Pliny the Younger comes back to Russian River Brewing Company in downtown Santa Rosa on Feb. 6, 2015. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat)
Hop heads, mark your calendars.
Feb. 6 is the day Pliny the Younger, one of the most sought-after beers in the world, will be released at Russian River Brewing’s taproom in downtown Santa Rosa. The wait in line on that Friday will be long, as much as eight to 10 hours, and it will continue for two weeks, until the casks of “Younger” go dry.
Customers wait in line for hours along Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa for the 2014 release of Pliny the Younger at Russian River Brewing Company. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Younger, a triple India Pale Ale that the Beer Advocate website ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in 2010, is produced just once a year and in extremely small quantities: only on draft, never in bottle. A few pubs outside of Santa Rosa serve Younger, but the vast volume of the high-alcohol, scintillatingly hoppy yet ultra-smooth beer is sold at Russian River Brewing. Outlasting the long lines is a badge of honor; scoring a 10-ounce glass is a bucket-list check-off.
Sebastian Hernandez of Rancho Cucamonga photographs a glass of Pliny the Younger at The Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, Friday Feb. 7, 2014. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat)
Russian River brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo and his co-proprietor wife, Natalie, will serve Pliny the Younger to some 15,000 customers in its 14-day run at their Fourth Street pub. Doors open at 11 a.m. each day. And there are rules. No open containers in line. No smoking within 20 feet of business entrances or where people gather. No blocking access to other businesses. And above all else: no taking cuts.
If you miss out on Younger, take comfort in knowing that its sibling, the double IPA Pliny the Elder, is served year-round, though with a little less cachet.
Writers as diverse as William Shakespeare (“that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”) and Gertrude Stein (“a rose is a rose is a rose”) have waxed poetic on the flower that is a classic for Valentine’s Day giving.
Nick Neve hauls a bucket of roses to his truck for delivery in Marin County from Neve Brothers, the family’s rose nursery in Petaluma, as they prepare for the Valentines Day rose-buying frenzy. (Photo by Mark Aronoff, file 2011)
But roses are not the same as they were way back when, or even a decade ago. Many of the jumbo-headed oddities in markets are imported from Colombia or Ecuador, bred for size or an absence of thorns, and have lost their intoxicating fragrance. For roses that look and smell like roses, thorns and all, try Neve Brothers in Petaluma.
Yet there are dozens of floral options for Valentine’s and other special days. The Victorians were big on the meaning of each type of flower, creating a language called florography. Handing your sweetheart sweet peas in those days meant “blissful pleasure.” Violets said, “Let’s take a chance on happiness,” and tulips purred “perfect lover.” While familiarity with these meanings may have been lost over time, they can be a guide to creative flower selection.
Color can also be helpful: Yellow signifies friendship, coral implies desire, purple suggests enchantment and pink signals joy.
There are simple ways to preserve the color and aroma of cut flowers once they’ve been delivered.
A teaspoon of gin in the water increases the lifespan of tulips. Many flowers (roses, peonies, sunflowers, zinnias and hyacinths) prefer hot water rather than cold for their initial plunge.
For all flowers, cut the stems a quarter-inch every other day and change the water frequently, ensuring that the Valentine’s Day sentiment lives on for a week or more.
Malisa Bruno turns a cartwheel while frolicking in a field of mustard at the Brown Farm, in Santa Rosa on Wednesday, March 19, 2014. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
A winter walk through the vineyards offers endless, wide-open vantages like no other time of year. Instead of being corralled in maze-like, leafy, summer rows, in the dead of January you can see for miles through barren skeletal plots of gnarled wet vines framed by naked wires.
Of course, you’ll need to gear up for the occasion. Waterproof boots and rain jackets come in handy, but it’s all worth the effort.
For the hearty, wintry soul, the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission has lined up eight wineries that offer free self-guided walking tours through the vineyards.
Stryker Sonoma (Alexander Valley) and Landmark Vineyards (Sonoma Valley) are two of the easiest jaunts, with flat and lazy quarter-mile loops. The most jaw-dropping is Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, thanks to a world-class sculpture garden and countless vistas.
The vineyards of Michel Schlumberger and Francis Ford Coppola Winery, in the Dry Creek and Alexander valleys, respectively, boast the most “challenging” hikes, with elevated romps through surrounding hills. And even though it’s winter, you can channel the boys of summer with a run around the diamond at the “Field of Dreams” baseball field in the middle of Balletto Vineyards in Russian River Valley.
