Chef Maria Vieages and Chef Aaron Hakeem team up for the first Indulgence Pop-up dinner at Omelette Express in Santa Rosa, April 7, 2012.
The menu paired Hakeem’s Lebanese family recipes, including dolmas, kebbeh and chicken pastilla with Vieages’ southern favorites of fried green tomatoes, gumbo and bread pudding.
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Bakeries are so easy to love. All butter cream, sugar and chocolate, they speak to the caloric enabler in each of us. Just one bite, it says. You deserve this, it whispers. And of course, you do. But only if the payoff is worth the price.
Crisp Bake Shop is more than just a pretty case. More than stacks of sea salt chocolate chip cookies, homemade vanilla marshmallows, bacon peanut toffee, white chocolate macarons, green tea cupcakes and brown butter cake with salted creme fraiche caramel and vanilla bean buttercream as soft and light as a lover’s lips.
This is no sugar shack dalliance. Crisp Bake Shop is the bakery you take home to mom.
Opened by chef-partners Moaya Scheiman (Stars, Ramekins, Tamal Vino y Mas SF) and Andrea Koweek (Ramkins instruction, Keller assistant at Per Se, French Laundry, catering director at girl and the fig), the Sonoma bakery rethinks what it is to be a bakery. Sweet and savory are mixed with abandon; cookies are taken as seriously as wedding cakes; egg salad sandwiches cohabitate with chorizo-studded scones; breads are baked fresh each day, but baguettes are banned.
“I couldn’t do that,” said Scheiman, paying homage to the sanctified Artisan Bakers’ location they now occupy. A fan of the longtime bakery (which moved out last September and is now only wholesale), he said, “It would just be a losing battle.”
So instead he makes Kaiser rolls, Philly rolls and other comforting, egg bread of his youth.
“We didn’t want to do a restaurant or a food truck. We wanted to give the community something different,” said Scheiman. So the couple wakes up at 4 am to bake whatever strikes their imagination.
Their latest creation: A chocolate stout cupcake using next door neighbor Sonoma Brewery’s stout, topped with Kahlua Buttercream and bacon peanut toffee. Yup, it’s even better than it sounds. But cupcakes are just a training ground for their bigger aspirations.
But the bakery’s bread and butter, so to speak, are cakes. As a former catering director in Sonoma, Koweek felt guilty sending locals to Santa Rosa or Napa for their wedding and special event cakes.
With a third partner, they’re turning out towering layer cakes in decidedly unusual flavors like coconut passion fruit, buttermilk orange with lemon buttercream and lime curd; malted cake with Nutella chocolate filling and malt balls or apple spice with butterscotch cream.
Open from 6am to 2pm daily, the small shop has an 8-person table for dining in or drinking coffee or will send you on your way with a neat brown box full of goodies.
“We’re just trying to make people happy,” said Koweek.
With flavors as big as their imagination, Crisp’s future should be a cakewalk.
Crisp Bake Shop, 720 West Napa St., Sonoma, (707) 933-9999.
Bravas (Spanish for “wild”) will be the Spanish-style Tapas bar replacing Ravenous in Healdsburg.
Taking over are Mark and Terri Stark, owners of Willi’s Wine Bar, Willi’s Seafood, Stark’s Steak and Seafood and Monti’s. Inspired by a trip to Barcelona, Chef Mark Stark plans to incorporate iconic Spanish ingredients like Iberico hams and piquillo peppers into his own style of Wine Country cuisine.
The forthcoming restaurant is also slated to include a “Sidra” or hard cider bar. Commonplace in Northern Spain, cider is naturally aerated by being poured in a thin stream from high above the bar. There will also be a lineup of sherries, local wines and creative cocktail offerings. Owners say to look for a summer 2012 opening.
Early this year, it was announced that Stark Reality Restaurants, owners of , had purchased the restaurant formerly known as Ravenous in Healdsburg.
The First Annual ‘Wich Hunt at Battle of the Brews pitted an amazing 21 restaurants head-to-head for the title of Best Sandwich in Sonoma County. Held during the Craft Cup at the ever-popular Battle of the Brews on March 31, 2012 this was no lunch meat on Wonderbread competition. Chefs brought their A-game, ranging from housemade pastrami and chocolate pairings to mixing up the competition with exotic burgers topped with chicharrones, a stealthy mix of cheeses and even a surprise beer ice cream entry!
Not without a few snafus (including power outages, cooking on griddles and having eager munchers waiting for samples while preparing competition ‘wiches), the chefs persevered. Judging the sandwiches on merits including creativity, presentation and of course, flavor, the all-star panel of Chef John Ash, restaurant consultant and foodist Clark Wolf, the Bohemian’s Gabe Meline, sandwich restaurateur Ike Shehadeh and food personality Laurie Figone ate and graded for more than an hour.
