Page 459 – Sonoma Magazine

Dining Out

March 2015

By Sonoma Magazine Staff

The gratin of baby potatoes filled with beef belly ragout and topped with a parmesan crust at Angele Restaurant and Bar in Napa. (Photo by Beth Schlanker)

Here are spoon-size portions of previous restaurant reviews by Jeff Cox, accompanied by the date they originally appeared in The Press Democrat. Reviews will appear on a seasonal basis.

Angele Restaurant & Bar, 540 Main St., Napa, 707-252-8115, angelerestaurant.com. This sweet restaurant with a view of the Napa River tries very hard to be French — and succeeds. The dishes honor the ingredients, and they’re served in charming and flavorful ways. The entrees run to the standards like salmon, steak, pork chop, scallops, quail and duck breast, but it’s among the many appetizers that chef Rogelio Garcia’s creativity is truly found. The desserts are delicious and the wine list extensive. Highly recommended. Reviewed 9/14/14. $$$.

Aventine Glen Ellen, 14301 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen, 707-934-8911, glenellen.aventinehospitality.com. A 170-year-old grist mill is home to Aventine, brought up to date and surrounded by decking shaded by ancient trees along a year-round creek. The food is Italian aimed at the American palate, with excellent lasagna, wood-fired pizza, and grilled salmon and lamb dishes. A full bar and good wine list make this place perfect for relaxing after a hard day’s wine tasting. Reviewed 8/24/14. $$$

Baci Cafe & Wine Bar, 336 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-8111, bacicafeandwinebar.com. Classic Italian dishes, many of them from the northern part of Italy, are expertly prepared by chef Shari Sarabi, who’s originally from Iran but cooks as though he’s from Milan. A large wood-fire oven turns out some of the best pizza in the region. The sauce Bolognese is the real thing, and there’s tiramisu and panna cotta for dessert. The wine list features bottles from Italy and around Healdsburg. Reviewed 12/1/13. $$$

Brasserie Restaurant at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa, 170 Railroad St., Santa Rosa, 707-636-7388, vineyardcreek.hyatt.com. The kitchen turns out some excellent dishes from executive chef Chris Ciero, including small plates and appetizers such as mini ravioli and Humboldt Fog tomato galette, and main plates that include a near-perfect flatiron steak and herb-roasted chicken. The menu allows diners to select a small or large portion of meat or seafood, choose one of six sauces, and add two side dishes of their choice. Reviewed 1/18/15. $$-$$$.

Brasa Churrascaria and Brew Pub, 505 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-623-9382, thebrasa.com. This is a Brazilian barbecue restaurant with some of that country’s authentic recipes carefully prepared. Don’t miss Brazil’s national dish, feijoada completa, a delicious pork and black bean stew. Discover the joys of a cocktail called the caipirinha and the Brazilian cachaça spirit used to make it. The rodizio, at $40, is a feast of grilled meats and side dishes that’s the basis for a good party. Reviewed 8/31/14. $-$$.

The patio at Campo Fina in Healdsburg. (Photo by Kent Porter)

Campo Fina, 330 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-395-4640, campofina.com. This small-plates sister restaurant to the incomparable Scopa has the same crowd-pleasing Italian food, including perfect pizzas from the wood-burning oven. There’s an patio in the backyard and a bocce court. The place specializes in house-developed and classic cocktails, as well as Italian and local wines. The food is so good you might just think you’re in Italy. Reviewed 10/12/14. $$-$$$

Diavola Pizzeria and Salumeria, 21021 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 707-814-0111, diavolapizzeria.com. Chef and owner Dino Bugica spent years learning about real Italian food from his real Italian family and by living and working in Italy. It shows in his hand-crafted salami, authentic pizzas, pasta dishes, entrees and desserts. The house-made salami and cheese appetizer is not to be missed. Diavola is a magnet for food lovers in sleepy, out-of-the-way Geyserville, and deservedly so. Reviewed 5/11/14. $$-$$$$

Earth’s Bounty Kitchen & Wine Bar, 5755 Mountain Hawk Way, Santa Rosa, 707-827-9700, earthsbountykitchen.com. The emphasis is on local, sustainable, farm-to-table fare, and the quality of the ingredients is a plus, even when some of the dishes don’t quite work. There’s something for everyone, from mac and cheese to grilled albacore, and the desserts are scrumptious. In addition to the restaurant, there’s a deli and wine bar. Reviewed 9/28/14. $$-$$$

The Farmer & The Fox, 3111 St. Helena Highway N., St. Helena, 707-968-5434, cairdeanestate.com. Joseph Humphrey has cooked at many iconic restaurants in the North Bay, and now he’s at this classy Scots-themed restaurant in the Cairdean Estate — a collection of shops and eateries at Cairdean Vineyards & Winery. His food, as always, is super, with a Scottish lilt: barley stew with fried quail, butterscotch soufflé, and one of the best burgers around. Great cocktails, too. Reviewed 1/25/15. $$-$$$

The Gypsy Café, 162 N. Main St., Sebastopol, 707-861-3825, gypsy-café.com. The Gypsy Café occupies the spot where the Pine Cone restaurant operated for decades. It’s a great spot for breakfast and lunch; dinner is served only on Fridays, but there’s lots from which to choose. Chef Martin Maigaard calls his cooking “modern comfort food,” and so it is, with pot roast, local salmon in season, free-range fried chicken and vegetarian pasta, among other dishes. The wine list is small but from premium Dry Creek Valley producers. Reviewed 8/3/14. $$-$$$

