Wine Country is home to a long list of swanky hotels and resorts. More than simply places to rest your head, many of these properties also have sparkling pools that offer the perfect place to beat the heat and relax. Book a weekend away or a staycation — some of these pools can also be accessed with a day pass. Click through the gallery above for some of our favorite hotel pools in Sonoma County.
Update: Nieto is no longer at the restaurant and quality has declined
The smell of dried chiles toasting in his mother’s kitchen is one of chef Adrien Nieto’s favorite childhood memories. As she prepared her homemade salsa with spicy chile de arbol, he would wake with a coughing fit, a sure sign that breakfast was ready.
“Basically, the stuff was pepper spray,” he said.
It’s also one of the most nostalgic recipes on the opening menu of Healdsburg’s Arandas restaurant. Located at the former Chalkboard restaurant space inside Hotel Les Mars, the new Mexican-inspired eatery is part of entrepreneur Bill Foley’s business portfolio, which includes Healdsburg’s Goodnight’s Steakhouse and Chalk Hill Winery, The Farmhouse Inn and restaurant in Forestville, sports venues, the Vegas Golden Nights hockey team and hotels.
In a town already rich with Mexican cuisine, Nieto focuses instead on creating dishes that express the complexity of being American-born while straddling his Mexican family’s history, culture and identity.
“I grew up with this duality, which is a really interesting experience for lots of us who grew up Chicano,” said Nieto, describing an identity that also encompasses his food.
“We say, ‘It’s ni aqui ni alla,’ not from here or there. It’s the soul of our family and our experiences as Americans.”
In 2011, Nieto was the runner-up on “MasterChef,” besting 16 home cook contestants on the Gordon Ramsay reality show. At the time, he was a 28-year-old server and vowed to keep cooking despite the loss.
The near-win catapulted Nieto into culinary jobs in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with his most recent stint in Dallas with “MasterChef” alums Jennie Kelley and Ben Starr at a private, invitation-only dinner party called Frank.
A web of chef connections landed him a tryout for the Arandas job in May, followed by a whirlwind month that included hiring staff and creating an entirely new menu after wowing the Foley team. The former Chalkboard restaurant was remodeled into a cozy, modern cantina with dramatic lighting, leather Equipal chairs and low, vaulted ceilings that enhance the warmth of the space.
Just over a month after Nieto was hired, Arandas is a beautiful work in progress. The young kitchen staff are quickly jelling into a cohesive team. Nieto encourages them to contribute to the menu, meaning every dish has a backstory that only makes the experience of dining at the restaurant more charming.
Nieto’s sous chef, Felipe Hurtado, created one of the restaurant’s simplest dishes, Frijoles, $18. The preparation of heirloom Rancho Gordo beans cooked in dashi and piled onto local sourdough bread is an elevated version of a sick-day dish made by Hurtado’s mother. It’s incredibly comforting with a combination of mashed and whole beans topped with cheese.
“I want you to feel like you’re at my family’s house,” said Nieto, who expresses that sentiment on the menu.
“When you visit my family’s home, my relatives will ask you if you are hungry or thirsty, and if you shake your head ‘no,’ they will bring you a plate and tequila anyway. It’s that kind of soulful experience, of feeling you’re in our home, that I want to create here, at Arandas.”
Guacamole Y Mas, $28: Fresh guacamole served with crispy chicharrones, pickled vegetables (escabeche) with mango and pineapple, and homemade tortilla chips made with Masienda heirloom corn masa. Served with Salsa de Alma, Nieto’s mother’s salsa made with tomatoes, tomatillo, onion, garlic and chile de arbol.
Ostiones, 3/$14, 6/$28: Nieto has a flair for presentation, and these oysters are a showstopper. Simple oysters get dolled up with tart, sunset-orange leche de tigre sauce with pops of turmeric, ginger and lemongrass.
Papas, $18: A can’t-miss dish. Nieto poaches baby potatoes in dashi broth and then roasts them to crispy perfection. Served with chili salt, avocado crema, chives, sesame seeds, furikake and topped with smoked trout roe.
Esquites, $18: A riff on the creamy corn street food, but, er, without corn (at least until corn season). It’s a flavor bomb of fresh vegetables from Chalk Hill Farm with huitlacoche emulsion, sumac tajin, guajillo-kimchee mayo and cheese. You can try to figure it all out or just enjoy the layers of sweet, savory, salty deliciousness.