Said Wolf, “Twenty one out of twenty one of these sandwiches were incredible.” BiteClub concurred, snagging bites between bringing entries to the stage and managing chefs. Not a stinker in the bunch.
But not everyone could win (which is why I couldn’t bear to judge myself). So here you have The Official Winners…
– Best in Show, The Farmer’s Wife: Farm Fried Egg, Bacon & Blue, Lyonnaise Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Full Circle Organic Sourdough (Sorry, kids. There’s no restaurant yet, but watch for her in the Barlow or contact her for catering).
– Best Hot, Superburger: Myer Ranch Montana Red Angus Patty, Horseradish Cheddar and Sonoma Jack,Garlic Crimini Mushroom Beef Au Jus for Dipping, Pureed Artichoke and Roasted Garlic Mayo, garlic butter toasted egg wash hamburger bun.
– Best Cold, Street Eatz: The ice cream beer ‘wich with Lagunitas beer ice cream and buttered toast bread
– Best Ethnic, Boathouse Sushi: Pork banh mi
– Best use of veggies, Pearson and Co: Pulled pork sandwich with grilled vegetables and coleslaw
– Cheesiest Sandwich, Hopmonk: Grilled cheese and tomato soup
– Best pairing, Awful Falafel: Lamb Schwarma and hummus
– People’s Choice Award, Petite Syrah: Pork belly slider. Runner-up, Dogs from Chicago: Chili dog.
Check out the gallery below to see some of the other entrants and their sandwiches – -from Lagunitas pastrami to chicken-skin sandwiches
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Whatever your persuasion, budget or taste, there’s an invitation to the bountiful brunches of Easter on April 8…
Most Extravagantabulous Easter Brunch: Sante at Sonoma Mission Inn Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it can buy you access to a brunch whose sheer magnitude and luxury will at least put a smile of contentment on your face for a few days. The Michelin-starred resort restaurant gilds every lily with an all-you-can-eat spread that includes jumbo shrimp cocktail, Loch Duart salmon, foie gras wrapped in bacon, charcuterie, artisan cheeses and six salads to start. Chefs carving stations wield four kinds of smoked fish with caviar; roast prime rib, and leg of lamb. Toques make omelets and classic crepes to order. Entrees include braised short ribs, classic Benedicts, salmon, mushroom ravioli with black truffle in addition to grilled vegetable platters, a bread station and more than 20 desserts (croissant bread pudding, passionfruit cheesecake, chocolate strawberries, macaroons, fruit “martinis”). A hefty $89 pp, $44.50 for children keeps it classy, but even high rollers may need to loosen their belts a few notches to accommodate the bounty of good eats. Live entertainment, Monsieur Easter Bunny, and egg hunts 10am to 2pm. Reservations required. 100 Boyes Blvd, Sonoma, 939-2415.
Most Southern-Inspired Brunch: Rocker Oysterfellers
$28 prix fixe menu includes two courses. Choose from pimento cheese and crackers, blacked gulf prawns with minted pea dip, kale salad, tarragon deviled eggs, cinnamon and currant scones with sorghum butter, quiche with grilled ramps, asparagus, trumpet mushrooms and fromage blanc; lamb tostada, Southern Eggs bennedit (biscuit, braised collard greens, Tasso ham, poached eggs; blueberry and Meyer lemon french toast, chicken fried duck steak with onion gravy. 10am to 3pm, Easter eggs hidden on the patio for the kids. Gin fizzes and cocktails for the grown-ups. 14415 Highway One, Valley Ford.
Best Spot for an Outdoor Brunch: French Garden Easter Buffet includes beet salad with candied walnuts, grilled green and white asparagus, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, Benedicts, French toast, sea bass with orange beurre blanc, roasted prime rib, honey glazed pork loin, assorted desserts and pastries. $38 pp adults, $19 children; kids 5 and under free. 10am to 3pm, 8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 824-2030.
Best High Roller Brunch in Santa Rosa: John Ash & Co. Get someone with deep pockets to treat you to this top-notch holiday spread. Instead of a buffet, Chef Tom does a hearty Easter a la carte menu with some of the restaurant’s best bets: Dungeness crab fritters, Key lime blintzes with strawberry compote, Liberty Duck hash, cinnamon walnut French toast, eggs Benedict with blood orange Hollandaise (add Dungeness crab cakes for $10), sous-vide Loch Duart Salmon; fried Gleason Ranch chicken and waffles, grilled lamb, chicken fried steak with sausage gravy. Entrees from $15 to $29, brunch from 10am to 3pm. John Ash and Co., 4350 Barnes Rd,. Santa Rosa, 575.7350. Reservations strongly recommended.