Depending on the year (and the unpredictable indignities of a drought season), at some point in February electric-yellow mustard arrives in a flash, like an overnight painter splashed through vineyard rows, leaving behind flurries of waist-high saffron color to wade through.
Just keep in mind: Selfies can be a challenge when your kids are swallowed whole by 4-foot mustard blooms. Don’t wear yellow.
When the rainfall is right, February brings astonishing blooms of mustard to Wine Country that are sure to inspire a hiker’s childlike sense of joy.
Roast chicken from Pullman Kitchen in Santa Rosa. (Heather Irwin)
Roast chicken from Pullman Kitchen in Santa Rosa. Photo: Heather Irwin
After a bit of a lull in restaurant openings over the last several years, 2014 was a banner year for restaurateurs, both old and new. New to the table were several chef-owned restaurants, signaling an uptick in the economy, as well as flashier restaurants housed inside the Graton Casino and Resort. Cuisine focused on local products has become almost de rigeur, with local meats becoming even more of a player. Ethnic flavors are becoming increasingly mainstream as the world gets smaller and palates expand. Also this year: A number of pop-ups and food trucks have found brick-and-mortar spots to compliment, rather than eliminate, their mobile kitchens.
What we’ve seen less of? Traditional European menus have gone the way of the dinosaur. Instead, we’re seeing more “fusion” menus that include traditional sauces and preparations with newer flavors. Southeast Asian restaurants are eschewing their Americanized versions of dishes and lesser-known cuisines like Korean, authentic Japanese (ramen, donburri) and Vietnamese taking the forefront.
We’re also excited to see unexpected types of meat on many menus, including lots of locally-raised rabbit and goat along with serious offal (not just the gross-out stuff we saw several years ago) including tongue, heart, myriad sausages, kidney, liver and tripe on many menus, along with plenty of bone marrow and natural gelatins.
The good news in all of this is that local palates are broadening, and restaurant patrons are embracing the creativity of chefs. And though prices have risen considerably, we’re also beginning to get used to the idea that locally-produced, sustainable food comes at a price. But oh, what flavor.
Here are a few of our favorite restaurant openings of 2014.
Pullman Kitchen
One of my favorite openings of the year has to be this Railroad Square charmer. It’s hard to nail down why I’ve been so smitten, but the combination of comfort and luxury just work. Chef Darren McRonald has perfected the roast chicken with crispy skin and juicy, tender meat (both light and dark), serving up the bird with a light pan sauce and two dreamy spinach Parmesan pancakes. It’s everything a roast chicken should be, which is comforting and hearty, homey and succulent. Housed in the former Syrah Bistro. The interior is familiar, with an open kitchen and cozy dining room, but the space now has better seating and a more open feel. The interior courtyard, always a bit exposed, noisy, and uncomfortable, has been sectioned off, giving it a more unified feeling. The rest of the menu is brief and fairly consistent (though seasonal ingredients come and go) with plenty of rib-sticking entrées including fish tacos, cheeseburgers, skirt steak, lamb, and Manila clams with chorizo. What’s we’ve been inspired by, however, are the daily specials, such as a crab cake po’boy and fried green tomatoes. And don’t miss the bacon-wrapped dates with paprika, honey, and lemon. Dessert is just as inspired and just as comforting. Rich carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (notice the golden raisins, a nice touch), warm rhubarb and strawberry crumbles with whipped cream, or so-worth-it house made ice cream. What seemed a stumbling block, adding a 17 percent tip to the bill, has been eliminated. Though the idea is noble (and will hopefully catch on), Sonoma County just wasn’t ready. Open Mon-Fri lunch, nightly dinner, and Sat-Sun brunch. 205 5th St. at Wilson St., Santa Rosa, 707-545-4300.