Big Bowl of Roasted Wood Oven Mussels, cooked with fennel, garlic, onion and beer, at Jackson's Bar and Grill in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Christopher Chung) — Big Bowl of Roasted Wood Oven Mussels, cooked with fennel, garlic, onion and beer, at Jackson’s Bar and Grill in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Christopher Chung)

Jackson’s Bar and Oven, 135 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-545-6900, jacksonsbarandoven.com. This beautifully designed restaurant in the Railroad Square district is the place for meeting friends and hanging out in Santa Rosa. A wide array of drinks and a menu chockablock with well-crafted American dishes like burgers, pizzas, braised short ribs, fish tacos and great desserts (don’t miss the beignets) all add up to a place you like to be in, with a staff that likes you in return. Reviewed 9/1/13. $$-$$$$

Juanita Juanita, 19114 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-935-3981, juanitajuanita.com. The mural on the outside of this taqueria shows Juanita, the original owner, in profile. It’s beginning to show its two decades of age, but the food inside is as good as ever. Everything from the tacos to the featured plates of enchiladas, jerk chicken, chile Colorado, carne asada and chanchamito, is a cut above the ordinary. Yes, burritos are available, but no tamales or chile rellenos. Reviewed 11/30/14. $-$$

KIN, 740 McClelland Drive, Windsor, 707-837-7546, kinwindsor.com. A big, boisterous place with a friendly atmosphere, KIN serves American comfort food (meaning an eclectic mix of favorite dishes of many cultures), and has a nice list of craft beers. Its name implies its purpose: bring the whole family, from toddlers to seniors, because there’s something on this menu for everyone, including wood-fire pizzas. Reviewed 11/23/14. $$

La Toque, 1314 McKinstry St., Napa, 707-257-5150, latoque.com. Located in the Westin Verasa Napa hotel, Ken Frank’s La Toque is one of Napa Valley’s premier places to eat. It has earned a Michelin star, and Frank’s modern French cuisine deserves it. The plates are small but intriguing. The wine list is glorious, with wines from everywhere. Whatever you order will be first rate. Reviewed 1/11/15. $$$$

Le Bistro, 312 Petaluma Blvd. S., Petaluma, 707-762-8292, lebistropetaluma.com. Chef Corey Basso has been cooking classic French and Italian dinners at this small neighborhood bistro since 1988, refining and improving the dishes as he goes. Now they are just about perfect. They’re not complicated (fettucini with prawns, chicken breast, grilled lamb loin, a fresh fish of the day) but are thrillingly delicious. Reviewed 4/20/14. $$-$$$

Lamb and apricot curry, front, and saag paneer, cheese with spinach, rear, at Marigold Indian Bistro in Sebastopol. (Photo by Beth Schlanker)

Marigold Indian Bistro, 7225 Healdsburg Ave., Sebastopol, 707-329-6965, marigoldbistro.com. Chef Uddab Timilsina makes Indian cuisine exciting, not just because he’s mastered the art of combining Indian spices in intriguing ways, but also because his dishes are made with top-quality ingredients, which gives them the added appeal of freshness and purity of flavor. Along with the usual Indian dishes, he occasionally ventures into less charted territory. His lamb and apricot combination, for instance, is wonderful. Reviewed 11/9/14. $$

OSO, 9 E. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-931-6926, ososonoma.com. Owner David Bush is a talented chef who creates elaborate plates of food that might better be handled with some restraint. But his eclectic menu is invariably well prepared, and the emphasis is on raw seafood and slow-cooked meats. Guests must be 21 or older, because of the restaurant’s tavern license. The wine list is a major feature, filled with interesting selections. There’s a prix-fixe dinner and wine pairing menu, too. Reviewed 12/21/14. $$

Rossi’s 1906, 401 Grove St., El Verano, 707-343-0044, rossis1906.com. The former Little Switzerland and its polka bands have been transformed into a Southern-style roadhouse with cherry-wood-smoked ribs, tri-tip, pork, chicken and shrimp, and live music Thursday through Sunday starting at 5 p.m. The good barbecue is accompanied by the usuals: fries, mac and cheese, hushpuppies and great onion rings. More than half of the 26 beers available are on tap. This is a fun place with good eats. Reviewed 1/4/15. $$

Rustic, Francis’s Favorites, at Francis Ford Coppola Winery, 300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville, 707-857-1485, francisfordcoppolawinery.com. Francis Ford Coppola needs no introduction, but at his restaurant-resort-watering hole in Geyserville, you’ll get one anyway. The restaurant features the Italian foods of Coppola’s childhood, plus some adult loves such as an Argentine grill from which come big portions of beef with chimichurri sauce. The wine list is mostly from his winery, and that’s fine. A wood-burning oven makes wonderful pizzas. Reviewed 11/10/13. $-$$$$

Dungeness crab puffs are served at SEA Noodle Bar in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Conner Jay)

SEA Noodle Bar, 286 Coddingtown Center, Santa Rosa, 707-521-9087, seanoodlebar.com. This authentic Thai noodle shop is chef-owner Tony Ounpamornchai’s third restaurant in Sonoma County, and it’s just what a hungry public wants: noodle and rice bowls with tofu, chicken, duck, pork and prawns at moderate prices. His appetizers are every bit as good as the bowls, and even prettier in appearance. Don’t miss the potstickers and the Dungeness crab puffs. Reviewed 8/17/14. $$.

