 1 to April 1)
Hiking distance: 2.4-mile loop
Hiking time: 1.5 hours
Configuration: loop
Elevation gain: 450 feet
Difficulty: easy to moderate
Exposure: a mix of open meadows and shaded forest
Dogs: allowed
Maps: U.S.G.S. Sonoma, Bartholomew Foundation Trail Map
Bartholomew Memorial Park is a little known gem tucked into the hills less than two miles northeast of Sonoma. The 375-acre park leases part of its diverse land to Bartholomew Winery. This hike is not a meandering stroll through a winery, it only begins and ends there. The trail is a backcountry hike winding through oak-covered mountain slopes and redwood groves. The hike follows portions of Arroyo Seco and the South Fork of Arroyo Seco to a pond, lake, cave, and two impressive overlooks.
To the trailhead
1695 Castle Road, Sonoma
From East Napa Street by the Sonoma Plaza in downtown Sonoma, drive one mile east on East Napa Street to Seventh Street East. Turn left and continue 0.3 miles to Castle Road. Turn right and drive 0.4 miles to the Bartholomew Park Winery entrance. Enter the winery grounds and go a quarter mile to a road fork. The right fork leads to the tasting room. Veer left 0.1 mile to the trailhead parking lot.
A second trailhead is located off Old Winery Road. From East Napa Street, just east of Eighth Street East, turn north on Old Winery Road. Drive 0.75 miles to the posted trailhead parking area on the left.
The hike
From the north end of the parking lot, -follow the posted trail 40 yards to Duck Pond. Curve right along the east side of the pond to a trail gate. Pass through the gate and cross a stream in an oak, manzanita, and madrone forest. Climb the hill on the Grape Stomp Trail and traverse the slope, parallel to the stream. Head up the shaded draw and recross the stream. Climb steps and zigzag up the hill to Grape Stomp Bench and an overlook of Sonoma and San Pablo Bay. Weave along the contours of the hills with small dips and rises. Descend to a fork of Arroyo Seco Creek by a private road.
Rock-hop over the creek and cross the road. Climb eight steps and head up the forested hillside. Follow the north side of Arroyo Seco Creek, passing above Benicia’s Lake. Descend steps and hop over the creek upstream of the lake. Enter a redwood grove with Douglas fir and continue climbing. A side path on the right leads to the east shore of the lake. The main trail continues to a posted junction at one mile. Angel’s Flight Trail descends to the right for a slightly shorter and easier loop.
Bear left on the You-Walk Miwok Trail, climbing to the 640-foot summit that is just past a bench. On clear days, the vistas extend as far as the Golden Gate Bridge. Descend from the upper slope, with the aid of dirt and log steps, to the Shortcut Trail on the right. Stay straight 20 yards to a side path on the right to Szeptaj Point bench, with beautiful views of Sonoma from under a canopy of oaks. Continue downhill on the main trail to a posted junction. Detour to the left 80 yards. Follow the South Fork of Arroyo Seco upstream, passing small waterfalls. Continue over mossy boulders to Solano’s Hideaway, a massive rock formation with caves. Solano was an Indian chief of the Suisun Tribe and a friend of General Vallejo.
Return to the junction and continue west, passing a junction with the lower south end of Angel’s Flight Trail. Pass through a trail gate and skirt the backside of the Buena Vista Winery. Pass through a second gate to a narrow paved road by a gazebo on the left. Cross a rock bridge over Arroyo Seco Stream and follow the path on the right side of the road. Cross Castle Road and complete the loop at the trailhead parking lot.
Source: “Day Hikes Around Sonoma County” by Robert Stone (Day Hike Books, 2016)
Country loaf from Cloverdale’s Trading Post Bakery (heather irwin)
There’s a whole lot more to Cloverdale than the Hamburger Ranch these days. A burgeoning food scene is rapidly making this small, north county town a destination for adventurous eaters.