Cerdo Tacos, $32: Nieto’s taco game is still evolving, but these green chorizo tacos with artichokes and white beans are the best of the bunch, a DIY affair with stunning blue corn tortillas.
Aztec Chocolate Terrine, $15: Leave ample room for Arandas’ desserts. A rum crème Anglaise is the base for a wedge of creamy chocolate flavored with cinnamon and smoked chiles. It’s inspired by spicy hot chocolate made by chef Felipe’s grandmother but takes it up a level with ground, spicy Takis and a cacao tuile.
Panna Cotta, $15: This button-cute dessert has layers of flavor, starting with a saffron horchata panna cotta topped with strawberries, almond granita and rose water crema.
Dillicioso Cocktail, $16: We were wary about this “savory” cocktail, but it’s a refreshing delight with gin, tomato-dill shrub, cucumber, celery bitters and coriander flakes. Trust us.
The menu also includes a large selection of tequila, mezcal and several Latin American wines.
Open daily for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m., happy hour at the front bar from 4 to 6 p.m. 29 North St., Healdsburg, 707-473-8030, arandashealdsburg.com.
The end of an era for Chicago’s Cock Robin burger chain signaled a new beginning for Barlow owner Barney Aldridge. Now, he’s bringing the childhood memories of burgers and shakes to Sebastopol with the help of chef Jared Rogers of Petaluma’s Easy Rider.
Rogers, who co-founded the Southern-inspired Easy Rider in 2022, is reimagining the burger and milkshake menu as Cock Robin migrates from Naperville to its new home in Sebastopol.
The fast-casual, value-oriented restaurant replaces Seismic Brewing at the 12-acre outdoor marketplace. Seismic moved into the Golden State Cider tasting room in 2022 after vacating the high-profile, 4,000-square-foot space at the corner of Highway 12 and Morris Street.
Though Chicago’s Cock Robin restaurants were known for artery-clogging burgers, milkshakes and ice cream, Rogers wants to put a healthier spin on the menu while keeping the family-friendly vibe.
“I want it to be as healthy and organic as possible,” Rogers said. Though the final dishes are still in development, he plans to include salads, sandwiches, plant-based dishes, and old-school classics with a modern spin.
“The staples will all be there,” he said, including the signature “One-in-a-Million” milkshakes and malts. Aldridge purchased the brand after the last Cock Robin closed in 2008 with hopes of recreating the same magic in Sebastopol.
Rogers will continue his work at Easy Rider, so fried chicken dinner lovers need not panic.
Restaurant designer Doug Washington will bring the Barlow space to life with a large, open kitchen and family-focused details, including an expansive outdoor patio. A September opening is anticipated.
Rogers is also behind the menu at the recently opened Purple Acai smoothie and juice bar at the Barlow.
The health-conscious walk-up kitchen features hefty bowls filled with frozen, fair-trade acai, a South American berry hailed for its antioxidant qualities. Toppings and mix-ins include peanut butter, chia seeds, cacao nibs, flax seeds, coconut and protein powder.
If you go: Try the Mango and Greens Smoothie ($12) with mango, cashew milk, orange juice and spinach; the Toasty Rice Tea Fusion ($10), cold-pressed juice with a green tea and ginger kick; or the Nutty Bowl ($14) with acai, candied peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, flax seed, banana, honey and bee pollen.
6760 McKinley Ave., Suite 130, Sebastopol, 707-503-6412, purpleacai.net. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Looking to spend a day by the coast but want to avoid the crowds? These seven secret spots and unique experiences are perfect for the solitary ocean aficionado. Click through the above gallery for all the details.
Though they might seem like just another visitor attraction at a winery, wine caves do serve a specific purpose — to store wine at a steady, cool temperature as it ages to perfection. And when when it’s hot outside, these underground caverns also do a great job of keeping wine tasters comfortably chilled. Here are a few favorite carved-out hillsides where you can taste wine and stay cool in the hot days ahead.
Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in a comment below.
Hot and sunny summer days don’t have to put a damper on plans to get outside in Wine Country. You can lace up your boots and stay cool in one of Sonoma County’s many shady parks. Tree-lined paths make hiking excursions a breeze, even when the sun is blazing and temperatures soar. Click through the gallery above for details.
This summer, Northern California welcomes the return of Festival del Sole, which will be held at the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University from Aug. 1 to 4.
