Native Kitchen & Kombucha Bar owner/chef Jasmine Dravis with a Grapefruit Smash Kombucha Elixir. (photos by John Burgess)
Sonoma has a thing for fermented beverages. There’s wine, of course, and the region has become a destination for craft-beer fanatics. Will kombucha production be Sonoma’s next claim to fermentation fame?
Made by adding a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast to sweetened tea — often yerba mate — kombucha has a light effervescence and a pleasant sweet-tart flavor. It’s also known for its healthy probiotic benefits.
Revive Drinks began brewing kombucha in Windsor in 2010, selling its beverages at local farmers markets. The company has since outgrown its digs, and will move later this year to a 30,000-square-foot facility in Petaluma that will allow for increased production and wider distribution.
“We had one requirement for moving, and that was that we stay in Sonoma County,” Revive founder Sean J. Lovett said. “That’s just a huge part of who we are. Petaluma is a great, hard-working town with a bootstrapping kind of feel. I guess you could say we relate to that.”
Thistle Meat’s Steak Negimaki with a Grapefruit Smash Kombucha Elixir from Native restaurant in Petaluma.
Petaluma will welcome a second kombucha producer this summer when Native Kitchen & Kombucha Bar launches its brewing operation. “We plan to brew for ourselves, and then be in market only to other on-premise (restaurant) sites,” said brewer Joseph Dravis, who co-owns Native with his wife, Jasmine.
After spending nearly three years experimenting with test batches, Dravis said he’s close to nailing down his ideal brew: lightly sweet and with a healthy amount of acidity.
In the meantime, Native will continue serving other California kombuchas on draft and mixed into creative cocktails, alcoholic and virgin, such as the Cherry Bomb (kombucha, Maurin Quina cherry liqueur and muddled ginger with a cayenne-sugar rim) and Thai Tonic (kombucha, muddled kafir lime, ginger and evaporated lemongrass).
Christopher Long of Libations Unlimited is a roving bartender who brings his drinks to various locations working from a teardrop trailer in Sonoma and Napa counties. (photo by Conner Jay)
By now, Christopher Long is used to people’s reactions when they see him. “Wow!” they exclaim, both women and men. “So sleek and handsome! So smooth! Delicious!”
Long sports a meticulously groomed beard, a fashionable ivy-style cap and a banker’s vest over his button-down shirt. But the admiration isn’t for him, it’s for his custom teardrop trailer, outfitted in gleaming wood and copper, with a full bar, kegs, beer taps and an espresso machine.
With the debut of his Libations Unlimited last year, the former mixologist at Healdsburg’s Spoonbar has become the life of many parties, parking his 6-by-10-foot trailer wherever a host with $2,500 to $18,000-plus would like.
“There have been a few tight places for sure,” Long said. “I’ve wheeled it through vineyards, gardens and fields, and once I had to back it up a narrow incline onto a small concrete slab and then rotate it 180 degrees for a pool party.”
His farm-to-glass cocktails are made with mostly Sonoma ingredients, plus herbs and edible flowers grown organically in Long’s garden in Forestville. When the bar is extended out of its trailer shell, it adds another 7 feet, giving him ample room to shake and stir to-order drinks, as well as serve high-end batch cocktails for larger groups.
In warm weather, Long likes to serve Rosemary’s Blueberry, a bright, beautiful quaff of blueberry vodka, raspberry eau de vie, ruby red grapefruit juice, lemon juice and rosemary bergamot simple syrup, garnished with Sonoma blueberries and rosemary blossoms.
In December, Long handled party libations for 800 employees of Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco. He’s already booked for many private events across Wine Country this summer. “It’s the ultimate tailgater,” Long said.
The thing about parks with great views is that hikers often have to endure a heart-pounding climb to reach those heights.
But Sonoma’s newest gem of a park, North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, is different. Sure, you’ll huff and puff on the main trail inside the 820-acre park near Glen Ellen, yet there are options for those less inclined to exert themselves.
The elevation gain on the 4.5-mile main trail has numerous switchbacks through deciduous forests and across grasslands. About 2 miles in, the vista opens up to a breathtaking view of northern Sonoma Valley, the Santa Rosa Plain and several prominent landmarks, including Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Hood Mountain and Mount St. Helena.
