Pub Republic Opens

By biteclub
Brussels Sprouts tacos at Pub Republic in Petaluma

New brewpub and eatery, Pub Republic has opened off Lakeville Hwy. in a space that’s revolved several times, most recently as Zocolos Mexican Grill.

It’s an airy-open space with about a dozen brews on tap including Hop Stoopid double IPA from Lagunitas, a smoked porter from Stone Brewing and Honey Saison from Almanac.

The menu’s standard pub fare that includes fish and chips, burgers and plenty of fried appetizers along with some meatier entrees for dinner. Though our first trip left a bit to be desired on the food end (locals say things are improving), we were intrigued by the Brussels Sprout Tacos ($8) — the sprouts were sauteed with lots of garlic then mixed with lime, cheese and avocado. Not for everyone, but certainly something unique.

3120 Lakeville Hwy, Petaluma, 707.PUB.9090, pubrepublicusa.com.

Truffled Fries at Pub Republic in Petaluma.

Hopmonk Novato opens

By biteclub

The massive space briefly occupied by Southern Pacific Smokehouse in Novato has re-opened as the third Hopmonk Tavern in the North Bay. 

The location, at 224 Vintage Way inside the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center is extra-large, seating 145 inside and an additional 80 in the outdoor beer garden. The Novato location will also be home to “The Session Room”, a stage for live music and open mic nights. Sonoma County’s Pete Stringfellow is among the first acts, appearing Dec. 1 at 7:30p.m.

Look for 15 different beers on tap including Unfiltered Kellerbier and Dunkleweizen plus more than 85 bottled beers a the Tavern Bar. The menu will follow the same format as the other two restaurants.

Seems third time’s a charm for the Dean Biersch project.

Open daily at 11a.m. with Hoppy Hour Mon-Thurs from 3-6p.m. 

Traverso’s Ravioli for the Holidays

By biteclub

Bill and Deb’s Downtown Deli (621 Fourth St., Santa Rosa) are bringing back a Santa Rosa tradition: Traverso’s Ravioli.

The couple, who are former Traverso’s employees, are selling the beef raviolis that became a local favorite at the holidays for $5.99 a box. They will also have the Bolognese meat sauce for the raviolis available for $5.99 per 12-ounce container.

Available for Christmas: Cheese, chicken and primavera raviolis.

To order call 636-2200 or email billanddebsdeli@aol.com.

Front Porch Farm: Locally grown wheat in Healdsburg

By biteclub

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It required a determined vision to rip out acres of valuable Russian River Valley vineyards. But replacing that land with wheat, heirloom vegetables and grazing area for heritage breed pigs? That required not only vision, but capital and chutzpah.

Front Porch Farm, owned by environmentalist, philanthropist and former Esprit-Europe CEO Peter Buckley and his wife, Mimi, is a 120-acre experiment in biodynamic farming at an idyllic spot called Diggers Bend, about 10 minutes east of Healdsburg. Well-known winemaker Matt Taylor (formerly of Araujo Estate Wines) has been tapped to manage the farm, starting with growing one of the few crops absent in the San Francisco/Bay Area foodshed, wheat.

“Grains on this small of a scale don’t make money,” says Sam Bilbro, who serves as the farm’s tour guide, marketing director and farmhand. “But local grains are really important,” he adds.  I met him one afternoon at the Sebastopol Grange as he was delivering buckets of milled grains to a pop-up CSA project run by FEED Sonoma and Spiral Foods.

For legions of locavores, the addition of local wheat is like, well, finding out there’s a coffee plantation in your backyard. Or a foie gras tree. Suffice to say its a Big Deal (especially when folks like Michael Pollan, Craig Ponsford and Harold McGee are paying attention).

Why does the foodshed matter?

The Bay Area is a cornucopia of produce, dairy and meat, but could we sustain ourselves entirely with what is produced within 100 miles of the Golden Gate bridge? A study in 2008 found that the answer was a qualified “yes” with a few exceptions.

