Page 450 – Sonoma Magazine

Outside Lands 2015 Food, Wine, Beer Lineup

July 2015

By biteclub

Get ready for Outside Lands 2015 with this handy guide.

Oh. My. God. My favorite event of the year for eating, this three-day extravaganza is the culmination of Bay Area food, wine and beer. I’ll let it speak for itself. Stay tuned for lots more details as the date approaches.
OUTSIDE LANDS ANNOUNCES THE 2015 FOOD & DRINK LINEUP

FEATURING
78 RESTAURANTS, 37 WINERIES AND 32 BREWERIES

WITH THE LIKES OF
BOURBON COKE FLOATS, DONUT CHEESEBURGERS, JAPANESE FRIED CHICKEN, PORKY FRIES, KORRITOS, GREEN JUICE, & FARM FRESH PRODUCE ON THE MENU

May 14, 2015 — San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Music & ArtsFestival announces another mouthwatering food and drink lineup for its eighth annual edition. Given producers’ insatiable creativity and love for Northern Californian food and drink, Outside Lands offers over 200 menu options, found within six unique experiences: A Taste of the Bay Area, Wine Lands, Beer Lands, Choco Lands, Cheese Lands, and GastroMagic, which was introduced in 2014 as a fully programmed stage devoted to fantastical culinary entertainment. Outside Lands will once again take place in San Francisco’s historic Golden Gate Park August 7-9, 2015. A limited number of Single Day, Friday VIP tickets are still on sale via www.SFOutsideLands.com.

A Taste of the Bay Area

The food wonderland that is A Taste of the Bay Area is folded directly into the Outside Lands experience, allowing festival-goers to catch performances like Elton John, Mumford and Sons and The Black Keys, while also choosing from 78 restaurants, food trucks and food carts, 12 of which are new. This year, the three-star, classic Cal-Ital restaurant Delfina joins A Taste of the Bay Area, as does Russian Hill hot spot Stones Throw, the modern and Mexico City inspired La Urbana, chef-driven sandwiches from Liza Shaw and Merigan Sub Shop, coffee masters Sightglass Coffee, and Indian street food devotees Raj + Singh, to name a few. San Francisco all-star chef and restaurateur Michael Mina will foray into Outside Lands’ VIP experience with Michael Mina’s Tailgate.

Beer Lands

A towering beer mug reading “Ye Ole Beer Lands,” beckons brew lovers into Beer Lands. In exciting news, this year, Beer Lands will include a food experience. Leading the way for this new addition will be The Monk’s Kettle. This pioneer in the gastropub movement will be serving the perfect salty companions to chilled ales – pretzel knots and sausages in a pretzel bun. As always, Dave McLean, Owner of San Francisco’s Magnolia Brewing Company and Alembic Bar, will curate the Beer Lands lineup. Appropriately, McLean fell in love with Northern California beers while pairing them with live music (Grateful Dead concerts to be exact), and he now makes some of the best beer in San Francisco. In its fourth year, Beer Lands gathers 32 breweries, hailing from San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, Half Moon Bay and Berkeley, that epitomize Northern California’s powerful craft beer culture. Six welcome newcomers to Beer Lands 2015 include two urban, small-batch breweries that launched just this past year, Local Brewing Co. and Fieldwork, as well as HenHouse, Half Moon Bay, Napa Smith and St. Florian’s. One of the country’s foremost craft breweries, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., will also return to Beer Lands. Sierra Nevada’s Beer Ambassador Terence Sullivan will bring Beer Camp back to the Hellman Hollow Field and will feature Sierra Nevada’s special festival brew, the Outside Lands Saison, on tap from the brewery’s signature solar-powered trailer.

Wine Lands

Unlike any other music festival experience, Outside Lands offers Wine Lands, and the chance to discover 37 top regional winemakers pouring more than 120 wines, as led by the award-wining wine expert, Peter Eastlake. UnderWine Lands’ornate tent, complete with chandelier lights inspired by grapevines, guests can pass through for the perfect wine for their next show, or can linger to chat with winemakers about everything from harvest to biodynamic practices to wine pairings. Wine Lands’ outdoor Courtyard offers picnic tables and wine barrels to post up at, as well as a 1920s vintage sink with wine on tap. Wine Lands sees 11 new winemakers this year. Several exciting newcomers include the iconic Chateau Montelena, Buena Vista Winery and Vineyards – the oldest winery in Sonoma dating back to 1857, and CrossBarn by Paul Hobbs, known for its commitment to sustainable winemaking. Two urban wineries join the bill with Bluxome Street Winery in San Francisco and Dashe Cellars from Oakland. Welcoming the Pacific Northwest at large, Wine Lands will also see three Oregon makers this year: Mouton Noir, Union Wine Co.,and SakéOne.

Choco Lands

Since there is nothing better than ending a meal at Outside Lands in an enchanting and decked-out forest full of rich, sugary and locally made desserts, Choco Lands returns. Guittard Chocolate Company, the oldest, continuously family-run chocolate company in the United States will be back to serve Melted Chocolate Bars, as will dessert veterans Sharona’s Chocolate Shop with Chocolate Dipped Brownies, Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cups, and Chocolate Dipped S’mores, Candybar Dessert Lounge with Hot Chocolate to beat the August chill, Kara’s Cupcakes with Artisan Cupcakes and Epic Cookies with Chocolate Crackled Cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies and Two Percent Milk for dunking.

Cheese Lands

Now in its third year, Cheese Lands will be curated by Thalassa Skinner of Culture, America’s magazine for cheese lovers, in partnership with Napa Valley’s Long Meadow Ranch. Cheese Lands will feature expansive cheese and charcuterie selections where artisan producers will engage in educational discussions about the best of the Bay Area’s cheese.