The preserve, located about 3 miles up Sonoma Mountain Road from Bennett Valley Road, abuts Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, offering hikers, runners and equestrians unfettered access to both outdoor settings. Together, the conjoined parks have roughly 25 miles of trails, making it easy to get lost for the day.
Not looking for that kind of adventure? In addition to the preserve’s main trail, there’s a wheelchair-accessible vista point above the park entrance. The Umbrella Tree Trail, which is three-quarters of a mile long and leads to a lone bay tree and picnic spot with views of Santa Rosa and Bennett Valley, is another option. There also are several creekside tables in the redwood grove at the Ridge Trail footbridge.
Paul Mahder Gallery in Healdsburg. (photo by Chris Hardy)
Healdsburg is abuzz about the new Paul Mahder Gallery, an 8,500-square-foot art space that’s so like a museum that visitors often ask if there is a charge for meandering through the collections. Once Mahder welcomes them, many spend an hour or more absorbing the splendor, with no admission charge.
“This is my sacred space, where people come to be moved and to see something that touches their souls,” Mahder said. “I think artists are today’s prophets. They are the ones speaking to us about what life is supposed to be about.”
Despite its museum-like allure, the gallery sells the works at prices ranging from $350 to — get ready — $280,000. Mahder represents 27 artists from the around the world, including the late abstract expressionist Hans Burkhardt. Most of the work is contemporary and includes Mahder’s own fine-art photography.
His space gives Healdsburg a fresh art-scene cachet. There are 23 galleries to visit, from the talent-filled Upstairs Gallery quaintly tucked above the Levin & Co. bookstore on the plaza, to Mahder’s massive off-plaza, Manhattan-esque space that includes paintings, sculpture, digital images and drawings.
There are two large main galleries and several smaller viewing areas. The space is notable for its soaring black ceilings with skylights, and charcoal-stained floors Mahder spent a month and a half sanding himself, on hands and knees. It’s said to be the largest single-floor gallery in California.
Mahder, who also owns a gallery in San Francisco, has become a good new neighbor to Healdsburg, donating the new space for nonprofit events. The gallery is also available to rent for weddings, meetings and parties. Book it before what’s bound to be a rush.
Pamela Rose performs with Wayne De La Cruz at The Big Easy bar and nightclub in Petaluma. (photo by Jeremy Portje)
A new venue is jazzing up Petaluma’s live-music scene, showcasing jazz and blues bands almost every night.
Located across the alley from Speakeasy Bistro (its sister establishment), The Big Easy isn’t, well, easy to spot. Its sign is nearly invisible, and the club’s interior is hidden from the view of passers-by. Even the building’s dungeon façade (it previously housed a fetish shop) is unlikely to attract much attention after dark. It’s all part of the Prohibition-era vibe: low ceilings, dim lighting and a cave-like, underground feel.
The venue features Bay Area brews on tap, local wines and a menu of tapas and small-plate fare from Speakeasy. The club’s main attraction, however, is the music, which ranges from gypsy jazz to blues. Recent acts have included southern soul artist Eric Lindell and jazz organist Wayne De La Cruz.
The club also boasts a 1957 Hammond B-3 organ, a favorite model of jazz musicians. “The only other club I know of locally that has one is the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco,” Big Easy owner Roger Tschann said.
Opening a music venue was a natural step for Tschann; in the early 1990s, he founded Grizzly Studios in Petaluma and has recorded thousands of CDs for North Bay bands.
“I’ve always wanted to have a cool little club like this,” he said, “where local and not-so-local musicians can showcase their talents.”
Hector Alvarez backed by his farmstand sign in Fulton. (photos by Christopher Chung)
When Sonomans say “seasonal,” they could just as well say “micro-seasonal,” because every month brings a fresh wave of farm and garden growth. The rich agricultural landscape and varied climate conditions throughout the county mean something is exploding in blossoms or reaching the peak of ripeness nearly year-round. Yet spring is the most exciting time to be in Sonoma.
In May, that usually means nibbling the first juicy apricots, plums, blackberries, blueberries and cherries, and June heralds the first crisp green beans, sweet corn, meaty eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes and summer squash.
The peaches at Dry Creek Peach & Produce begin to ripen in late May.
Dry Creek Peach & Produce owner Gayle Okumura Sullivan welcomes the first of her succulent peaches in late May and June, although her more than 30 varieties have such short ripening windows that savvy folks sign up for email alerts to learn the exact sales dates. They race to her Healdsburg roadside stand on Yoakim Bridge Road to grab the Red Havens and Snow Bites before they disappear.
