February 22-March 1, Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference: Cheesemaker Sheana Davis puts on one of the best gatherings of food and cheese producers in the country each year in Sonoma. Don’t miss the Sonoma Winter Artisan Cheese Fair at Ramekins Culinary Center (450 W. Spain St., Sonoma) on Feb. 23 with a sake and cheese tasting, beer and cheese pairing and mac ‘n cheese cookoff. Tickets are $60, online. 

March 2, Cochon 555: Now in its eighth year, the epic pork event of the season hits Napa’s Culinary Institute of America for a day of chef competitions, pig eating and general swine-flavored goodness. This year’s local competitors include Cindy Pawlcyn (Mustard’s Grill), Jason Kupper (The Thomas), Kelly McCown (Goose & Gander), Patrick Clark (The CIA), Dustin Valette (Dry Creek Kitchen), students of The Conservatory led by Larry Forgione and Dave Budworth of Marina Meats. With 1200 pounds of heritage pork, 30 chef-created dishes, live butchery as well as a barkeep competition, there’s plenty to oink about. Tickets are $125 per person, details online.

March 10-16, Sonoma County Restaurant Week: Fifty-plus Sonoma County Restaurants roll out special 2 and 3 course prix-fixe menus during the fifth annual Restaurant Week event. Prices range from $19 to $39 for dinners, and this year, two course lunch menus range from $10 to $20. See all the participants online.

April 12-13, Bottega Gran Fondo: Organized by a world-famous chef, it’s not a huge surprise that Michael Chiarello’s (Bottega, Napa) spring Fondo is as much about the food as the cycling. “We Ride to Eat!” says the tagline for the event, which is limited to 300 participants. In addition to the ride through Napa’s vineyards and farmland, five chefs (Brandon Sharp of Solage, Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, Matt Accarrino of SPQR), six winemakers/sommeliers (Joel Gott, Larry Turley, Doug Shafer) and cyclists George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde and Bob Roll and “special guests” Sam Beall (Blackberry Farm) and Gary Erickson and Kit Crawfor dof Clif Family Winery (and, uh, Clif Bars) will be in attendance. Riders have the opportunity to connect with “teams” of Chefs, Sommeliers or Pro Riders, traveling either 40 or 75 mile courses through the Napa Valley. Standard registration is $250 ($350 after March 15) and $650 for the VIP Package (film festival screening pass, VIP cocktails and dinner). Details online.

Sometimes I get bizarre cravings for food I’ve never eaten. Like fermented soy beans, those weird Japanese Pringles flavors (braised pork, mayonnaise, Grand Canyon french fries), or a bottle of menthol cigarette-flavored vodka.

The harder to find, the more my obsession grows until I can’t think about anything else. Must. Eat. Now.

Which is how my quest for Sonoma County Tostilocos began. I recently read about the popular Tijuana street  food consisting of a small bag of salsa verde-flavored Tostitos split open and topped with pickled pig skin, jicama, Japanese peanuts, cucumber, lime, hot sauce and a chile and fruit sauce called chamoy.  It seemed like an easy find in, say, Santa Rosa’s Roseland, where tasty Mesoamerican street food abounds.

Not so easy, it turns out. After a day of fruitless phone calls, a restaurateur friend broke the bad news, “They just aren’t that popular here”.

Undaunted, the search continued through the evening and onto Facebook. False lead after false lead led to near meltdown until my buddy Emily K. struck gold at Colores!  (433 Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa). Her excited texts started flying onto my phone with pictures of the full bag. Half eaten bag. Empty bag.

And so I got my Tostilocos, which were every bite as wonderful as one could hope. Crunchy, spicy, chewy, nutty and altogether addictive. Not to mention having a plastic-wrapped prize at the bottom of the bag (a temporary tatoo in my case). Mission accomplished. $5.50, Colores! ice Cream, Cakes and Food, 433 Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa.

Just heading out of town, but I wanted to share this release on the recently opened Flipside Steakhouse. They’ll be hosting a Superbowl party this weekend as well…Stay tuned for more details.

Flipside Steakhouse and Sports Bar is now open, drawing crowds with its inviting mix of top-quality food, family-friendly atmosphere, moderate prices, and comfortable décor. The restaurant is located at 138 Calistoga Road at Highway 12 in the St. Francis Shopping Center.

The steakhouse side of Flipside Steakhouse and Sports Bar features a full dinner service restaurant with a menu of steaks, prime rib, burgers, seafood, salads, and a raw bar, all featuring locally-sourced fresh produce and ingredients. A generous children’s menu is a draw for parents, and kids under 10 eat for free every day before 7 p.m. Primarily local wines, craft beer on tap and in bottle, and a full bar are available, and a selection of classic desserts and signature shakes satisfy the sweet tooth. The Steakhouse also offers a large banquet room for private events.