MY Noodle Bar, Tony’s of North Beach
There was plenty of gastro-hubbub when the Graton Resort and Casino opened last winter. The lineup included five sit-down restaurants and an impressive food court of which former Cyrus chef Douglas Keane was a part. Within a few months, Keane was out and the restaurants started looking a bit, well, quiet. It’s too bad, because I’m a huge fan of Chef Martin Yan’s MY Noodle Bar and Chef Tony Gemignani’s signature restaurant. MY China transformed recently to MY Noodle Bar, with an abbreviated, but easier to follow menu. Dim sum is always solid, and its one of the few places in the North Bay for really authentic Chinese dishes. I’m also a huge fan of Tony’s of North Beach, which on my most recent visit was nearly empty. I had one of the best burgers of my life, and the restaurant is offering a number of family-friendly, budget-friendly options to bring people in. After several informal surveys of local foodies, the number one reason for not going: The cigarette smoke from the casino. Personally, I haven’t found it that offensive (there are state-of-the-art air filters and Tony’s has an exterior entrance), but it’s definitely keeping many non-gamblers away.
Oso Sonoma
So what do you do when Open Table gives your “restaurant” (in reality, a winery tasting experience) the best in the world? You quit and open your own restaurant. Located on the Sonoma Square, Bush’s rustic-modern space is both walk-in lounge/bar and evolved reservation-only tasting experience. At the bar, you can get nibbles like pickled shrimp with paenut slaw, charred tuna with gai lan (a sort of Chinese brocooli) or beef tartar with quail egg (all under $20). The tasting menu changes with the day, but is always fresh from the garden and pasture. All from a guy who’s most often found in a camouflage trucker and humble whites of a line cook. 9 East Napa St., Sonoma
Native Kitchen and Kombucha Bar
On the other end of the spectrum is one of the most healthful dining experiences I’ve had in recent memory (and enjoyed). I’ve never been much of a fan of plant-based menus, but this Petaluma restaurant proved the exception. “I like to think of it as nutritious by accident,” says Chef Jasmine Dravis. Focused on food prepared with a “healing intent”—with gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options as the core of her menu—Dravis doesn’t trade flavor for philosophy, or eschew meat on the menu. Instead, her offerings are a simple mix of seasonal fruits, veggies, grains and meats in a variety of guises. Favorites included jalapeño cornbread, the Sonoma Cheese Board, and sweet corn cakes. Don’t miss the kombucha cocktails that make drinking healthy fun. 110 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, 599-3750, open 10a.m. to 10p.m. daily.
Ramen Gaijin
Pop-ups can sometimes be a bit, well, ephemeral. This one, however, has found a home in Sebastopol, and we couldn’t be happier. Focused on authentic Japanese ingredients and preparations, Chefs Moishe Hahn-Schuman and Matthew Williams quietly started a every-other-week slurp-n-burp shindig featuring incredible bowls of handmade ramen with pork belly, bonito flakes, mushrooms, and lightly poached eggs. To boot, the curated menu also includes karaage (Japanese fried chicken) or donburi, an Asian-inspired salad and sorbet with yuzu curd. The Monday night feast sold out again, and again. This January, they’re popping up several days a week for lunch and dinner at the former Forchetta, and will expand their menu to include even more surprises. 6948 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol.
Vignette
There are only a handful of meals that I can describe as life-changing—so perfectly executed at exactly the right moment in time that they forever stand out in memory as best-in-class. Fatty tuna belly nigiri at Hana Japanese, chocolate pot de creme at Francis Ford Coppola Winery’s Rustic, chilled pea soup with Dungeness crab at Chalkboard, beef bourguignon at Chloe’s, foie gras at Cyrus.This week, I’ve added another: Fire-roasted heirloom carrots with eggplant and buffalo mozzarella ($10) at the recently-opened Vignette. A stack of perfectly yielding, caramelized baby carrots stacked atop bits of roasted eggplant and green onion with two spoonfuls of Ramini buffalo mozzarella (not easy to find), made even more decadent with olive oil and black pepper—just one of a frequently changing line-up of daily roasted vegetables from Chef Mark Hopper (former executive chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group). The rest of the menu orbits around Hopper’s painstakingly-researched Neapolitan pizzas. Having traveled to some of the best pizzerias in the country, he honed both the dough and the wood-fired cooking method (very hot, very fast) that results in a chewy crust with crispy bubbles throughout. 6750 McKinley St., Sebastopol (at the Barlow).
Naked Pig
Small can be so big when you cook with love. With just a handful of tables, this breakfast/bruch/lunch spot is a keeper. At the east end of the bustling SOFA arts district in Santa Rosa,it’s a great spot to meet up for cheddar, chive and ham savory bread pudding ($12) a super-collider smash-up of flavors worthy of a Nobel prize ($12). We’re also huge fans of the green onion biscuit with honey, poached eggs, perfectly cooked bacon and tartly-dressed salad ($13).