Beekeeping and honey production is in Hector Alvarez’s DNA, though the owner of Hector’s Honey Farm in Fulton is also busy tending the tomatillos, cucumbers (lemon and Armenian), summer squash, sweet red onions, garlic, blackberries and other produce he sells at farmers markets, alongside pastel-blue eggs from his Araucana chickens.
This is a great time to explore the colorfully patchworked outdoors while hiking, biking and horseback riding in meadows and on mountainsides decorated in golden fairy lanterns, gorgeously aromatic Sonoma sage, chaparral pea and trumpet-shaped redwood lilies that morph from snow-white to deep purple and burgundy over their few months in bloom. The abundant farmers markets are delicious stops for farmstead cheeses, just-baked bread and local wine.
The Sonoma County Farm Trails guide is a handy resource for those seeking boutique producers and purveyors, such as Petaluma’s Free Range Provisions & Eats (try the smashed pea and prosciutto sandwich), McEvoy Ranch (olive oil) and Petaluma Pie Co. (gooey mushroom and goat Gouda pot pie). The guide details when products are in season in Sonoma and includes notifications of special events, tastings and demonstrations. Find it at farmtrails.org/find-sonoma-grown.
Cinnaholic owner Shannon Radke is bringing her vegan cinnamon rolls to Santa Rosa
As if the gooey, sugary cinnamon roll couldn’t get any more decadent, Berkley-based Cinnaholic takes it one step further — mix and match frosting and toppings.
Think fro-yo meets the bakery case.
Santa Rosa is slated to be one of its next outposts, serving up Irish Cream frosting with pie crumbles and chocolate sauce slathered all over their vegan buns. Not into that combo? There are 39 other frosting flavors and 21 toppings ranging from marshmallows to Oreos. All of it 100 percent vegan, meaning completely animal, dairy and egg-free. (And yes, Oreos are vegan.)
So far no word on the exact location or opening date, but we’ll be looking forward to the sweet smell of fresh baked buns somewhere in Santa Rosa.
Sonoma’s Tri Tip Trolley at BottleRock Napa Valley in 2014.
Sonoma’s Tri Tip Trolley at BottleRock Napa Valley in 2014.
Food is the new star of music festivals throughout the country, and this year’s BottleRock Napa Valley is no exception.
From Michelin-starred toques including Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Mina,and Top Chef star Michael Voltaggio to “culinary mash-up moments” with celebs Snoop Dogg, Vernon Davis of the 49ers and Wavy Gravy, top-notch restaurant menus and cult wines, food groupies have plenty to salivate about at the three-day music festival May 29 through 31 in downtown Napa.
In fact, organizers have added a fifth stage to showcase food and wine — The Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage.
”Williams-Sonoma’s Culinary Stage will showcase some of the country’s top chefs and sommeliers with musicians and celebrities,” said Janet Hayes, president of Williams-Sonoma. The new culinary stage will be hosted by “Foodie Chap” Liam Mayclem of KCBS.
There’s also the perennial food-truck lineup (Bacon Bacon, Curry Up Now, Kara’s Cupcakes), the gourmet food court (Morimoto to La Toque) and wineries (Silver Oak Cellars, Del Dotto Family Vineyards, Schramsberg Vineyards) that only Wine Country could roll out. If you’re a high roller, VIP sections will offer cult wines and upscale Napa Valley restaurants like REDD, Goose & Gander, Atlas Social. “Platinum” VIP tickets will run you between $1,250 and $3,000 versus the general admission cost of $119 per day.
Don’t stress if platinum isn’t your jam. However you roll through the festival, you’ll be eating like a rock star. Trust us.
Here are even more delicious details about the lineup…
The (at least for now) full lineup of chefs slated to participate also include both Bay Area and national names including Iron Chef Marc Forgione, Larry Forgione of the Culinary Institute of America, Top Chef Mei Lin, Michelin-star chefs Brandon Sharp of Solbar, Ken Frank of La Toque, and Robert Curry of Auberge du Soleil, 11-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, Bryan Forgione of Buddy V’s, Rick Moonen of rm Seafood, Oenotri’s Tyler Rodde, and Dario De Conti of Ca’Momi along with Williams-Sonoma Chef Collective featuring Sarah Simmons of Birds & Bubbles, Matt Jennings of Townsman, the Bon Vivants of Trick Dog, and Jason French of Ned Ludd.