Cloverdale’s Trading Post Bakery (Facebook)
While playing hooky (I mean working really hard) last Friday afternoon, BiteClub stopped into the eagerly-anticipated Trading Post Market and Bakery. A project of SF’s Mercer Restaurant Group (AQ, Melange, The Hall), the bakery is more of an industrial cooking space with a small collection of jams and raw honey than what you might think of as a “bakery”. That doesn’t matter much, since you’re really there for the bread — hearty country loaves and baguettes on our visit — from the stone-hearth oven. It’s truly excellent bread, with big air pockets and a crunchy crust that only need a swipe of fresh butter and raw honey to become spectacular. The bakery is the first stage of a larger-scale project at The Trading Post, which will include a full restaurant. Another North Bay project is also in the works for Mercer, Long View Ranch in Mendocino. The 32-acre property will house a chef’s garden, vineyard and heirloom seed library, along with a high-end restaurant, but is still in the investment stage. Trading Post Bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1-6p.m., 102 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale’s Trading Post Bakery (Facebook)
We also stopped in at Savvy on First (116 E First St.), an adorable cafe we’ve been meaning to hit up for a couple years. Chef/owner Kristine Bodily has created a charming breakfast/brunch/lunch spot that helped define Cloverdale’s food scene with lots of locally-sourced dishes that span the gamut from a killer 8 oz. burger, homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, to a not-so-local but delicious-sounding Maine lobster roll with Old Bay butter, lemon aioli on a brioche bun.
Kristine Bodily of Savvy on First in Cloverdale (PD File)
The restaurant’s dinner menus have included everything from roasted bone marrow and beef Bourguignon to togarashi-crusted ahi served Thursday through Sunday from 5:30 to 9p.m.. Sadly, we’d already filled up at Diavola on the way up, so we grabbed a couple cookies from the stocked bakery case and made our way, promising to return soon. Saavy on First offers up breakfast and lunch Wed.-Fri. from 9a.m. to 3p.m. and brunch Saturday and Sunday from 9a.m. to 3p.m.
Another favorite for a coffee boost-up? The always hip Plank Coffee and Tea (227 North Cloverdale Blvd.)
Check out this article from Sonomamag.com for more on Cloverdale’s rise.
I rarely get too excited when random magazines and websites celebrate Sonoma County as a best foodie destination. I mean, duh, we all know that. But its a little more interesting when Conde Nast Traveler readers pin Healdsburg (12), Napa(8) and San Francisco (9) among the 15 Best Food Cities in the U.S.
Wild Farro salad at SHED Cafe in Healdsburg, California. Photo: Heather Irwin.
From the website, the Healdsburg caption reads: “An hour outside San Francisco, tiny Healdsburg is our favorite Sonoma County stopover—and a welcome respite after all those oyster crackers at wine tastings in Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys. Opened in 2013, mixed-use Healdsburg SHED (pictured) is a 10,000-square-foot prefab structure with a fermentation bar, coffee shop, and the excellent Shed Café, showcasing vegetables grown nearby. Meanwhile, on Healdsburg Square, Valette is the hip cured meats-and-chandeliers newcomer by a former Dry Creek Kitchen chef, and Italian restaurant Scopa is chef Charlie Palmer’s go-to spot for wood-fired, thin-crust pies.”
Al’s Place in SF is a conde nast reader favorite for 2016 (courtesy photo)
SF: “Out-there ideas thrive in the Bay Area—where punk-rock Mission Chinese Food chef Danny Bowien made critics swoon when he opened his groundbreaking Chinese-American restaurant in a sticky dive. Another Mission eatery, Al’s Place (pictured), has picked up the mantle; chef Aaron London’s fluffy French fries and spiced fish dishes won him the top spot on Bon Appetit’s 2015 Top Restaurants list. At gray-walled Atelier Crenn, chef Dominique Crenn decorates dishes with rocks, moss, and branches. A decidedly more simple offering, the roasted chicken for two at 37-year-old Zuni Cafe remains a dish worth waiting for.”
Ninebark in Napa is a conde nast reader favorite for 2016 (PD file)
And Napa, which is truly one of the most burgeoning food scenes around, is described as: “The country’s most storied wine region should boast a first-rate food scene, and Napa doesn’t disappoint. Downtown on Main Street, Mick Salyer’s duo of Spanish restaurants—Zuzu and La Taberna—showcase his devotion to Iberian meats and Basque-style seafood dishes, while trendsetters head to stylish Ninebark(pictured), a three-story riverfront spot with rooftop views and two-Michelin-star chef Matthew Lightner at the helm. Up north in Yountville, foodie pilgrims who can’t score a reservation at Thomas Keller’s the French Laundry head to easier-going eatery Ad Hoc for the chef’s technique-driven takes on comfort foods like fried chicken and pot roast. His bustling Bouchon Bakery, meanwhile, is a must-stop for macarons and a freshly pulled espresso.”
