Page 569 – Sonoma Magazine

Fair Food Scramble 2011: Results

August 2011

By biteclub

They came from all walks of life. A firefighter, a teacher, a salesman, a home organizer and financial manager sharing a single common bond.

An obsession with fair food.

This intrepid eating force, carefully chosen for their single-minded obsession with all things fried, sugary or barbecued-on-a-stick stormed the Sonoma County Fair Tuesday with the mission of consuming $200 worth of corn dogs, funnel cakes, sliders, ribs, ice cream, kabobs and fried artichokes in a whirlwind of caloric mayhem, crowing the county’s Ultimate Fair Food for 2011. Not a task to be taken lightly.

THE TEAM
Mike Stewart, 36, of Sebastopol is a Ukiah Firefighter and Pork blogger with a penchant for all things carnivorous.

Caroline Edillor, 47, of Santa Rosa works as a Financial Care Manager in Santa Rosa. With her husband Dan, the pair was unstoppable in the quest for unique flavors.

Melinda Anderson, 58, of Windsor is a teen mentor and organizer who’s mother inspired her passion for fair food by making corn dogs at home.

Danielle Lovejoy, 30 or Sonoma and her friend Lara Miraglia, 30, are teachers who schooled the group with their commitment to fair food, diving in for seconds long after the rest of the group gave up. Lovejoy countered that a six mile run that morning probably offset the damage.

Jarrod Logan, 32, of Santa Rosa sells flooring and said simply of his reason for joining the scramble, “I like to eat.”

Admittedly, all this heart-stopping tummy-plumping goodness is an indulgence most of us only allow ourselves once, maybe twice a year. Stirring within us a mix of childhood memories and a nutritional amnesia, eating fair food is a summertime tradition that’s hard for most of us to pass up.

“It’s sort of a don’t ask, don’t tell policy when it comes to calories,” said Melinda Anderson, one of the participants selected for the annual “Fair Food Scramble” as she wiped the barbecue from her chin.

So, from polenta and frozen cheesecake to pazole and ribs, a group of five lucky winners chosen from dozens of hopefuls sampled as many edibles as possible within the allotted two hours and $200 budget. Assessing more than 25 dishes piled high on a shaded picnic table, the eating got serious, as the five “Fair Food Scramblers” pulled out forks, knives and trusty pens to rate their favorite dishes of the 2011 Sonoma County Fair.

Call it gastro-mayhem. Call it a taste of childhood. Just don’t forget to bring the napkins and allow yourself this one feckless feast of the season.

The results:

Best Overall: The Elvis Funnel Cake ($6, Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake) . Though the guys in the group leaned more toward ribs, the ladies overwhelmingly gave their vote to this caloric monstrosity — a funnel cake topped with peanut butter, banana sauce, chocolate and whipped cream. Ridiculously, insanely yummy.

Best Meat: Despite piles of beef and pork from a variety of vendors, a clear winner emerged almost immediately. Big Bubba’s Bad Barbecue’s sweet, smokey ribs ($12) knocked out last year’s winner, Johnny Garlic’s pork sliders handily.

Best Fried: Combo plate from Jeanne’s Artichokes ($8) with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant got jealous stares and inquiries of “Where did you get THAT?” before we even hit the table. Pair with plenty of ranch dip. Also note that this was the only vegetable that got eaten at the Scramble.

Best Sweet: Chocolate-covered Cheesecake on a Stick ($5.25, Mrs. J’s Chocolate Pot) won the day, though several of us were quite fond of the refreshingly sweet-tart Mustache Mike’s Italian Ice ($5.50) making it a runner-up.

Best Healthy: It makes the list every year for a good reason. Old Mexico’s pazole ($7.50) is a classic fair favorite with veggies, hominy, rich broth and fried tortillas for dipping.

