The Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area, a restored wetland spilling over both counties just north of San Pablo Bay, is open to the public for hiking, biking, boating, birding and photography, though not many know that.
Some 50,000 acres of marshland have been within view of traffic humming along highways 37 and 121 for decades, but now there’s a reason to park, get out and breathe in the salty-fresh marine air. Ongoing state and federal restoration efforts have lured wildlife of all kinds to the 13,000 acres of tidal sloughs and wetlands within the preserve boundaries. Although much of it can be reached only by small boat, canoe and kayak, there is considerable land access on trails crisscrossing the levees. The paths are flat and easy to walk; dogs are prohibited.
What visitors will see, depending on the season, includes migrating ducks and geese, Tundra swans, avocets, egrets, coots, raptors and songbirds. Black-tailed deer occasionally wander the levees, and protected species such as the chicken-like clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse make appearances.
Consult the tide tables for the safest times to launch a boat or paddlecraft, and know that waterfowl hunting is permitted October through January; don’t be surprised by the sound of gunfire.
The easiest way to access the site is on the Napa County side, just past Bouchaine Vineyards (1075 Buchli Station Road, Napa). Drive past the barn and turn right on the dirt road past the vineyard. Follow the road to the railroad crossing and park at the Department of Fish and Wildlife office.
The Fork-11:Amy’s Drive Thruin Rohnert Park is a “healthy” fast food alternative created by Andy and Rachel Berliner of frozen-food giant, Amy’s Kitchen. The menu is focused on an all-vegetarian (and vegan/gluten-free friendly) menu that includes double stack veggie burgers, chili cheese fries, milkshakes, burritos, pizza and salads that are good for the planet and a whole lot better for you than traditional fast food. 58 Golf Course Dr. West, Rohnert Park. Open daily 10a.m. to 10p.m.
After two years of development on the menu and restaurant concept, the Berliners knew they were onto something big, but not quite this big.
Andy and Rachel Berliner on opening day at Amy’s Drive Thru in Rohnert Park
Early fans of Amy’s Kitchen were families with small children scarfing down organic French fries and waving half-eaten burgers. Rachel whisked from table to table, giving children coloring pencils and paper. “You have to keep the little ones happy for a few minutes,” she said.
“It’s fun to look at people’s faces,” said Rachel. “They’re so happy. This is food that even though it’s meatless, you don’t miss the meat. You can come here with your family and whatever your dietary needs are, you can eat it,” she said.
What to eat
The most popular item, not surprisingly, is the flagship Amy Burger ($4.29 with cheese), with freshly made buns, onions, lettuce, cheddar cheese, pickles, meatless patties and Fred Jr.’s secret sauce. (Insider info: Fred Jr. and Fred Sr. are the R+D team for Amy’s Kitchen that helped to develop the Amy’s Drive Thru menu.)
The man behind the bag? Fred Jr., part of the Fred and Fred R+D team for Amy’s Drive Thru
The restaurant’s burrito ($4.69 and a great value) – beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa wrapped in a whole wheat (or gluten-free) tortilla was a surprise favorite. “The first thing they want is the Amy Burger, but I think they’re surprised that the burrito was so good,” said Rachel.
Salad with goat cheese, beets, cranberries and walnuts with raspberry vinaigrette
Also on the BiteClub-approved menu: Regular (with dairy) and vegan milkshakes (awesome, $2.99); chili fries ($2.99), broccoli mac and cheese (made in an oven, so it gets nice and crispy, $4.69 to $4.89), giant salads (the Super Salad made with quinoa, hummus, tofu and other goodies, $7.99 is the Berliner’s favorite menu item), vegan and vegetarian pizza ($5.89 to $6.50) and homemade lemonade and sodas.
The (literally) million dollar question: Where and when will they expand? Andy confirmed that more Amy’s Drive Thru restaurants are in the works, but only expect 1-2 more in the next year or so, since much of Northern California has bans on new drive-thru restaurants (the Berliners can use existing fast food locations that shutter). Hint: They’ll be in Northern California.
And yes, there is a plan for world domination. Though Andy would never put it in exactly those words.