Me So Hungry food truck at BottleRock Napa Valley in 2014.
Expanded food truck and culinary offerings throughout the festival include Morimoto Sticky Ribs, wood-fired pizzas, pork belly sandwiches, Vietnamese shrimp rolls, barbecue, fried chicken, vegetarian, vegan and more. Culinary hotspots to be showcased include Morimoto Napa, Ca’Momi, The Thomas at Fagiani’s, Whole Foods, La Condesa, Tarla Grill, Taqueria Rosita, Eiko’s, Fume Bistro, Il Posto Trattoria, Eight Noodle Shop, Ristorante Allegria, The Q Restaurant and Bar, Bui Bistro, Napa Palisades Saloon, Smoke Open Fire, Jax White Mule Diner
Current Food Trucks: Bacon Bacon, Curry Up Now, Kara’s Cupcakes, Mark’s The Spot, MeSoHungry, Drewski’s, Seoul of Taipei and Napa Valley Crust.
Wine/Beer: Miner Family Winery, Robert Mondavi Winery, Silver Oak Cellars, Del Dotto Family Vineyards, Schramsberg Vineyards, Rombauer Vineyards, Clos Du Val, Gia by Gia Coppola, Goosecross Cellars, Round Pond Estate, Aviary Vineyards, Hill Family Estate, Jamieson Ranch Vineyards, JaM Cellars, JW Thomas Group.
Oh yeah, and there are about 70 bands and performers who’ll entertain you while you stuff your face. You know, if you’re into that.
Details and tickets online at BottleRockNapaValley.com.
The French Laundry kitchen renovations. Kitchen staff will be housed in renovated shipping containers until construction finishes.
The French Laundry kitchen renovations. Kitchen staff will be housed in renovated shipping containers until construction finishes.
The Louvre, a white linen tablecloth being gently unfurled and graceful choreography are among the inspirations for Chef Thomas Keller’s kitchen redesign for the French Laundry.
According to FL reps, this is the first major overhaul of the landmark restaurant in 20 years. International design firm, Snøhetta, California-based firms Envelope A+D and Tim Harrison of Harrison, Koellner, LLC will create a new and expanded kitchen and courtyard, an auxiliary building to house a wine cellar and support offices, and a new arrival experience to enhance the approach to the iconic blue door.
The French Laundry kitchen renovations. Kitchen staff will be housed in renovated shipping containers until construction finishes.
“The French Laundry is being redesigned to be a backdrop worthy of the restaurant’s history,” Thomas Keller said. “With the Louvre Pyramid as my inspiration, we wanted to find a way to juxtapose the historic and the modern while maintaining the high quality cuisine and service our guests have come to expect from The French Laundry. The new design will be an innovative and functioning space that will allow us to continue to evolve as a restaurant and develop new standards.”
FL reps also say that in addition to expanding the kitchen’s size by 25 percent, the renovation will make for more efficient use of space, creating one contiguous room for the entire culinary team with a visual connection from station to station. With walls, flooring and work stations all fashioned out of Dekton, an ultra-compact surface, the new kitchen will feature a white-on-white palette—a nod to the sense of promise and potential of a fresh start. The kitchen equipment will feature two unique Moltini suites by Electrolux and commercial ranges by Hestan Commercial. The ground-up construction of a new Kitchen Annex will house The French Laundry’s support functions including the prep kitchen, butchery, produce breakdown, and management offices. It is also home to The French Laundry’s regarded wine collection, with the storage capacity to hold up to 14,000 bottles.
Commence sighs of jealousy.
The French Laundry kitchen renovations. Kitchen staff will be housed in renovated shipping containers until construction finishes.
Chef Thomas Keller’s culinary team, meanwhile, have moved into a temporary kitchen space at the restaurant, and have been serving diners since April 7 at the historic location, says an FL spokesperson. “During construction, Envelope A+D conceived of using shipping containers as modular units for a temporary kitchen in the restaurant’s former courtyard, allowing for service to resume after the restaurant’s closure in January. Tim Harrison, Chef Keller’s kitchen designer-of-record for the past 20 years, designed and adapted the temporary space as a recreation of the former French Laundry kitchen, complete with its five stars mounted hood.:
Completed renderings of the French Laundry Kitchen
The restaurant is offering dinner seven days a week beginning at 5:30 p.m. and lunch on Saturday and Sunday between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The project is slated for completion in late 2015.
