The former Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg has reopened as Acorn Cafe, serving breakfast, brunch and lunch. I stopped by for a quick bite and was wowed by the Tiramisu French toast ($16) made with brioche from Santa Rosa’s Goguette Bread, mascarpone sabayon (a rich cream sauce) coffee ice cream and a layer of cacao nib bark.
Tiramisu French toast at Acorn Cafe in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/The Press Democrat)
The all-day menu from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. also features a locally-sourced Benedict with brown butter Hollandaise ($18), zesty shakshuka ($18) with two poached eggs, tomato sauce, eggplant and green olive tapenade, a fried chicken sandwich ($21), breakfast burger ($19), salads and espresso drinks.
From 3 to 5 p.m., stop by for snacks (the kitchen is closed) and a glass of wine or beer. Takeout salads and sandwiches are also available. I’ll dive deeper into this Healdsburg newcomer’s story in October.
Molcajete Poblano of roasted poblano chile, chicken, chorizo, queso Panela, onions, radish and cactus from Los Molcajetes Bar & Grill in Rincon Valley on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
The owners of Los Molcajetes have opened a third location at the former Kina’s Cafe (19101 Sonoma Highway) in Sonoma.
The lengthy menu at the new restaurant focuses on seafood, including ceviche, aguachile, mixed seafood plates, a seafood molcajete, a whole fried perch and fish tacos. You’ll also find empanadas, nachos, shareable parradillas for a family, salads, sandwiches and chicken, beef or pork platters.
“Mojarra Frita” deep fried Mojarra fish with rice, black beans, a garden salad with a margarita from Los Molcajetes Bar & Grill in Rincon Valley on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
The menu includes a glossary to help English speakers wade through Spanish descriptions (did you know “zarandeado” is a method for grilling fish over an open flame?)
Other locations for Los Molcajetes are at 1950 Piner Road and 6599 Montecito Blvd. in Santa Rosa. losmolcajetesbarandgrill.com
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Los Molcajetes was a Guy Fieri favorite featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2018. The Fieri favorite is Taqueria Molcajetes on College Avenue.
Chef Stephanie Izard will appear Sept. 25 at Women In Conversation in Santa Rosa. (Courtesy photo)
When chef Stephanie Izard won Top Chef in 2008, she was the first woman to hold the title. In the 17 years since her trailblazing appearance, she remains one of only six women to cook their way to the top of the culinary competition.
Being a female chef has never been an easy road in the male-dominated industry, but Izard sees hope on the horizon as more women embark on culinary careers.
“You can be a chef. You can do all of these things. We see our industry is starting to become a little bit more diverse and have a lot more women that are running kitchens,” Izard said in a 2023 interview with OK! Magazine. “It’s fun to just feel like there’s a little bit of impact from that and ongoing love of being a woman in the industry.”
Since the Top Chef win, she’s been an Iron Chef winner, received several James Beard awards, authored two books and become a mother to her now 8-year-old son, Ernie. Izard owns six restaurants: Cabra, Girl & The Goat (with locations in Chicago and Los Angeles), Little Goat and Duck Duck Goat in Chicago. Acclaimed for her global flavors and locally sourced ingredients, Izard advocates nose-to-tail cooking (roasted pig face is a fan favorite) and has made goat a signature menu item.
Chef Stephanie Izard will appear Sept. 25 at Women In Conversation. (Courtesy photo)
Despite her full plate, Izard continues to be one of America’s most recognized women chefs, launching a line of globally-inspired sauces and spices, recently competing in chef Guy Fieri’s Tournament of Champions (filmed in Santa Rosa), and filming a cameo for season three of The Bear.
Izard spoke to The Press Democrat before her Sept. 25 appearance at Women in Conversation in Santa Rosa.
What would you be if you weren’t a chef?
A scuba diving instructor!
What has changed most in your life since winning Top Chef?
That was about 17 years ago; so crazy to think about! So much has happened and so many opportunities. It has been a wild ride ever since. While I get to do really cool events and travel and other TV opportunities, I am still just a chef who works at my restaurants and works with my team, which hasn’t changed at all.