Amy’s Drive Thru
JUST THE FACTS
All food is non-GMO
95% of the ingredients are organic
Every menu items has a vegan or gluten-free option
Local is the priority for sourcing
Milkshakes are made with milk from pasture-based farms in Sonoma County
Pickles are locally brined at Sonoma Brinery
Sour cream and chili comes from Clover Stornetta
UPDATE: 7/23
There’s already been a chef shuffle, but owners say that they’re hoping to open in about three weeks.
Santa Rosa Seafood Raw Bar and Grill may be opening soon!
The tables have been set for what seems like years at the Santa Rosa Seafood Raw Bar and Grill (946 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa), but nothing much was happening. Biteclub hears that’s about to change. A chef has been hired and the wheels are once again turning.
Just because you’re making a trip to wine country doesn’t mean you have to spend all your time in tasting rooms. Here are a few fun alternatives.
This article is part of a series called “Hidden Sonoma.” To see the full list of 80+ things to do in Sonoma County, click here.
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Aah: Sonoma Canopy Tours
With your harness attached to a pulley on a heavy steel cable, soar above ancient redwoods and deep ravines at up to 25 mph on the zip lines at Sonoma Canopy Tours near Occidental. The seven lines are connected by platforms, two skybridges and a spiral staircase, providing an eco-friendly workout and thrill ride that ends with a rappel to the forest floor. Look down if you dare. $99-$109; discounts for ages 10 to 17 and seniors.
Johnson’s Beach Alternative: Monte Rio Beach
Guerneville’s Johnson’s Beach may have the history, yet Monte Rio Beach on the north side of the Russian River below the bridge in Monte Rio is a favorite spot for frolicking families and kayakers looking for a soft, shallow spot to put in for a paddle. The concession stand and boat-rental facility are located in the parking lot. In summer, when river levels drop, the Monte Rio Recreation and Park District installs a wood boardwalk that connects these facilities to the water’s edge.
In summer, the cool water of the Russian River at Monte Rio is always a local favorite. (Photo by Kent Porter)
Cut the Rug with Flamingos: Dancing at the Flamingo Lounge
Sunday nights are salsa (and bachata) nights in The Flamingo Lounge, the retro bar inside the Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa in Santa Rosa. Every week, local salsa bands take over the lounge and crank out live music for smartly dressed dancers. The party usually starts at 7 p.m., when dance pros offer an hour of salsa lessons ($10 a person). Open dancing ($8) begins at 9 p.m., and usually stretches late into the evening. Order food before 9 p.m. and get 10 percent off.
A Man of Many Faces: Actor & Historian George Webber
Sonoma’s George Webber isn’t really a defrocked Mexican generalissimo, though he plays one. Webber has for years made appearances at Sonoma events as the famous Gen. Mariano Vallejo, and expanded his “George Webber experience” to the Gen. Vallejo Walking Tour of the Sonoma Plaza. Webber’s got more than a beloved 19th-century land baron up his sleeve. He also brings to life Mark Twain, enologist Professor Vine and Count Agoston Haraszthy.
George Webber plays Count Agoston Haraszthy for Buena Vista Winery. He is the ambassador for the winery, bringing the founder of the winery to life. (Photo by Jeff Kan Lee)
Lawful Speeding: Sonoma Raceway
Wednesday night is a drag, we know. But this time it’s in a good way. The Wednesday Night Drags at Sonoma Raceway is a safe (and legal) opportunity for teenagers and seniors alike to channel their inner Jeff Gordon and drive their vehicles fast and furious down the raceway’s quarter-mile strip, supervised by Bay Area law enforcement officers. The season runs March through November, 4 to 10 p.m.
29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 800-870-7223, racesonoma.com
Beer and Burlesque
What pairs well with a Lagunitas Imperial Stout? How about a sword swallower? The Daytime IPA goes great with a contorting burlesque dancer on a trapeze. Every August, Lagunitas Brewing’s Beer Circus in Petaluma celebrates steampunk weirdness, vaudeville spectacle and, of course, beer. More than 200 artists and performers, food purveyors and dozens of regional microbrews make this a can’t-miss festival, on Aug. 15 this year. Tickets sell out fast.