Shiso Modern Asian Kitchen, 19161 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, 707-933-9331, shisorestaurant.com. Chef Ed Metcalfe cherry-picks items from various Asian cuisines, but with a special emphasis on Japanese dishes. His ingredients are wonderfully fresh and the vegetables are sourced from his own garden. There’s a well-filled-out list of sakes along with beer and wine. His chirashi (chef’s choice) may be the best way to go. It’s a unique restaurant with a scrumptious take on Asian food. Reviewed 12/28/14. $$

630 Park Steakhouse at the Graton Resort and Casino, 630 Park Court, Rohnert Park, 707-588-7115, gratonresortcasino.com. Here’s your big-time casino-style steakhouse. A 42-ounce prime T-bone for two is $120, a personal 20-ounce rib-eye is $54, and filet mignons start at $43 for the “petite” cut. The meat is as terrific as the prices portend, and the kitchen also serves up chicken and seafood, such as a 28-ounce Northern Australian lobster tail for $149. Side dishes of vegetables, potatoes and mac and cheese run around $10 each. Ah, g’wan. You only live once. Reviewed 12/29/13. $$$$

Sonoma lamb loin with fava beans, porcini mushrooms and spring garlic is served at Torc Restaurant in Napa. (Photo by Conner Jay)

Torc, 1140 Main St., Napa, 707- 252-3292, torcnapa.com. Chef Sean O’Toole cooks classic American and Californian dishes with refinement and elegance. His ingredients are impeccably good, and he uses them in a way that’s both thought-provoking and enjoyable. His impossibly tender slices of spring lamb, for instance, sit on a bed of shredded lamb shoulder mixed with bits of fresh mint. They come with small balls of fried dough filled with garlicky cream. The wine list is eclectic and ranges far beyond Napa Valley. Reviewed 6/15/14. $$-$$$$

Vignette Pizzeria, 6750 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-861-3897, vignette-pizzeria.com. Mark Hopper, a graduate of Thomas Keller’s operations, decided to go all-out to make classic Neapolitan pizzas at his 62-seat eatery in The Barlow center. He achieves his aim, and then some, because he has Sonoma produce to use as toppings and in his salads and appetizers. The result is spectacularly good pizzas, but leave your preconceptions about pizza at home and enjoy what he gives you. Reviewed 9/21/14. $$-$$$

zazu kitchen + farm, 6770 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-523-4814, zazukitchen.com. While many restaurants claim to cook farm-to-table, Duskie Estes and John Stewart take the concept to a new level at zazu, located in a spacious room in The Barlow center. They have a small farm at home where they raise animals, gather eggs and grow crops, and a kitchen garden by the restaurant, too. Stewart makes great bacon and salumi, Estes ferments vegetables, and the kitchen turns out American comfort food that’s impossibly tasty. Reviewed 9/15/13. $$$-$$$$

Biscuits are not Tacos: Taco Bell’s New Biscuit Taco

March 2015

By biteclub

Biscuits, by their very nature, are not tacos. They are fluffy and light, and crumbly if they’re done right. Tacos are pliable and dense, and not biscuits. So you see the conundrum in the idea of a Chicken Biscuit Taco released today by Taco Bell.

The new breakfast item, which replaces the waffle taco (which at least makes sense shape-wise), is an attempt by Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands, to continue to stay relevant in the competitive fast food breakfast market. With their sights firmly aimed at McDonald’s (the reigning breakfast giant), the advertising campaigning for the new menu item paint Egg McMuffins as bland and boring.

And boy, has it worked at garnering attention. As you can tell. (Hey, even the New York Times has an article.)

In the interest of culinary journalism, BiteClub, gave the Biscuit Taco a go. The choices included a fried chicken strip and taco “biscuit” with gravy and with jalapeño honey. After conclusive taste tests, the results were indisputable: This is not the fast food abomination you want to be wasting your calories and healthy cholesterol levels on.

The taco? More like a chewy flatbread. The chicken is coated in a Doritos-esque panko crust and — well all we can say is that no chicken should have to die to be made into this.

If you’ve gotta try one, go for the jalapeño honey, which in its cloyingness overpowers the other fried flavors.

Come on Taco Bell, you can do better. Or maybe you can’t. Either way, you’ve gotten our attention and maybe that was the whole point.

Open to Anything

March 2015

By Carey Sweet

Oso Restaurant’s “Mole Braised Lamb Tacos” include cabbage, creme fraiche, pickled vegetable salsa and cotija.

As chef David Bush prepared to open his OSO restaurant and lounge on the Sonoma Plaza, people kept asking the same, bothersome questions.

What type of food would it be? Was his passion to be a French chef? Italian? Or would he do high-end California cooking like he did in his previous job with St. Francis Winery in Santa Rosa?

They’re still asking him after OSO’s November 2014 opening.