Artisanal whisky caramel waffles ($11) are fluffy and moist with a boozy punch ($11). Lunch sandwiches are takes on lunchbox favorites like meatloaf ($13)and egg salad ($11), but with gourmet twists like Raymond bakery ciabatta, pastured eggs and homemade pickles and ketchup. Open 8a.m. to 3p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, 435 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa.
Secret Kitchen
You know a restaurant’s under-the-radar when you can’t find it, even with Google Maps. But four miles west of Petaluma, where goats scamper in fields and signs for “lost family pig” aren’t at all unusual, is The Secret Kitchen. Tucked behind an unassuming convenience store, Brenda Anderson, Janice Clement and their tiny staff of friends and neighbors are running a walk-up, take-out kitchen with dishes like Korean BBQ chicken rice bowls with kim chee, “Hog in a Blanket” (pork brat with Lagunitas IPA mustard, cheddar cheese sauce and caramelized onions), caramel rum cake and fresh peach strawberry galettes. “These are just dishes I’ve pickup up from around the world. Everything is just something I love,” says Anderson, whose Asian/Latin/American dishes harken from cooking gigs in Thailand, teaching at the Culinary Institute of America and running a restaurant at Google. Best bets include the bahn mi with slow roasted pork, pickled carrots and daikon, peanuts and secret sauce ($9); Korean BBQ tacos ($3), Koren BBQ chicken rice bowls with kimchee and pickled onions ($9), The American Hog in a Blanket ($9), Khao Soi (a Thai curried noodle bowl, $9.50) and desserts of the day. Open 11a.m. to 7:30p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 4701 Bodega Ave., Petaluma (707) 787-8243.
Earth’s Bounty Kitchen
Longtime caterer Christopher Ludwick (Grapevine) has created a comforting lineup of his best dishes you’ve probably never had. We fell to pieces over nearly everything on the compact and well-curated menu. A charcuterie board ($13) with a changing lineup of salamis, fight-over-the-last-bite pate, pickled veggies and Cabernet mustard (ours also featured duck rillettes and head cheese); a tiny iron skillet with pork cheeks, charred tomatoes and Vella Dry Jack ($10) cooked the wood oven; the Earth’s Bounty Burger with violet mustard, Cabernet onion jam and Vella cheddar on a Village Bakery English muffin ($13); “Mac and Cheese” ($12) which is less like Kraft and more like a creamy, dreamy dish of orecchiette, mushrooms, shallots, melty cheese and buttered crumbs; chicken and waffles ($18) with rosemary-bacon waffles, country gravy and collard greens (we could eat the collard greens for weeks); and most especially the ever-changing desserts, which include a homemade “Ding Dong” (Devil’s food cake, ganache, marshmallow cream and other wickedness) or a warm fruit crumble with mascarpone. They’re also doing terrific take-out sandwiches for lunch. Earth’s Bounty Kitchen, open for dinner from 5 to 9p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday 11a.m. to 4p.m. 5755 Mountain Hawk Way, Santa Rosa, 827-9700
Sea Thai Noodle Bar
The third restaurant for Chef Tony Ounpamornchai, and my favorite. Focused on “Southeast Asian Comfort Food,” the menu is built around large bowls of noodle soups, curries, rice bowls, small bites and salads. A master of fusing Southeast Asian flavors with Wine Country ingredients, has created a more casual menu and interior, where simple wood tables make a convenient platform for sipping, slurping and sharing. Best bets (confirmed by a well-known chef and a local stylist we saw there) were the Drunken Man Noodles (flat noodles with chicken, herbs and Johnnie Walker scotch); a sumptuous lamb curry with thin slices of meat, warm spices and creamy coconut milk; a duck rice bowl with pickled ginger and perfectly cooked duck breast; handmade pot stickers with jicama and pork belly, and crab puffs with bacon aioli. There’s lots to love on the extensive wine list and dessert menu, with seasonal fruit creations like creme caramel with sweet cherries. 286 Coddingtown Center (at Coddingtown Mall), Santa Rosa.