GastroMagic

GastroMagic debuted at Outside Lands in 2014 as a fully programmed stage devoted to fantastical culinary entertainment. It will return to Outside Lands in 2015. Stay tuned for its lineup and programming.

A Portion of the 2015 Outside Lands Menu is below
* subject to change
All new vendors are marked by (new)

4505 Meats – Cheeseburgers and Chicharrones
Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas – Tamales, Arroz con Leche
AQ – Sweet, Spicy and Shroomy Waffles
Azalina’s – Peanut Tofu Nachos, Chicken Curry Nachos
Beast and the Hare – Texas Style Baked Potatoes
Big Chef Tom’s Belly Burgers – Pork Belly Burgers, Crinkle Cut Cheese Fries
Charles Chocolates – Gourmet S’mores, Brownie Ice Cream Sundaes
Chino – Lumpia, Pork Fried Rice
Curry Up Now – Sexy Fries, Deconstructed Samosas
Delessio Market & Bakery – Thai Chicken Sandwiches, Kale Salads, Rabanada
Delfina -Meatball Subs with Provolone and Tomato (new)
Earthly Delights – Philly Cheesesteaks, Cajun Chicken Sandwiches
El Huarache Loco – Huaraches, Gorditas, Quesadillas
Endless Summer Sweets – Gourmet Funnel Cakes, Hand-dipped Corn Dogs
Escape from New York Pizza – Pesto, Roasted Garlic and Potato Pizza Slices
Event Specialists – Cinnamon Sugar Churros, Giant Soft Pretzels
Freshroll Vietnamese Rolls & Bowls – Vietnamese Sandwiches, Taro Chips
Full Belly Farm – An Outside Lands Farmers Market
Glaze Teriyaki – Teriyaki Bowls, Gyoza, Shishito Peppers
Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream – Secret Breakfast Ice Cream, Bourbon Coke Floats
Il Cane Rosso – Olive Oil Fried Egg Sandwiches, Griddled French Toast
La Urbana -Mexican Chorizo Dogs, Bean Soup (new)
Little Skillet – Chicken & Waffles, Mac & Cheese, Fresh Watermelon
Living Greens Juice – Fresh Juices, Thai Coconuts, Hot Detox Tea, Hot Mulled Cider
Long Meadow Ranch – Cheese and Charcuterie Plates (in Cheese Lands)
Loving Cup – Madagascar Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding, Frozen Yogurt Sandwiches
Lucca Foods – BBQ Pulled Pork, Rice Krispy Treats
Merigan Sub Shop – Eggplant Parm Subs, Italian Shaved Ice (new)
Michael Mina’s Tailgate- Burgers and BBQ (new; in VIP)
Namu Street Food – Mushroom Udon, Pork Tonkotsu
Nojo – Spicy Japanese Style Tater Tots
Nombe – Ramenburgers, JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Pacific Catch – Hawaiian Ahi Poke, Fish & Chips, Sweet Potato Fries
Pica Pica Arepa Kitchen – Arepas, Sweet Plantains, Yuca Fries
Precita Park Café – Deep Fried Organic Donuts, Equator Coffee
Proposition Chicken – Fried, Flipped, Fake Chicken Sandwiches
Raj + Singh – Chicken Tikka Masala Naan Wraps, Veggie Korma Rice Bowls (new)
Rich Table – Dried Porcini Doughnuts
Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos – Ice Cream Tacos, Frozen Bananas (new)
Rosamunde Sausage Grill – Beer Sausages, Chicken Cherry Sausages, Vegan Apple Sage Sausages
Sababa – Falafels, Cardamom Coffee Slushies (new)
Sabores Del Sur – Award-winning Alfajores
Sataysfied – Chicken Satays, Mie Tek Tek Fried Noodles
Sightglass Coffee – Individually Prepared Coffees, Vanilla Iced Cold Brew (new)
Southpaw BBQ & Southern Cooking – Smoked Brisket Sandwiches, Collard Greens
Spicy Pie – Pizza Slices, Cookie Pie
Spin City Coffee – Black Jet Pastries, Dynamo Donuts, Shakedown Ice Cream, and
Blue Bottle Coffee
Split Pea Seduction – Farm to Fork Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches
Sprogs – Rice Scooters (new)
Stones Throw – Chicken Parm Sandwiches (new)
Straw – “The Ringmaster” Donut Cheeseburgers
Sugar & Spun – Freshly Spun Cotton Candy Bouquets
Suite Foods Waffle Shop – Maple Bacon Waffles stuffed with Fried Chicken
Tacolicious – Shot-and-a-beer Braised Chicken Tacos, Veggie Tacos, Baja Style Fried Fish Tacos
The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen – Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Smoky Tomato Soup
The Butcher’s Daughter – Spicy Cheddar Brats, Knackwurst, Chicken Brats, Pâtés
The Creme Brulee Cart – Gourmet Creme Brulees (new)
The Little Chihuahua – Breakfast Burritos, Plantain & Black Bean Burritos and Fajita Burritos
The Monk’s Kettle – Pretzel Knots, Sausages in a Pretzel Bun (new; in Beer Lands)
The Pizza Place – Cheese, Pepperoni and Vegan Personal Pizzas
Three Babes Bakeshop – Chicken Pot Pie, Peach Pie, Hot Apple Cider
Three Twins Ice Cream – Brownie Batter Chunk Ice Cream, Raspberry Sorbet
Up & Under Pub and Grill – Waffle Fries with Crazy Toppings
Wise Sons Deli – Pastrami Sandwiches, Bagels and Cream Cheese
Woodhouse Fish Co. – Oysters, Maine Lobster Rolls, and New England Clam Chowder