The rest of the lineup includes Sarasota, Fl., San Antonio, Boston, Aspen, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, NYC (3), New Orleans (2) and the surprise winner, Charleston, South Carolina at #1.
Glasses of red wine sit before being taken out to the judges during the North Coast Wine Challenge at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel in Santa Rosa, on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
The judges of the North Coast Wine Challenge sipped their way through more than 1,050 wines at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel in Santa Rosa Tuesday in a quest to uncover the best wines grown on the North Coast, one of the state’s premier wine-growing regions.
The fourth annual wine competition, which drew entries from 22 new wineries this year, accepts only wines grown in appellations within the North Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area), which includes Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, as well as parts of Marin and Solano counties.
“Today, they are judging through and awarding wines worthy of a gold medal and giving it a point score,” said Daryl Groom of Healdsburg, the contest’s chief judge. “Tomorrow, they will be judging off the best wines in each varietal … and at the end of tomorrow, we’ll find out the best of each county, and we’ll decide the Best of the Best,” the varietal winner receiving the most points.
On Tuesday morning, nine panels of judges got down to the business of sizing up the wines, with each panel judging an average of six to eight varietals and each judge tasting through up to 120 wines. In general, the judges tackled most of the heavier, red wines in the morning, leaving the more refreshing whites and rosés for the afternoon.
Groom hand-picked the 27 judges from across the country, arranging them into well balanced panels that included one winemaker, one wine buyer and one media person or wine sommelier.
“The idea is that the wines are looked at from all different angles,” Groom said. “It creates discussion and differences, but because we’re dealing with North Coast wines, they are all high quality.”
Judge Ellen Landis tastes a glass of wine during the North Coast Wine Challenge at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel in Santa Rosa, on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Many of the winemaker judges were sourced from larger wineries that produce a broad range of wines, such as Corey Beck of Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Randy Ullom of Kendall-Jackson and Chris Munsell of E&J Gallo Winery.
Wine buyers on the judging panels included Jusden Aumand of BevMo!, Teejay Lowe of G&G Supermarkets and Ben Pearson of Bottle Barn. Media/sommeliers included Leslie Sbrocco of KQED’s “Check, Please!”; Bob Foster of the California Grapevine Wine Newsletter; and Fred Dame, a master sommelier and the first American to have served as President of the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide.
For the first time, Groom also added four associate judges — young winemakers or assistant winemakers working in the industry who were chosen from a field of 50 or 60 applicants who wanted to get more experience in wine competitions.
“I’m asking them to give me feedback on the experience,” Groom said. “My vision is to have one on each panel next year.”
Each of the young, associate judges was paired with a mentor on their panel, including some of the most prominent winemakers working today, from Dan Kosta of Kosta Browne Winery in Sebastopol to Heidi Barrett of Barrett & Barrett Wines of Calistoga.
“For our experienced judges, it’s time to give back,” Groom said. “I’m a strong believer in wine competitions .. this gives wine competitions a chance to live on and make sure they’re important in the future.”
Associate Judge Ashley Holland, assistant winemaker for Three Sticks Winery in Sonoma, was getting her first taste of judging Tuesday, tasting through some high-end pinot noirs and unusual red blends under the mentorship of Dennis Martin, winemaker for Fetzer Vineyards.
“I look at wine every day in a technical way, under the microscope,” Holland said. “It’s good to take a step back and look at it from a different perspective.”
Judges take notes as they sample zinfandel wines during the North Coast Wine Challenge at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel in Santa Rosa, on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Associate Judge Greg Urmini, winemaker at Crossbarn Winery in Sebastopol, was tasting through $20 to $40 pinots, red blends and chardonnays Tuesday morning alongside his contest mentors. Kosta and Foster, both veterans of wine competitions.