It’s You and Not the Sky That’s Falling: NorCal Skydiving
The beauty of the Sonoma landscape takes on an even more precious quality from above, when you’re falling from the sky toward the Alexander Valley at 120 mph. This is the experience with NorCal Skydiving, an outfitter whose planes take off from the Cloverdale Municipal Airport. Once you jump and your chute deploys, the experience is eerily quiet. On clear days, you can see Mount Shasta and the Pacific Ocean on the way down. Prices start at $179.
Lawful Speeding
Wednesday night is a drag, we know. But this time it’s in a good way. The Wednesday Night Drags at Sonoma Raceway is a safe (and legal) opportunity for teenagers and seniors alike to channel their inner Jeff Gordon and drive their vehicles fast and furious down the raceway’s quarter-mile strip, supervised by Bay Area law enforcement officers. The season runs March through November, 4 to 10 p.m.
29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 800-870-7223, racesonoma.com
Groovy Racing: Slot Car Raceway
Slot-car racing didn’t die with America’s innocence in the 1960s. It’s alive and well in Rohnert Park, where Slot Car Raceway welcomes hobbyists to race their miniature model cars on slotted tracks, steered by hand-held controllers. While most enthusiasts leaped to more sophisticated iRacing on computers, Slot Car Raceway does it old school with its in-shop track and cases full of parts and equipment for home hobbyists. If you fondly recall your 1967 orange Manta Ray and spring-loaded plunger, this place is for you.
305 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park, 707-795-4156 scrhobbies.com
Rudolfo Vazquez, of San Francisco, launches his ball on the bocce court at Campo Fina restaurant in Healdsburg as his friends wait their turns. (photos by Erik Castro)
Rudolfo Vazquez, of San Francisco, launches his ball on the bocce court at Campo Fina restaurant in Healdsburg as his friends wait their turns.
There’s a historic eatery on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that bills itself as the best Italian restaurant in the city with an indoor bocce ball court. It’s also the only one, and you don’t go there for the food.
In Sonoma, diners don’t have to choose between food and fun. There are several renowned restaurants that also serve up a side of la dolce vita in the form of a friendly game of bocce.
“It’s a reminder that the Italians do a better job of relaxing than we do,” said William Foss, owner of The Kenwood Restaurant. “Here’s a sport where you can hold a glass of wine.”
When he reopened the landmark Sonoma Valley restaurant in 2013, Foss added a regulation 90-foot bocce court next to the pond as a way to invite his guests to linger and drink in the view.
“Most restaurants deal with sit down, order, pay and leave,” said Foss, who started playing bocce 20 years ago in his hometown of Los Gatos. “This was, ‘Go to the bar, watch a game, go sit by the pond and play some bocce.’”
In Healdsburg, Ari Rosen named his first restaurant, Scopa, after an Italian card game. When he was ready to open a second, the chef wanted another game, so he naturally gravitated to the Italian game he used to play with his grandfather during summers in upstate New York.
Rosen painted a bocce player above the bar, built a bocce court at the back of the patio, and dubbed the restaurant Campo Fina. (campo in Italian means field, as in bocce playing field).
“For me, it’s about injecting the restaurant with life,” Rosen said. “Before the opening, I was already shopping for vintage bocce balls.”
Every summer, Campo Fina hosts league games on Thursday nights, with Rosen serving as referee. During the playoffs, the restaurant closes and Rosen installs bleachers for the fans. The winning team gets $1,000 plus their name painted on “The Wall of Champions.”
“The playoffs are very intense,” Rosen said. “Teams secretly send drinks to the next team to try to knock them out.”
At Underwood Bar & Bistro in Graton, owner Matthew Greenbaum built a bocce court on the back patio to provide a place for folks to enjoy drinks before dinner or sit down to a casual meal.
“I like it when uninitiated couples come in, and they’re a little nervous, but a half-hour later, they’re drinking and shouting,” he said. “It tickles my heart.”