Food Trucks 2015

Bacon Bacon – BBQ Bacon Burritos, Porky Fries
Del Popolo – Margherita Pizzas
Señor Sisig – Sisig Burritos and Tacos
Seoul on Wheels – Korritos, Rice Plates
The Chairman Truck – Pork Belly, Pork Shoulder, Chicken and Tofu Buns
The Rib Whip – BBQ Bowls & Sandwiches
Those Fabulous Frickle Brothers – Fabulous Frickles, Fried Green Tomatoes, and
Cold Kosher Dills

Choco Lands 2015

Candybar Dessert Lounge – Chocolate French Macarons, Homemade Hot Chocolate
Epic Cookies – Chocolate Krackle Cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies, Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and 2% Milk
Guittard Chocolate Company – Melted Chocolate Bars
Kara’s Cupcakes – Cupcakes, Karamel Corn, Artisan Cookies
Sharona’s Chocolate Shop – Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate-Dipped S’mores, and Chocolate-Dipped Brownies

Beer Lands 2015

21st Amendment Brewery
Ace Cider
Almanac Beer Company
Anchor Brewing Company
Anderson Valley Brewing
Bear Republic Brewing Company
Bulmers Cider Company
Calicraft Brewing Co.
Drake’s Brewing Company
Faction Brewing
Fieldwork Brewing Company (new)
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Fort Point Beer Company
Golden Road Brewing
Half Moon Bay Brewery
(new)
HenHouse Brewing Company (new)
High Water Brewing
Iron Springs Brewery
Linden Street Brewery
Local Brewing Co.
(new)
Lost Coast Brewery
Mad River Brewing Company
Magnolia Brewing Company
Mendocino Brewing Company
Napa Smith Brewery
(new)
North Coast Brewing Company
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Social Kitchen & Brewery
Sonoma Cider
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
St. Florian’s Brewery
(new)
Triple Voodoo Brewing Company

Wine Lands 2015

AP Vin
Banshee
Bluxome Street Winery (new)
Broc Cellars
Buena Vista (new)
Calder Wine Co.
Chateau Montelena (new)
Claypool Cellars
CrossBarn by Paul Hobbs (new)
Dashe Cellars (new)
Ghost Pines
Hess Collection
Hobo Wine Co.
Idell Family Vineyard
Idelwild / Ryme / Jolie Laide (new)
Jaffurs Wine Cellars (new)
Jamieson Ranch Winery (new)
Long Meadow Ranch
Medlock Ames
Menage a Trois
Mouton Noir
Navarro
Pellegrini Wine Company
Preston Farm and Winery
Prisoner Wine Company
Qupe-Verdad
Red Car
Ridge Vineyards
Robert Sinskey Vineyards
SakéOne
Scharffenberger Cellars
Scribe
Swanson (new)
Tin Barn (new)
Turley Wine Cellars
Union Wine Co. (new)
Wind Gap

The confirmed Outside Lands 2015 music lineup is below:

Elton John
Mumford & Sons
The Black Keys
Sam Smith
Kendrick Lamar
Wilco
Axwell & Ingrosso
Tame Impala
D’Angelo and The Vanguard
St. Vincent
Porter Robinson
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Billy Idol
G-Eazy
Hot Chip
Slightly Stoopid
Caribou
Milky Chance
Chet Faker
The Devil Makes Three
Nate Ruess
ODESZA
First Aid Kit
Toro Y Moi
RL Grime
Lake Street Dive
Mac DeMarco
George Ezra
Lindsey Stirling
Iration
Angus & Julia Stone
DJ Mustard
St. Paul and The Broken Bones
Glass Animals
Laura Marling
James Bay
Green Velvet & Claude VonStroke: Get Real
Django Django
Classixx
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Sky Ferreira
Leon Bridges
Robert DeLong
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
SZA
Allah-Las
Shakey Graves
Dan Deacon
Benjamin Booker
MisterWives
Langhorne Slim & The Law
Ryn Weaver
Broods
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Giraffage
GIVERS
Alvvays
Twin Peaks
The Family Crest
The Revivalists
METZ
Strand of Oaks
Speedy Ortiz
Fantastic Negrito
DMA’s
Natalie Prass
Alex Bleeker & The Freaks
The Sam Chase
Devon Baldwin
The Tropics

More announcements will be made in the coming weeks; for updates and more information, check out www.sfoutsidelands.com and follow Outside Lands on Facebook: Outside Lands Music Festival, Twitter: @sfoutsidelands and Instagram: outside_lands

Pascaline French bakery in Sebastopol is truly French

July 2015

By biteclub

Brioche bun with caramel from Pascaline in Sebastopol

Move over cronuts, Kouign Amann are the “it” pastry of the moment. With its deliciousness turned up to an 11, this menage a trois of croissants, butter and cake (kouign amann literally means “butter cake”) is about as decadent as breakfast gets.

With layers of puffed dough, caramelized sugar and more butter than should be legal, they’re so worth whatever caloric damage inevitably follows.

Celine Plano and Didier Ageorges at Pascaline in Sebastopol. Photo Heather Irwin.

And no one makes them better than Celine Plano, the new pastry chef at Pascaline Gourmet Shop. It’s in her blood, after all.

Kouing amann at Pascaline Gourmet in Sebastopol. Photo Heather Irwin

Having grown up in Brittany, Plano is well-versed in the complex and unforgiving creation of Breton’s most famous cake. “These are from where I’m from,” she says, pointing the kouign amann (pronounced “queen yamman”) among the meticulous rows of muffins, scones, breads and cakes she’s made that morning. And unlike the leaden American pastries made with heavy bread dough, most of Plano’s patisserie are based in brioche or layer puff pastry.

But wait, there’s more! Plano is just half of the dynamic French duo behind the newly-opened breakfast and lunch spot along Gravenstein Hwy (next to Mom’s Apple Pie).