“The biggest thing is backing away and seeing the wine in that category,” he said. “Was it well made? Was it well balanced? Does it fit the profile?”
Meanwhile, Associate Judge Erica Stancliff, winemaker for Trombetta Family Winery in Forestville, was tasting through cabernet sauvignons in the luxury class ($75 and above) with her competition mentor, Barrett.
“It’s a great way to see what more winemakers are doing stylistically,” she said. “The trend I’m seeing now is people trying to find who they are … we’re not just pinots, we’re Sonoma Coast pinots. There’s more competition, so you really have to define yourself and the way you stand apart.”
Some of the most popular categories entered this year were pinot noir and chardonnay, both varietals that do well in the cooler, coastal climates of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Nearly 200 pinot noirs were entered, reflecting trends in winemaking taste and consumer demand.
“People are making more pinot, and consumers are wanting to drink it,” Groom said. “No. 1, it’s food friendly. But the thing I love most about it is that it’s the most diverse grape variety stylistically … you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
Judge Chris Sawyer swirls a glass of wine during the North Coast Wine Challenge. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Groom, who also judges the Pinot Cup during the annual Pigs & Pinot benefit event at Hotel Healdsburg, said he plans to invite the best pinot producer from the North Coast Wine Challenge to be one of five honorees at the Pigs & Pinot gala dinner next year. That will be a first-time collaboration between the two contests and an extra feather in that pinot producer’s cap.
Throughout the morning, the judges diligently cleansed their palates with still and sparkling water, two types of bread, Graber olives and roast beef.
“The olives take the tannins away,” said Debra Del Fiorentino, whose company Wine Competition Management and Production manages all the competition logistics. “Roast beef lightens the tannins that build up on the back of your tongue.”
Led by Del Fiorentino and her staff, an army of more than 40 volunteers kept the wine competition running smoothly in the back room, where each wine glass was numbered before being filled and carted out to the judges and each score was logged in, then checked and rechecked several times.
To keep the tasting going, about 4,000 wine glasses were unpacked, then continually washed and dried throughout the day as the judges plowed their way through the competing wines.
Bottles of wine opened during the North Coast Wine Challenge at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel in Santa Rosa. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
“It’s a very intricate process,” Del Fiorentino said. “Many of these people have been here for years.”
Claudia Irvine, who owns her own marketing business but studies wine at the Santa Rosa Junior College, was one of the newer volunteers learning the ropes of the contest world.
“It’s a lot of work, and it’s fast paced,” Irvine said. “But you learn a lot from how the judges speak about the wines.”
The sweepstakes and gold medal winners will be published in Feast and on pressdemocrat.com. On May 15, the public can sample all the gold medal-winning wines and enjoy gourmet bites from nine celebrity chefs during a tasting from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Sonoma Mountain Village Event Center in Rohnert Park. To reserve tickets, go to northcoastwineevent.com.
The blind tasting, co-hosted by The Press Democrat and the trade organization Vineyard & Winery Management of Santa Rosa, was launched in 2013 By Steve Falk, CEO of Sonoma Media Investments, which owns The Press Democrat.
“We’ve evolved every year to make it better,” Groom said. “My dream is to make it the must-enter contest for wineries … and for young judges, to help them get their start.”
Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.
Hugh Chappelle had a precocious palate. While just a kid he was an everyday wine drinker, thanks to his German mother who gave him a taste of the finest rieslings.
Chappelle is the winegrower behind our wine-of the-week winner — Quivira, 2015 Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County Rosé at $22.
The Quivira is a striking rosé with lively fruit tempered by great acidity. It has aromas and flavors of watermelon, raspberry, grapefruit and a hint of cranberry. It also has great minerality. This rosé will no doubt turn heads.
“This wine typifies Quivira’s motto: Intentional Wines, Naturally,” Chappelle said. “Specifically, our philosophy with this wine is ‘farmed for rosé, picked for rosé, and intentionally made as a rosé.’ It’s one of the few domestic rosés that purposefully uses 100% estate-grown fruit from the classic, traditional southern French varieties most prized for making rosé.”
When it comes to this bottling, the sum is definitely greater than the parts, Chappelle said.
