Hard Hat Tour of Graton Casino and Resort

Martin Yan

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More deets on the upcoming Graton Resort and Casino restaurants: Hard hats aren’t exactly my thing (I mean really, the hair, people) but it was worth suffering a little hat head for a construction tour of the 12 restaurants opening in early November in Rohnert Park. Chef Martin Yan of M.Y. China and countless television cooking shows was touring his 250-seat restaurant on Thursday, which features a completely open kitchen, noodle bar and wok station (you can sit just inches from the action) and will showcase “noodle dancing”, wherein chefs, um, dance with some 75 feet of hand-pulled Chinese noodles on the dining room floor. “It’s theater, it’s like fireworks every day!” said Yan.

“We are bringing 5000 years of Chinese culinary art…for the meal of a lifetime.” More details: Douglas Keene’s DK Wings will feature his take on the game day favorite, with some 30 sauces and Japanese pickled vegetables (noms!) in the Marketplace, which seats 500 and is open 24 hours.

No expense has been spared on the $825 million casino, with luxe touches everywhere including terrazzo floors, backlit marble bars, and a two story marble sculpture that drips ice into a bar at the center of the casino. “It’s like an adult Disneyland,” said tribal leader Greg Sarris. Families and children will be welcome in all the restaurants, with outside entrances (and free parking!) for each of the eateries.

Two surprises: Smoking will be allowed on the floor of the casino though none of the restaurants will allow it. Reps say there will be state of the art air filtration. Also, it may come as a shock (shock!) that the casino will not offer a buffet. Sorry, no $3 all-you-can-eat-prime rib. “This is not a place where food is just sitting out. We wanted something more interesting than a flat buffet,” said Sarris. Penny-pinchers take heart: The Marketplace offers plenty of lower-cost noshing.

 

Seriously? Luxury ice?

Glace Luxury Ice
Glace Luxury Ice

You may have seen it skewered on the Colbert Report, and for good reason. Gourmet grocer Dean and Deluca is now selling “individually carved” ice cubes called “Glace Luxury Ice.” For $75 (pause there and take it in) you get 10 cubes that “ensure flawless quality and zero-taste profile.” Um, it’s ice. Oh, and P.S.: it requires next day shipping to ensure freshness. So that’ll cost you a little extra.

Three Squares closed

joshandpamThe former Syrah Bistro has closed.

Owner Josh Silvers says that they’ve had a great run at the City 205 building, but after several format changes (to upscale dining as Petite Syrah, then a casual breakfast and lunch cafe, Three Squares), it was time to close.

Silvers and his wife, Regina, have bittersweet feelings about the closure of their longtime home, but both are excited to have a little more time at home. “Don’t be sad, it is a good thing — I get my husband back,” said Regina.

Still craving Silvers’ great Sonoma County cooking? Jackson’s Bar and Oven (135 Fourth St., Santa Rosa) is still in full swing.

Congrats Doug Keane

Douglas Keane with his favorite dog.
Douglas Keane with his favorite dog.
Douglas Keane with his favorite dog.
Douglas Keane with his favorite dog.

We’d be amiss not to mention the winner of Top Chef Masters, Chef Douglas Keane formerly of Cyrus. The toque won a total of $120,000 for Sonoma County’s Green Dog Rescue with his complex and clever dishes including a deconstructed nacho with shrimp, powdered nacho chips and salsa consomme, soba wrapped ocean trout with ginger dashi and groats, duck breast with sake-roasted daikon, tamarind, golden pea sprouts and dates and black sesame panna cotta, shattered miso custard and green tea matcha for dessert.

Keane is currently running Healdsburg Bar and Grill and will soon open DK Wings at the Graton Resort and Casino featuring gourmet chicken wings, fried chicken and a pickle bar featuring Keane’s own fermented recipes.