The event, presented in collaboration with arts entrepreneur and pianist Barrett Wissman, will feature a lineup of international musicians, wine events and an exclusive gala dinner and auction, which will welcome actor Robert Redford and his wife, multimedia environmental artist Sibylle Szaggars Redford.
Originating in the 1990s in Italy, Festival del Sole was conceived by Wissman and his wife, cellist Nina Kotova, as an event where friends could gather to make music in a welcoming atmosphere.
The couple, who were living in Italy at the time, frequented a 19th-century theater in Cortona, Tuscany, that used to screen movies one day a week on Sundays. “Back then, there were spiderwebs everywhere. We thought, wouldn’t it be great to have a festival here,” Wissman said.
The festival officially launched in Cortona in 2003, featuring concerts, art exhibitions, culinary events, wine tastings and literary gatherings. Over the next couple of years, it grew rapidly. Barrett attributed the success to the fact that the festival was dedicated to the artists themselves.
“It was the one time in the summer where they had time to come together, and it led to interesting collaborations that they normally wouldn’t be able to do,” Wissman said. “We had the best artists from across the world. From Anthony Hopkins to Sting.”
In 2006, Wissman brought Festival del Sole to Napa Valley, and the event was renamed Festival Napa Valley in 2016. However, this August will be Festival del Sole’s reincarnation.
Wissman set out to unite the purest form of collaboration and talent, from wineries to chefs, with the notion of bringing all artists together.
“The idea is to build something in Sonoma like what Ravinia is to Chicago. The highest level of performance and arts combined with food and wine,” Wissman said.
The festival kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 1, with performances by acclaimed instrumentalists Olga Kern, Nina Kotova and Viktoria Mullova. “This is the first time these musicians are coming together, they’ve never played together,” Wissman said.
On Friday, Aug. 2, celebrated violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman will perform alongside cellist Amanda Forsyth and pianist Michael Brown. On Saturday, Aug. 3, tenor Joseph Calleja, known for his “golden-age” voice and commanding stage presence, will perform.
The festival will conclude on Sunday, Aug. 4, with a screening of “The Way of the Rain: Hope for Earth—A Symphony for Our Planet.” The film captures the October 2023 live performance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Hall in Dallas, Texas, featuring narration by Robert Redford and music by Tim Janis. Sibylle Szaggars Redford and Robert Redford will attend the screening and gala dinner.
Buena Vista Winery and French vintner Jean-Charles Boisset will host the grand gala dinner and auction on Aug. 4. The event will benefit The Way of the Rain, a nonprofit founded by Sibylle Szaggars Redford that promotes environmental awareness through artistic performances.
Attendees can enjoy wines from Buena Vista and a special Bordeaux crafted by enologist Michel Rolland. Additionally, Vinous, a renowned wine publication, has organized a series of lunches and tastings at wineries such as Freeman Vineyard & Winery and Three Sticks Wines. One of the festival’s main draws will be the culinary and wine experiences curated by private wine club Domus Artium Reserve.
Montage Healdsburg will offer accommodations for artists and participants. The resort is located on 258 acres in Sonoma and features 130 bungalow-style guest rooms and suites and 40 private residences.
“We really want to bring the community together, something that Sonoma can be really proud of and proud to host. I really want to try to encourage anyone who wants to collaborate to be a part of it,” said Wissman.
Tickets for Festival del Sole range from $45 to $70 for music performances, $190 for lunch and wine tastings, and $500 for the gala dinner. Purchase tickets at gmc.sonoma.edu or by calling 707-664-4246. For more details on the gala and wine events, visit festivaldelsolearts.com.
The pace of the Russian River sets up a leisurely tempo of life in west Sonoma County. In this laid-back enclave of charming redwood cabins nestled into steep hillsides, you are bound to find your own rhythm in relaxed Russian River style.
Guerneville’s varied storefronts reflect the layers of the region’s recent history, from timber town to hippie haven to gay-friendly retreat and upscale weekend getaway. Close to the beach and with a downtown full of excellent places to eat and drink, it is a great place to kick back and soak up the sun during summer days. Click through the above gallery for a few of our favorite places in Guerneville.
Sonoma County residents have a hot week ahead, with 90- to 110-degree daytime highs. So how to stay cool? Click through the above gallery for a few ideas.
As temperatures heat up inland, the coast is our cool-weather getaway through the summer. Click through the above gallery for a few of our favorite coastal restaurants in Sonoma and Marin counties.
John Beck and Dana Rebmann contributed to this article.