“Some basic commodities like wheat, for example, are not produced in abundance in the region, mainly because other crops like fruits and vegetables yield higher economic returns to growers,” said the American Farmland Trust report.

As we become increasingly interested in lowering our carbon footprint and supporting local farms, it becomes increasingly important to diversity our food system and support a wider variety of crops.

“People talk a lot about eating locally,” said Bilbro, stomping through mud and dirt around the farm as tractors and heavy equipment puttered away in the background. “But you can literally eat an entire meal from this farm.

According to the Front Porch Farm website: “We initially planted heritage wheat varieties just because we love the beauty of a ripe field. Soon we discovered that scattered about in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties there were other contrarians planting wheat for the same reason but also to make their local foodsheds more resilient.”

The first grains harvested and milled at Front Porch include durum and rare Italian Bolero as well as farro, rye and barley. The grains are milled in Mendocino by Doug Mosel, who began the Mendocino Grain project in 2010 to revive local grain production. Bilbro expects to begin milling at SHED, a Healdsburg food and farming project that’s expected to open in February 2013. They plan to have a total of 18 acres devoted to grains next year. All that grain also means the possibility of locally-produced whiskey. “It’s the future for the majority of our grain program,” said Taylor.

Walking through the property’s newly constructed sheds, sheafs of dried wheat hang from the ceilings. “We could literally sell those for more than the milled wheat,” says Bilbro. It’s a money-losing proposition for sure, but something the Buckley’s are dedicated to supporting. Taylor adds that it isn’t really about losing money, but trying to do something right for the community. “We feel we have an obligation,” he said. Already, Bay Area restaurants like Oliveto in Oakland and Community Grains, makers of organic pastas are supporting and buying the locally grown wheat.

In addition to the wheat, which is actually a small portion of the land, the biodynamic farm (a style of land-management that aims to not only sustain the land but integrate animals, healing “teas” and natural cycles of the earth into farming practices and eschews monoculture) also sustains a produce garden that’s been supplying Healdsburg restaurants like Ari Rosen’s Scopa and Campo Fina.

The farm also has the country’s only breeding stock of Cinta Senese pigs, a rare and ancient Italian breed prized for their fat, which is high in omega 3 and 6.  Four “families”, a total of 21 pigs with distinct bloodlines arrived in the U.S. in June after extensive quarantines. As the animals breed, subsequent stock will be moved to a 2,000-acre ranch in Yorkville for harvest. Expect a collective whoop by local salumists when that day comes.

Cinta Sonoma from Oliveto Community on Vimeo.

It wouldn’t be fair, however, not to mention the farm’s vineyards, which take up about twelve acres. Taylor has already bottled Front Porch’s first vintage of mostly Rhone blends.

“We want to do good. We want to restore the beauty of this place,” says Bilbro, nuzzling up to the 300-pound pigs who root and grunt at our feet, practically knocking us over with their exuberance. “We are growing the soil. It’s a dream,” he says.

Good Food Hour Axed at KSRO

By biteclub
Garner and Ash in a photo from the KSRO website

SHOCKER! After 25 years, Good Food Hour radio program has been cancelled by KSRO.

It was one of several budgetary cuts made at the Santa Rosa radio station, owned by Maverick Media this week.

The long-running show featured Chef John Ash and Steve Garner as hosts each Saturday morning. Also eliminated: Garden Talk and KSRO Morning News Anchor Curtiss Kim. Garden Talk and The Good Food Hour were the longest running garden and food shows in California, according to KSRO.

This morning lines lit up with confused callers when Good Food Hour was replaced by a syndicated radio program. Insiders say that Ash and the others were informed late this week.  The KSRO website no longer lists the Good Food Hour or Garden Talk.

“We were totally shocked,” said Ash, reached Saturday. He stated that it was an especially tough blow for Garner, who worked on both shows for decades. “It’s a real loss of local broadcasting that was part of the local community.”