“Grenache’s juicy flavors provide the base, but the blend also always includes mourvèdre, syrah and counoise,” he said. “2015 was the first vintage where a very small amount of petite sirah was used, simply because we thought it made the final blend better in our blind tastings.”
As for terroir, the climate of Quivira’s Wine Creek Ranch home vineyard is nearly identical to the southern Rhône Valley, Chappelle said. “This makes it ideal to nurture the varieties that many consider are used to make the finest rosé.”
The most challenging part of making rosé is perfecting the final blend, according to Chappelle.
“Blending begins in the vineyard where blocks are surgically picked at the right time,” he said. “In the cellar, we are managing each individual lot throughout the entire winemaking process. For example, for the 2015 rosé, we used over 10 different lots. It’s always a relief to get the final blend into the bottle.”
Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, Chappelle said winemaking suits him well.
“Winemaking’s mix of science, creativity and aesthetic expression just seems to be a great fit for my strengths and personality,” he said. “I enjoy combining the rigor of a scientific approach with using my senses, intuition and experience.”
Chappelle, 53, joined Quivira as winegrower in July 2010. His credits include a stint at Lynmar Estate and, before that, Flowers.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Chappelle grew up with more of an appreciation of wine and food than many of his fellow winemakers.
“My mother was not only from Germany, but specifically from the Mosel (Trier),” Chappelle said. “She passed along to me an appreciation of wine, not just for holidays and celebrations but part of daily life.”
THIS WEEK’S BLIND TASTING
Rosé
TOP PICK
Quivira
Quivira, 2015 Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County Rosé, 13.6%, $22. ★★★★
This is a striking rosé with lively fruit tempered by great acidity. It has aromas and flavors of watermelon, raspberry, grapefruit and a hint of cranberry. It also has great minerality. This rosé will no doubt turn heads.
Tasty ALTERNATIVES
Medlock Ames, 2015 Bell Mountain Estate, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County Rosé, 13.9%, $25. ★★★★: This rosé has a lush texture but its crisp acidity keeps it in check. Refreshing notes of citrus and cranberry. Great minerality. It works. Impressive.
Charles & Charles, 2015 Columbia Valley, Washington State Rosé, 12.2%, $12. ★★★1/2: This is an uncomplicated but tasty rosé with notes of cherry, raspberry and mineral. Bright and lively. Finishes crisp.
Bieler Pere et Fils ‘Sabine’ Rosé, Coteaux d’ Aix en Provence, France, 13%, $12. ★★★1/2: An approachable rosé with notes of cherry, peach and mineral. Light and lively. Delicate, but not overly so. A steal for the quality.
Match Book, 2015 Dunnigan Hills Rosé of Tempranillo, 13.9%, $12. ★★★: Aromas and flavors of strawberry, peach and cola. A sweeter version of rosé, with a hint of cream.
There are ground rules for the adventure date, but the most important one is that you don’t tell your date where you’re going. I’m not encouraging you to blindfold your date. Just don’t disclose your plans. Meanwhile keep your stash — the perfect wine and picnic fixins’ out of view.
Picnics can happen anywhere and the more creative we are, the better. Here are a few off-beat picnic settings to consider. Beach-lovers will enjoy driving to Occidental and then looking for a scenic point along Coleman Valley Road to pitch their blanket and uncork their wine. Urbanites may prefer finding a picnic table in the heart of Sebastopol’s The Barlow. There they can enjoy a glass of wine and a nosh before setting out for an afternoon of wine tasting, gallery-hopping and shopping right in that hip hub of commerce. (www.thebarlow.net) Art lovers, on the other hand, may like to picnic on the Sonoma Plaza before stepping into the Lisa Kristine Art Gallery. The gallery offers compelling photographs of indigenous populations. (www.lisakristine.com)
As for the wines to uncork, this list will stand up in any setting – the beach, The Barlow, the Sonoma Plaza, or any other chosen spot you can dream up. Just a tip: The wines will taste even better with a little suspense, so mums the word on your destination.
Tablas Creek Vineyard, 2014 Patelin de Tablas Rose, 13%, $20. (Look for the 2015 to roll onto the market soon.) A gorgeous rose with aromas and flavors of wild strawberry, watermelon and mineral. It’s tangy, crisp and clean, a striking combination.