Best Student-Chef Brunch: CIA Greystone For the second year, the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena will features a prix fixe Easter brunch prepared by chefs training to work in the country’s top restaurants (in addition to the regular menu). Roasted beets with goat cheese; salmon with lemon roasted garlic vinaigrette, grass-fed beef strip loin, brioche bread pudding. $52 tasting menu, 11:30am to 9pm, children’s menu available. 2555 Main Street, St. Helena, 967-1010.
Brunch in the Country That’s Close to the City: Zazu Zazu Restaurant and Farm is just a few miles from downtown Santa Rosa, but this country roadhouse feels a world away, surrounded by farms and vineyards. Hop on in for their $39 pp prix fixe that includes sour cherry stick buns, baked ricotta french toast, a “blushing” waffle with pink lady apples and brown sugar gelato, smoked salmon and asparagus tart, biscuits and gravy with Black Pig maple sausage, steak and eggs, Black Pig bacon burger. Sides: maple glazed donut and bacon “jimmies”, crispy Yukon spuds. 3535 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, 523-4814.
Wildest Easter Brunch: Safari West Hunt for Mr. Hare in the wilds of Safari West after brunch in the Savannah Cafe. The six-foot bunny is on the trail of his old rival, Mr. Tortoise and will leave Carrot Clues along the way. 10am, 1:30pm, Porter Creek Road, Santa Rosa, (707) 579-2551. $68 adults, $35 for children.
Best Riverside Easter Brunch: Tolay Sonoma County Sheraton
Easter buffet spread prepared by Danny Mai, Executive Chef of Sheraton Petaluma’s Tolay Restaurant. The Easter Bunny awaits you to feast on traditional omelet, eggs benedict, Hobbs applewood smoked bacon and prime rib with truffle oil. $49, kids under 12, $19. 745 Baywood Dr., Petaluma, 283-2888.
More Easter Eats
Bluewater Bistro: Easter egg hunt and brunch in Bodega. Champagne brunch includes Benedicts, potatoes, bacon, maple sausage, salmon, prawns, ham, lamb, chicken salad, chocolate dipped strawberries. $30 adults, kids under 12, $12. 10am to 3pm. 2130 Blue Heron Drive, Bodega Bay, 875-3513. Reservations required.
Champagne Brunch at the Flamingo: Terrace Grille hosts an extensive buffet with salads, fruit, Costeaux breads, eggs, sausage, cheese blintz, baked tilapia, orange chicken with pineapple, chilled prawns, honey glazed ham, lamb, cheesecake and assorted fruit tarts. Easter Bunny makes a special guest appearance, and champagne is on the house. $35 per person, $16 or kids 5-11. 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 523-4745.
Patisserie Angelica: Easter Tea on Thursday April 5, Friday, April 6 from 11am to 4pm, 827-7998. Almond apricot, chocolate truffle or Meyer Lemon Egg Cake, $40; Banana Cream Pie with Caramel and mile-high whipped cream; macarons, marshmallows and more treats. Friday, Saturday 10am to 5pm, 6821 Laguna Parkway, Sebastopol.
Dry Creek Kitchen: “Craft Your Own” three course prix fixe ($49) with dishes including chilled carrot soup, Ahi crudo, Dungeness crab crepes, honey glazed ham, lamb, Meyer lemon french toast, English toffee nut bread and butter pudding, chocolate orange cake. 11am to 2pm. Three course lamb dinner tasting menu, 6-9pm. 25 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 431-0330.
Best Help The Community Post-Easter Brunch: Ceres @ Zazu
On April 14, Ceres Project teen volunteers hit the kitchens making banana coconut muffis, bacon and cheddar cornbread, artichoke and goat cheese tart, salmon BLT, steak bruscheta, salad with sour cherry vinaigrette. $39 pp, including Taylor Maid coffee or tea. 100% of the proceeds and tips go to Sebastopol’s Ceres project. 523-4814 for reservations.
You know you’re in the presence of an epic burger when your hungry teenager gives up in defeat halfway through. Clue two: You can’t open your mouth wide enough to stuff in the double-patty behemoth before you.
Some call it parental bonding. We call it family power-scarfing. Either way, the burgers are better than ever at the newly re-opened Ozzie’s Grill (799 Montecito Center, Santa Rosa, 538-07775).
The thirty-year old neighborhood grill closed in November, changing hands to two former fans, Scott Diaz and Andrew Simontacchi in January. After a interior rehab (it also looks and smells better than ever), they’ve brought back the old-school vibe and improved on the menu.