While the food community was taken aback at the unceremonious cancellation, its not without precedent. In 2010, Steve Jaxon’s “The Drive” was cancelled on KSRO but returned several weeks later with its own lineup of sponsors. In San Francisco, KGO cut Dining Around with Gene Burns (along with a number of other shows) in 2011.

Apparently the cuts at KSRO were made for purely budgetary reason, but BiteClub hopes that Good Food Hour might be able follow a similar model to Jaxon’s and possible reach a new audience through Podcasting and the Internet.

Because that kind of experience in our local food scene, along with Garner and Ash’s insight, humor and wit would be a pretty tragic loss to the community.

Can we find a way to bring Good Food Hour back? Let’s hope so.

Thanksgiving 2012

By biteclub

Sure, Thanksgiving is a time for gathering ’round the family table, but who says it has to be yours? Instead of spending hours slaving in a hot kitchen, there are plenty of eat-out, pick-up and “who has to know you didn’t make it?” options throughout Sonoma County.

This year, celebrate turkey day in a new way. Just remember to get a doggy bag for those post-Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing cravings. Here are some of our favorite spots throughout Sonoma County.

RESTAURANTS

Santa Rosa

Stark’s Steakhouse & Seafood: Roast Willie Bird turkey, Chef Mark’s andouille sausage and wild mushroom stuffing, traditional giblet gravy and pomegranate-cranberry relish, $26. Also offering dessert specials, pumpkin pie and Mamma Janne’s cream cheese pie. Most regular items available, including raw bar and seafood dishes, but the restaurant won’t be serving burgers or entrée Caesar salads on Thanksgiving day. 2-7pm, 521 Adams St, Santa Rosa. Reservations highly suggested: 707-546-5100 or via Open Table.

Willie Bird’s Restaurant: Family-favorite serving up local Willie Birds. Full holiday turkey dinner along with other menu items. Reservations required and most are nailed down well in advance, but some walk-ins accepted. Open until 8pm. 1150 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa, 707.542.0861. Can’t get in for Thanksgiving: Grab a turkey Monte Cristo on Black Friday.

Cafe Europe: Four course diner, $35, from 1 to 6pm includes selection of mushroom ravioli, turkey, filet mignon, veal cordon Bleu and wild boar ragout. 104 Calistoga Road  Santa Rosa, 538-5255

John Ash and Co.: Three-course holiday menu includes butternut squash soup, lobster bisque, sea scallop ceviche, pan-seared Scottish salmon, Heritage turkey and (giblet!) gravy, pork tenderloin, maple pumpkin creme brulee, bourbon pecan tart. $62pp, $32 kids under 12. Call for reservations. 350 Barnes Rd., Santa Rosa, 707.527.7687

Brasserie: Three course meal from 1- 7pm, $42 adults, $18 12 and under. 170 Railroad Street  Santa Rosa, 636-7388.

Healdsburg

Madrona Manor: Michelin-starred chef Chef Jesse Malgren does annual four-course turkey dinner for $84pp. Call ahead for seating between 1:30 and 7:30pm. 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg, (707) 433-4231.

Dry Creek Kitchen: Three course menu includes Lobster risotto, roasted sugar pie pumpkin soup, Willie Bird turkey, prime New York steak, leg of lamb, cranberries with white chocolate mousse,$65 per person. Served 2-7pm; 317 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 866.458.7224

Cocina Latina: Thanksgiving Yucateca-style. Mateo Granados’ new restaurant serves up Tacones, Relleno Blanco de Pavo (Diestel Family Farm turkey, hard boiled egg centered embutido, white gravy “Mayan k’ol”, Soda Rock tomate frito and sea salt hand-made tortilla), traditional Thanksgiving turkey, braised lamb and sticky bun flan.  $50 per person, serving 11:30am to 7:30pm. Reservations recommended, 433-1520 or on Opentable.