The other half of the team is Didier Pascal Ageorges, the former culinary powerhouse of Chalk Hill Winery, SF’s Ritz-Carlton and Hotel du Palais Biarritz in France. Plano worked with Ageorges at the Ritz-Carlton, and is Chef and Technical Advisor to Callebaut, the world’s largest premium chocolate manufacturer.

Pastries at Pascaline in Sebastopol. Photo Heather Irwin

Not that sweets are all you’ll find at Pascaline Gourmet Shop. Open just a few weeks, they’re open for lunch as well, with simple but luxurious salads, and sandwiches (Croque Monsieur). The team also does catering and events, and Didier said they plan on including pop-up dinners and other surprises as they settle into the space.

Pascaline features dozens of fresh pastries each morning. Photo Heather Irwin

Stay tuned for more tastes from Pascaline. (The din of people asking about this spot was getting pretty loud, so I figured I’d go snarf some goodies to give you the heads up.)

Um, yeah. Why are you still reading this without a mouth full of pastries?

Pascaline Gourmet Shop, 4550 North Gravenstein Hwy, Sebastopol, (707) 521-9348, open Tuesday through Sunday, 7a.m. to 7p.m.

Grateful Dead Keep Truckin’

July 2015

By James Daly

Members of the Grateful Dead, from left to right, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Brent Mydland, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir. (AP Photo/File)

Love or loathe them — and some might do both during the band’s lengthy concert jams, depending on the timing of everyone’s drug ingestion — it’s difficult to ignore the musical force of nature that was the Grateful Dead.

Over 30 years and through more than 2,300 shows, the band created an unparalleled musical world of wonder, inspiring a devoted community of zealots, called Deadheads, who quoted the band’s lyrics like Scripture.

Along the way, the Dead helped shape the modern music industry. The Wall of Sound speaker system and colorful light shows set a standard for live performance that still influences bands today. During the Dead’s final five years on the road, the Los Angeles Times reported, fans spent $225 million on tickets. With its own ticketing agency and merchandising savvy, the band had become one of the most commercially successful acts of all time.

Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead performs in concert at New York's Madison Square Garden, Sept. 15, 1987. (AP Photo/Corey Struller) — Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead performs in concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Sept. 15, 1987. (AP Photo/Corey Struller)

Then it all went poof. Just before dawn on Aug. 9, 1995, Dead guitarist and leader Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack in a Marin County rehab center, physically wrecked and spiritually drained. He had just turned 53. Four months later, the Dead disbanded.

This summer, the “Core Four” surviving members — guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — along with Phish’s Trey Anastasio filling Garcia’s shoes, put aside years of squabbling to perform two concerts in late June at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and three at Soldier Field in Chicago (the site of the band’s last show in July 1995). A fall tour with singer John Mayer could also be in the works, according to music industry sources.

It’s easy to believe the long, strange trip of the band would always lead the Dead to where it is now: an American institution. But the facts suggest otherwise. The Grateful Dead might have simply been a musical sidebar to the hippie-dippie 1960s instead of a cultural phenomenon, had it not been for a rejuvenating geographic shift the band made in 1968. Saddled with debt and disillusioned by a deteriorating scene in Haight-Ashbury, the San Francisco neighborhood where the band members lived, they left a city that supported and loved them to head north across the Golden Gate Bridge and into the rolling hills of Marin and Sonoma. It was a time of restorative reinvention, resulting in a fertile period of creativity, accessibility and commercial success.

“The move gave the Dead a resting place in which to re-evaluate not just their music but also their whole lifestyle,” said Sam Cutler, who was the band’s tour manager in the early 1970s and later became their agent. “It gave them a place in which to create for themselves a new way of communal living.”

Fans of the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead mourn at an impromptu memorial at Central Park's Strawberry Fields in New York, Aug. 9, 1995. Garcia died at age 53. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel) — Fans of the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead mourn at an impromptu memorial at Central Park’s Strawberry Fields in New York, Aug. 9, 1995. Garcia died at age 53. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel)

The Grateful Dead has become so much a part of the fabric of rock ’n’ roll that it’s easy to forget how revolutionary the group was. Its eclectic style blended rock, blues, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass and psychedelia into a unique whole, most memorably performed live with long chunks of musical improvisation. Concert promoter Bill Graham once said, “They’re not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do.”

The band’s musical and cultural caravan, as indulgent as it was transcendent, was not for everyone, but the joyful communal experience of the songs and the scene was electric to fans.

“Our audience is like people who like licorice,” Garcia once famously said. “Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.” The Dead began performing in 1965, with several members playing together as a jug band around Palo Alto, gigging at folk clubs and coffeehouses. Sometimes they called themselves Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, other times the Warlocks.

By 1966 they were the Grateful Dead and had established a base in San Francisco with a solidified lineup: Garcia, Bob Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals). The burgeoning San Francisco rock scene, centered in Haight-Ashbury, was creative and supportive. Jefferson Airplane members, Janis Joplin and Carlos Santana lived nearby. Colorful, mind-expanding art was everywhere. So were drugs, particularly LSD. But when a Human Be-In event in early 1967 drew an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people to Golden Gate Park, the secret was out.

“Suddenly, every bored high school kid in America was heading to the Haight,” wrote Dennis McNally, who later served as the band’s publicist, in his book, “A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead.” Nasty drugs such as heroin and speed began to appear. The neighborhood got dirty and crowded.

“The Haight-Ashbury scene ended ingloriously because of over-population,” McNally wrote. “Like any ecosystem, if it becomes over- populated, it stops being healthy.”

In October 1967, the band’s communal house at 710 Ashbury St. was raided by San Francisco police, who found a pound of marijuana. Eleven people were busted, including Weir and McKernan. Originally charged with felonies, most of the defendants pled guilty to misdemeanors and paid fines of $100 to $200, according to reports in the San Francisco Chronicle. The groovy Haight-Ashbury scene of just a year earlier was gone. The band wanted to flee.