Best bet: The Ozzie’s Ultimate Burger ($10.75) that’s a kitchen sink of a meal with two patties, bacon, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, jalapenos, avocado and onions. All on a sesame seed bun.
We call fail, however, at the crumbly buns that all but dissolve at the prospect of holding together so much meaty goodness. A two-napkin burger becomes a five-napkin lap-hazard.
Less hearty appetites can go for smaller versions with everything from mushrooms to ortega chilis. Also on the menu are seven hot dogs variations (chili cheese, bacon, corn), along with fish and chips, and classic sandwiches like the Rueben, chicken club, tuna melt and BLT. Crinkle fries — long an Ozzie’s staple — harken back to fond lunchroom memories. A chocolate malt, made with real ice cream, is big enough to share with your steady. Or your kid. Either way.
What’s old is new again at Ozzies. Just bring a few extra napkins, a hearty appetite and a few teenagers to eat your leftovers.
Ozzie’s Grill, 799 Montecito Center, Santa Rosa, 538-0775.
It takes a village to fund a food truck.
Around $10,000 in the case of Sonoma County’s Awful Falafel. And that’s where you come in.
Local chef Gabe Nahas is among millions of of entrepreneurs using the web to secure micro-donations of anywhere from $5 to $5,000 from friends, family and well-wishers to get their business off the ground. Referred to as crowdfunding, sites like Kickstarter.com and GoFundMe.com allow anyone to raise money for a cause by gathering small amounts of money — usually donations of $25 or so — online.
Nahas, who has worked for top area chefs including Petite Syrah’s Josh Silvers and Zazu’s Duskie Estes and John Stewart, has spent years planning his Middle Eastern kitchen on wheels. “I’ve been cooking since I was 14 and I’ve always wanted to open my own restaurant. We decided to take the food truck route, ” said Nahas. (Oh, and the name? Gabe says there aren’t many English words that rhyme with Falafel and like his menu — which features everything from kebobs and shawerma to camel meat — is about not taking food too seriously. The falafel won’t actually be awful).
Slated to hit the roads of Sonoma County this April, Nahas sunk most of his savings into the purchase of a converted 1984 Chevy P30 several months ago. But it still needs a generator, paint, a special fire extinguisher, commissary rent, insurance and additional repairs. So Nahas went to the web.
In just three days, he raised $345 with personal donations of between $20 and $100. The payoff was that those supporters could see where the money went instantly when Nahas posted a picture of his new fire extinguisher, purchased with donations.
Donators also get the satisfaction of special perks for their donations. $50 gets a meet-and-greet and a meal for two on the truck; $100 a meal for four; $500 a dinner for four at your door, and anyone willing to donate $10,000 gets “just about anything” including cooking lessons from the chef, a multi-course meal and “even camel rides in your backyard!”
Okay, so maybe camel rides are a bit far-fetched. But having a community of eaters chip in a few dollars to get another local food business the jump-start it needs? Delicious.
Want to help? You can donate to Awful Falafel’s GoFundMe.com site here: http://www.gofundme.com/hvhh0&aff=GFMse
CONTEST CLOSED: CONGRATS KAI
Thousands of beer-drinkers are counting the minutes to this year’s Battle of the Brews, a knock-down, drag-out People’s Choice contest to name the best brewery. In its sweet 16 year, this annual tradition hosted by the Active 20-30 Club of Santa Rosa will feature dozens of competitors vying for votes including Firestone Walker, Gordon Biersch, Anderson Valley Brewing, Lost Coast, Black Diamond, Widmer, Red Hook, Humboldt Brewing, Blue Moon, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and many others. Local restaurants will also compete, while Love Fool and the Pat Jordan Band rock onstage.
Not to mention, all the proceeds going to local children’s charities. So you can feel good about all that imbibing.
But you, BiteClubbers, deserve something a bit more…exclusive.
The premiere pre-event at Saturday’s Battle of the Brews is the First Annual Craft Cup and ‘Wich Hunt. From 2-4p.m., 300 guests get the red carpet treatment during these two juried competitions. Craft Cup competitors will be showing off the best of their craft brews in an unique tasting experience.
‘Wich Hunt, hosted by BiteClub, pits 21 of my favorite local chefs against each other to come up with the baddest, meanest, most amazing sandwich in Sonoma County. Each of the sandwiches (and trust us, there is some major creativity going on here) will be available for sampling. Judges will include the esteemed Chef John Ash, Author Clark Wolf, Bohemian Editor Gabe Meline, Ike’s Place owner Ike Shehadeh and culinary personality, Laurie Figone in a blind tasting.