Dry Creek Vineyard, 2015 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc, 14.5%, $18. This dry sauvignon blanc is lovely. Notes of grapefruit, mineral and jalapeno. Just a hint of toast, but its bright acid dominates. Lovely.
Ritual, 2015 Casablanca Valley, Chile Sauvignon Blanc, 14%, $18. A sauvignon blanc that has floral aromas and tropical fruit on the palate. It has an oily texture, which takes you by surprise, but its crisp acidity trumps here. Solid.
Graziano, 2014 Mendocino County Chenin Blanc, 13.5%, $15. This is a tasty chenin blanc with notes of peaches, melon and a kiss of honey. It all rides of crisp acidity. Smart.
Kenwood Vineyards, 2014 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc, 13.5%, $12. A zesty sauvignon blanc with tasty notes of honeydew, lemongrass and citrus. It’s refreshing, and its bright acidity is what makes it a standout — particularly at this price point.
Food is love. Food is happiness. And now, food is medicine?
Eating healthy, whole, unmodified and unprocessed food to heal our bodies isn’t exactly a new idea, but it’s one that’s coming back to the forefront as diabetes, heart disease and cancers related to sugary, fatty Western diets become epidemic.
And that’s the mission behind The Pharmacy cafe — thoughtfully-crafted foods that nourish and enrich, rather than deplete our bodies.
“I’m not a doctor,” says co-owner Kim Bourdet, “But people just don’t understand what’s in their food and drinks — where it’s coming from or what’s going into their body,” she adds.
That’s why she and Chef Jennifer McMurry (formerly of Viola Pastry Cafe) have created a breakfast and lunch menu of food with a conscience. Not-so-ironically at a former pharmacy at Brookwood and Sonoma Ave.
Brilliant yellow egg salad sandwiches are made with rEvolution fermented sourdough bread (a BiteClub fave), eggs from White Whale Farm (the owners of Pug’s Leap cheese) and Jennifer’s own lemon aioli. There’s water kefir from The Kefiryon tap, Bella Rosa coffee and espressos, lassis made with turmeric, ginger and homemade organic almond milk (now an obsession of mine), a luxurious chop salad with house-roasted chicken, or tiny jars of lemon curd with meringue. In the morning, carrot loaf with homemade cream cheese is a favorite, and the carrot cake with cream cheese? Decadent without the sugar high.
Kim and Jennifer look for producers with passion, ingredients without GMOs, gluten-free alternatives and portions that satisfy rather than stuff.
It’s not diet food, mind you, but food that you can feel good about eating.
Right now, everything is grab-and-go, making it a perfect quick pitstop that won’t leave you with an afternoon of regret. The duo plan for special dinners, nutrition and cooking classes and much more. Next week, I’ll be doing a deeper dive into The Pharmacy and other “healing foods” restaurants popping up in Sonoma County, so stay tuned.
The Pharmacy, 990 Sonoma Ave. #1, Santa Rosa, open 7a.m. to 3p.m. weekdays, closed Saturday and Sunday.
The “Raw Fish of the Day” is the chef’s selection. This day it included cucumbers and blood oranges at Oso restaurant in Sonoma. (Photo by Charlie Gesell)
Don’t know an izakaya from an omakase? Don’t worry, you will.
Although nearly a third of Americans included in a 2015 National Restaurant Association survey said they regularly eat sushi or “Japanese” food, the lion’s share of that is Americanized sushi, strip mall teriyaki and Top Ramen.
But homestyle Japanese dishes, pub food and even luxe multi-course kaiseki meals are the obsession of several Sonoma County chefs looking eastward for their culinary inspiration.
“There is a lot of symbiosis about what we do here and what they do in Japan,” said Chef Matthew Williams of the Ramen Gaijin, Sonoma County’s first pub-style izakaya and small plates eatery in Sebastopol. That means working closely with seasons and local farms, plating that teases all the senses and culinary techniques based on centuries-old knowledge as well as emerging gastronomical experimentation.
And though Williams and his co-owner Moishe Hahn-Schuman don’t have Japanese heritage, they pay homage to a cuisine they fallen in love with.