Rosso Rosticceria
It’s a three-peat for Sonoma’s award-winning Rosso pizzeria crew. Co-owners Kevin Cronin and chef John Franchetti have created an Italian-style Rosticceria that’s part restaurant, part hang-out space. Featuring house baked pastries (from the talented Dominique of Dominique’s Sweets), breads, Roman pizzas, sliced meats, oysters, porchetta, espresso and a variety of sandwiches and appetizers. “It’s slow food fast,” said Cronin, who was inspired by the famous Peck deli in Milan and childhood memories of San Francisco’s Liguria Bakery. 1229 Dutton Ave, Santa Rosa, Monday through Friday from 9a.m. to 6p.m.
Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar
If the restaurant scene in Healdsburg has hit critical mass, it seems the dessert scene is just ramping up. The owners of the insanely relish Moustache Baked Goods opened another sweet tooth destination on the Healdsburg square featuring exotically-flavored ice creams like black sesame and coconut, cardamom, blackberry rosemary, Japanese purple yam and juniper honey. Pies change with the season, but a few faves include strawberry ginger, blueberry plum thyme, walnut maple and apple caramel pies. Noble Folk puts a twist on the traditional by using some unusual ingredients like farro, bolero and buckwheat flour (from nearby Front Porch Farm) and a “single origin pie” that is crafted entirely from Front Porch’s leaf lard, fruit and locally milled flours. 116 Matheson St., Healdsburg, (707) 529-2162. Open daily from 12pm to 9pm.
Topsy’s Kitchen
With a focus on Southern comfort food, we were ready to praise the lard and pass the biscuits. Breakfast is a well-curated mix of sweet and savory that includes beignets with jam ($5), buttermilk biscuit sandwiches with pimento cheese, buttermilk berry pancakes ($6) and healthier fare of organic quinoa with seasonal veggies ($7.50). Lunch includes their journey-worthy buttermilk fried chicken in both sandwich ($11) and chicken ‘n waffles, along with shrimp and grits ($14) and a grassfed burger ($12.50). Watch for daily specials of gumbo and brisket. Two can’t miss items: Lucy’s chicken-fried deviled eggs (yup, deviled eggs smashed back together, dipped in batter and fried, $9.50) and streusel topped caramel apple pie (drenched in salted caramel ($6) that fed two with a hearty chunk left over for a midnight snack. 131 Kentucky St., Petaluma, (773-4743).
Brasa
This Brazilian churrascaria features a mind-wobbling lineup of meat, meat and more meat, strong caipirinhas and pao de Queijo—a dreamy cheese bread. For the uninitiated, churrascaria roughly translated from Portuguese describes meat, fish or produce cooked on a skewer over a hot grill. Think steakhouse meets a hot spit. What you’re there for is the never-ending meat parade, or rodizio. For $40 (per person), you’ll get a salad, vegetable, rice, cheese bread, beans, fried plantains and yucca, and all the steak, pork loin, bacon-wrapped chicken you can eat. Leave room for one of the best desserts ever dreamed up: Chocolate and Brazilian caramel covered strawberries ($8). It’s like the best bon-bon you’ve ever eaten and worth every penny. Brasa Churrascaria and Brew pub, open Tuesday through Sunday, 5:30p.m. to 10:30p.m. for dinner (later for cocktails and lounge). 505 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa.
La Perla: It seems Santa Rosa is on a roll with Peruvian restaurants. La Perla Peruvian Cuisine has opened in the former California Thai on Seventh St. in Santa Rosa. The menu includes classics like Lomo Saltado (beef with soy sauce) is a staple, along with ceviches, steamed mussels with salsa, beef heart skewers and “Leche Asada”, a Peruvian-style creme brulee. Open daily for lunch and dinner, 522 Seventh St., Santa Rosa.
Seaside Metal: This Bar Crudo spinoff is a popular hangout for locals, and word is, their oysters are stellar. 16222 Main St., Guerneville.
Flipside Steak: We haven’t been back since a chef and menu changeup, but the crab cakes and prime rib were solid on our first visit. 138 Calistoga Road, Santa Rosa.
Palooza Gastropub & Wine Bar: Another spot that’s had a chef changeup, but grabs a crowd with a lengthy list of craft brews, local wines, burgers and hot dogs. 8910 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood.