What advice would you give a woman starting in the restaurant industry?
It is a very supportive industry, especially with other women. Find people you trust to talk to and go along the journey together. Be mindful of the places you choose to work. Make sure they are as excited to work with you as you are them! And that you are excited about what chef you will be working alongside.
Do you cook differently at home after becoming a mother?
I really don’t, although I strive to be more like my mom who was an amazing home cook and made us really great meals from all over the world every night of the week.
You’re known for your nose-to-tail cooking; why is it so important for people to understand eating the whole animal?
I think at this point, most chefs do the same. There are a multitude of reasons: food cost is great, there are a lot of bits of the animal that are tastier than the cuts you find at the grocery store, and it is more respectful of the animals we raise for food.
What’s an ingredient you can’t live without?
Red Boat fish sauce!
What’s your secret food obsession?
Kewpie mayo (though I don’t think it’s a very big secret!)
What inspires you most about Sonoma County?
I travel to the area often for work and just always feel at peace. Such a beautiful landscape! There are also some really great restaurants and, of course, wine all around. Everyone that lives up in Sonoma County seems really happy and let me know that it is a great place to be.
BikeHealdsburgBike Healdsburg, the first party bike in Sonoma County, offers several different tours: a morning exercise tour, a daily history and architecture immersion, a wine-tasting and nibbles excursion and a bar crawl. Click through the gallery for a taste of the experience.
It seems like ages since Sonoma County pivoted to appointment-only experiences in the wake of the pandemic. If you long for the days where you could escape to Wine Country on a whim, we have good news.
“As long as you are willing to be flexible and have a sense of adventure — spontaneity is back,” said Tim Zahner, Sonoma Valley Tourism executive director. “Planning is for when you absolutely need to have it right: anniversary or special trip. But if you want to take off for a few days, come on up.”
While an impressive roster of elaborate, sit-down Wine Country experiences require reservations to assure attentive service, there are arguably just as many that embrace spur-of-the-moment options.
Walk-in Wine Experiences
Ram’s Gate welcomes guests to its Sonoma estate without reservations for a variety of experiences, ranging from a guided five-wine seated tasting to The Caviar Experience, which pairs Ram’s Gate wines with caviar from Tsar Nicoulai.
In Healdsburg, J Vineyards & Winery welcomes walk-ins daily for its Signature Tasting of five Russian River Valley wines. And it never hurts to ask about availability in the Legacy Lounge.
Tasting area at Dutcher Crossing winery in Geyserville. (Courtesy of Dutcher Crossing)
For $20, spontaneous tasters can sip and swirl their way through current release wines at Dutcher Crossing in Dry Creek Valley.
“Guests can also bring their own picnic and enjoy views of Dry Creek Valley from our dog-friendly back lawn,” said proprietor Debra Mathy.
Winery dog Lady is known to stop by the tasting room to say hello and check if visitors brought extra snacks.
Though vino may be the main draw, there’s more to Sonoma County than just wine. Enjoying the great outdoors is a year-round perk in these parts. From waterfalls to whale sightings, spontaneous hiking opportunities are seemingly endless. Stroll in the shadow of towering redwoods at Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve; enjoy breezes from the Pacific Ocean while exploring Jenner Headlands Preserve; or picnic amid native and Asian flora at Glen Ellen’s Sonoma Botanical Garden, all without having to plan ahead to secure reservations.
Bike Healdsburg offers both wine tours and a bar crawl. (Courtesy of Bike Healdsburg)
Don’t discount guided tours when considering a last-minute getaway. Family-owned and operated Bike Healdsburg, the first party bike in Sonoma County, welcomes visitors who roll into town at the last minute. Bar crawl tours remain available on the website until the hour before the tour, and right up to the start time if there’s a tour already booked that still has space. The Bike Healdsburg website is the best way to snag a spot. If you don’t see availability online, don’t hesitate to call or text.
“It never hurts to ask,” said co-owner Jessica Pilling. “Because we are a small operation, we have flexibility. We have some groups that want to deviate from our set tour times because of their travel schedules or what not, and we are often able to accommodate them if they call.”