“Our food is an Americanized version but with a sense of place, and working within the seasons,” said Williams. “We try to take traditional Japanese techniques and put them through a Sonoma County lens.”
That sense of place, merged with the exacting precision of Japanese cuisine and the almost ceremonial nature of serving of-the-moment produce, is what fellow chef Kyle Connaughton and his wife/culinary farmer see as their mission at Healdsburg’s forthcoming Single Thread Farms, Restaurant and Inn. The restaurant is slated for an early summer launch.
“There are quite a few parallels,” said Connaughton. He is a farmer, chef and devotee of the disciplined approach to nature in high-end Japanese cuisine, learned during several years of living and working in Northern Japan with Katina.
Now raising crops for the restaurant on their own Healdsburg farm, the Connaughtons are witnessing first-hand the subtle, almost imperceptible changes from day to day, week to week. That means a peach or piece of bok choy will land on your plate at just the right moment for eating.
“We borrow from and are inspired by (Japan) and apply it to our own cuisine,” Connaughton said.
Other local eateries, pubs and even food trucks have quietly been adding dishes inspired by Japan, but with a definite Sonoma County flair.
Here are a few places to find the food.
Ramen Gaijin, Sebastopol (ramen and yakitori, Japanese-inspired cocktails, small plates): With dashi in their veins and ramen on their minds, chefs Matthew Williams and Moishe Hahn-Schuman have created a uniquely Sonoma County version of izakaya, modeled after Japanese drinking establishments that serve simple, filling foods like ramen and yakitori.
Yakitori skewers, which are grilled and fanned in the open kitchen, include Wagyu beef, chicken meat and the crispy skin, trumpet mushrooms and seasonal fish.
The fragrant smell of meat grilling on charcoal is almost hypnotizing, so we suggest sitting at the kitchen bar if possible. As part of the sensory experience, sprinkled flakes of bonito (dried shrimp) dance and sway in the heat of the plated skewers, beckoning you to admire their beauty and get down to the businesses of eating.
Ramen bowls are made with the same tweezer-perfect concentration, using homemade broth, homemade ramen noodles, pork belly, perfectly-cooked hard-boiled and pickled eggs, mushrooms and bits of pickled kimchi. This seemingly simple concoction is anything but. It takes days to pull together many of these painstakingly-involved ingredients.
The Gaijin team gives the Japanese bar food a sense of place with local produce, meats and eggs, all meticulously plated. The expanding menu also includes karaage (Japanese fried chicken) along with beer, sake and batch-crafted whiskey and bourbon cocktails created by celebrity cocktail whisperer Scott Beattie. (Check out our cocktail porn page)
The restaurant reopened this month after extensive remodeling and cocktail program development. The menu now includes dishes like pickled vegetables with bonito, poke (raw fish seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil) and gyoza (potstickers). 6948 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, ramengaijin.com.
Single Thread, Healdsburg (coming in mid-2016): Chef Kyle Connaughton has worked in some of Japan’s toniest restaurants, and the inspiration shows in his dishes. At a recent guest dinner at St. Helena’s Restaurant at Meadowood, his menu included Sonoma Coast sea urchin (uni) with potatoes from his farm, cooked with Japanese root vegetables and beef in ancient clay cookware called donabe.
Though Single Thread won’t be a Japanese restaurant per se, Connaughton said it will be heavily influenced by the country’s culinary philosophy.
“We use a lot of Japanese products and techniques and are inspired by Japanese hospitality and aesthetics,” he said. “Our menu has a lot of similarities to the format and architecture of a kaiseki menu, but we’re not trying to import a Japanese restaurant to Sonoma.
“The spirit of kaiseki is to represent the time and place of where you are, a fleeting moment in time. That is what we are inspired by and apply to Sonoma County.”
Connaughton, co-author of “Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Cooking” (Potter, $22), also sees parallels with his passion for the vessels that have been used for centuries in Japan. He also plans to make the porous, lidded clay pots that work a bit like slow cookers, heating up over time in ovens or over open flames and retaining the heat for a long time.
“They support getting the best out of ingredients and the natural flavors. With so many great products and produce here, we don’t have to manipulate ingredients, but just support and enhance them,” Connaughton said.