Best Group Eat: It was a unanimous decision to award the Pasta King a giant thumbs-up for polenta smothered in marinara and cheese ($8). Enough for a crowd, it’s a dish easily shared by several, rich, filling and surprisingly popular with kids (as long as you don’t tell them what it is).

Worst Dish You Absolutely Have to Try: A category in its own, you’ll understand once you try the PBJ Dog with Fried Onions (EuroDog, $7.50). It’s exactly what it sounds like: A hot dog with peanut butter and jelly slathered on the bun, topped with fried onions. A couple Scramblers loved it. Most of us would rather chew our arms off rather than eat another one. “Anything is good in peanut butter. Except that hot dog,” said Lovejoy. You’ve been warned.

Best Classic: Though it rarely gets the love it deserves, Stuffie’s Kielbasa Sausage Sandwich ($9.75) loaded with onions and peppers is always a crowd pleaser.

Best Advice After Eating Fair Food: A pearl of wisdom offered by veteran Scrambler Amy Leyack, “The Graviton and fair food really don’t mix.”

As the group licked fingers, did a final survey of the food carnage and rubbed their sore bellies, Stewart had just one last thing to say: “Are we ready for Round Two?”

New restaurant at Hotel La Rose?

July 2011

By biteclub

The Hotel La Rose restaurant space vacated by Josef’s in 2010 is slated to reopen as Ironstone. Though details are still in the works, BiteClub spoke to co-owners Tom and John McNulty several months ago as they finalized lease. The duo have been hard at work since then, and in recent days a sign has gone up in the window announcing the restaurant.

When I spoke to Tom McMulty in June, he said they were planning a casual restaurant featuring Califronia Cuisine after a quick revamp on the existing space. “We want to keep it casual, keep the price in line with the economy,” he said. The restaurant will serve beer and wine, but does not currently have a full liquor license.

Stay tuned for more details.

Mateo’s Cocina Latina slated for August

July 2011

By biteclub

Late August is the anticipated opening date for Mateo Granados’ Cocina Latina, a sit-down version of the authentic Yucatecan dishes Grandos has been serving up at Northbay farm markets and his popular pop-up Tendejon Calle dinners for years.

Mixing his high-end experience (as former exec chef at Dry Creek Kitchen) and rural roots, the Cocina is slated to be a fusion of humble street food, family recipes and California cuisine — something Mateo calls Modern Yucatan Cuisine. Hailing from the Yucatan peninsula, his dishes combine influences from Spain and the ancient Mayans to compliment the produce and meats of Sonoma County.

And though the names may sound familiar — tacos, tamales, empanads, comidas and chorizo — Granados painstakingly seeks out local farmers and purveyors he often works with at the farm markets to flavor his dishes.

With the bounty of late summer to fuel his opening menu, Granados plans to have squash blossom emapanads with Redwood Hill cheese, White Crane Farm greens and Soda Rock tomatoes; suckling roast pig from Black Sheep Farm wrapped in banana leaves; Tierra Farms’ beans and Preston Vineyards’ pork chorizo. On this menu, farmer name-dropping isn’t chef grandstanding as much as a shout-out to friends and neighbors.

“Whatever’s available around here is what we use,” said Granados.

Tortillas will be made in-house with ingredients like Mendocino sea salt and local olive oil mixed into the masa. Desserts are simple, season ice creams, fruits or cool-weather flan with sticky buns from the Downtown Bakery and Creamery. At each table will be bottles of Granados’ El Yuca sauces made from local chilies and peppers.

It’s enough to make you start drooling in anticipation.

Signed on to help barside is mixologist Scott Beattie of h2hotel. He’ll help formulate a variety of tequila-inspired libations. Wine will be on-tap only.

The new restaurant is located in a simple one-story building that sat empty for years, and was reportedly built to be a tasting room rather than a restaurant. It’s proximity just across the street from the bustling h2hotel, however, has made the spot prime off-square real estate.