There are countless opportunities to eat well in Wine Country without a dinner reservation. Here’s a list of our favorite local restaurants that we love to revisit, but it just scratches the surface. Bringing your dog along? Spread Kitchen boasts a dog-friendly patio. Want to check out some food trucks? Santa Rosa’s Mitote Food Park serves up tasty Mexican eats. About two miles away, Shokakko offers Asian-inspired street food, and Gabacool Provisions pops up all around with New York-style pizza.
Stay the Night
No hotel wants to leave a room empty. Checking a property’s website or even calling the front desk can help when hunting for the best last-minute room booking. Select hotels even offer perks, like easy access to sought-after Wine Country experiences.
“We’re delighted that in our first couple of years, we’ve already established a great number of winery partners,” said Emily Glick, co-owner and general manager of The Stavrand in Guerneville. “Most notably with Marimar Estate, which provides a complimentary Classic Tasting, small charcuterie plate and preferred availability to all of our guests.”
Thai BBQ Chicken at Thai House Noodle Soup in Santa Rosa. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Santa Rosa’s Thai restaurant lineup is expanding with the addition of Thai House Noodle Soup (1899 Mendocino Ave.) and the soon-to-open Khao Soi Thai Zen (1169 Yulupa Ave.).
Red curry at Thai House Noodle Soup in Santa Rosa (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Thai House replaces Cozy Plum Bistro and offers standard Thai dishes — Pad Thai, green papaya salad, curry — along with standout soups served hotpot-style with a portable burner, keeping the soup bubbling away at the table. Don’t miss the pho-esque Thai Boat Noodle Soup with beef; Tom Yum Noodle Soup with ground chicken, peanuts, wontons and garlic oil; or the comforting Racha Noodle Soup made with instant noodles, prawns, ground pork, galanga, lemongrass and condensed milk.
Khao Soi has not yet opened, but the menu posted in the window and online includes hot pot soups, whole fried fish with garlic sauce, and Khao Soi, a Northern Thai curry with steamed egg noodles.
The Hog Island Oyster Co. pickup window in Petaluma. (Courtesy of Remy Anthes)
Hog Island Oyster Co., a popular seafood establishment on the Sonoma-Marin Coast, has opened a Petaluma pickup window on First Street. The menu features oysters, shellfish (clams, mussels, prawns) and other local catches, including squid, abalone and geoduck clams.
Customers will also be able to pick up kitchen staples, including Hogwash mignonette, cocktail sauce and miso nori butter, as well as Hog Island merch.
Oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co. are now available at a pickup window in Petaluma. (Courtesy of Remy Anthes)
Orders must be placed online or over the phone for pickup from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.
Parish Cafe in Healdsburg. (Photo courtesy of siponthisjuice.com)
Chef Ari Rosen of Healdsburg’s much-missed Campo Fina and Scopa restaurants will host a one-night-only dinner at The Parish Cafe (60 Mill St., Healdsburg) on Sept. 27.
The menu includes arancini, meatballs, cotoletta (an Italian-style schnitzel), salad and beignets. Kids get their own dinner seating from 5 to 6 p.m. (parents can stick around inside, but the meal is focused on peer-to-peer noshing). Tickets on OpenTable are $25 for children and $65 for adults. Reservations required.
Beignets at Parish Cafe in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Throughout the fall, the Healdsburg restaurant will offer other specialty dinners, including Parish Nights (Oct. 24 and 25) with an a la carte menu featuring Parish favorites and new Cajun dishes, including crawfish etouffee, Yaka Mein (Louisiana-style ramen), Louisiana blue crab cakes and fried chicken frisée salad.
Chef Ralph Tingle (of Bistro Ralph) will continue his evening appearances featuring his signature Chicken Paillard from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 and 15, and Dec. 12 and 13. $75 per person.