131 North St., Healdsburg, singlethreadfarms.com.
Sushi Shoubu, Santa Rosa (sushi burritos, homestyle miso): If you ask Chef Takeshi Uchida why he’s not making sushi anymore, the answer is pretty simple. It’s not sustainable.
Instead, Uchida’s Sushi Shoubu food truck serves up “sushi burritos” made with local vegetables and sustainable meats wrapped in sushi rice and a “tortilla” wrapper of nori (seaweed). Frequently he adds his homestyle miso, which is nothing like the sad stuff at sushi bars but cloudy with chunks of sweet potato.
You can find Takeshi on Saturdays at the Santa Rosa Community Farmers’ Market.
Hana Japanese, Rohnert Park (sushi, sake, omakase): Chef Kenichi Tominaga has been Sonoma County’s flag-bearer of Japanese cuisine for nearly 20 years, though only regulars know the best stuff on (and off) his menu. The best bet is Tominaga’s osusume, or “recommended” menu, which includes dishes such as steamed dashi custard, tako poke (octopus) or whitefish tempura with pickled plums and shiso leaves.
Many of the ingredients come from Sonoma County, although much of the fish is flown in from Japan. Hana also is one of the only Japanese restaurants in the region with a sake “sommelier” and an entire wall of Japanese sake.
101 Golf Course Drive, Rohnert Park, hanajapanese.com.
Coming soon: Chef Curtis Di Fede, formerly of Napa’s Oenotri, is slated to open his own izakaya Japanese style pub, Miminashi, in late spring. Located in downtown Napa, the spot will feature small plates of yakitori, steaks and ramen.
Local chef-lebrity and Top Chef Masters winner Douglas Keane also has plans for a collaborative St. Helena restaurant with L.A. chef Sang Yoon. Named Two Birds One Stone, the Japanese-style yakitori grill will be housed in the newly-rehabbed Freemark Abbey Winery in the Napa Valley, owned by Jackson Family Wines. The restaurant is slated for a June 2016 opening.
The Pharmacy in Santa Rosa. (Erica Olsson Photography)
Restaurant Closed in 2024
Food is love. Food is happiness. And now, food is medicine?Eating healthy, whole, unmodified and unprocessed food to heal our bodies isn’t exactly a new idea, but it’s one that’s coming back to the forefront as diabetes, heart disease and cancers related to sugary, fatty Western diets become epidemicAnd that’s the mission behind The Pharmacy cafe — thoughtfully-crafted foods that nourish and enrich, rather than deplete our bodies. “I’m not a doctor,” says co-owner Kim Bourdet, “But people just don’t understand what’s in their food and drinks — where it’s coming from or what’s going into their body,” she adds.
That’s why she and Chef Jennifer McMurry (formerly of Viola Pastry Cafe) have created a breakfast and lunch menu of food with a conscience. Not-so-ironically at a former pharmacy at Brookwood and Sonoma Ave.
Brilliant yellow egg salad sandwiches are made with rEvolution fermented sourdough bread (a BiteClub fave), eggs from White Whale Farm (the owners of Pug’s Leap cheese) and Jennifer’s own lemon aioli. There’s water kefir from The Kefiryon tap, Bella Rosa coffee and espressos, lassis made with turmeric, ginger and homemade organic almond milk (now an obsession of mine), a luxurious chop salad with house-roasted chicken, or tiny jars of lemon curd with meringue. In the morning, carrot loaf with homemade cream cheese is a favorite, and the carrot cake with cream cheese? Decadent without the sugar high.
Kim and Jennifer look for producers with passion, ingredients without GMOs, gluten-free alternatives and portions that satisfy rather than stuff.
It’s not diet food, mind you, but food that you can feel good about eating.
Right now, everything is grab-and-go, making it a perfect quick pitstop that won’t leave you with an afternoon of regret. The duo plan for special dinners, nutrition and cooking classes and much more. Next week, I’ll be doing a deeper dive into The Pharmacy and other “healing foods” restaurants popping up in Sonoma County, so stay tuned.
The Pharmacy, 990 Sonoma Ave. #1, Santa Rosa, open 7a.m. to 3p.m. weekdays, closed Saturday and Sunday.