Santa Rosa’s favorite oddball son, Robert Ripley, is enjoying a surprise resurgence of late. Last year, the page-turner biography, “A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert ‘Believe It Or Not!’ Ripley,” painted a portrait of the globe-trotting pioneer far more complex than just a freak show huckster whose name emblazons tourist-trap curiosity museums around the world.
Now PBS is rolling out the biopic, “Ripley: Believe It Or Not,” (9 p.m. Jan. 6, KQED), following the rags-to-riches rise of the “skinny, buck-toothed boy” and Santa Rosa High grad who later “mesmerized the nation with his razzle-dazzle blend of homespun Americana, colorful exotica and freakish oddities.”
Executive producer Mark Samels calls the pith-helmeted Ripley “the first true multimedia mogul of the 20th century,” who traveled the world unearthing shrunken heads, firewalkers and a man who could blow up a balloon with his eyeball.
In his prime, Ripley settled down far from his native Santa Rosa, living in a 27-room mansion on Long Island, N.Y., while raking in half a million dollars a year from his Hearst syndicated newspaper strips, books and radio and TV shows.
If you’re feeling inspired after watching Ripley’s life story, take a trip down to the Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery in Santa Rosa, where Ripley is buried. His grave marker is a little hard to find, but look for the quirky “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” font on the headstone. If you park by the mausoleum on Franklin Street, the grave is about 50 yards south, near a large juniper bush.
Winter on the Mendocino Coast. Photo Heather Irwin, copyrighted 2014
The best eat, drink and hike on the Mendocino Coast? If you ask me, it’s right about now, when crab season is still humming along and it’s just as well to sit inside on a cold, blustery day and watch the crashing waves over a hot bowl of chowder. BiteClub spent three days wandering the bluffs of southern Mendocino County between Little River and Fort Bragg, noshing and enjoying a little solitude between sea and sky. Though this list is far from inclusive, here’s are some faves from this trip.
Clam Chowder at the Little River Inn is the best on the Mendocino Coast
Best Clam Chowder and crab cakes: Little River Inn
We all do it: Visit the coast and eat clam chowder and crab cakes. And most of the time, let’s be honest, it’s a huge disappointment. Pasty bowls of rubbery clams and hard potatoes, crab-ish cakes made mostly of breadcrumbs and egg. Even worse when you know its been shipped in from some corporate kitchen hundreds of miles away.
Little River Inn gets it right. A generous bowl of creamy broth, bits of Roundman bacon (see below), celery, onions and clams still inside the shell. Best. Chowder. Ever.
Also a winner, literally, are the crab cakes, which have taken the Mendocino crab cake cook-off several years in a row. The secret: Lots of creme fraiche and sour cream, cornbread crumbs and citrus zest.
While you’re there, either in the more formal dining room or the more casual Whale Watch Bar, leave room for the olallieberry cobbler. 7751 California 1, Little River, 937-5942.
The best view on the Coast? The Mendocino Headlands are my favorite. Copyright Heather Irwin, 2014
Best View: Mendocino Headlands
There’s no shortage of dramatic ocean vistas along the north coast, but some of my favorites are along the rugged coastline encircling the town of Mendocino. Be sure to bring a warm coat, hat and gloves for evenings or blustery days, but you can park off main street, then walk along any of the many trails that encircle the bluffs. If you look closely, you may find a stair step down to a quiet cove, or a path through windswept trees to the edge of the world, where on windy days the ocean booms in caves below and spray pelts your face. Just be careful, because this is unforgiving turf and one misstep can really ruin your day.
Wild Louie at Wild Fish in Little River, Mendocino Coast. Photo Heather Irwin
Best Local Seafood: Wild Fish
Hidden behind a small convenience store and gas station, Wild Fish is the best restaurant you’ve never heard of in Mendocino. Using carefully sourced local products—including seafood from nearby Noyo Harbor, nearly everything on the menu just sings out to be order. From tequila-lime fish tacos (with the catch of the day) to crab mac and cheese, roasted mussels and the incredible Wild Louie salad for lunch, to seasonal whole Dungeness crab, local sable fish and swordfish with hedgehog mushrooms or roasted goose from nearby Salmon Creek Ranch, Chef Jackson Clark is behind what we’d say is probably one of the best restaurants on the coast. Prices can be a little steep, with most entrees running $25 and up for dinner, but the view and the impeccably prepared dishes are well worth it. Most dishes come with pairing suggestions which are spot-on as well. There are just 10 tiny tables inside, so make sure to call ahead for reservations. 7750 California 1, Little River, 937-3055.