Meanwhile, a “back to the land” culture had been taking root throughout the country. Young people became disillusioned with what they felt was their parents’ soul-destroying, materialistic world, one more concerned with making war and martinis than living in peace and harmony. Alternative-living communities sprang up, including Morning Star Ranch, a counterculture commune near the apple orchards and redwood groves of Occidental and Sebastopol. The ranch began in 1966 as a social experiment, when musician Lou Gottlieb declared his 30-acre property open to all. Vanloads of people, mostly young, took him up on the offer. They set up their community, worked in the vegetable gardens, wandered around nude, shared meals, built shacks and made music.

Ambiance at Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Show at Levi's Stadium on Saturday, June 27, 2015, in Santa Clara. (Photo by Jay Blakesberg/Invision for the Grateful Dead/AP Images) — Ambiance at Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Show at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, June 27, 2015, in Santa Clara. (Photo by Jay Blakesberg/Invision for the Grateful Dead/AP Images)

Many traveled from the scroungy hippie hollows of San Francisco. The Grateful Dead, too, felt the pull of the land. By mid-1968, the band members had moved north, with a house on Fifth and Lincoln avenues in San Rafael as their headquarters.

“The band wanted to tap into what they felt was going to be a simpler and happier life,” said Peter Richardson, a lecturer at San Francisco State and Sonoma State University (where he recently taught a class on the history of the Grateful Dead) and author of “No Simple Highway: A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead.”

The move wasn’t the band’s first experience in the North Bay. As a teenager, Garcia lived in Cazadero in western Sonoma and attended Analy High School in Sebastopol, a lengthy daily bus ride that made the teen very unhappy, according to band histories. It was at Analy where Garcia played his first gig, plunking on the guitar as part of a five-piece combo called the Chords.

In the summer of 1966, the Dead also spent time at an unused resort camp in Lagunitas in Marin County, according to McNally, and lived briefly in a large house at the idyllic Rancho Olompali near Novato (now Olompali State Historic Park), where the band performed con- certs on the front lawn and shot the photo for the back cover of its third album, “Aoxomoxoa.”

Two years later, the musical stakes were higher.

“The Dead threw themselves into the move with a gusto,” said Cutler, noting that the band was looking for “a whole new interpre- tation of the American identity.”

The rural inspiration of Sonoma and Marin resulted in what many consider to be among the Dead’s best albums, “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty,”
both recorded and released in 1970. The long psychedelic jams of the Dead’s earlier records, where numbers such as the live version of “Dark Star” could run 23 minutes, were replaced with tighter tunes, close harmonies and catchy riffs that recalled the band’s early days as a bluegrass and jug band. The songs “Friend of the Devil,” “Box of Rain,” “Uncle John’s Band,” “Truckin’’’ and “Casey Jones” sounded fresh. To the delight of the record label, Warner Bros. (to whom the Dead was $250,000 in debt), the new albums sold well, eventually going platinum.

The artwork, too, reflected the back-to-the-land ethic. The cover of “Workingman’s Dead” is sepia-toned, with a photo of the band in rugged clothes, caps and cowboys hats.

“They bought into the myth of the land and the happy yeoman,” Richardson said. “They saw some- thing utopian coming out of this.”

The Dead’s connection to Sonoma remains. Drummer Hart lives on a winding wooded road outside Occidental with his wife, Caryl, director of Sonoma County Regional Parks. In the last two decades, Hart has flourished as a solo artist and percussionist, and joined forces with Weir, Lesh and later Dead keyboardist Bruce Hornsby, as the Other Ones, playing classic Dead material as well as newer, original work. He is also the author of several books on the power of music.

“I play the drums,” Hart said on his Twitter feed. “Transformation is the object.”

Poster artist Stanley Mouse, who along with Alton Kelley created some of the most memorable Dead posters and artwork (including the famous skeleton and roses), has a studio in Sebastopol and sells his work at the Rockin Roses Art Gallery in Healdsburg. Petaluma’s Ed Perlstein photo- graphed the Dead for decades, producing classic images.

David Dodd, the collections manager for the Sonoma County Library in Santa Rosa, is one of the band’s top historians. In 1995, he founded the first website of annotated Dead lyrics (he stopped updating the site in 2007) and later created “The Grateful Dead Reader,” another examination of the band’s lyrics.

But not all the Dead’s associations with Sonoma are happy ones. Keyboardist Vince Welnick, who played with the band in the 1990s, committed suicide at his Forestville home in June 2006, after battling depression for many years.

Bob Weir, from left, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead pose at Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well portrait session on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, in San Rafael. (Photo by Jay Blakesberg/Invision for the Grateful Dead/AP Images)

The casual Deadhead wandering the back roads can still follow in the band’s faint footsteps. The house where the band lived at Olompali burned in an electrical fire in 1969; only the stucco walls remain. The open space and trails of the state park, however, are still gorgeous and inspiring.

The Dead’s headquarters in Marin, where the operation ran for 25 years, is now a private law practice with displays of Dead memorabilia inside. Fans can purchase soda and water from Jerry Garcia’s old Sub-Zero refrigerator at the Uncarved Block, a gem and mineral store at 112 N. Main St. in Sebastopol.

Perhaps the most vital connection to the Dead is at Terrapin Crossroads, a beautiful restaurant and concert space in San Rafael owned by Lesh, where the bass player frequently performs. Weir is known to sit in on gigs at Mill Valley’s Sweetwater Music Hall, which he helped relaunch in 2012 at a new location on Corte Madera Avenue.

For decades, the Grateful Dead has been as beloved a feature of the North Bay as the sensuous hills and rolling fog. Today, its message of love, peace, community, creativity and dance feels as essential as when the band began playing Magoo’s Pizza Parlor in Menlo Park. Fifty years later, the Dead remain as alive as ever.