From BottleRock to Outside Lands, the Bay Area is home to some of the biggest and baddest summer music festivals in the country. But in the hamlets of Healdsburg, Windsor and Cloverdale, the hottest game in town is the free weeknight summer music series. It’s where neighbors, farmers and oodles of families throw a massive town picnic every week, all summer long. Here’s the soundtrack to your small-town Americana:
Through Sept. 4 Cloverdale Friday Night Live, Downtown Cloverdale Farmers Market Musical range: Just know the theme this year is “The Summer of Soul,” which translates into blue-eyed soul with Eric Lindell, California soul with the Mother Hips and modern soul of Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds. Top bill: Local blues harmonica virtuoso and Mississippi Delta ex-pat Charlie Musselwhite ends the season on Sept. 4. Strategy: Plan ahead and get early-bird specials at nearby restaurants. Rules and regulations: No outside alcoholic beverages, so you have to buy your craft beer and wine at the venue. Music starts at 7 p.m. 707- 894-4410, cloverdaleartsalliance.org/fridaynightlive
Through Aug. 25 Healdsburg Tuesdays in the Plaza, Plaza Park Musical range: From gypsy jazz and Old-World folk to blues and rock, with Cajun zydeco tossed in for flavor. Top bill: Roy Rogers closes it out with blues slide guitar on Aug. 25. But you don’t want to pass up the Crux and its self-described “barn dance tunes, klezmer jams, pirate shanties and bluesy dirges” on July 14. Strategy: BYOB is the way to go. From blanket to blanket and lawn chair to lawn chair, the gushing wine on tap any given night is a who’s who of American winemaking. Dancing shoes highly recommended. Rules and regulations: Set up blankets and chairs after 4 p.m. Music starts at 6 p.m. Leave Fido at home. 707-431-3301, ci.healdsburg.ca.us
Thursdays through Aug. 27 Windsor Summer Nights on the Green, Windsor Town Green Musical range: Authentic Mississippi blues to cheesy cover bands. Top bill: Tossup between Charlie Musselwhite (Aug. 6) and San Francisco Americana singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet (July 30). Super Huey channels Huey Lewis and the News on July 9. The all-chick Killer Queens lead a crowd sing-along of “Bohemian Rhapsody” on Aug. 20. Strategy: Free valet parking if you arrive by bike, skateboard or stroller. Rules and regulations: No sitting on blankets before 4:30 p.m. Music starts at 6 p.m. Leashed dogs OK. 707-838-1260, ci.windsor.ca.us
Curried scallops at Hazel Restaurant. Photos by Sherry Heck Photography
Hazel Restaurant is on the horizon.
Branzino at Hazel Restaurant. Photos by Sherry Heck Photography
The countdown is on for Hazel, the new Occidental Restaurant from Berkeley chefs Jim and Michele Wimborough.
Slated for a Thursday, July 16, 2015 opening, the former Bistro de Copains has been undergoing some serious interior updates, and both chefs have been teasing fans on their Facebook page with pix of roasted branzino, curried scallops with Santa Rosa plums, cupcakes, and braised short ribs with polenta.
Short ribs at Hazel Restaurant. Photos by Sherry Heck Photography
The “rustic California-Mediterranean” menu is centered around the restaurant’s two wood-fired ovens, and Jim is a live-fire pro from his years at top-ranked restaurants including Boulevard, Kokkari, and Evvia. Because working with temperamental coals isn’t for just anyone. Michele will head up the desserts, including a weekly seasonal Friday Pie Day, sundaes, cookies and cakes. The inside scoop: Blueberry pie is up first.
Curried scallops at Hazel Restaurant. Photos by Sherry Heck Photography
Hazel (named after Jim’s great grandmother who inspired him to become a chef) will be doing dinner only its first week and then lunch and dinner seven days thereafter, as well as weekend brunch.
Santa Rosa Plum Crisp at Hazel Restaurant. Photos by Sherry Heck Photography
Interior at Hazel Restaurant at Hazel Restaurant. Photos by Sherry Heck Photography
The requisite farm-to-table shout out: “Hazel is committed to using local sustainable produce from farmers such as New Family Farm Sonoma Swamp Blues Farm, Ford Cheese and Olivian Olive Oil, meats and seafood. Wines from West Sonoma county producers, among them Radio-Couteau, Paul Matthews and Atascadero Creek will anchor the list and locally made beers will be prominent as well,” says the press release.
Call it the curse of the building, which was the site of the town’s most notorious murders, the kerfuffle the Fagiani family made over the original name (it was changed in 2012 after opening), the lineup of chefs that came and went from the restaurant, or maybe just the need for something different in the ever-changing landscape of the Napa Valley dining scene.