Expect prices in line with the kinds of ingredients Mateo sources, meaning $15 to $19 for larger dishes. Lunch and dinner will be served daily, and he’s just announced plans for a weekend brunch (he’s currently perfecting blue corn pancakes with honey) and possible late-night tamales at the bar, which will stay open until midnight or so.

If you’re hoping to work for Mateo, know that he’s looking for a year commitment from his staff for this project and is testing out potential workers at his Tendejon dinners.

Cocina Latina, slated for late August opening, Healdsburg

Gypsy Cafe opening in Sebastopol

July 2011

By biteclub

A new restaurant is slated to open at the former Pine Cone Cafe in mid-August. The Gypsy Cafe will be a breakfast and lunch spot serving (according to the window posting), benedicts, french toast, free range burgers, fried chicken, pancakes, candied bacon BLT, jalapeno corn bread, sandwiches and the best coffee in town.

Word is that the owner is Chef John Littlewood, formerly the executive chef at the Westerbeke Ranch Retreat Center and author of “Celebrating the Seasons at Westerbeke Ranch”. Most recently, Littlewood was exec chef at Oliver’s Market in Cotati where co-workers said he had recently resigned to open a cafe in Sebastopol.

New owner at p/30 space

July 2011

By biteclub

A new owner has taken over the former P/30 space in Sebastopol. According to public documents, Claudio Capetta will be opening Cafe Claudio in the roadhouse bistro that’s been home to some of Sonoma County’s most creative chefs — Mark Malicki of Cafe Saint Rose and Patrick Tafoya, who closed the restaurant in January 2011. Capetta has owned another Italian eatery in Bodega Bay.

Win a place at Fair Food Scramble 2011

July 2011

By biteclub

CONTEST CLOSED>

Congrats Jarrod, Yayo, Susan, Mike and Danielle

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You know the drill by now…it’s the Fair Food Scramble Contest in which BiteClub takes five lucky winners (consider yourself a sort of Charlie Bucket, Veruca Salt, etc.) to the Sonoma County Fair, scramble for all the delicious goodness that our midway can offer. Yes, we’re a little late this year, but all the better to plan.

THE EVENT TAKES PLACE TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 at 12:30 PM. So make sure you can get off work, taking care of kids, etc.

From Pasta King to turkey legs, corn dogs, barbecue and beyond, we’ll snatch up whatever goodies we can find, bring it all back to our special reserve tables and feast like the true epicures we really are. (See pix of last year’s scramble)

You should see the looks of wanton jealousy we attract.

So how do you get to participate? Flattery is always good, but to really win my heart, your best bet is to convince me that you’re the ideal candidate. How much do you love fair food? Tell me some special memories. Write a poem. Be creative. Extol your eating virtues, but most of all, be you. THIS YEAR, I’m especially interested in specialists for FRIED FOODS, BEVERAGES, MEAT and ETHNIC FOODS.

Leave your thoughts below, and five winners will be selected on MONDAY MORNING (8/1) . You’ll get the details on our funtabulous food fest, but make sure you can be available around 12:30 to about 2PM on Tuesday, AUGUST 2. (I’ll call your boss if you need me to. Cause dang it, this is really more important that whatever you’re doing at work.)

You also need to be fun and willing to share you food. Otherwise, we’ll make you sit alone. No whiners. No changies. No dramarama. Or again, we make you sit alone and make fun of you.

Make sure you leave a good email address when you post, cause I’ll be alerting folks around 10m on Monday, and i’ll need to hear from you by 3pm or we move on. Life moves fast, baby.

Good luck! (full rules)

It’s Salmon Season

July 2011

By biteclub

Yes, there’s something fishy happening all around us.

Peaking over the next few weeks, it’s salmon season. Though it runs from May through August, don’t be surprised to find everything from salmon soup and salmon cakes to perfectly grilled, seared and poached salmon popping up on menus and in grocery stores this summer. A culinary celebrity both for its rich flavor and health benefits, be forewarned that all salmon is not equal.