Cove on the Mendocino Coast Headlands
Best Wine: Navarro Winery.
The Sonoma Coast and nearby Anderson Valley are home to my favorite cool-climate aromatic whites and delicate pinot noirs. But for everyday sipping, my very favorite bottles are from Navarro Winery, often hard to find outside of Mendocino County or their own Anderson Valley tasting room. That’s why we love seeing Navarro wines all over local menus, which are well-priced and pair so perfectly with the local offerings of seafood. Their sister farm, Pennyroyal Farms, offers up incredible goat’s milk cheeses that can also be found in restaurants and local grocers seasonally. If you find it, be sure to snap it up, because it won’t last. For kids (or non-drinkers) Navarro offers a line of non-alcoholic grape juices that are almost as good as their fermented kin. 5601 Hwy 128, Philo.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Ganache Tart at Trillium Cafe and Inn in Mendocino
Best Dessert: Trillium Cafe and Inn
Snuggle up ‘round a cozy fire at this combination inn and restaurant. Though the restaurant lost its opening chef a few months after opening last year, the sous has kept things running smoothly — despite the fact that the Baked Alaska has disappeared off the menu. It’s just as well, however, because the owner’s homemade salted caramel and ganache tart more than compensated.10390 Kasten St., Mendocino, 937-3200.
Good Life Cafe Morning Bun
Best Buns to Wake Up To: GoodLife Cafe and Bakery
One of the best things about small towns like Mendocino is that everyone knows everyone else. Walk into GoodLife and you’ll overhear friends and neighbors catching up over the week’s news and a good cup of coffee. To boot, there’s an incredible array of freshly baked pastries, bagels, soups, salads and daily specials like pumpkin curry. The morning bun, however, is a swirl of flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and orange that’s best enjoyed with a spicy cup of chai. Cozy up at a window seat to get the best view of downtown’s small-town bustle. 10483 Lansing St., Mendocino, 937-0836.
Roundman Smoked Meats in Fort Bragg on the Mendocino Coast.
Best Smoked Everything: Roundman’s Smokehouse and Butcher Shop
“We’ll smoke anything,” is the motto of this Fort Bragg meat shop, which upon entering, immediately infuses your soul with the sweet scent of smoke. They’ve got cases of housemate sausages, cheeses, salmon, tuna, tilapia, hams, beef , jerky, chicken, duck, chicken, lamb, and, well, you get the idea. They’ll smoke anything. The beef comes in from nearby H-Bench Ranch in Covelo. 412 N. Main St., Fort Bragg, 964-5438
Sebastian T. captured the essence, I think, in this photo posted to Yelp. So, I stole it.
Sebastian T. captured the essence, I think, in this photo posted to Yelp. So, I stole it.
Midwestern weenies have arrived in Guerneville! And this corn-fed flatlander couldn’t be more excited to take a bite.
3 Alarm Grill, which opened on Dec. 5, 2014 is serving up wet and messy Italian beef on a bun, hand cut fries and of course, a Classic Chicago dog made with Vienna sausage (natch) mustard, onions, neon green relish, tomato and pickles so authentic, you’ll think you’re at Wrigley.
Ya can’t have a serious dog with chili, so the folks at Three Alarm Grill will beserving up their signature beef chili on top or by the bowl (no word on whether it beats Cincinnati’s Skyline). What we’re especially loving are funnel cakes for dessert, dontcha know.
For you hippy Californians, there are salads, cedar plank salmon and chicken breasts as well. Uff da!
16218 Main St., Guerneville. Open 11a.m. to 9p.m. (closed on Tuesday and Wednesday until the season picks up in April).
*Since I stole the picture (um, hint hint, I need a better photo), I feel it’s only right to link to the Yelp reviews, even though it pains me.
We’re chomping at the bit for Napa’s Atlas Social, slated for an early January opening.
Headed by Michael and Christina Gyetvan of Azzurro Pizzeria & Enoteca and Norman Rose Tavern, the kitchen will be in the hands of Nick Ritchie (named Rising Star Chef in 2009 and Chef de Cuisine at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega. Industry veteran Pat Jeffries will run the front of house.