Oso restaurant's executive chef David Bush's style is a shake-up for Sonoma, a town better known for its satisfying, if safer, Wine Country cuisine. — Oso restaurant’s executive chef David Bush’s style is a shake-up for Sonoma, a town better known for its satisfying, if safer, Wine Country cuisine.

“And I still can’t answer,” said Bush, who was the chef at Santa Rosa’s St. Francis Winery & Vineyards when diners who use the Open Table reservations service rated it America’s top eatery for 2013. “I don’t like to be boxed in. I mess around with a lot of different stuff, but then it comes down to whatever I’m craving. If I feel like bouillabaisse, it’s on the menu. Maybe I feel like Thai — I’ll do pork ribs with Thai chile and lime.”

Whatever it’s called, Bush’s style is a shake-up for Sonoma, a town better known for its satisfying, if safer, Wine Country cuisine. At OSO, expect the unexpected, with statements ranging from the late-night hours (until 11 weekdays and midnight on weekends) and offbeat dishes (shiitake and kombu-cured salmon with tamari-soaked egg, Serrano ham, tobiko, basil and a slick of sweet Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise), to a 21-and-over-only policy (because OSO is licensed as a tavern).

The "Raw Fish of the Day" is the chef's selection. This day it included cucumbers and blood oranges. — The “Raw Fish of the Day” is the chef’s selection. This day it included cucumbers and blood oranges.

Part of the fun for Bush is in riffing on classics. Many restaurants offer shrimp cocktail, for example, but Bush lightly pickles the seafood and presents it chilled, with a chop of kale and spiced peanut slaw doctored with tomato-horseradish aioli. It’s a riveting zip of sweet, sour and fire.

“It’s a risk, but being different can fill a new niche,” he said. And his dining audience seems to agree. The dark, narrow, 50-seat space is loud with a boisterous bar vibe, yet still, the boomer Sonoma set mingles with the 20-somethings, coming together over an updated Moscow Mule cocktail of cinnamon-spiked Han Soju splashed with ginger beer and lime.

For spring, Bush dreams of favas and peas, baby onions and ramps. “Fresh, young and green,” he said. “Anything I can get my hands on.” It’s anyone’s guess what he will create with them.

CLOSED: Himalayan Cafe and Grill

March 2015

By biteclub

Palak paneer at Himalayan Cafe & Grill in Santa Rosa

CLOSED
Namaste, my little pakora.

I dropped by this new strip-mall Indian/Himalayan restaurant on Mendocino Avenue about a month ago, and was really impressed. Not surprisingly, since Himalayan Cafe & Grill was a favorite of mine when they were located in Windsor several years ago.

What was a depressing steam table of meh biryani and tikka masala has been transformed into a cozy little eatery with wood tables and some spectacular Indian food. Top picks include lentil soup (dal), which is rich and flavorful rather than it’s usually watery counterpart; fresh butter naan, exotically spiced biryani (rice with dried fruits and meat), saag paneer (fresh cheese in creamy spinach sauce) and my surprise favorite, tofu chili. Stir fried tofu is punched up with red onions, peppers, spices and a touch of heat.

Tofu chili at Himalayan Cafe & Grill in Santa Rosa

The only miss: Very tough cubes of chicken in our Tikka Masala. We’re willing to forgive and forget, however, since the other dishes were so impressive.

1880 Mendocino Ave, Suite D, Santa Rosa, himalayancatering.com Open for lunch and dinner, but closed Sunday.

daal at Tofu chili at Himalayan Cafe & Grill in Santa Rosa — daal at Himalayan Cafe & Grill in Santa Rosa

Noble Spoon features Chef John Ash’s Recipes

March 2015

By biteclub

Noble Spoon's pork cassoulet, inspired by a recipe from Chef John Ash — Noble Spoon’s pork cassoulet, inspired by a recipe from Chef John Ash

I’m obsessed with Chef John Ash’s pork and sweet potato cassoulet. Which I can now eat in my car. Or my office. Or standing over the sink in my kitchen.

Pre-packaged and ready for the microwave, its just one of the new gourmet entrees from The Noble Spoon. What may surprise you, other than the fact that John Ash has several signature dishes in the line, is that these are made in the kitchens of The Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program, and ALL proceeds from the meals (which run around $7) support nutritional programs for local seniors.

Other entrees include Pasta al la Norma (a garlicky eggplant pasta dish), Chicken Melitzana (from Ash’s Culinary Birds cookbook), chicken carbonara with rigatoni and comfort foods like pot roast, chicken enchiladas and meatloaf.

They’re available in the ready-foods area of a number of local grocers in Sonoma and Marin, including G&G, Pacific Market, Molsberry and Big John’s along with Santa Rosa Safeway stores. So if you see me with a sad face at the grocery store, it’s probably because they’ve run out of cassoulet, again. Watch their Facebook page (facebook.com/TheNobleSpoon) for details on tastings at local markets.

Seed on the Go

March 2015

By biteclub

Jessica Chastain buys her Santa Rosa mom a vegan food truck

Here’s the 411 on Seed on the Go…

SHOCKER…Jessica Chastain’s mom has a food truck in Santa Rosa??

So, BiteClub’s known about Jerri Hastey’s vegan/raw foods cooking for years. She once had a small restaurant called Seed in the SOFA area.