Figs and Pigs at Quivira

quivQuivira Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley has had an ambitious Biodynamic/organic farm program for the last five years that includes not just their vineyards but an extensive produce garden with 120 raised produce beds, a dozen heirloom chicken breeds, honey bees and roaming farm animals.

They also grow a lot of figs – which serve as the inspiration for an exciting new event. This fall, Quivira is hosting its first Figs & Pigs Fest on October 19. It’s a harvest celebration of sorts that focuses on three of Quivira’s favorite items: wine, figs and pork.

From 12:00pm-4:00pm, the Figs & Pigs Fest offers guests a variety of fig and bacon dishes (and much more) at the Fig Buffet, tours of the estate with tutored tastings beneath the 135-year-old fig tree in the middle of their vineyard, a Grape Stomp Competition (harvest will be in full swing) and plenty of quality time with Quivira’s heirloom breed chickens, Ruby the pig and other farm animals.

Quivira specializes in Zinfandel, Rhone varieties and Sauvignon Blanc, including the signature ‘Fig Tree’ Sauvignon Blanc from the Fig Tree vineyard on the property.

For more information on Quivira and the event, visit www.quivirawine.com

Davero breaks ground on new facility

Winery_3Dcourtyard

From the wires: After 23 years in business, and more than a decade of making wine, we’re incredibly excited to say that we broke ground for our very own winery building on Tuesday!

This is a huge step for us, on many levels, but the most important is that it gives us complete control over our winemaking for the very first time. We finally have the combination of fruit, facility, and people that we’ve long been seeking. Like us, it’s not big (our long-term goal is just 3,000 cases per year) or fancy — but it is perfect.

So, by the way, is the 2013 growing season. Details below, along with a special offer to help you enjoy the bounty of the harvest no matter where you are!

Cook opens for brunch

cook
St. Helena hotspot, Cook(http://www.cooksthelena.com/), is now serving Sunday brunch from 10am to 2pm. The new menu includes soft polenta with a poached egg and black leaf kale, slow roasted pork hash with Yukon potatoes and weekly special frittata along with a seasonal BLT and the official drink of hangovers, the Bloody Mary. 1310 Main St., St. Helena.

Casino restaurants to open Nov. 5

diingall

Mark your calendar for Nov. 5. That’s slated to be the opening day for the dozen or so restaurants opening at the Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park. Among the chefs, Martin Yan (M.Y. China), former Cyrus honcho, Doug Keane (DK Wings) and world pizza champ Tony Gemignani (Tony’s and Slice House). The casino will also have three bars, natch.

Banshee Wines opens in Hburg

interior of Banshee Wines in Healdsburg
interior of Banshee Wines in Healdsburg

Banshee Wines, specializing in Sonoma Coast pinots (but hey, they’ve also got a tasty chardonnay) has opened its first tasting room in Healdsburg. What’s especially interesting is that they’ll be offering up a tasting menu with bites from Shed’s new head chef, Jenna Sprafkin.  The decor is nouveau Healdsburg, with plenty of reclaimed wood, vintage communal table, a record player in an old milk crate and a host of ironic knick knacks (we love the lounging gnome). “The Banshee tasting room really is an amped up version of our own homes,” said Baron Ziegler, Co-Founder and Director of Sales at Banshee Wines. “You don’t have to ask brilliant questions of our winemaking staff. You can come in, hang out and enjoy time with your friends over a killer glass of wine.”

Share Exchange ups the food ante

share2Eat Sonoma County: Food is taking over at the Share Exchange, a locally-made marketplace in downtown Santa Rosa. On a recent visit to the store (531 Fifth St., 707-583-7667), we noticed they’ve added a refrigerator stocked with local grass fed beef from True Grass Farms in Valley Ford, kefir from Sebastopol’s Kefiry, Bella Rosa coffee from Santa Rosa, sandwiches from local caterer Ruthy’s Real Meals, sauces and jams and even local produce from Singing Frog Farms. Most items have the backstory of the “makers” and a photo so you know the folks you’re buying from.