According to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, a highly regarded guide to sustainable seafood-eating, the most ocean-friendly salmon comes from Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington. It recommends avoiding salmon farmed in open net pens often called “Atlantic Salmon” in stores.

After several years of canceled seasons in California due to overfishing and ecological concerns, 2011 looks to be a banner year with record numbers of salmon returning to the rivers. When it comes to long-term sustainability, however, Chef John Ash says that “Alaska is the poster child for managing fish in the world.” Having just returned from an Alaskan adventure of teaching and fishing at Talon lodge, he’s seen up close the kind of careful monitoring of the salmon runs. “It’s written into their state constitution to provision sustainability,” said Ash.

DIY Salmon
Fish in your fridge is a ticking time bomb, and we all know it doesn’t get better with age. Here are some top notch ways to prepare your salmon…- A quick shout out to readers resulted in some terrific ideas: Cedar planked with pickled onions; olive oil poached with rosemary and wild fennel; grilled with lemon slices and dill; marinated with maple syrup and soy sauce; sashimi or with butter, garlic and mango salsa.- DIY Lox: It takes some doing, but you can either cold smoke (if you’re lucky enough to have a smoker) or salt-cure salmon steaks in the fridge and make your own lovely lox.

– Slow Roast: Chef John Ash recommends a slow roast in a 250-degree oven. Cook slowly to retain all of the juiciness.

– Sushi with caution: If you’re going raw, make sure your salmon has been frozen first. Most US sushi sold in restaurants has been flash frozen to kill off parasites and worms that are naturally prevalent in many fish. You’ll be fine if you just follow a bit of caution and make sure you’re buying from a reputable fish monger.

– Don’t mangle your Sockeye: Make sure you have a sharp boning knife if you’re going to do any cutting. Fish flesh is delicate, and will easily turn to mush if you man-handle it (trust me). Invest in a flexible boning knife if you can swing Sur La Table Culinary Instructor Mary Bergin recommends the Global 6-inch knife to her classes.

Fitting that bill is Taku River Reds, a family-run Alaskan fishing operation that’s co-owned by Sonoma County native and marine scientist Kirk Hardcastle. “Kirk knew at 10 that he wanted to be on the water,” said his father, Bob, who lives in Forestville. The senior Hardcastle picks up the Alaskan salmon each week at the Oakland Airport and distributes it to local fish markets including the venerable Monterey Fish Market in Berkelely. He can also be frequently found at Molsberry’s Market (522 Larkfield Center, Santa Rosa, 546-2331) handing out samples of the fish.

During the brief season, Kirk, along with his wife Heather and his in-laws manage thousands of pounds of weekly catches from eight contracted fishermen. The fish arrive at the dock around noon, are packed by 5pm and on the plane the following day, headed for restaurants from New York to Hawaii and on the table within 24 hours. Currently, Sockeye is at it’s peak season — the brightest colored salmon because of the krill and plankton it eats. Coho season starts in mid-August. Kind salmon runs from May through June.

While still on the boat, the fish are processed using a unique method called “pressure bleeding”which quickly drains the fish of blood, stalling the breakdown of the meat. They’re then placed in a seawater “slush” to cool the fish, painstakingly packaged to minimize damage. The result: Salmon that don’t smell fishy, have firm, moist flesh and taste like, well, what you think salmon should taste like.

Local chef devotees echo the sentiment. “This is the best quality salmon, just an incredible product,” said Cork’s Restaurant at Russian River Vineyards Chef Todd Davies. “And my dad is a salmon fisherman in Alaska. I’ll have their fish on my menu for as long as they’re catching fish,” he said. On Cork’s menu: Seared salmon with a saffron shellfish broth, mussels, lava beans and sea beans (5700 Gravenstein Highway North, Forestville, 887-3344). You’ll also find Taku River Salmon at the Farmhouse Inn (macadamia nut crusted with book choy, leeks and coconut lemongrass emulsion, 7871 River Road, Forestville, 887-3300); Korbel Winery Deli (13250 River Road, Guerneville, 824-7000), and John Ash & Co. (4330 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa, 527-7687). And if you have a Stanford student? Well, they’re eating Taku River Red’s as well. The university contracted for 20,000 pounds of fish this year.