Thanksgiving by Whole Foods

Recently I saw a chef literally cringe when he heard the words .99 cents per pound and turkey. People, even though you’re only eating it once a year, have enough respect for your taste buds (if not the turkey) to commit to something that’s humanely-raised, organic (if possible) and for heaven’s sake tastes good. I’m a huge fan of Diestel turkeys, raised in Sonora. They taste delicious, especially when someone else roasts them to perfection and your only job is to reheat it on Thanksgiving morning.

Along with pre-cooked (and non-precooked) turkey, they have gravy (sans lumps), sides, pies, and other desserts in a mix-and-match combination you can order online. Details at the Whole Foods website.

Spoonbar: A casual three courses include winter squash soup, braised mussels and clams, buttermilk poached turkey breast with brioche stuffing, potato puree, roast carrots, brussels sprouts, quine an dalmond crostata. $55 for adults and $15 for children. 219 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 922-5426.

Sonoma
Carneros Bistro and Bar at Lodge at Sonoma: Chef Andrew Wilson prepares a three-course menu of Butternut Squash Soup, Roasted Turkey with chestnuts, “Square Pig” (pork confit with potatoes and brussels sprouts), dayboat scallops, pumpkin or pecan pie. Thanksgiving dinner will be served on Thursday, November 22 for $55 per person and $30 for children. 1325 Broadway St., Sonoma, 707-935-6600/

girl and the fig: Three course menu including wild mushroom and fromage blanc strudel, roasted turkey roulade, prime rib, and pumpkin cheesecake. $52 per person. 110 West Spain St., Sonoma, 938-3634.

Depot Hotel: Four courses at a favorite Sonoma bistro features corn chowder, vineyard salad, roast turkey with sage stuffing. Other entrees: grilled salmon, orecchiette pasta with butternut squash, veal picatta or filet of beef. Cheesecake, pumpkin pie or chocolate decadence with port wine sauce. $35 $48pp, seatings from noon to 7pm; 241 First St., West, Sonoma, 938-2980.

Sante: An epic Thanksgiving buffet that puts all other buffets to shame. The highlight reel: Butternut squash with creme fraiche, shrimp cocktail, assorted charcuteries, artisan cheeses served by the Maitre Fromager, smoked salmon and caviar, classic Caesar, ricotta tortellini salad. Carving stations of Diestel turkey with brioche and sage stuffing, filet mignon, pumpkin pie ravioli, sea bass, lamb, veal, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, artisnal breads, pumpking pie, chocolate Bourbon tart, pumpkin cheesecake, spiced pumpkin macaroons, s’mores bar, Crepes Suzette. $99pp, 939-2415.

Sebastopol

French Garden: Garden Butternut squash soup with chestunuts; turkey, Prime Rib, polenta cakes with kale, mashed potatoes, sausage stuffing, roasted chestnut gravy, yams with brown sugar, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie with ice cream and more. 8050 Bodega Avenue  Sebastopol, 824-2030. $60pp, $25 children 12 and under.

Petaluma
Central Market: Always a favorite in Petaluma, Chef Ton Najiola celebrates his annual Thanksgiving dinner with four luscious courses. $60pp, $84 with wine. Kids under 12, $20. 42 Petaluma Blvd N., Petaluma, (707) 778-9900

West County

Rancho Nicasio Thanksgiving Dinner: Annual three course dinner from 12 to 7pm, reservations recommended. Menu includes homemade clam chowder, turkey, ham, salmon Wellington with champagne sauce, prime rib, pumpkin, apple or pecan pie. $34.95pp, 29.95 65+, kids under 10, $24.95. Three course vegetarian option available by reservation. On The Town Square, Nicasio, 415-662-2219.

BUYING YOUR TURKEY

Diestel Turkey: Big John’s (1345 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg), Oliver’s Market, Whole Foods, Sonoma Market (520 W. Napa St., Sonoma), Ukiah Natural Foods (721 S. State St., Ukiah), Molsberry Market (522 Larkfield Ctr, Santa Rosa).