The adjacent sports bar is the largest sports bar in Bay Area, and offers:
A gastropub lunch menu, the same dinner menu as the Steakhouse plus a late night menu
Four billiards tables
27 high-definition 55-inch and 150-inch 3D projector televisions
Broadcasts of sporting events from across the U.S. and around the world
“We are out to prove that an authentic steakhouse doesn’t have to be stuffy and over-priced, but instead can offer high value at a fair price,” said Nino Rabbaa, CEO of Flip Hospitality and Entertainment Group, formerly SoCo Hospitality Group. “We want to be your favorite neighborhood restaurant with great food and a fun,friendly and casual atmosphere.”

Flipside Steakhouse and Sports Bar is the newest venue in the rapidly expanding Flip Hospitality and Entertainment Group. The company also operates Chez Vous Catering to You; Flipside Bar & Burger on Third Street in downtown Santa Rosa; and the Lakeside Grill in Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa. The company is currently renovating Space XXV and Rendez Vous Bistro, both on Santa Rosa’s old Courthouse Square, to reopen this spring. In early summer, the company will debut its Flipside Brewhouse in Rohnert Park, in the space formerly occupied by Latitude Island Grill.

Flipside Steakhouse and Sports Bar is open for lunch at 11 a.m. in the sports bar and serves continuously until midnight seven days a week. The adjacent steakhouse serves dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and will open soon for weekend brunch. For more information, visit www.flipsidesteakhouse.com or follow Flipside Steakhouse on Facebook. Reservations can be made by phone at 707-539-7700 or on the Open Table web site.

WANTED: Please Help The Devoto Family Find Land

URGENT Need for 50 Acre Lease to Plant Heritage Apples & Stay in Business Locally (Sonoma County, CA)

CropMobster Nick Papadopoulos is once again putting out a 911 to the food community to help Sonoma’s largest producer of ciders made with locally grown apples continue their business.

What they need? 50 acres of land to lease and grow heirloom apples. (They’ll pay rent and do the land stewardship)

Let’s all see if we can get the word out to help the Devotos...

Here are some more details…

• They need ideas, connections and community support
• They are unable to afford to buy land at this time. The ideal solution and wish come true would be to lease 50 acres for planting heirloom apples in Sonoma County
• Note: it doesn’t have to be one big parcel – each can be as small as 9 acres
• The challenge is finding a 25-30 year lease.
• The Devotos will build a fence, a well and replant the orchard– all at their cost – and pay the land-owner a good rent every year
• They are stewards of the land – and will turn your property into a beautiful, thriving organic farm

Don’t have land? Help out by sharing

If you have land, leads, tips or suggestions please contact Hunter Wade ASAP at hunter@devotocider.com

No one can accuse Santa Rosa’s Guy Fieri of letting grass grow under his feet. Or not lending his celeb-chef name to everything from sausages and frying pans to barbecue sauce, pizzas and salsa. He is the mayor of Flavortown, after all.

So, two new items of note: Keurig owners can get a bevy of Fieri’s Flavortown Roast — flavored coffees that include bananas foster, caramel apple bread pudding (“All the flavor from my righteous Caramel Apple Bread Pudding stuffed into your mug”), chocolate mint, hazelnut cinnamon roll and hot fudge brownie.

Says Fieri: “Over the past year, I’ve been working with an awesome team of coffee nuts to create a killer line that’s ready to rock! My fans are going to dig the huge taste, big aroma and funky flavors in my brand new collection.”

So, okay, we can all look forward to that.

But BiteClub has the scoop on a Fieri project that’s got some serious legs. The Diners, Drive Ins and Dives chef is working with Guy Davis of Davis Family Vineyards to release Hunt & Ryde wines. 

According to Davis, whose wines regularly garner 90+ points from critics, Guy and Guy were introduced by Fieri’s parents, who were fans of Davis’ wines. And it isn’t that big of a stretch, because Fieri owns a notable pinot vineyard that sells to the likes of Williams Selym.

Davis says he’s grown close to the celebrity chef during the winemaking process, which Fieri takes very seriously. “He was picking, and on the sorting table during harvest,” said Davis.

The first wines (which won’t be released until late 2014 or 2015)include a Bordeaux blend from Rockpile; Estate Pinot and two zinfandels. “Guy is drawn to bigger, bold flavors,” said Davis. Shocking, right? “Each will have its own personality and really express the place,” he said.

