Robert Mondavi, the iconic Napa winery, is now offering its signature tour in Mandarin Chinese each Friday and Saturday at 10:30a.m. Visitors see the famed To Kalon Vineyard, tour the winemaking cellars and enjoy a seated tasting of three wines with a Mandarin-speaking wine educator. Curious about other translations? Private tours are also available in Cantonese, Japanese and French by appointment. Admission in $30 per guest and reservations can be made online at robertmondaviwinery.com or 800-228-1395.
Chef Erik Johnson is the new top toque at J Vineyards in Healdsburg
Chef Erik Johnson is the new top toque at the J Vineyards property in Healdsburg, which includes the popular J Bubble Room. The former executive sous chef at Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Kitchen, he replaces Jason La Bue. A frequent teacher at Relish Culinary Adventures (and Bohemian Club chef alum), he’s gearing up for his first J Vineyards class, “Get Ready for Thanksgiving) from 6:30 to 9:30p.m. on Nov. 2. It’s a great chance to brush up on your holiday cooking skills and get a tasty three-course meal in the process. Details on this and other classes, as well as Bubble Room appointments at jwine.com/events. The cost of the Thanksgiving class is $110 per person.
Halloween is a perfect time for masked balls, and two we’re preparing our gowns for: The Diavola Supper Club Hunter’s Ball and Costume Party, on Saturday October 26th and Coppola Winery’s Masquerade Ball, also on the 26th (oh, our glass slippers will have to run fast!). The Hunter’s Ball, held at the Odd Fellow’s Hall in Geyserville features a family-style seasonal menu (we smell game) by Chef Dino Bugica and music by former Dire Straits guitarist Jack Sonni. Tickets are $85 per person, with tickets available online.
Coppola’s event bills itself as “Sleepy Hollow meets Great Gatsby” and will include a live DJ, fortune teller, costume contest and themed lounge. Tickets are $125 available online. The following day, a family-friendly event at the winery is always a major draw: The Harvest and Halloween Carnival from 11am to 2pm. Its just $10 per child and includes pumpkin decorating and costumed fun.
Cindy Daniel, owner of the Shed, draws some draft wine from the fermentation bar. (photo by Chris Hardy)
New in Sonoma County since last spring are two food and drink centers – one in Sebastopol, the other in Healdsburg – offering delicious one-stop intrigue for locals and visitors alike. Haven’t been to either yet? Here’s a visual feast of what you’ve been missing.
The Barlow
Zazu Kitchen and Farm owner Duskie Estes, right, with chef Doug Richey at the new restaurant location at The Barlow in Sebastopol. (photo by Christopher Chung)
Sebastopol, the town best known for its once-bountiful apple orchards, is now ground zero for food-and-wine purveyors, with the launch of the ambitious Barlow Center on 12 acres and just a stone’s throw from downtown.
The center has been welcoming tenants to its 18 buildings in spring, creating a new “maker hood” where Highway 12 meets Morris Street.
Barlow developer Barney Aldridge created the food-and-wine center to provide a deeper connection between consumers and some of their favorite products, from beer and wine to ice cream and bacon. The current mix of 30-some businesses also includes a clothing boutique and bookstore, two art galleries and a yoga-Pilates-dance studio.
The half-dozen original buildings of the former apple cannery underwent major renovations and structural upgrades; the rest of the complex was constructed from the ground up in a hip, industrial style with high ceilings and lots of metal and glass.
– Guayaki Yerba Mate – Fair Trade beverage company that sources the herbal energy-boosting drink yerba mate (with the “strength of coffee, health benefits of tea and euphoria of chocolate”) from South America
– Kosta Browne Winery – among the most sought-after producers of Sonoma County Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
– Spirits Works Distillery – a microdistillery producing its own gin and whiskey from organic grain
– Taylor Maid Farms – for the coffee and tea-obsessed, this roaster offers tours, barista training classes, community-driven events and an espresso bar
– Village Bakery – a longtime Sonoma County favorite for pastries and sandwiches
– Woodfour Brewing Company – bistro and brewery with an ever-changing menu of beers on tap
– Zazu Kitchen + Farm – where chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart create whimsical food and their own line of bacon and salumi
Healdsburg Shed
Cups and saucers at The Shed cafe and store (photo by Chris Hardy)
Healdsburg’s Shed, which opened in spring, provides farmers and foodies with everything they need to live the Sonoma lifestyle: a market and cafe, a kitchen and garden shop, and a grange-hall-like gathering space.