Willie Bird Turkeys: Local free-range turkeys. 5350 Highway 12, Santa Rosa, CA 707-545-2832 Will Call Orders Only.

PICKUP
Zazu/Bovolo/Black Pig: You cook the turkey, Zazu does the rest. A la carte sides with flair including Black Pig Bacon (for your left over BLTurkey!); Cranberry apple Chutney; Riesling Gravy, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, maple and browned butter yams, cornbread stuffing, pumpkin ice cream pie, Sebastopol apple crunch pie. All orders must be received by Friday, Nov. 20 for pick up on Wednesday at ZAZU restaurant + farm, 3535 guerneville road, santa rosa from 3 to 9pm or at BOVOLO, 106 Matheson St, Healdsburg from 12 to 6 pm. 431-2962 to place your order.

Pearson and Co: Mix and match everything from sides to stuffing. Menu includes: Butternut Squash Soup, Willie Bird turkey, spiral cut ham, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato gratin, green beans, stuffing, pies and breads from Village Bakery. All orders must be placed by Saturday, Nov. 17. Call ahead orders: 541-3868, 2759 4th St., Santa Rosa.

Fresh By Lisa Hemenway: Complete Thanksgiving dinner includes a roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies, desserts and more. $180-$195. Packaged and ready to go, ready for pickup between 10am and 1pm. 5755 Mountain Hawk Way, Santa Rosa, 539-1049.

DON’T FORGET DESSERT

Della Fattoria: Pumpkin pie with Maple Meringue, Pumpkin Slab Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake with gingersnap crust, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Pippin Apple Pie, dinner rolls and breads. Order by 11/18, 763-0161. 141 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma.

Mom’s Apple Pies will be open for limited hours on Thanksgiving day. Expect lots of pumpkin. Order ahead if you want something different. 4550 Gravenstein Hwy. North, Sebastopol, 707-823-8330.

LAST MINUTE SHOPPING

* Whole Foods:  Thanksgiving hours are 8am to 2pm.
* Safeway: Most locations: 6am to 12pm
* G & G Market/Santa Rosa: Open 7am to 3pm
* Olivers: Montecito, Stony Point, Cotati, open from 7am to 3:30pm

TO HELL WITH THE TURKEY!
Save a turkey and join adopt a turkey instead of eating one. To view this year’s “adoptable” turkeys, visit adoptaturkey.org or call the Turkey Adoption Hotline at 1-888-SPONSOR.

Backyard Restaurant in Forestville

By biteclub
Salad of baby romaine, pork belly, pickled tomatoes and torn croutons. Intentional. Authentic.
Backyard Restaurant
Salad of baby romaine, pork belly, pickled tomatoes and torn croutons. Intentional. Authentic. At Backyard in Forestville

Backyard Restaurant: Unlike a thousand other restaurants with twee Mason jars and artisan farminess slathered all over their menus, Forestville’s Backyard Restaurant gets its dirt-cred authentically.

Sourcing, literally, from chef-owner Daniel Kedan’s own backyard culinary gardens and those of his ranch and farming neighbors, the Ad Hoc and Peter Lowell’s alum opened his small community-focused restaurant in October with a relatively simple menu that relies on seasonal produce, foragers and whole-animal butchery as its foundation.

Suffice to say Kedan and partners Chefs Seth Harvey and Marianna Gardenhire can actually tell you the name of the person who grew the restaurant’s lettuce, raised its chickens and made the hemp oil on your steak. Kedan also happens to document many of his adventures in local fields, pig pens and foraging jaunts on Facebook in case you care to see your pork chop-in-development.