But we missed the part where Hastey was actress (and Academy Award nominee) Jessica Chastain’s madre. With recent appearances on Ellen and a blurb in People Magazine, the actress has been touting her mom’s new food truck, Seed on the Go from coast to coast. And that’s making for some pretty curious Sonoma County folks who’ve been catching Hastey at the Saturday Farmer’s Market at the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Building and hiring her for catering gigs.

With dishes like white truffle risotto with asparagus, tofu Benedict, and “sea cakes” with lemon chive aioli, and the much-touted Chia Seed Parfait, Seed on the Go is more than just sprouts and veggie burgers.

With Amy’s Kitchen about to open a vegetarian fast food restaurant, more and more vegan-friendly menus (see last week’s column online), Hastey is hitting a healthy food trend that’s getting major traction. You can keep tabs on the truck by visiting their Facebook page at facebook.com/seedonthego.

Seed on the Go's Chia Parfait — Seed on the Go’s Chia Parfait

Egg Layers: Petaluma Chicken Breeds

March 2015

By Diane Peterson

Here are some of the chicken breeds raised on Petaluma’s small poultry ranches and in area backyards:

Ameraucana
Derived from the Araucana breed from Chile, this U.S. version was developed in the 1970s. The chickens come in several colors: black, blue, blue wheaten, brown, red buff, silver, wheaten and white. Their eggs are a distinctive blue-green color.

Barred Plymouth Rock
This dual-purpose bird (eggs and meat) originated in New England in 1849 and gained widespread popularity in the U.S. until World War II. It comes in several colors, including dark barred and light barred, with bars of white alternating with gray. The eggs are brown with a touch of pink.

Buff Orpington
Originating in the United Kingdom in the late 1800s, these attractive chickens are the Scarlett Johanssons of the poultry world, with alluring buff feathers that appear golden in the sunlight. They are raised for both eggs and meat and lay light-brown eggs.

Delaware
Suitable for both eggs and meat, this white chicken boasts black barring at the end of its hackle (neck area), wings and tail. It originated in the state of Delaware in 1940. It’s now endangered and on Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste, a listing of heritage foods. It does well in free-range circumstances and lays large brown eggs.

Rhode Island Red
This American breed has rust-colored feathers and lays dark-brown eggs. The state bird of Rhode Island, it’s known for its hardiness and egg-laying prowess.

Sex-Link
It’s difficult to tell hens from roosters when chicks first hatch, but these cross-bred chickens lay different colored eggs for each sex, making the process of separating the females and males much easier. Sex-Link hybrids come in many varieties, including Black Sex-Link and Red Sex-Link, and are good egg layers. The colors of the eggs vary according to the mix of breeds.

White Leghorn
This hardy breed originated in the Tuscany region of Italy and was first imported to North America in 1828. White Leghorns are used as layers all over the world, including Petaluma, where a statue of the prolific chicken was erected at the train depot with the inscription: “The Kingdom of 10,000,000 White Leghorns — Petaluma.” Its eggs are white.

The Backyard Egg Farmer

March 2015

By Diane Peterson

Backyard chicken rancher Trathen Heckman. (photos by Chris Hardy)

Trathen Heckman has turned his 6,200-square-foot lot in suburban Petaluma into an educational model for how to grow your own food. The bounty ranges from 500 to 1,000 pounds a year, and he uses less water than a lawn would take.

Heckman’s small flock of backyard chickens, housed in a recycled chicken coop and automatically watered by a rainwater catchment system, plays an integral role by supplying fertilizer, pest control, soil aeration and eggs to the plot.

“The chickens eat bugs and worms in the garden, and they make manure that we use to make compost,” he said. “We compost our food waste, but it’s better to feed it to our chickens, because we get high-quality protein in return.”

Heckman is the founder and executive director of Daily Acts in Petaluma (dailyacts.org), a nonprofit that promotes sustainability by planting edible landscapes aimed at nurturing practical skills and community resilience. The organization offers all kinds of workshops and educational events, including a Backyard Feather Revolution Tour of various local chicken coops. The tours are an ideal way for potential backyard chicken owners to learn how to get started.

“We show the power of having a landscape that uses 80 percent less resources, grows food and makes protein,” he said. “We look at how it all fits together: the chickens and bees, the plants and soil, the graywater and rainwater, and the human stewards.”

After moving to his west Petaluma neighborhood in 2007, Heckman set about adding beehives and several rainwater catchment systems, along with a simple chicken coop he inherited from the Post Carbon Institute, a Santa Rosa-based nonprofit dedicated to environmental sustainability.

“We built the fence and the gate,” he said of the chicken enclosure. “Then we installed the rainwater system (to automatically provide water for the chickens).”

In addition to fresh eggs, the chickens offer an infinite source of entertainment for his 3-year-old daughter, Ella, and her friends.

“They provide eggs for Easter egg hunts,” he said. “She goes out and gets the eggs, and the kids try to pick the chickens up and pet them.”

When they’re not making their own mayonnaise or digging into an egg dish with hot sauce, Heckman and his wife, Mary, share their backyard eggs with their neighbors, in order to get them excited about raising their own chickens.
“They are so low-maintenance,” he said. “It’s super easy.”

History Of Petaluma Eggs

March 2015

By Diane Peterson

The Chicken Pharmacy was started in 1923 by James Keyes, featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not as the world’s only drugstore devoted to poultry health.