Cindy Daniel, who owns the Shed with her husband, Doug Lipton, said the pair grew the concept over some 15 years. Their goal? To create a lively venue inspired by good farming, good cooking and good eating, to celebrate the land and the people who grow things.
– Cafe – serving fresh, vegetable-driven cuisine for breakfast and lunch with a less-is-more philosophy, from waffles and pizza to meze plates, to be enjoyed indoors or on one of the outdoor decks
– Fermentation bar – the place to sip wine and beer on tap, plus locally made kefir and kombucha
– Front patio – where picnic tables provide a casual spot for friends to share a meal with wine.
– Garden shop – to the rear of Shed, stocked with pitchforks and organic seeds, reminiscent of a well-thumbed Smith & Hawken catalog
– Market and take-out larder – stocked with smoked fish and foods in various stages of preparation, along with produce from local farmers
The cooking store at The Shed cafe and store (photo by Chris Hardy)
– Modern grange space – upstairs, designed for the community to gather for workshops, films and concerts, and dinners on the last Sunday of every month
– Retail kitchen store – stocked with everything from clay pots to fresh spices, evoking the meticulous retailing sensibility of Williams-Sonoma
– Wooden mill – imported from Austria, it grinds locally grown grains for artisan breads and polentas
Now open in the former Wappo Wine Bar location in downtown Calistoga is 1226 Washington, a gastropub and Sunday brunch spot.
The new chef for 1226 Washington is Cathy Harbour, who has been a chef on luxury yachts and boutique restaurants throughout the world. Her menu will be seasonally driven and inspired by her globe-trotting travels. Lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday, with a three-course Sunday supper. 1226 Washington St., Calistoga, 799-5889.
Have you had your first pumpkin latte of the season? Given serious thought to buying a few cans of cranberry sauce or secretly stashed a few bags of Halloween candy in the pantry (which we all know can’t possibly last until the end of October)?
It’s the most delicious time of year, when comfort foods make their return, pumpkin is king, and all things cinnamon and clove come back to the shelves.
BiteClub’s sussed out a few of the early entrants to the fall culinary lineup.
– Local bakery Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar (siftcupcakes.com) is offering Pumpkin Bourbon macarons through Nov. 30.
– At Target, you can find candy corn flavored Oreos, candy corn pretzels, and candy corn and apple caramel flavored Jones Sodas.
– We found the much-lauded Crunchy Cookie Butter, a smooth spread made with crushed gingerbread and, well, a whole lot of other yumminess. It’s delish right out of the jar, but you can also add it to cookie or cheesecake recipes, make a killer milkshake with a little Nutella. Grab it while it lasts at Trader Joe’s.
– Want the smell of Thanksgiving without all that pesky cooking? Yankee Candle (recently opened at the downtown Santa Rosa Plaza) is offering up a feast of scents with a holiday collection that includes Turkey and Stuffing (think sage, butter and roasting meat), cranberry sauce, pumpkin and sweet potato pie. On the plus side, no calories! On the minus, no leftovers.
We’ve been mentioning over the last few weeks a benefit for cheesemaker and Epicurean Connection owner Sheana Davis, which happens Sunday, Oct. 13 from 1 to 4p.m. at the Maysonnave House, 291 First St. in Sonoma. The lineup, not surprisingly for such a high profile foodie, is stellar, and includes food from Wild Thyme Catering, Depot Hotel, Uncommon Brewers, Eric Ross Winery, and of course plenty of cheese from her friends.
Donations for the silent auction and raffle are from Treme writer and cookbook author Lolis Eric Elie, Bob Kantor of Memphis Minnie’s, and local restaurants Crisp, Hot Box, the Red Grape and Davis’ friends at the French Laundry.