The Sausage Emporium, just opposite the Plaza on Napa Street in Sonoma, serves a variety of sausage sandwiches and salads to tourists and locals alike on Wednesday July 14, 2021. (Photo by Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)
Sausages are out, global cuisine is in at Mozaik, the forthcoming restaurant from the owners of the Sausage Emporium in Sonoma. Owner Miranda Ives is sunsetting the sausage-centric focus of her Sonoma Plaza cafe (31 East Napa St.) for a more expansive menu that will include dishes like Kashmiri short rib tacos, pork belly naan flatbread and Ethiopian Berbere-spiced chicken.
Ives, who is also the founder of Hare and Hatter Café, Emporium Wines and Beanwrks, hopes to create a convivial communal space for lunch and dinner at Mozaik, as well as weekend brunch and social hours from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
Miranda Ives, co-owner of the Sausage Emporium on Napa Street in Sonoma, on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (Photo by Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)Charcuterie board from Sausage Emporium in Sonoma. (Courtesy Sausage Emporium)
“We are evolving from Sausage Emporium to Mozaik to better reflect our growing vision and the diverse culinary experiences we want to offer our guests. While Sausage Emporium has been a beloved local favorite, we’re excited to introduce Mozaik, which allows us to expand our menu and bring a wider variety of global flavors to the table,” Ives said.
The Sausage Emporium on the Plaza opened in 2021 after long construction delays during the pandemic. Before that, Ives and her mother, Linda Welch, operated Hare and Hatter at the El Paseo Alley from 2017 to 2019.
Mozaik’s opening, according to Ives, is a moving target but is slated for late September or early October.
This Sonoma home is a transformed and renovated school house originally built in 1910. (CS Photography / Sotheby’s International Realty)
A restored 1910 schoolhouse that has transformed into a modern home has hit Sonoma’s real estate market. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom dwelling has 4,500 square feet of living space on one grassy, tree-lined acre. It’s currently listed for $6,495,000.
Modern interior elements — new tile and stonework, wood cabinets, glass chandeliers — sparkle alongside the home’s traditional bones.
Kitchen. (CS Photography / Sotheby’s International Realty)Living room. (CS Photography / Sotheby’s International Realty)
The schoolhouse’s history remains through the belfry at the entrance, original wood floors, double-hung windows and some built-in cabinets.
Amenities include a chef’s kitchen with a Wolf range, a pool with water features and a two-car garage with an adjacent wine room.
For more information on 1250 Lovall Valley Road in Sonoma, contact listing agents Caroline Sebastiani, 415-290-3123, 707-935-2277, or Kristie Eddy, 949-577-1717, 707-935-2288, Sotheby’s International Realty – Wine Country – Sonoma Brokerage,793 Broadway, Sonoma, sothebysrealty.com
Exterior view. (Robert Vente / Sotheby’s International Realty)
A modern Glen Ellen estate on 156 acres bordering Jack London State Historic Park is currently on the market. The main residence, guest house and barn —containing seven bedrooms, six full bathrooms and four half bathrooms — has a list price of $32.5 million.
The angular stone and glass dwelling includes 14,000 square feet of living space. Its large windows, clean lines and natural hues yield to the beauty of the natural setting.
The property includes a forested area and 42 acres of vineyard producing Cabernet and Merlot as well as smaller yields of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Sauvingon Blanc.
Exterior view. (Robert Vente / Sotheby’s International Realty)Reflection pool. (Robert Vente / Sotheby’s International Realty)
Verandas, courtyards and a reflection pool provide a pleasing transition from the indoors to outdoors.
Interiors enjoy rich texture from stone walls and wood accents. Two-story, floor-to-ceiling glass doors provide spectacular immersion in the prime Wine Country setting. Impressively-sized curtains soften the look. Stonework adds grounded drama to the kitchen, bathrooms and fireplaces.
The home is the collaborative work of Aidlin Darling Design, Cello & Maudru Construction and Marta Fry Landscape Associates.
For more information on this property at 7596 Sonoma Mountain Road, Glen Ellen, contact listing agent Daniel Casabonne, 707-494-3130, 707-939-2222, Sotheby’s International Realty – Wine Country – Sonoma Brokerage,428 First St. East, Sonoma, sothebysrealty.com