Cauliflower at Partake by K-J takes advantage of produce from the winery gardens.
Maybe it’s a silly distinction, but when a meal starts with an extensive list of what’s not in it, our taste buds threaten to go on strike. Instead, inspecting local menus has become a favorite “Where’s Waldo” search for standout dishes that just happen to not include meat. These increasingly frequent finds still pack all the flavors, the spices, the intrigue, the complexity and the rib-stickiness of beef, chicken, fish, lamb or pork, but simply don’t need it to shine.
So, in gathering a list of meaty (not literally, of course) meals, we’re considering the eggplant, the fennel root and the hearty bean not as substitutes, but as heroes of dinner. Trust us, you won’t miss a thing.
Rancho Gordo Beans on Toast, Della Fattoria: If you’re not indoctrinated into the cult of Rancho Gordo, introduce yourself to the best heirloom beans known to the universe. Wine Country entrepreneur Steve Sando has been a major force in preserving and promoting heirloom bean breeds of the Americas. With meaty, satisfying flavors, they’re more than enough to sate a big appetite. We love them with pretty much anything, but Della Fattoria’s peasant-style dish of pureed flageolet beans, chèvre, roasted garlic, olives and olive oil on rosemary Meyer-lemon toast is so ridiculously good you’ll dream about it for days. 141 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma.
We’re also big fans of the beans and greens at Spinster Sisters, which is equally comforting and simple, with garlic and lemon. 401 S. A St., Santa Rosa.
Chicken fried portobello with mushroom leek gravy, Gypsy Cafe: If there’s any vegetable that mimics the chew of a perfectly cooked steak, it’s the portly portobello mushroom. Battered and fried, it gets a pour of hearty gravy, potato cake and two eggs (if you want ‘em) on the breakfast menu. Also a tasty breakfast fave at Gypsy: seared polenta with garlic braised greens, parmesan and sourdough. 162 North Main St., Sebastopol.
Fork Roadhouse opens in Sebastopol featuring breakfast and lunch
Orange and ginger stewed prunes with Greek yogurt, honey, granola and bee pollen, Fork Roadhouse: Prunes, where have you been all our lives? Stewed “dried plums” are a warm, sweet surprise in a bowl of granola and tart yogurt. Maybe the world’s most perfect breakfast. 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol. (Not vegan, but plant-based).
Fried Green Tomato PoBoy, Parish Cafe: Tart green tomatoes are given a cornmeal dusting and bubbling oil bath, then sandwiched between spicy aioli and a soft roll. Southern perfection that doesn’t need explaining. 60 Mill St., Healdsburg.
Reuben Tempeh Sandwich with Kimchi, Backyard Kitchen: There is exactly one chef we trust for a tasty tempeh, and that’s Daniel Keden. This “wheat meat” tends to be a bit off-putting, but slathered with kimchi and Thousand Island dressing and served on the required toasted rye, it’s a winner. Even without pastrami. 6566 Front St., Forestville.
Ethiopian Veggie Combo, Abyssinia (913 Fourth St., Santa Rosa): Unless you’re quite familiar with this fragrantly-spiced cuisine, it’s best to just let your taste buds go on an exotic adventure. “Shiro, miser we’t, yater kik alecha, yabesha gomen… I don’t know what any of these things are, but they were sure delicious last night!” said Robert Larsen of Santa Rosa, a fan who recommended this combination as a favorite meatless meal. Atop your injera (fermented bread), you’ll find a mash-up of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, lentils, carrots, and spices that are better experienced than deeply considered. Just open wide and say, mmmmm.
Fritters at Yeti
Bhaji and Dal Bukhara at Yeti (190 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa): Oh, happy day that this Glen Ellen Indian/Himalayan has opened a (huge) outpost in Santa Rosa. With this cuisine, meatless dishes spiced with cumin, curry, garam masala, fennel seeds and a treasure box of other ancient herbs and spices elevate humble vegetables and yogurt dishes to masterpieces. Most curries can be made meatless, but we’re bigger fans of rich daal (seasoned lentils, onion, chili, ginger, cream, cilantro) and onion bhaji, which are chickpea flour fritters with onions, garlic and ginger. Eggs are used, so, again, plant-based.