The Petaluma region proved to be an ideal incubator to hatch a thriving egg industry at the turn of the 20th century. After World War II, however, the small family farms were slowly bought out, and the once-proud “Egg Capital of the World” collapsed in the mid-1960s.

In the past 10 years, however, locavore and back-to-the-farm movements have spawned a new generation of egg farmers and fueled a growing demand for healthy, pasture-raised eggs produced by humanely treated chickens, often using organic practices.

Here are the highlights of Petaluma’s storied past as a poultry hub:

1868: Danish immigrant Christopher Nisson arrives and launches a chicken ranch in Two Rock. He goes on to found Petaluma’s Pioneer Hatchery, the first commercial hatchery in the U.S.

1871: Midwesterner Samuel A. Nay buys a 55-acre ranch and becomes the first to make a success of chicken-raising in Petaluma.

1878: Canadian Lyman Byce comes to Petaluma to raise chickens and perfects the chick incubator, originally developed by Jewish dentist Dr. Isaac Lopes Dias of Petaluma. By 1897, Byce’s Petaluma Incubator Co. has sold more than 15,000 incubators.

Young egg gatherers at Armstrong's Spring Hill Poultry Farm, 1897. — Young egg gatherers at Armstrong’s Spring Hill Poultry Farm, 1897.

1888: Illinois native John Sales establishes the Sales Hatchery.

Early 1890s: The highly productive Single Comb White Leghorn chicken is introduced into Petaluma, after New York breeder C. H. Wycoff uses selective breeding to produce a small flock that averages 200 eggs a year per chicken.

1898: Southern Californian  Alphonse E. Bourke establishes  the Must Hatch hatchery, a Petaluma landmark. In 1911, the hatchery produces 1.25 million baby chicks.

1904: The first local Jewish chicken farmer, Sam Melnick of Lithuania, buys 7 acres near Cotati. By 1925, Sonoma County has 100 poultry-raising families of Jewish descent, with the number eventually growing to between 200 and 300 families. The farmers, known for their socialist politics, had fled Eastern Europe via New York’s Lower East Side, dreaming of escaping urban poverty and working closer to the land.

1906: Bostonian Walter Hogan arrives in Petaluma and shares his poultry-breeding techniques used to identify high-production hens and breeder roosters, and weed out “spent” hens.

1913: D. B. Walls launches a breeding farm, honing a program that kept extensive breeding and laying records. In 1923, he takes first place at the Petaluma Fair with his White Leghorn hen, “Pride of Petaluma.”

A giant egg basket, symbolic of Petaluma's status as the "World's Egg Basket" and one of the region's largest agricultural industries during the 1920s. — A giant egg basket, symbolic of Petaluma’s status as the “World’s Egg Basket” and one of the region’s largest agricultural industries during the 1920s.

1918: Publicist Bert Kerrigan assures the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce that it should continue to put all of its eggs in one basket and stick with the “little white hen” as its economic focus. At his suggestion, the town launches National Egg Day, with a parade and other activities. The festival continues today as the annual Butter & Egg Days in April.

1923: James Keyes starts the Chicken Pharmacy, which was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” as the world’s only drugstore devoted to poultry health.

1936: The Great Recession that follows the stock market crash of 1929 puts dozens of Petaluma ranchers out of business. Still, the town continues to serve as the home to a record 6 million hens.

1941: Sonoma County boasts 4,000 egg farms. By 1945, the region hits its peak production, with 612 million eggs laid that year.

1989: H&N International, the last remaining hatchery in Petaluma, closes.

2002: Mechanization in the industry enables just a few Sonoma companies to produce as many eggs as the industry did during its heyday.

Mid-2000s: Sunrise Farms, co-owned by longtime egg farmer Arnie Riebli, becomes the largest egg producer in the county, turning out 1 million eggs a day.

Sources: “Empty Shells: The Story of Petaluma, America’s Chicken City” by Thea Lowry and “Images of America: Petaluma, California” by Simone Wilson. Photos courtesy Petaluma Historical Library & Museum and “Illustrated Atlas of Sonoma County, California,” by Reynolds and Proctor.

Eggs & Farmers

March 2015

By Diane Peterson

Recently gathered eggs from Pepper Ranch. (photos by Chris Hardy)

In the first half of the 20th century, the explosion of chicken farms amid the sunny, fog-kissed hills of Petaluma lined residents’ pockets with a feathery fortune and gilded its reputation as the richest little city in America. Dubbed “Chickaluma” and the “Egg Basket of the World,” Petaluma produced 612 million eggs in 1945, from an estimated 6 million hens.

Chickens of Annika's Eggs at Moreda Family Farms in Petaluma. — Chickens of Annika’s Eggs at Moreda Family Farms in Petaluma.

The region had the rich, alluvial soil, cooling fog and sunny hillsides required for chickens to thrive. On Petaluma’s southern end, a series of sloughs allowed the eggs to enjoy smooth sailing on boats heading south to the Bay Area market, where they arrived unbroken and unspoiled. The area developed into a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly with the invention of the world’s first incubator.

After World War II, however, the small family farms were slowly bought out, and the once-proud industry collapsed in the mid-1960s, a victim of farm subsidies, urbanization and a new generation intent on leaving the farm behind.

Each April, Petaluma still cracks open a window to its egg-centric past during the Butter & Egg Days parade and celebration, where local kids dress up for cutest-chick contests and see how far they can throw cow pies. But most of the old chicken houses now recline like wooden skeletons, sagging back into the earth.

Over the years, mechanization provided the impetus to increase the industry’s scale, allowing just a few Sonoma farmers, such as Petaluma’s Sunrise Farms partner Arnie Riebli and Petaluma Farms owners Steve and Judy Mahrt, to produce eggs in numbers that approach those seen in the Sonoma egg industry in its early good times.

In the past 10 years, however, two forces have fueled a growing demand for pasture-raised eggs. The “eat local” movement that took root in the early 2000s, combined with a back-to-the-farm ethos, inspired a new, younger generation of farmers to get involved in food production. Second, the 2008 passage of Proposition 2, an animal welfare ballot measure that went into effect Jan. 1, 2015, aims to ensure the health of laying hens by mandating they be capable of “fully spreading both wings without touching the side of an enclosure.” Many egg eaters appreciate such care.

Today, there is a growing demand for pasture-raised eggs sold for $5 to $10 a dozen at local farmers markets and grocery stores. The home-grown movement also spawned a rush to raise backyard chickens.

“Chickens are making a huge comeback in Petaluma,” said Laurie Figone, an award-winning Petaluma home cook who writes a column for the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. “I’ve been talking to the people who are raising them, and they are branching out because there is a higher demand for eggs. The ‘Egg Basket’ is coming back.”

THE NEW GENERATION

Dawn Dolcini of Tully Dolci Organic Farm holds a Leghorn rooster.

Meet the new generation of chicken ranchers raising heritage birds such as Delawares and Rhode Island Reds for both meat and eggs, often as a side business to a dairy or cattle ranch or as a second job. Like their grandparents and parents, these young farmers are finding there’s a niche for producing a food that provides a high-quality and affordable source of protein.

Despite the hard work and high costs — gathering and cleaning the eggs, moving the henhouses, keeping predators at bay and buying grain for feed — the business of the small egg farmer has once again landed sunny-side up.

Don Gilardi of RedHill Farms, a fourth-generation farmer in western Petaluma, went from raising lamb to producing chicken eggs seven years ago, after voters passed Proposition 2. RedHill Farms now partners with 10 other pastured-egg producers to supply 10,000 eggs a day to 120 grocery stores in Sonoma and the greater Bay Area, including Whole Foods outlets.

“That was the lightbulb going off that there was a demand for the pastured eggs,” Gilardi said of the passage of Proposition 2. “The main hub is the Bay Area, because of the California laws, but it’s spreading across the U.S. … People are saying, ‘We want the best product available in the market for our children and for us.’”

It helps that eggs are no longer shunned by the medical establishment. Despite years of worry about dietary cholesterol, a review of more than 25 studies published in 2000 by the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed that eating an egg a day is not associated with increased risk of heart disease among healthy adults. In fact, nutritionists now tout pasture-raised eggs as a prime source of healthy, omega-3 fatty acids.

And those watery egg-white omelets are becoming a thing of the past as consumers learn that the yolk actually holds most of the egg’s vitamins and minerals, including iron, vitamins A and D, phosphorus, calcium, thiamine and riboflavin.

The deep color and rich flavor of the farm-fresh yolk is also what sends many Wine Country chefs swooning in the springtime as they prepare delicate dishes to showcase its charms.

Fresh, organic egg from Annika's Eggs in a frying pan. — Fresh, organic egg from Annika’s Eggs in a frying pan.

“When you have a poached egg and you cut into it, there’s an explosion of deep yellow and orange,” said Annie Simmons, chef and co-owner of Topsy’s Kitchen in Petaluma. (The yolk color is affected by what chickens eat.)

“The yolk color is nicer in the spring, because the grass is green. You just know the egg is coming from a good source,” Simmons added.

Kay Baumhefner, original chef for the Della Fattoria Café who now runs the Come Home to Cooking school at her Petaluma home, once raised her own laying hens at a farm in Forestville.

“Once you’re raised your own eggs, other eggs seem pale by comparison,” she said. “They have these gorgeous yolks, and the shells are thicker and harder to crack. When you crack an egg, you notice three distinct levels: The yolk stands up, the central part of the white, and the water part of the white. A truly fresh egg should display all of those.”

The new wave of egg producers comes from the chicken farms dotted among Petaluma’s rolling hills that Figone, Simmons and Baumhefner turn to when they want to make savory, spring egg dishes, from eggs Benedict to egg salad.

Figone sources her eggs and chicken from Pepper Ranch Poultry in Petaluma, located at a former dairy farm on Pepper Road. The farm was founded by Craig Azevedo and his wife, Amy Swenson, who started raising chickens five years ago to make a little extra money.

Dawn Dolcini of Tully Dolci Organic Farm.

“My grandfather always raised chickens, and we always had fresh eggs and his roasting hens,” said Figone, who grew up on a ranch in Novato. “I’ve not tasted chicken like that until Pepper Ranch Poultry came along.”

Azevedo is a third-generation rancher who rents land from his father, Pete Azevedo. He makes his living as a carpenter but still harbors the compassionate heart of a farmer.