Rumba Cuban Kitchen

July 2015

By biteclub

Steak Chimichurri at Rumba Cuban Kitchen in Windsor, CA. Photo: Heather Irwin.

Picadillos at Rumba Cuban Kitchen in Windsor, CA. Photo: Heather Irwin

Was it kismet that the day I just couldn’t control my craving for a real Cortadito also happened to be the day that America finally reached out a hand of diplomacy to Cuba? Seems I wasn’t the only one celebrating this historic moment, as table after table filled at Windsor’s Rumba Cuban Kitchen, with orders of Cubano sandwiches, chimichurri steak, beef Picadillo and sweet Cuban espresso came steaming out of the kitchen.

This tiny family-owned cafe, which opened last year, has been quietly gaining a following for its authentic Caribbean cooking that’s a mix of Latin, African and island flavors. Emphasis on “quietly” until a month or two ago when the buzz started heating up, and folks were repeatedly asking me, “Hey, how’s that Cuban place?”

My dining buddy, Emily, kinda summed it up after watching me swoon and sigh over a plate of Picadillo (ground meat in a sweet and savory Creole sauce) with madras (sweet plantains).

“I wish I could take a picture of your face. It’s hilarious,” she said, rolling her eyes and smiling with the same idiotic look I’d been making.

Here’s the thing: I kept doing it. A thin slice of steak with garlicky, green chimichurri and black beans. Oh. My. God. Same with the red beans and rice. And again with a grilled Cuban sandwich with roasted pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard on real Cuban bread and fried “croquetas” filled with beef and ham. Where have you been mi carino?

Cuban Sandwich at Rumba Cuban Kitchen in Windsor, CA. Photo: Heather Irwin.

To really get things right at Rumba Cuban Kitchen, its best to take an island attitude and let whatever happen, happen. Off-menu specials tend to be some of the best dishes, but you’ll need to be willing to ask a few questions to get the best results.

We spent a full five minutes grilling our waitress on explanations for everything from mariquitas (fried savory plantains), Cafe Con Leche (sweetened Cuban espresso with milk), red versus black beans (red are studded with bits of pork fat, black aren’t) and the “Mojo” roasted pork (slow-roasted pork infused with garlic and citrus). It’s worth asking, because we also got a side of recommendations for specialties of the house.

Cuban Coffee with Cream at Rumba Cuban Kitchen. Photo: Heather Irwin

With a small staff of mostly family members, it’s best not to rush things or be in too much of a hurry. There’s a McDonald’s down the street if that’s your game.

Instead, slow down, put your mind on simmer and sip a sweet, creamy cup of Cuban coffee while pondering your own diplomatic relations with this delicious Cuban cuisine.

Rumba Cuban Kitchen, 8750 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor, (707) 687-5632.

Terry’s Southern Style Fish & BBQ Returns

July 2015

By biteclub

Peach Cobbler at Terry's Southern Style Fish and BBQ. Photo from Facebook — Peach Cobbler at Terry’s Southern Style Fish and BBQ. Photo from Facebook

Back in 2005 I had a moment with the peach cobbler at Terry’s Southern Style Fish and BBQ.

This gritty barbecue spot along one of the grittier sections of Santa Rosa Ave. was a mecca of fall-of-the-bone ribs, hush puppies, catfish and Momma’s Boss Sauce, but it was the ridiculously uncomplicated plastic bowl of cooked peaches and sugared crust that made me fall hard. There was no fussiness with pedigreed peaches (I’m fairly sure they were canned), French butter or organic, fair trade sugar. Just a bear hug of warm, steaming deliciousness tossed ungracefully on the table with a side of bent silverware.

But then, like a bad boyfriend, Terry’s disappeared without so much as a goodbye. I dallied with other desserts, but it wasn’t the same.

Now, ten years later, a head-snapping sign along Hwy. 101 is heralding the barbecue restaurant’s triumphant return to Sonoma County. Huzzah!

Slated for an August opening in Rohnert Park, the revamped Terry’s has already put up hand-lettered signs in the windows for BBQ ribs and hot links along with Facebook promises of my old flame, peach cobbler.

Terry’s Southern Style Fish & BBQ coming this summer, 5979 Commerce Blvd., Rohnert Park.

Events: We’re In For One Hot Summer

July 2015

By Sonoma Magazine Staff

Fireworks illuminate hundreds of guests seated on the lawn behind Weill Hall to view the 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular at the Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, California on July 4, 2014. (photo by Alvin Jornada)

Lots to do in the months of July and August! Check out these summer events and add them to your calendar!

JULY 3
Funky Fridays: Enjoy live music in a beautiful spot, as this popular outdoor summer concert series in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park presents dance music by the Funky Dozen from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The series continues with a different band every Friday through Sept. 4. The concerts raised more than $30,000 for the park last summer. $10, 18 and younger free.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, 2605 Adobe Canyon Road, Kenwood, 707-833-6288, funkyfridays.info

JULY 4
Fireworks Spectacular: Celebrate Independence Day at the Green Music Center, with seating available both in Weill Hall and on the back lawn. The Santa Rosa Symphony, led by conductor Michael Berkowitz, performs with singer Megan Hilty, who played Glinda in “Wicked” on Broadway, at 7:30 p.m., followed by fireworks. $20 and up.
Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, 866-955-6040, gmc.sonoma.edu

JULY 4
The Wallflowers: The annual outdoor summer concert series at Napa Valley’s Robert Mondavi Winery opens with the rock band Wallflowers, led by Bob Dylan’s son, Jakob Dylan, at 7 p.m. The show also features Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. $85-$115.
Robert Mondavi Winery, 7801 St. Helena Highway, Oakville, 888-769-5299, robertmondaviwinery.com

