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Fair Fooding: Biteclub and several lucky food judges headed out for some serious eating (and judging) over the last week for the upcoming Sonoma County Harvest Fair (Oct. 4-6). Five restaurants in five days turned up some high-profile contenders to come up with their most impressive appetizers, entrees and desserts. You’ll have to wait until Oct. 4 to find out the winners, but we can say that Catelli’s 10-layer lasagna (21047 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville), John Ash and Co.’s(4330 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa) raspberry cheesecake and Ole’s Seafood from Thai Time (402 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa)were among our favorites.

‘Tis the season for ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes and supple figs. We’re seeing both of these seasonal goodies all over menus around Sonoma County. The next best thing to eating warm cherry tomatoes right off the vine? A good late summer BLT.

BiteClub loved the version at Twist. (6536 Front St., Forestville) with toasted Nightingale Bakery bread, thick slices of heirloom tomatoes, slab bacon, fresh lettuce and mayonnaise. Because sometimes simplicity makes for the best of dishes. We’re also loving all the fig dishes that seem to be cropping up, including prosciutto wrapped figs with arugula and melted blue cheese at Catelli’s and of course, the gold standard, the fig salad at The Girl and The Fig (110 W. Spain St., Sonoma). Got an excess of figs in your yard? We found great recipes online for homemade fig bars, fig clafoutis, fig brandy, honey fried figs and fig crostini. But our favorite? A good sliced fig with a dollop of mascarpone. Heaven.

Alton Brown, The Barefoot Contessa and Robert Irvine are on the dockets for the Wells Fargo Center’s Culinary Series. Brown heats up the stage on Oct. 25, with Dinner Impossible’s Irvine coming to Sonoma on Jan. 17 and Ina Garten on April 2. Sponsored by Bellwether farms, the shows are sure to be a tasty bet throughout the next few months. Details at wellsfargocenterarts.org.

The variety of cookbooks that land on my desk each week range from brilliant to questionable, often tending toward the latter (a cookbook devoted to sprinkles? Really?). However, from time to time I get something so spectacular I have to share it immediately. “The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert“ (Richard Betts, $19.99, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) harkens back to the scratch and sniff board books of younger days. The premise is “Wine is a grocery, not a luxury,” breaking down wine into its simplest components with bright illustrations, friendly text and scratch and sniff stickers that bring smells like “black fruit”, “leather”, “dirt” and even bacon (smells often found in wine components) to life. It’s makes understanding work child’s play. Although you may want to think twice about using it as a bedtime story. Then again, it’s Wine Country, why not?

Fried pickles have officially become a thing. Seems you can hardly turn around without this Southern-fried specialty showing up on appetizer menus. But BiteClub’s been generally underwhelmed by soggy, limp pickle chips smothered in too much cornmeal batter and fried within an inch of their lives. With ranch sauce from a tub. Whine no more. Viola Pastry Boutique and Cafe (709 Village Court, Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa) takes housemade bread and butter pickles with a hint of sweetness, fries ’em up in a light batter, then serves them with a side of zingy buttermilk sauce. You’re gonna fall in love with this, uh, dillicious side.

Napa is bustin out all over. Press Restaurant (587 St. Helena Hwy.) in St. Helena has turned over the stoves to former sous chef Jason Toji with the departure exec chef Stephen Rogers. Rogers and his wife (who was Press GM) are returning to Dallas to open a new restaurant called Gemma.

Opening in late September is 2nd & Brown, the “boozy sister restaurant/bar” to Carpe Diem Wine Bar in downtown Napa. The cocktail spot will feature an abbreviated Carpe Diem menu with faces like the ostrich burger and “Quack and Cheese”, macaroni and cheese with duck confit.

There’s a new owner at the former Henweigh Cafe. Butcher Berry Salinas is taking over the 4550 Gravenstein Hwy. location with plans for a “classic roadhouse”, beer and wine bar. Salinas, with partner Sheldon Rosenberg III, had planned a Santa Rosa chicken shack, but plans fell through after several months of work. Don’t worry, though. We’ll bet the farm that her famous fried chicken will show up on the menu. Look for a November opening for Red’s Apple Roadhouse.

Seems there are Guerrillas in the midst. Zinfandel enthusiast and winemaker Bruce Patch has opened the Wine Guerrilla tasting room in Forestville, showcasing estate-grown wines from around the region. The winery (6671 Front Street, Forestville) will feature box lunches from nearby Twist (6536 Front St., Forestville), a popular weekday lunch counter and weekend dinner cafe.

Nearby Corks (5700 California, Forestville) has had another chef shuffle with the departure of Chef Dominque Rooney. She’s moved into an exec chef position at Bodega Bays’ Sandpiper Restaurant(1400 N. Highway 1, Bodega Bay). Rooney is also appearing on Sept. 8 on the Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen, putting her in good company with the other local chefs who’ve gained national TV attention for their kitchen skills.