The fundraising goal is $45,000 to help Davis get critical treatments and pay off bills for multiple surgeries that have left her struggling. Tickets for the event are $50 per person at the door. To make a donation online, go to sheanadavisfund.com.
SpaghettiO cupcakes with Velveeta frosting. They’re actually pretty tasty.
SpaghettiO cupcakes with Velveeta frosting. They’re actually pretty tasty.
Leave it to the Internet to come up with the wackiest food combinations that, well, actually usually taste pretty good. Case in point: The SpaghettiO cupcake with Velveeta buttercream frosting.
Now, like you my first reaction was, “Nasty!” But think about it: Tomato soup cake is a classic. Cream cheese frosting, another classic. Now just up the salt quotient by like a thousand. Add some noodles for structure, and you’ve got something pretty okay.
BiteClub’s ready to haul these puppies out for Halloween, because Snickers Minis and Dum-Dums are so ten years ago. And really, what’s more fun that horrifying small children with a good food prank? (In the spirit of fun, of course. And mostly my own children, who are my culinary lab rats anyway.)
The test batch turned out pretty tasty, and children, co-workers and unsuspecting radio hosts all agreed they tasted pretty good, if a bit curious.
The looks on their faces when I revealed the “secret” ingredients, however? Priceless.
Fried tofu with tomatoes at Pho Crazy in Santa Rosa
Fried tofu with tomatoes at Pho Crazy in Santa Rosa
Pho Crazy: First a mea culpa. I few weeks ago, I mentioned that it could be hard to find good Vietnamese food around these parts. A flood of comments and pull-asides saying, “Are you nuts?” lent me to rethink my hasty comment. Clearly, I was incorrect. Or perhaps just not paying close enough attention.
I’ve since been to a spate of great local restaurants focused on pho and other southeast Asian specialties. One of the newest additions is Pho Crazy (320 W. Third St., Santa Rosa, 707-595-4447) in the former Anh Linh space. The pho ($8.25 to $11) is solid, with big chunks of brisket and savory “beef balls” (not what you think), though Pho Vietnam (711 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa) and Noodle Mania (7233 Healdsburg Ave., Sebastopol) remain my benchmarks. My surprise fave: Tomatoes Tofu ($9.50), a dish of fried tofu sautéed in tomatoes. Don’t miss dessert: Vietnamese Che with red, white and mung beans and palm seeds ($3.50). It’s a unique, authentically Vietnamese taste worth trying.
Rocktoberfest: In Celebration of Munich’s Oktoberfest, Rocker Oysterfeller’s Kitchen + Saloon (14415 Highway One, Valley Ford, 707-876-1983) will transform from a Southern Comfort restaurant into a full fledged German Restaurant featuring classic German foods from October 10-14.
The outside patio will become a Biergarten with Chef Brandon Guenther cooking up German classics to include Wienerschnitzel, Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, Spaetzle, Mixed Salads, Potato Pancakes with Estate Apple Sauce, Braised Red Cabbage and Niman Ranch Meatloaf. The menu will feature locally farmed and harvested ingredients from our neighboring farms, fisheries and creameries. The menu will be a la carte with entrée prices ranging from $13 to $26.
But wait, there’s more…there will be German beer on draught and Bavarian Polka music playing in the background and B.Y.O.S. (Bring Your Own Stein) is highly encouraged.
The celebration comes in unison with the Valley Ford Antique Fair taking place in the Dairyman’s Bank building next door.
Robert Mondavi, the iconic Napa winery, is now offering its signature tour in Mandarin Chinese each Friday and Saturday at 10:30a.m. Visitors see the famed To Kalon Vineyard, tour the winemaking cellars and enjoy a seated tasting of three wines with a Mandarin-speaking wine educator. Curious about other translations? Private tours are also available in Cantonese, Japanese and French by appointment. Admission in $30 per guest and reservations can be made online at robertmondaviwinery.com or 800-228-1395.