“Craig was born to be a rancher,” Swenson said. “He’s so happy doing it. He’s a nurturer. The animals come first. He doesn’t eat until everybody’s taken care of.”

Over the years, the couple expanded their flock to 400 egg layers, including five heritage breeds. In addition to chicken parts and eggs, they also sell laying chickens to the growing ranks of urban farmers who want to raise their own backyard flocks.

For the farmers market, Swenson makes homemade soup stock from chicken feet, and often feeds her family an “upside- down” dinner of scrambled eggs and hash browns.

Figone eats an egg every day for breakfast, either poached or scrambled, with toast. The baker, who won the World Dessert Championship in 2014, also likes to bake the fresh, Pepper Ranch Poultry eggs into luscious treats such as lemon bars.

“The fresh farm eggs make a huge difference in the color of the lemon bars,” she said. “The yolk is such a vibrant, beautiful color.”

The chickens of Annika’s Eggs at the Moreda Family Farms are housed in an RV that is moved around a big field in the middle of the valley.

In 2011, Travis Moreda and Annika Urquhart launched Moreda Family Farms with 140 dairy cows pastured on 530 acres between Petaluma and Bodega Bay. Urquhart started raising her first flock of chickens in 2013, as a way to diversify the small, organic dairy. She now looks after 140 chickens as well as taking care of the calves.

“Chickens require a lot of protein, so we take the leftover grain from the cows and feed it to the chickens,” said Urquhart, who grew up raising all kinds of animals in Olema in Marin County. “I spend a lot of time on having high-quality, healthy animals.”

The chickens lay their eggs in a former RV trailer that’s been outfitted with laying boxes and other chicken-friendly accoutrements. The eggs are mainly sold to Topsy’s Kitchen and Brickmaiden Breads in Point Reyes Station.

“At a breakfast restaurant, that’s when you know the quality is there,” Urquhart said. “You see the yolk melt out.”

At Topsy’s Kitchen, Simmons showcases Urquhart’s eggs in springtime dishes that often highlight Petaluma’s fresh dairy products along with seasonal ingredients like asparagus and morel mushrooms.

“The eggs and dairy in this area are incomparable,” Simmons said. “If you go to the farmers market, you can get a dozen eggs for $5 or $6. You’re looking at 50 cents an egg, so it’s an affordable luxury.”

Egg's Benedict at Topsy's Kitchen in Petaluma. — Egg’s Benedict at Topsy’s Kitchen in Petaluma.

Along with eggs Benedict topped with lemony Hollandaise sauce, Topsy’s Kitchen also serves French-style eggs, baked in cream, butter, herbs and lemon zest.

Another popular dish at the homey cafe is the croque madame, a base of salad and tartine (an open-faced sandwich) topped with ham, bechamel sauce, fontina and Comté cheese, then crowned with a fried egg.

“Eggs as a whole have really taken off,” Simmons said. “They are beautiful in their simplicity, and little pieces of perfection. “

Baumhefner, who frequents the Marin Farmers Market in San Rafael on Thursdays and Sundays, buys her eggs from two members of the Dolcini family of egg producers: Kitty Dolcini of Red Hill Ranch on Point Reyes-Petaluma Road, and Kitty’s sister-in-law, Dawn Dolcini of the Tully Dolci Organic Farm, located on a former chicken farm on Hardin Lane.

On a blustery day, Dawn Dolcini heads uphill to check on her “girls,” who share the ranch with grass-fed cows. She keeps about 350 heritage chickens, including Delawares, Barred Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, in small, portable houses and in large, historic chicken houses left over from Petaluma’s heyday as the nation’s egg capital.

During the day, the chickens get to scratch and peck throughout the farm, rooting for worms, earwigs and other nutritious treats.

Chickens follow Dawn Dolcini as she carries a bucket of feed.

“I love that the birds are able to go where they want to go,” Dolcini said. “The Delawares really like to move around. For me, it’s about balance, so that the birds are healthy and happy and producing the best eggs, and I still have a bit of a life.”

Baumhefner likes to cook the Tully Dolci eggs for six to eight minutes, until they’re barely hard-cooked, and sprinkle them in a spring version of Le Grand Aioli, made with new potatoes, baby leeks and baby peas, then topped with homemade mayonnaise and green garlic.

“I’ll also have a beautiful, soft-cooked egg on a plate with a lot of fresh greens,” she said. “It’s fun to do an egg salad sandwich on brioche bread (made with eggs), which compounds the theme.”

Instead of peeling and mashing fresh eggs to make deviled eggs, she cooks them, then cuts them in half, shell and all, with a sharp knife and scoops out each egg half with a spoon, serving a dot of green garlic aioli next to the yolk. If the egg is colorful, she may even keep it in its shell.

“Some of the shells are almost polka-dotted,” she said. “And they remind me of topographical maps.”

In the spring, it’s important to choose a simple preparation that plays off the egg’s vibrant color and flavor. As an example, Baumhefner fondly recalled a fresh pea soup she ordered in Paris, which came with a poached egg floating in the middle.

“In the spring, you want to show off their beauty,” she said of farm eggs. “Let them take center stage because they are so symbolic of spring, of birth and new life. It’s an egg, for heaven’s sake.”

CLOSED Namaste, my little pakora.

CLOSED
Namaste, my little pakora.