Where else to find great salmon this season:
– Smoked Salmon: Nearly as precious as gold are the slices of smoked salmon from Santa Rosa Seafood (946 Santa Rosa Ave., 579-2085) at local farm markets. You’ll spend a pretty penny for these slices of carefully smoked local salmon, but it’s so worth it when you taste it. Sweet and addictive, locals call it “candy for adults”.

– Aioli Delicatessen: Tucked away in Forestville, Chef Autumn Barber serves wild King salmon from Bodega Bay with an herb crust, butter lettuce, poached baby red potatoes and cherry tomatoes with a whole grain mustard cream sauce each Wednesday and Thursday throughout salmon season. 6536 Front St, Forestville, 887-2476.

– Viola Pastry Cafe: Chef John Ash said one of his favorite recent salmon dishes was at this Santa Rosa cafe. On the dinner menu: Pan Seared salmon with summer a vegetable ragu. 709 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 544-8830.

Epic Social Bar + Lounge

July 2011

By biteclub

More than a bar. Less than a Tweet-Up. It’s Epic Social Bar & Lounge.

Housed in the former Stir/Barcode space on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa, this wired lounge is serving up more than just libations. The idea, according to owner Bruce Le (his family has owned several Asian eateries in town) is to create an IRL social networking space. Well, that and get your groove on.

The narrow bar has been opened up with the addition of several bar tables and white leather bar chairs in the front and a grouping of cozy lounges in the back. The front wall now features an abstract grid-like painting Le describes as “networks”. Open to interpretation.

On the menu, mixologist Aaron Gallo serves up drinks like “The Social Network”, a blue and white cocktail make with vodka; the PopStar, a martini drink with pop rocks and a margarita spiked with serrano chilis.

Teaming up with fellow newcomer, Thai Time, the bar will served nibbles from the next door restaurant.

Sunday through Tuesday, Le plans to have live acoustic sets in the evening, and late night karaoke on selected weeknights, along with rainbow-friendly Absolut nights. The rest of the week, expect a mix of Top 40 and DJ mixes, with dancing later in the evening. Happy hour is 3-6pm daily, with a reverse happy hour from 10pm to midnight Sunday through Thursday. Epic.

Epic Social Bar & Lounge, 404 Mendocino Ave #D, Santa Rosa, 583-7885. epicsr.com.

Takeover of Divine space in Hburg?

July 2011

By biteclub

Lots of chatter about a young Healdsburg restaurateur taking over the former Divine Affair space at 330 Healdsburg Ave.

The restaurant shuttered in March 2011 and insiders say the 100-year-old building had caused some inherent space and noise challenges for the eatery. Details are in the works, but if all goes well, there should be some news by mid-August.

Bistro M dark

July 2011

By biteclub

After several days of closure due to “equipment repairs”, locals are asking whether Bistro M on the Windsor Town Green will reopen.

It’s a question I’ve been unable to get an answer to since mid-week when a BiteClubber noticed a temporary closure notice on the door of the restaurant. Calls and emails to owners Bryan and Matthew Bousquet have gone unanswered, adding to speculation that this may signal the end of M.

The couple have their hands more than full with the rather unexpected success of their new venture Momma Pig, which opened several weeks ago. Talking to BiteClub just after opening, Bryan said that the restaurant was set to do over a thousand covers in just a few days. Part of the reason for closing Mirepoix and opening the barbecue spot, according to Matthew, was to allow the couple more time with their young daughter. Operating two restaurants doesn’t exactly facilitate a lot of spare family time.

Stay tuned for more news as I find out.