JULY 9
Concert Under the Stars: The Montgomery Village Shopping Center’s free outdoor summer concert series features beloved Bay Area blues, swing and jazz band Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers from 5 to 8 p.m.
Village Court, Montgomery Village, 911 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 707-545-3844, mvshops.com

JULY 11
Martina McBride: The four-time Country Music Awards female vocalist of the year performs at 7:30 p.m. at the Green Music Center’s Weill Hall and lawn. Her hits include “Wrong Baby Wrong” and “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” $35 and up.
Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, 866-955-6040, gmc.sonoma.edu

JULY 11-25
Mendocino Music Festival: Gather to hear sweet sounds by the sea during Mendocino’s 29th annual salute to music of all kinds. The program includes classical, contemporary, rock, folk, soul and other musical styles. The main venue is a huge tent on the Mendocino Headlands overlooking the ocean, with performances also at other venues around the town of Mendocino. $12-$53.
707-937-2044, mendocinomusic.org

JULY 12
Dawg Day Afternoon Bluegrass Festival: Hear some of the finest pickers alive when the David Grisman Sextet and the Del McCoury Band perform, and dobro master Jerry Douglas presents the Earls of Leicester. The festival’s name comes from mandolin master Grisman’s name for his own style of bluegrass, jazz and more: “dawg music,” a term originally coined for him by his longtime friend, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. The show starts at 3 p.m. at the Green Music Center’s Weill Hall and lawn. $25 and up.
Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, 866-955-6040, gmc.sonoma.edu

JULY 17-18
Broadway Under the Stars: The Transcendence Theatre Company, a troupe of actors, singers and dancers with Broadway and national touring credits, continues its annual summer series of live outdoor musical revues with “Fantastical Family Night” at 7:30 p.m. both nights. $29-$129.
Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, 877-424-1414, transcendencetheatre.org

JULY 18
The Rivertown Revival: Witness a wacky race on the Petaluma River, including boats made of bicycle parts or maybe an old sofa. Enjoy live local music, art, food and drink. More than 40 local vendors will be on hand. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Steamer Landing Park, D and Copeland streets, Petaluma, rivertownrevival.com

JULY 18
Kevin Spacey: Hear the actor in concert. Yes, he sings as well as acts, directs and performs comedy. Remember him as Bobby Darin in 2004’s “Beyond the Sea”? The star of the hit TV series “House of Cards” sings standards from the American songbook at 7:30 p.m. at Green Music Center’s Weill Hall and lawn. Presented in collaboration with Napa Valley Festival del Sole. $40 and up.
Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, 866-955-6040, gmc.sonoma.edu

EDITOR’S NOTE: The printed version of Sonoma Magazine gave an incorrect date of July 19th for the performance with Kevin Spacey. The correct date is Saturday, July 18.

JULY 24-AUGUST 9
Sonoma County Fair: Now in its 79th year, Sonoma County’s annual salute to its agricultural heritage and hometown traditions combines exhibits of all kinds, livestock competitions, horse races, family activities, carnival rides, food booths and live concerts by pop, country and rock ’n’ roll musicians. $11; $5 for ages 7-12; age 6 and younger free.
Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, 707-545-4200, sonomacountyfair.com

JULY 31-AUGUST 23
Music in the Vineyards: Hear chamber music performed by internationally known musicians in the most congenial of settings, at wineries scattered across Napa Valley. Star soprano Dawn Upshaw returns this year. Prices vary by venue. Check the website for a full schedule.
707-258-5559, musicinthevineyards.org

AUGUST 15
Randy Newman: The perennially popular Rodney Strong Summer Concert Series continues with a performance by the famed singer, songwriter, arranger and composer. Surrounded by acres of beautiful vineyards, concert-goers can enjoy fine wines and stunning scenery while picnicking at the winery’s outdoor venue, the Concert Green. $70-$100. The series closes Sept. 5 with guitarist and singer George Benson. Check the website for the full schedule and ticket prices.
Rodney Strong Vineyards, 11455 Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 707-431-0998, rodneystrong.com

AUGUST 30
Pink Martini: This stylish and sophisticated little orchestra with a big sound and a wide repertoire performs at 4 p.m. at Green Music Center’s Weill Hall and lawn. $25 and up.
Green Music Center on the Sonoma State University campus, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, 866-955-6040, gmc.sonoma.edu

Bravas Bar de Tapas Paella

June 2015

By biteclub

Bravas Bar de Tapas PaellaBravas Bar de Tapas Paella — Bravas Bar de Tapas Paella

There’s something about giant pans and fire that brings out the theatrical in chefs. That and a hungry crowd that’s had more than a few of Bravas Bar de Tapas’ sangrias.

But every Friday and Saturday night during the summer, Chef de Cuisine Cody Thomasson or Sous Chef Julian Lopez, ham it up at the Healdsburg restaurant’s back patio fire pit, creating crowd-friendly paella studded with fresh seafood, local meats, produce fresh from nearby Sonoma County farms, and the signature flavors of Spanish pimenton, or smoked paprika, and saffron.

When all the flavors have sufficiently melded together into a giant steaming, sizzling array of culinary artwork, the bell rings to come and get it. Which is where things get especially theatrical.

Bravas Bar de Tapas Paella. Photo: Loren Hansen

“Combining campfire, theater, and thrilling feat of culinary bravado, our guests love watching this spectacle almost as much as they love the tasty results,” say owners Mark and Terri Stark (of Willi’s Wine Bar et al.)

We can’t think of a better way to spend a warm, Sonoma County evening than round the paella pan, drinking sangrias, nibbling tapas and watching the show. Just watch out when it comes time to lineup and eat, cause we throw elbows like nobody’s business.

