Bacon beckons at St. Francis Vineyards on May 19, when the Sonoma Valley winery hosts it’s Luxury Bacon Dinner. It’s a porktastic voyage that includes a bacon-stuffed roulade of beef, chicken fried bacon and gravy, smoked bacon tamari and banana bread with bacon lardons for dessert. 100 Pythian Road at Hwy 12, Santa Rosa.
After the sell-out success of last year’s Chosen Spot dinners, the 2012 series will be held at the horticulturist’s own stomping grounds: The Luther Burbank Home & Gardens. Chef John Lyle makes it his mission to use Burbank-inspired local ingredients and create menus that go beyond the usual wine & cheese dinners. $75 per person, held June 9, July 7, August 11 and Sept. 8, beginning at 5:30p.m. Reservations at lutherburbank.org.
Coddingtown’s newest restaurant tenant, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, is slated to open May 14, according to staff. The restaurant will be doing preview dinners the next several weeks for media, friends and family. Prepare to get your pizookie on.
Lots of folks asking me about “Heritage Public House”, which is actually the renamed Hopyard at Vintner’s Square.
The new space features a revolving lineup of California craft brews Thursday through Sunday (ie: Moylan’s Kilt Lifter, Ruth McGowan’s Monster Brown Ale, Triple Voo Doo Brewing Inception). They’ll also be hosting comedy, music and open-mic nights and have local food trucks serving up food . The name flip happened after owner Dino D’Argenzio discovered the Hopyard name was copyrighted by a Pleasanton brewery. Heritage Public House better reflects “paying homage to the history of the craft brewing industry of our Golden State.” said D’Argenzio.
Vintner’s Square is a rehabbed retail center thats evolved into a self-contained winemaking center housing D’Argenzio, Krutz and Sheldon wines along with Squires Cigar Shop and Lounge and the Wineyard Tasting Room.
Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 4-10pm; Sunday noon to 6pm. 1305-A Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa.
St. Helena’s Goose and Gander, in the former Martini House location, opened Tuesday (4/24/12)— earlier than expected (a rarity in the restaurant world). In the kitchen is Kelly McCown, a Martini House vet. Bar manager and mixologist Scott Beattie, who recently departed Healdsburg’s Spoonbar, continues his love affair with seasonal, artisanal cocktails at the new venue. Early word on the menu is American comfort, with braised meatballs, duck confit and bone marrow as apps; a burger with duck fat fries, ricotta gnocchi and pork chops for entrees, and a precious lineup of soups, sides and salads. 1245 Spring St., St. Helena.
CLOSED
Part burgers, part bar, Flipside Bar & Burger opened in April 2012 to much Santa Rosa ado. The space was under construction for what seemed like years by local restaurateur Nino Rabbaa (Rendez Vous Bistro). After the novelty of opening, the consensus is that the burgers are good (if not great), but the breezy, indoor-outdoor location and strong drinks are the what gives it staying power.
– On the menu: Burgers from simple to exotic (fried egg, Gruyere, etc), using top shelf Angus beef and sustainably sourced ingredients for between $8 and $10.
– In addition to burgers, we tried a rack of sweet and savory ribs with a tower of onion rings and probably the best mac and cheese (dressed up with truffle oil and mushrooms) we’ve had in years.
– Appetizers and sides we tried included spicy jalepenos stuffed with bacon cream cheese, a chili and cheese filled potato skin and thin-cut fries. Rabbaa expects to add a lineup of sauces and aiolis to mix and match.
– Dessert: Handmade shakes (banana, strawberry, cookies and cream, vanilla) and an apple crumble with housemade vanilla gelato were inspired.
– Full bar plus beer and wine
– A sexy outdoor lounge seats 40 and includes a fire pit
– Open for breakfast (serving Illy coffee), lunch and dinner.
– Patrick Tafoya, formerly of P/30, Peloton Catering and The Duck Club has taken over as food and beverage manager for Flipside and Rendez Vous. He’s also been tapped to help build the expanding Rabbaa “empire” (including the former Space XXV and whispers of a French bakery to come). Chef de cuisine for Flipside is Joshua Dellwo.