With nods to the diverse palates of Sonoma County which are something akin to microclimates around these parts, you’ll find a seared steak accented with hemp oil or buttermilk onion rings next to gluten-free, vegan gnocchi with wild mushrooms so unctuous and rich you’ll swear its loaded with butter and beef stock, local water kefir, coveted Green Valley wines, greens with nutritional yeast and flatbread with arugula and lemon oil. Literally something for everyone.

Every Wednesday the restaurant serves a simple, comforting family-style fried chicken dinner, but also regularly features dishes like blanched broccoli rabe with delicate purses of burrata or butternut squash flatbreads or steaming pot pies throughout the week. Or one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten — an ice cold plate of baby Romaine, torn croutons, pork belly, and herbed dressing. Honestly, however, it seems almost unfair to suggest any particular dish because chances are Kedan’s menu will have moved on to whatever’s at its height of perfection this week. And that’s exactly the point of eating at Backyard. Often.

Like any restaurant, not every dish is perfect. But even when it misses the mark, each bite feels to wonderfully real. And quintisentially Sonoma County.

Backyard, 6566 Front St., Forestville (the former Sarah’s Forestville Kitchen), 707-820-8445. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner until 9p.m., brunch on Sunday. Facebook Page

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Beaudry’s Roadhouse

By biteclub

CLOSED

Mystery solved on the opening of Beaudry’s Roadhouse in Sebastopol. Chef-owner Frank Stephenson has long had his eye on the roadhouse midway between Sebastopol and Forestville on Gravenstein Hwy., first as Elmo’s and then as the Henweigh Cafe. “I’m from Sonoma County, its like getting back home for me,” says Stephenson, who’s owned the Boar’s Breath Restaurant and Bar in Middletown for years. The restaurant officially opened on Friday, and will serve lunch and dinner with comfort dishes from burgers ($11-13), to salads, fried calamari and larger entree dishes including pork chopp with buttermilk mashed potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs ($16), St. Louis style ribs ($17) and steak. On Sunday, they’re planning on hosting a barbecue and fried chicken night and $5 burger night on Wednesdays. 4550 Gravenstein Hwy North, Sebastopol, 829-7500, beaudrysroadhouse.com.

 

Evelyn Cheatham on Chopped

By biteclub

Well, seems we totally missed seeing our very own Evelyn Cheatham of Worth Our Weight in Santa Rosa on the Food Network show, Chopped.

The episode, entitled Happy Turkey Gizzards Day was a, you guessed it, Thanksgiving themed show. Gizzards showed up in the basket up mystery ingredients along with pumpkin pie. Unfortunately Evelyn got Chopped in the first round, but honestly she’s got bigger fish to fry.

Cheatham is working to turn the Cook House at 327 A St. into a small diner for graduates of her culinary apprentice program. Let’s just hope gizzards aren’t on that menu.

Video of the show hasn’t shown up on the Chopped website yet, but is slated to air again on Nov. 17 and 18 on Food Network.

 

 

Late Harvest Farm Forum

By biteclub

Amidst the hubbub and insanity of life, we forget what living and eating in Sonoma County is really about. So let me remind you: It’s about authenticity. It’s about where things are grown and how they’re grown. It’s about farm markets and farmers and ranchers with dirt under their nails and callouses from years of impossibly hard work.

The Late Harvest Farm Forum brings food and farming in Sonoma County to the forefront. The event is hosted by Clark Wolf and March Smothers as part of the Sonoma County Food & Farming Project.

Held at the SRJC Culinary Center (1670 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa), this final discussion of the year includes speakers Jennifer Bice (Redwood Hill Creamery), Ziggy Eschilman (wine expert and personality), Wendy Krupnick (food and garden teacher), Gaye LeBaron (columnist0, Serge Labesque (bee keeper), Chuck Levine (Jack London State Park board member), Mo McElroy (tourism professional) Rian Reed (Slow/Green money advisor), Jim Reichardt (Liberty Ducks) and Michael Salinger (SRJC Culinary Director).

Nov. 15, 2012, 5-7:30pm, suggested donation, $15.