The wines will retail for roughly $40 a bottle and sales will benefit Fieri’s charities. Cheers to that.

Um, maybe it’s time for another photo shoot?

 

Mushrooms are having their moment. At the 2014 SF Fancy Food Show, where the world comes to see what’s new in food, fungi was, well, everywhere. From Flavo{u}r 21’s decadent umami paste to chocolate bars with reishi mushrooms from Vosges to porcini mushroom powder from Napa’s Whole Spice and Wine Forest’s dried chanterelles, mushrooms are being added to both sweet and savory foods to bring that unctuous umami and forest flavor forward.

Other fun trends: Teas are branching out in all directions. From high caffeine boosters (Republic of Tea), dessert teas (salted caramel, mojito, hazelnut truffle) to savory teas in flavors like Numi’s spinach chive, beet cabbage or broccoli cilantro.

Popcorn is the new potato chip: Lower in fat, gluten-free and and flavor neutral, enhanced popcorn is a huge new market. We saw blue cheese, smoked gouda, chai caramel, nori sesame and Thai curry to name just a few of the stand-out flavors.

Other healthier snacks included dragon fruit chips from Novato’s Navitas Naturals, rice chips, quinoa chips, sprouted watermelon seeds and lots of chia. Lots and lots of chia.

Drinking vinegar is also becoming more popular. Portland’s Pok Pok has a line, along with Sonoma Spirits. Typically the flavored vinegars are mixed with soda water or spirits for a sweet-sour drink.  Don’t squinch your nose. They’re actually quite refreshing.

Beer insiders have been chomping on yet another brewery opening in Santa Rosa this winter: Fog Belt Brewing. Housed in the Cleveland Ave. “Urban Winery Village” complex (1305 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa), which several years ago begot Heritage Public House, Fog Belt has soft-launched but officially opens Feb. 15, 2013

To whet the whistles of local beer drinkers, Heritage Public House (1901 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa) will host a Jan. 30 launch party celebrating Fog Belt’s first releases, Hyperion Red Ale and Lost Monarch Wit Beer infused with fresh cilantro and Keffir lime. Both beers are made exclusively with California hops, and are actively growing their own specialized estate hops. Upcoming releases include Atlas Blonde, Del Norte IPA (natch) and Armstrong Stout.

Fog Belt Brewing Co. is the brainchild of Paul Hawley and Remy Martin, both Wine Country natives who spent their formative years in vineyards and began brewing beer together in 2004.

Open Thursday, 2-8pm, Friday, 11am-10pm, Sunday, 11am to 8pm.

After a run of pop-ups at Sebastopol’s Forchetta (6948 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol), Jamilah Nixon will reopen her Italian kitchen in February.

Since 2011, the former Lucy’s (proceeded by Jonathan Waxman’s West County Grill and Pizzavino 707) has been a two-part operation, with a casual pan-Asian eatery during the day and an upscale Italian restaurant at night. Forchetta went dark last fall, briefly hosting pop-ups from The Green Grocer and HiFive.

Nixon says, however, that the revamped Forchetta will focus more on family and budget-conscious dining in the evenings with pizzas, pastas and grilled entrees topping out at $16. More details as the opening date gets closer.

Congrats to Wine Country’s Good Food Award Winners. During last night’s award ceremony in San Francisco more than 130 of the country’s best food and drink producers were recognized for their artisan products — from beer and coffee to chocolate, jams and cheese.

It’s a huge honor in the food world, and this year’s winners were selected from 1,450 entries from all 50 states in a Blind Tasting held in September.  The 225 judges, experts in their various industries, flew to San Francisco for a full day of blind tasting.  Those that rose to the top were subject to a rigorous vetting process to verify they met the sustainability and social responsibility criteria to win a Good Food Award.

See the whole list of winners

Bear Republic Brewing Company, Café Racer 15, California

Bellwether Farms, Whole Milk Ricotta & Carmody, California

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Toma, California

Flying Goat Coffee, Ethiopia Wote Konga, California

Wine Forest, Pickled Sea Beans, California

Rockstar barman Daniel “Cappy” Sorentino has left Healdsburg’s Spoonbar for LA. The popular mixmaster followed in the footsteps of the groundbreaking Cyrus mixologist, Scott Beattie, serving up hand-crafted cocktails with a true artisan flair. Replacing Cappy is Tara Heffernon, who’s been part of the Spoonbar cocktail program since the start. She plans to continue the farm-to-bar concept using an assortment of herbs, fruits, vegetables and flowers from her home garden. Good news. 219 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg.