Just in case you were thinking of making in commode cocktail…
BiteClubber Paul R. says he snapped this little gem at Peet’s Coffee in Cotati.
Find any other restaurant signs that go without saying? Send ’em my way.
Don’t Drink the Toilet Water
Late Summer Farm Forum
Local food celebrities Clark Wolf and Marcy Smothers gather some of the county’s most influential purveyors, writers, farmers, advocates and activists to discuss the future of food and farming in Sonoma County.
This Late Summer Farm Forum will be held Wednesday, Sept. 26 from 5-7:30pm at the Petaluma Seed Bank (199 Petaluma Blvd North).
On the panel:
– Carrie Brown, The Jimtown Store
– Dr. Frank Chong, President of Santa Rosa Junior College
– Michele Anna Jordan, PD Columnist, author and radio host
– Paul Kaiser, Singing Frog Farm
– Kendra Kolling, Nana Mae’s Organics
– Tony Linegar, Sonoma County Ag Commissioner
– Don McEnhill, Russian Riverkeeper
– Sam Mogannam, Bi-Rite Market
– Marlena Spieler, Food Writer
– Paul Wallace, Petaluma Seed Bank
Suggested donation: $15
Late Summer Farm Forum Save the Date from Scott Mitchell on Vimeo.
Top Chefs Compete at Kendall Jackson
Top Chef contenders Ryan Scott, Eli Kirshtein and Casey Thompson compete at the 2012 Kendall Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival Cookoff against challenger Justin Wangler, KJ’s executive chef. Ultimately, Thompson won the day, but all the dishes were spectacular. Take a look at the lineup.
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Square Belly Food Salon
Hey BiteClubbers.
For a long time, I’ve thought about how cool it would be to have a Culinary Salon in Sonoma County — a place where like-minded folks could come and talk about whatever aspect of the food scene they’re interested in. Maybe its food politics. Maybe gossiping about the local restaurant scene. Maybe you want to get the word out about a local purveyor you’ve fallen in love with.
I also wanted a forum to chat about some of the things I’m passionate about at the moment. This month I’m super hot on Water Kefir, and want to share that with you. Next month, maybe it will be home brewing or figs, or whatever. Rather than just reading about it, I’ll try to bring the people I write about to you.
Square Belly Food Theater is the result of all that. It’s a fun way to connect the food community IRL. Its a series of salons and culinary how-tos at the Arlene Francis Center that are either low or no cost (we do accept donations for the AFC and to defray the cost of supplies, etc.).
Our mission is merely to have fun, share our food passions and bring together like-minded folks.
The first Salon will be held Wed, Sept. 19 at 6:30pm. There’s no set agenda, but we hope to see anyone who wants to hang out and chat, help us format future salons, etc.
PIX: Chef Tables in the Vineyard with Mario Batali and Guy Fieri
Chef Tables in the Vineyard at the Kendall Jackson Wine Center brought together dozens of Sonoma County’s best chefs with Guy Fieri and Mario Batali for a record-breaking fundraiser for Fieri’s Cooking With Kids program on September 14, 2012.
Wish you were there? Stroll through some pictures from the night that will leave you salivating.
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Pizzando Healdsburg
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Pizzando in the Healdsburg Hotel opened last week after several menu dry-runs at sister property, Spoonbar! Louis Maldonado is exec chef for both properties, with former Petite Syrah toque Ben Davies in the kitchen and former A-16 pizza whiz Liza Shaw.
More than a pizzeria and less than a white-tablecloth experience, Pizzando hits the sweet spot in between with impressive appetizers like oil-poached albacore; unctuous slow-braised pork shoulder with pickled plums and caraway roasted squash draped with lardo (all $9).
The wood-fired does double duty for entrees and meats which include a crackly-crusted burrata pizza with lemon marmalade ($16); fried chicken legs with spicy vinegar sauce (all meats $16); pork ribs glazed in fennel pollen honey and hamachi collar (the meaty neck area of a tuna) . Save room for veggies sides (all $6) including slow-roasted tomatoes with melted Cresenza cheese (a perfect early fall dish) and fennel braised in oxtail broth.
Don’t skip the drinks. Mixologist Cappy Sorentino is cocktail hero with his bottled aperitifs — bold, undiluted sippers like the Negroni, Bourbon Milk Punch (made with clarified milk, bourbon, lemon and bitters that will have you lapping up the last drops like a kitten) and Aperol Sour with gin, grapefruit, Aperol and lemon (all $8).
301 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, 922-5233. Open daily for lunch and dinner starting at 11:30 a.m
Slow Food Picnic
On Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 Slow Food’s Fresh Picnic is a sit-down family-style feast featuring some of the Bay Area’s best chefs including Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats, Liza Hinman of Spinster Sisters, Christopher Kostow of Meadowood and Dennis Lee of Namu Gaji in San Francisco. Local food producers Nightingale Breads, Foggy River Farms, Bohemian Creamery and Ramini Mozzarella will be features in addition to Anthill Farms Winery and Claypool Cellars. Alice Waters and Carlo Petrini will speak at the event, held at Rancho Mark West.
Tickets are $95 for Slow Food members, $125 for non-members, but reduced price tickets for farmers and under-30 food activists are available. Details at slowfoodrr.org.
Chef Tables in the Vineyard at KJ TomatoFest 2012 include Fieri, Batali
All-star chefs converge for Chef Tables in The Vineyard on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, co-hosted by celebrity chefs Guy Fieri and Mario Batali. It’s a food-tastic fantasy league of talent that includes more than a dozen of Wine Country’s top talents cooking individual meals for each table. The event is part of a weekend-long celebration of tomatoes at Kendall Jackson Wine Center that includes the annual Tomatofest on Saturday, Sept. 15.
“Everyone is bringing their A-game,” said K-J executive chef Justin Wangler, who has helped organize the menus and 22 chefs, along with the challenging logistics of having the winery’s kitchens undergoing extensive renovations. With more than a hundred varieties of heirloom tomatoes grown on the K-J property, chefs are taking inspiration from the varied flavors, textures and colors of the height-of-the-season fruits.
On the roster are Cyrus’ Douglas Keane, culinary eduator John Ash, Kendall-Jackson executive chef Justin Wangler, Dino Bugica of Diavola Pizzeria, Perry Hoffman of Napa’s Etoile, Jesse Mallgren of Madrona Manor, Josh Silvers of Petite Syrah, Jeff Mall of Zin, Adam Mali of Mandarin Oriental SF, Mark Stark of Stark’s Steakhouse, Dustin Valette of Dry Creek Kitchen, “Top Chef” star Casey Thompson and many others. Each chef cooks for a table; diners won’t find out which chef will be cooking for them until the night of the dinner.
Fieri’s and Batali’s menus are closely guarded secrets, revealed only at the dinner itself. But other chefs’ plans include dishes like a haute Caprese (mozzarella, basil and tomatoes) BLT salad from Zazu’s John Stewart, beefsteak tomato and beef steak carpaccio from Wangler and a caramelized tomato tart tatin from Mark Stark. Other dishes on the three-course menu include Zin’s shrimp and grits; grilled Monterey calamari with coconut, mint and lime green salad; uni pasta with tomato confit from Hana Japanese chef Ken Tominaga; and Wagyu beef, mung bean sprouts and tomato confit from Keane. Each course will be paired with K-J wines.
“Even with tomatoes being the common theme for this dinner, just how different all the chef’s styles and techniques are. A lot of chefs have requested to bring their own equipment, everything from liquid nitrogen, a grill named Big Red, several immersion circulators, to a Huli Huli roasting machine from Oahu,” Wangler said.
The event is a benefit for Fieri’s Cooking with Kids Foundation, which encourages kids to develop healthy eating habits to address childhood obesity and works to strengthen families through sharing quality time in the kitchen.
“Mario really understands all the components of cooking, and the impact it has on family and especially kids. I feel he sees the big picture, that everyone needs to know the life skills of cooking, and how empowering kids to cook can give them the confidence and self esteem they need to be successful in the future,” Fieri said.
Tickets range from $350 per person to $3,000 for VIP tables with Fieri and Batali. VIP diners at the celebrity chef tables will also be given a behind-the-scenes reception with Guy and Mario before dinner. TICKETS FOR THE DINNER INCLUDE ADMISSION TO THE HEIRLOOM TOMATO FESTIVAL, WHICH IS SOLD OUT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Both the dinner and the Heirloom Tomato Festival on Saturday will be held at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, 5700 Fulton Road, in Fulton, and guests must be at least 21 years of age to attend. Details and tickets online at www.kj.com/tomato-weekend or by calling (866) 287-9818.
Glendi Ethnic Fair
The 23rd annual Glendi Ethnic Food Fair on Saturday Sept. 15 and Sunday, Sept. 16 at St. Seraphim Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa.
Celebrating all things Greek, Eritrean, Russian, Serbian and Middle Eastern, you can dine on a world of ethnic goodies from gyros to piroshki and try their new Baklava Sundae, a sweet-treat that’s delicious in any language.
Admission $5, children under 12 free, 90 Mountain View Ave., Santa Rosa.
National Heirloom Exposition: 10 Things to Do
The Second Annual National Heirloom Exposition is a ripe and juicy peach of an event that brings together anyone and everyone in the food world to celebrate farms, chefs, gardeners and heritage produce.
Held over three days at the Sonoma County Fairground (Sept. 11, 12 and 13, 2012), it’s an event so massive in scale that you’ll likely need the time just to get to all of the speakers, demonstrations and vendors.
Hosted by the “pure food” movement folks behind the Baker Creek Seed Company, you’ll find local chef and homestead demonstrations, dozens of local whole foods vendors, historic livestock breeds, 100 speakers (from anti-GMO speaker Jeffrey Smith to Greenstring Farms’ Bob Cannard and Rancho Gordo’s Steve Sando), music and family-friendly activities.
There’s a clear political overtone against genetically modified foods and sustainability throughout, but delicious food, giant pumpkin displays, friendly farm vendors and live musical entertainment help keep the vibe inclusive and engaging.
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IF YOU GO:
– Head for the Double Decker BLT that’s about as perfect an end-of-summer sandwich as you can get at the Green Grocer stand. (Drooly pix below).
– Buy seeds. Lots of them.
– Take a picture in front of the giant pile of squashes and pumpkins
– Count how many different kinds of melons are there. Hint: It will keep the kids occupied for a LONG time.
– Watch a carving demonstration by Chef Ray Duey who makes incredible vegetable and fruit garnish art
– Get informed: The Expo has 100 speakers (!) throughout the two days. Learn about GMO’s, homesteading, whole foods, raising bees, composting or dozens of other topics. Full speaker list here:
– Eat some popcorn at Comet Corn. They use real butter and natural flavors like coconut curry and Bloody Mary.
– Support a local. Among the sustainable Sonoma County businesses at the expo: Amy’s Kitchen, Bella Rosa Coffee, Backyard CSA, California Coops, Clover Stornetta, Cook’s Spices, Epicurean Connection, Felton Acres, Nana Mae Organics, SonomaValley Portworks, Sonoma Chocolatiers and many others.
– Learn to cook something yummy. Chef Jill Nussinow, Kendra Kolling, Sheana Davis and John Lyle will be doing demos in the Garrett Building
– Hear some music: Sourdough Slim, Beso Negro, Petaluma Pete and the Pickled Red Beets are among the entertainers.
Tickets are $10 per day, $25 for all three days, open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Tickets and info at theheirloomexpo.com.