The Thomas at Fagiani’s on Wednesday, September 26, 2012. (Jeff Kan Lee/ The Press Democrat) Jeff Kan Lee
Whatever the reason, the NYC hospitality group behind the 2012 opening, AvroKo, is reinventing the restaurant as Ninebark (the name refers to a woody bush native to the region).
What’s really captured our attention: AvroKo has partnered with Michelin-starred wunderkind Matthew Lightner to open the restaurant and handle all of their West Coast culinary operations. And that means not just a new Napa restaurant, but whispers of a second restaurant in Calistoga, and likely other Wine Country eateries. Lightner rose to fame as executive chef of Castgna in Portland, Oregon, then received two Michelin stars in NYC after opening Atera.
His new focus for the restaurant and rooftop bar will be “California-focused, market-forward cuisine based around “innovative preparation techniques”, with proposed menu items like scallops with bottarga, seaweed and buttermilk; skewers of fatty tuna, shiso, peppercorns and sorrel and savory porridge with smoked fish, heirloom rice and sourdough.
The Thomas/Fagiani’s is slated to close at the end of July, and Ninebark will hopefully open in early August. Call us stoked.
Mark Vetri of Vetri, Philadelphia from Art Culinaire. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
The ultimate food porn magazine is one you’ve probably never heard of, but every chef has.
Long before iPhones and food bloggers and digital cameras that can make almost anyone a culinary documentarian, Art Culinaire Magazine was the first and last word in food.
Malabar, Peru–Pedro Schiaffiano uses only ingredients from the Amazon, from Art Culinaire. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
Introducing the world to the greatest chefs, the most state-of-the-art kitchens and, of course, the latest trends and recipes in haute cuisine with “jaw dropping” photography, Art Culinaire was —and is — a magazine coveted by chefs and gourmands.
The Greenhouse, South Africa—Octopus from Art Culinaire. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
In fact, Wolfgang Puck was in the first issue, long before he became “Wolfgang Puck”, and renowned Napa chef Thomas Keller is rumored to have almost every issue of the hard-bound magazine published since 1986.
Chef Andre Rochat’s Library at his restaurant in Las Vegas. Art Culinaire fills the top shelf. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
But few people know that the “International Magazine in Good Taste” (delivered to 57 countries, currently) makes its home in Healdsburg, quietly co-published by husband-and-wife team Carol M. Newman and Lars Ryssdal.
Mark Vetri of Vetri, Philadelphia from Art Culinaire. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
The two took over the publication in May 2014 from founder and friend Franz Mitterer, who Ryssdal describes as an Austrian gourmet who envisioned a magazine that honored chefs and their food.
State Bird Provisions dish from Art Culinaire Issue 112. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
What makes this magazine stand out amongst a flurry of digital food magazines, however, are its decidedly old school ways: Printing an oversized book on heavy gloss paper in full color. With almost no advertising.
Charlie Palmer from Aureole, NYC in Issue 73 of Art Culinaire. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman
“It’s like a vinyl record. There isn’t an online component, and you keep it forever,” said Ryssdal. “But we think about the legacy of chefs and their food. This is the only way to really honor a dish that a chef creates, with giant photos that show every detail,” he said.
Chef Justin Cogley, Aubergine. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
You can order the magazine ($68 for four issues a year), see what’s being featured in the current issue, and check out the impressive index of chefs included in each of the magazines online at artculinairemagazine.com, or by calling (707) 595-3850.
Chef Ben Sukle, Birch Rhode Island from Art Culinaire. Photo courtesy of Carol Newman.
Some 50,000 acres of marshland have been within view of traffic humming along highways 37 and 121 for decades, but now there’s a reason to park, get out and breathe in the salty-fresh marine air. Ongoing state and federal restoration efforts have lured wildlife of all kinds to the 13,000 acres of tidal sloughs and wetlands within the preserve boundaries. Although much of it can be reached only by small boat, canoe and kayak, there is considerable land access on trails crisscrossing the levees. The paths are flat and easy to walk; dogs are prohibited.
What visitors will see, depending on the season, includes migrating ducks and geese, Tundra swans, avocets, egrets, coots, raptors and songbirds. Black-tailed deer occasionally wander the levees, and protected species such as the chicken-like clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse make appearances.