Think you deserve a spot on the guest list? Me, too.
Tell me your favorite place to drink beer in Sonoma County and why in the comments below (and no, your house doesn’t count). Creativity and humor get my attention. I’ll pick a favorite to win two tickets ($95 each) to the Craft Cup and ‘Wich Hunt (which also give you access to the later People’s Choice Event). Full rules here. Contest ends at noon, Friday. YOU MUST BE 21 TO ENTER.
Who loves you more than beer, baby?
Craft Cup Competitors
Dempseys
Ruth McGown’s
Firestone Walker
Eel River
Mad River
Lost Coast
Anderson Valley
Lagunitas Brewing Company
3rd Street Aleworks
Main Event Beer Competitors
Firestone Walker
Dempsy’s
Blue Frog Brewing
Gordon Birsch
Marin Brewing Company
Moylan’s Brewery
Fox Barrel Cider Co.
Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Lost Coast
Eel River Brewing Company
Stone Brewing
Alaskan Brewing
OSKAR Blues
Black Diamond
Pismo Island Lager
Mad River Brewing
24 Degrees
Sonoma Springs Brewery
Napa Smith Brewing
Peroni Pilsner
Shiner Bock
Trumer Brewing
Landsbeck Brewing
Widmer
Red Hook
Speakeasy
Humboldt Brewing Co
Blue Moon
Mendocino Brewing Company
Lagunitas Brewing Company
New Belgium/Fat tire
Sierra Nevada
Ruth McGowans
“At a tiny sushi bar in a Tokyo Subway, Jiro is renowned as the world’s greatest sushi chef. Japan has declared him a national treasure and he is the first sushi chef to receive three Michelin stars,” teases the trailer for Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
The documentary film about Jiro Ono has taken both the film and food worlds by storm — a touching story about how the chef, even at the age of 85, feels that he hasn’t reached perfection. It’s a feast for eyes and mind, and will come to Santa Rosa for a special engagement beginning April 6 at the Summerfield Cinemas. Stay tuned for details.
There are only a handful of restaurateurs in the North Bay that can stir up as much moist-eyed nostalgia as Narsi Samii. A good brisket can do that to a person.
The former owner of Narsi’s Hofbrau in Santa Rosa’s Coddingtown Center, Samii has gentle, soft-spoken way about him that belies the very public fight he waged for two years over his 27-year-old restaurant. At the age when most people consider retirement, Narsii, now 65, waged a $500,000 battle against Simon Property management over his lease. He lost the battle and the restaurant.
But Narsi may have won the war. This week, Narsi and his brother, Sam Samii, opened Mister Hof-brau in the recently vacated SRJC Culinary Cafe space at B and Seventh St.
Cut from the same jib as the French dip, carved turkey and cafeteria-tray Hofbraus that dot the Bay Area*, Mister Hof-brau is predictably predictable. Hunks of roasted meat, mashed potatoes, stuffing, brown gravy and a few cold salads punctuated by piles of sauerkraut, steaming pots of soup (Borscht is a staple) and a case of cakes and pies.
Think Sunday dinner at grandma’s. With a cafeteria tray.
At the heart of the restaurant — a literal glowing red center of heat lamps — is the carvery. Halfway down the 12-foot runway of food, stands a chef with very sharp knives and more than a passing knowledge of poultry and livestock anatomy. He slices thin pieces of moist turkey, roast beef, brisket, pastrami and corned beef and with a quick flick of the wrist, they land on plates neatly piled with stuffing and mashed potatoes, asparagus. Sandwiches get the same treatment, with meat piled onto rye or sourdough, a smear of Thousand Island. Uncomplicated and delicious.
Sides and soups are a bit pedestrian, but comforting, reassuring and easy to chew. Salads mostly hail from a bygone era — lots of iceberg and grated carrots piled with meat. Macaroni. Coleslaw.
But that’s the charm of Mister Hof-brau. It’s exactly what it is and nothing that it’s not. It’s a steam-table sanctuary in an ocean of a la minute eateries, with nothing precious or pedigreed to get in the way of an honest plate of food.
The restaurant is currently awaiting a beer and wine license, and plans to offer morning coffee and pastries as well as some less carnivorous options.
Mister Hof-brau, 458 B St., Santa Rosa, 545-6237.
*If you’re curious, Hofbrau’s in Germany refer to breweries that have ties to the royal court. In the Bay Area, Hofbraus like SF’s Tommy’s Joynt, Lefty O’Douls and Harry’s Hofbrau are synonymous with the kind of old school cafeteria-style meat-and-potatoes eating you’ll find at Mister Hof-brau.