Price may vary depending upon ingredients. Paellas come in small (serves 2, approx. $24) and large (serves 4, approx. $48) portions. Guests are advised to call the restaurant beforehand to make sure that weather will permit the wood fire that day.

Bravas Bar de Tapas, 420 Center St, Healdsburg, (707) 433-7700.

Guerneville Bank Club: Chile Pies and Nimble and Finn

June 2015

By biteclub

Guerneville Bank Club featuring Chile Pies and Nimble and Finn's Ice Cream. Photo Heather Irwin — Guerneville Bank Club featuring Chile Pies and Nimble and Finn’s Ice Cream. Photo Heather Irwin

Though the safe is now a photo booth and tellers replaced by ice cream scoopers, there’s still a grandiosity to the Guerneville Bank Club only fitting of a former financial institution. Rehabbed by locals, the 1928 bank building has become an ice cream and pie shop with retail space, an art gallery and the Russian River Historical Society a la carte.

We’re smitten with Nimble and Finn’s cheeky scoop flavors including Manhattan (whisky, vermouth and cherry chunks), blueberry cheesecake and vegan strawberry, rose and geranium sorbet.

Paired with Chile Pies’ sweet apple and chile pie with a drizzle of chile-infused honey? Solid gold.

Guerneville Bank Club featuring Nimble and Finn and Chile Pies: 16290 Main St., Guerneville.

At Single Thread Farms, Seasons are Moments

June 2015

By biteclub

Katina Connaughton of Single Thread Farms Restaurant in Healdsburg. Photo: Sally Egan

This story originally appeared in Made Local Magazine, March/April 2015

For everything there is a season. But for Sonoma County farmer Katina Connaughton, there are 72 to consider instead of just four.

Rather than painting broad strokes across her agricultural yearbook—spring, summer, winter, fall—Connaughton and her husband are bringing a set of ancient Japanese farming techniques to Sonoma County that subdivides the year into discreet seasonal slivers called shichijuuni koo.

Think of it as dividing the year into a pie with 72 five-day slices.

At least that’s one of the driving philosophies of Single Thread Farms, a two-acre plot of land the Connaughtons are cultivating near Healdsburg. Katina and her husband, chef Kyle Connaughton, see their small farm on Pete Seghesio’s historic San Lorenzo property as the epicenter for their haute trowel-to-table restaurant slated to open in the Healdsburg Meat Company building next fall.

Working in synchronicity, she (the farmer) and her husband (the chef), will introduce subtly different menus every five days, a rolling lineup of dishes that, Katina says, will “memorialize that fleeting moment in time” on the farm.

“We have a unique opportunity to create a constant dialogue between the kitchen and farm,” she says. Consider, for instance, the example of peas, which could be served throughout their growing cycle as shoots, tendrils, young peas, and mature ones over a period of several weeks.

Admittedly, even in a farming community as seasonally aware as Sonoma County, this may all sound a bit fussy. But for anyone who has eaten a perfectly ripe tomato, still warm from the vine, on a late August afternoon sekki—that perfect annual moment for eating that particular tomato—it doesn’t seem like such a stretch. In fact, it seems downright logical.

“These [small time periods] mark subtle changes in nature,” says Katina, who most recently worked in the culinary gardens of farm-to-table proponents John Stewart and Duskie Estes of Zazu Farm and Restaurant. “Being mindful and present, we can observe these environmental nuances and work in harmony with nature rather than outsmart or control it.”

Japan’s micro-seasons, or “koo,” read more like haikus than an actual almanac, and take into account subtle changes that include everything from the sun’s position in the sky to temperatures, precipitation, and wind. They are, in fact, so specific—calling out particular planting days, anticipated rainy periods, and expected heat, that they once informed things like bathing, changing kimonos, and what was served for dinner.

To get a sense of the agricultural precision Katina strives for, consider that “seasonal” asparagus is conventionally harvested over a roughly eight-week period between early March and late April. Even at its seasonal best, there are huge variations in size, tenderness, and flavor. Using smaller five-day farming cycles based on subtle changes in solar angles and weather, Katina focuses on a harvest that celebrates the absolute apex of the plant, which may only be for a few days or may last for a few weeks. It just depends.

As of this writing, the farm has yet to be planted, but Katina says consumers can expect to see familiar fruits and veggies from their farm as well as more exotic Japanese ingredients that can be hard to source, and grow, in our climate.

“We’re looking at seed catalogs right now,” she says. “I’m in the infancy of this project and I have much to establish.”

Having studied this arcane technique during a three-year agricultural immersion in Hokkaido, Japan, Katina sees the rhythm not as a farming technique, but a philosophy of sustainability, understanding the land, making intense observations. Like many farmers, she keeps a keen eye on the subtle nuances of the seasons and changes to the landscape that will translate to the table. “Our menus will serve as an anthropological account of those changes,” she says.

This story originally appeared in Made Local Magazine, March/April 2015

Charlie Palmer Steak coming to Napa

June 2015

By biteclub

Charlie Palmer Steak will open in Napa in late 2016 at the forthcoming Archer Hotel.

Charlie’s Wine Country Three-peat: Chef Charlie Palmer is on a roll. Following his recent St. Helena restaurant opening at Harvest Table he announced yesterday that he’ll be opening Charlie Palmer Steak in downtown Napa. The restaurant and rooftop bar is slated to open at the forthcoming Archer Hotel, a 183-room luxury hotel planned for late 2016.

The restaurants and hotel will be centerpieces of the 275,000 square-foot Napa Center, which is being hailed as a game-changing “Napa Valley experience” with more than 40-plus shops and restaurants.

Palmer has steak houses in New York, DC, Las Vega and Reno currently. The tireless chef also recently released a cookbook, Charlie Palmer’s America Fare ($40, Grand Central Life & Style).