Opening menu items will include Chef’s Crispy Fried Farm Egg with Bacon Jam; Salad of Winter Greens, Apple and Persimmon with a Grilled Sweet Onion-Macadamia Nut Dressing; a Jar of Smoked Trout Rillettes with Caraway-Rye Crostini and Onion-Crème Fraiche; and Citrus Braised Pork Belly Tacos with Avocado, Vegetable Escabeche, and Salsa Roja. Atlas Social will also feature family style platters, including a Garlic and Chili Pepper Roasted Dungeness Crab with Grilled Bread and Spicy Aioli, and an Ale Braised Boneless Beef Rib with Root Vegetable Gratin and 5-Onion Kale.
Cook Tavern in St. Helena opened in Dec. 2014, a sister restaurant to Cook St. Helena.
Cook Tavern in St. Helena opened in Dec. 2014, a sister restaurant to Cook St. Helena.
Cook Tavern in St. Helena opened this week with a seriously noshable menu that includes house made fried pickles, poutine with beef cheeks, sautéed sweetbreads with red wine veal jus, mini grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup and bigger plates of buttermilk fried chicken wings, a house ground burger, slow roasted pork Cubano, and steak frites among the offerings.
Potables include an old school daiquiri, barrel aged Manhattan, hot toddy, and crafty cocktails like the Cougar Juice (Grey Goose, St. Germain, peach shrub, lemon juice and wine). Why do I feel slightly offended, yet thirsty?
The tavern is the little sister restaurant of the popular Cook Restaurant 1310 Main St., St. Helena, (707) 963-7088.
New Year’s Eve in Wine Country is always a food and wine-centric affair, making the dress code more about casual comfort and fun than, well, six-inch stilettos and micro minis (though you’re welcome if that’s your bag). Here are a few of our top picks to celebrate the dawn of 2015.
Mateo’s Cocina Latina: A tribute to Drakes Bay with the last clams from the coastal farms, Drakes Bake oyster shooters, Bolinas halibut ceviche, Estero clam soup with local Dungeness crab and Fort Bragg uni (OMG, please); rabbit with pear demi-glace, goat with ancho chile demi-glace or yellow tail rock cod, persimmon upside down cake. $75 per person. 214 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, (707) 433-1520.
Backyard: A Forestville fave. Chose from California oysters, mackerel crudo, roasted bone marrow, Dungeness crab stuffed sole, roasted quail, purple potato gnocchi with foraged mushrooms, chocolate budino (best in the County), tiramisu and Meyer lemon tart. Three courses, $44; four, $65 and five courses, $75pp. Reservations required. 6566 Front St., Forestville, (707) 820-8445.
Solbar: A twelve item menu includes buckwheat blini with caviar, chilled Maine lobster, Kobe beef carpaccio, grilled yellowfin tuna, petrel sole, veal tenderloin with sweetbreads and black truffle, Black Forest cake. $90 for four courses, $20 for each additional course. 755 Silverado Trail North, Calistoga, (707) 226-0800.
Village Inn & Restaurant: One of the best values for NYE is in the quaint West County village of Monte Rio. Chef William Oliver prepares a three-course prix fixe that includes mustard seed crusted smoked trout, lobster bisque, Beef Wellington, poached Maine lobster, cornish game hen with herb gnocchi and foie gras jus, black truffle gnocchi with roasted chanterelles and a champagne tart with berries. $55 per person, reservations required, (707) 865-2304.
Centre du Vin Bistro: Five courses of classic French bistro fare includes Oysters Rockefeller, roasted chestnut soup, butternut squash ravioli, Filet Mignon Oscar and chocolate orange pot de creme. 480 First St., Sonoma, (707) 996-9779. $100pp, $150 with wine pairing.
Spinster Sisters: Three course prix fixe, $65 pp, includes Dungeness crab with Meyer lemon aioli, duck liver mousse with port wine gelee and candied kumquats, tangerine brown butter scallops, grilled beef cheek, rabbit pappardelle, Moroccan vegetable tagine, steamed chocolate cake, or Meyer lemon meringue tart. We’re also loving the idea of their New Year’s Day Brunch, celebrated from 9am to 3pm. Reservations, (707) 528-7100, 401 South A St., Santa Rosa.
I’ll be adding more spots as I find them at BiteClubEats.com.