Word is out on the forthcoming Spinster Sisters, a collaboration between Prune NYC’s Eric Anderson (a Santa Rosa native) and wine insider Giovanni Cerrone. The restaurant is slated for a mid-June opening in the bustling South A St. Arts District in Santa Rosa.
Already tapped to head up the kitchen: Former Santi exec chef Liza Hinman, who’s been consulting and doing stints at Sur La Table, along with motherhood, since leaving Santi before it closed in 2011. The menu will be California cuisine mixed with global influences to match the focus on emerging wines.
A host of other Santa Rosa luminaries have been tapped to bring their unique influence to the restaurant, including Roy Gattinella (music).
Cerrone said the idea of the restaurant — something he and Anderson have been kicking around for several years — is to bring together the arts, music and theater communities and provide a neighborhood gathering spot.
“We want The Spinster Sisters to have a strong tie to the artistic community around it and aim to have bi-monthly visual art exhibits as well as other community based spoken word events. The goal is to have the neighborhood gather at our large rectangular redwood bar with seats on all 4 sides and catch up,” said Cerrone.
And the name? The building at 410A St. was built in the 1920s and housed the Cannavari deli for several years. Cerrone said two of the five Cannavari daughters lived unmarried in second story apartments, lending the restaurant its name.
Franco’s Ristorante (505 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa) has shuttered — at least temporarily. The restaurant’s alcohol license was suspended on April 4, 2012 according to the ABC, doors have been closed for more than a week and an answering machine message states that the restaurant is “closed until further notice). Franco’s opened in the former 505/Acapulco space in March 2010.
Also closed: Aioli Deli in Forestville. The quaint eatery served up killer crabcakes and made-to-order sandwiches, made by Chef Autumn Opitz. They’ll be missed.
It’s time to get alfresco with your dinner. Rolling to the rescue: A fleet of rolling kitchens serving everything from falafel to fish and chips. With temperatures rising, area food trucks are again rolling out in force, this season with a few new faces in tow.
Now in their second “official” season in Sonoma County, a handful of enterprising food entrepreneurs have outfitted former delivery trucks, trailers and even a trolley into compact canteens appearing in parks, at office buildings, wineries and event venues for only a few hours. And then they’re gone.
It’s a bit of a cat and mouse to find them, which is part of the fun. Fans follow their routes on Facebook or Twitter, using social media to hook up with their favorites. But finding bigger audiences in numbers, many of the trucks form impromptu outdoor food courts on specific days.
If you’re a food truck vet, you’ll know the fun of wandering from window to window, ordering a jerk chicken taco here, macaroni and cheese there and a grass fed burger at another truck. If you’re new to the scene, you’ll quickly find out that this food goes well beyond simple burritos. Many of the trucks feature tried-and-true chefs and restaurateurs cooking up a world of flavors.
Chicago Style Hot Dogs: Gourmet and classic hot dogs range from a curry vindaloo dog to straight up Chicago dogs with celery salt, green relish and the works. Don’t ask for ketchup, though. Twitter: @DogsFromChicago
Fork: Luxe, sustainable eats including grassfed beef burgers, salmon tacos, salads. forkcatering.com
La Texanita: Burritos, tacos and Mexican foods from the owner of La Texanita in Roseland. latexanita.com.
Matchbox Diner: BBQ, burgers and fries, sliders. thematchboxdiner.com
Charlie Bruno’s Chuckwagon: Comfort classics include mac and cheese, pulled pork, sweet potato fries, calamari, milkshakes. brunoschuckwagon.com
Ultra Crepes: Sweet and savory crepes made to order. ultracrepes.comNewcomers
Awful Falafel: Crispy falafel, pita, schwarma, hummus and other Lebanese classics. @Awfultruck or facebook.com/awfultruck
Fish On: Former Karma Bistro has returned as a fish and chips truck featuring, well, fish and chips, curry fries, coleslaw. facebook.com/findkarma
Rolling Soon
Yum Yum Trolley: A real-life antique trolley turned food mobile is slated to roll out in early May. Owner Sharina Arevalos is still finalizing the menu but is planning to have sliders and plenty of stuff younger truck eaters will like. yumyumtrolley.com.
Here’s where to get your food truck hook-up over the next few months:
Wheel Food and Family Fun, Third Thursdays (next May 17)
Finley Park, 5-7:30pm near the gazebos
West College Ave. and Stony Point Road
Awful Falafel, Street Eatz, Fork, Bruno’s Chuckwagon, Fish On!
Park-n-Eat
Tuesdays @ Spring Lake Boat Ramp, 4:30-7:30pm.
Wednesday @ County Admin Ctr. (Ventura and Administration Dr., Santa Rosa), 11:30am to 1:30pm.
Yum Yum Trolley, Ultra Crepes, Charlie Bruno’s Chuckwagon, Fish On, Fork, Street-Eatz.
Sebastopol Totally Trucking Thursdays
Each Thursday from 11:30 am to 1:30pm
1005 Gravenstein N., O’Reilly Campus
Matchbox Diner, Fish On!, Fork, Street-Eatz
Wine Down Thursdays
D’Argenzio Winery, 5-9pm
1301 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa
Heritage Public House
1305A Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa
Friday-Sunday nights
Downtown Santa Rosa
Jeff Tyler’s Chicago Style Hot Dogs is a frequent late night feature of the weekend bar scene. Awful Falafel plans to “freestyle”, roaming the streets 30 minutes at a time (the legal amount of time they’re allowed to park the truck within city limits without a permit) late night.
Coming This Summer, watch for trucks at the Downtown Market Wednesday nights in Santa Rosa; Great Russian River Race, May 12; Healdsburg Water Carnival, July 14; Rootstock, July 21; Levi Leipheiemer’s GranFondo, Sept 29. Also, for upcoming summer events at Rodney Strong and Iron Horse Wineries.
After 40 years in the kitchen, Josef Keller just can’t take retirement seriously.
Keller closed Josef’s at the La Rose Hotel in April 2010 after decades of running Santa Rosa restaurants. Six months later, the 58-year-old was revamping the menus of the county’s largest meal-provider, Meals on Wheels. After a brief retirement, he’s back in the kitchens again.
Perhaps his biggest project to date: Taking over Pearson & Company’s four locations. The popular Sonoma County cafe and catering biz formerly owned by Mike and Kendra McCoy operates cafe outposts of their central Fourth St. kitchen on Mendocino Ave., and at Kaiser Permanente and a private business catering service. The Fourth St. location has also expanded into the former McCoy’s kitchen shop.
It’s a mighty task for Keller and his business-partner and wife, Jill Keller-Peters. But standing in the bustling commercial kitchen, it’s apparent that Keller is in his element. Beginning at 4am, the kitchen hums to life to fill the deli cases with salads, entrees, desserts and soups. Bringing in his own recipes for dishes like Curried Chicken, Crab Macaroni and Cheese, wild mushroom and tomato soups, Grilled Asparagus with aioli and other seasonal favorites (Swiss Chili, his own signature mashup is also popular) has been top priorities. But Pearson’s favorites like meatloaf, deli sandwiches and Chinese chicken salad also remain on the menu. Desserts have been expanded to include his signature chocolate mousse, white chocolate tapioca pudding, raspberry creme Anglaise and a chocolate caramel Macadamia bar.
Keller’s still in the moving-in stage, but already his touch his evident. The couple are working to stock a specialty food section with Sonoma-made condiments, oils and other goodies. He’ll continue with the catering biz, though says the focus will be on the cafes.
It’s a delicious renewal for the take-out cafes. At a recent sandwich competition featuring 20 local chefs, Keller’s pulled pork sandwich and roasted vegetables were judged award-winning.
And the ever-present Pearson & Co. goose logo? Consider her retired.
Pearson and Co: 2759 Fourth St., Santa Rosa and 2500 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa.
