Dear Bohemian Grovers,
First off, welcome back to Camp Big Cheese! Yes, we locals know you’re here. Perhaps it was the traffic jam of private jets on our local tarmacs last week, the prepoderance of “OMG. Celeb sighting!” Tweets around Sonoma County or the sudden run on grand crus from our local wine shops. Who’s to say, because frankly, we’ve been more focused on the traffic jam of limos on River Road.
Now we know you have a lot to do these next few days, what with the rituals, high jinks and wheeling and dealing, but let us be the first to suggest that some off-campus bread-breaking might just be the thing. Goodness knows that with 2,000 of your fellow VIPS clogging up the cafeteria lines, mystery meat at your campsite (again!) and unsavory gate-crashers lurking about, maybe you’re better off with a little covert noshing.
So in the spirit of friendship (and totally not stalking), may we suggest a few of our favorite local eateries? We’re talking quiet, off-the-beaten-path spots where the locals hang and great grub is a way of life. You’re in Sonoma County, after all. Just leave a big tip and we promise we’ll post a flattering iPhone picture of you to our Facebook page.
BiteClub’s Best Bets for What to Eat In (and around) Monte Rio
Applewood Inn: Chef Bruce Frieseke is one of the best Wine Country chefs you may not know. In his brief tenure at the helm of this quiet Guerneville bed and breakfast, he’s elevated the cuisine from ho-hum to haute. Trained in Paris and San Francisco, with stints at the Farmhouse Inn and as Exec chef at Healdsburg’s Manzanita, Freiseke has put his energy toward a locally-inspired dinner menu with dishes like fresh chilled English Pea soup with mint; a tartare of beef, potato chips, pickled mustard seeds, quail’s egg and house-cured anchovies; and cacao nib crusted rack of lamb with brown butter parsnips, house made chorizo and mini chimichurri. The five-course tasting menu at $70 is still a value, with impressive wine or beer-pairings for $105. 13555 Highway 116, Guerneville, 869-9093.
Garden Grill: Don’t let the name fool you. This insanely popular breakfast spot has recently added a lineup of house-smoked barbecue to their menu, including ribs, bbq tri-tip and brisket for lunch and dinner. And while we won’t guarantee it’s quite up to our native KC and Tennessee standards (because nothin’ east of the Rockies can compare), the pink smoke rings brought a tear to our eye and a smile to our lips. 17132 Hwy 116, Guerneville, (707) 869-3922.
Raymond’s Bakery: Hidden among the redwood groves in Cazadero is your diet’s downfall. Award-winning baker Mark Raymond and his wife Elizabeth have fresh racks of baguettes, batards, fougasse and boules each day — meaning yummy bread in all shapes and sizes — along with fresh pizza and pastries. Don’t miss the butter-crusted walnut tart, a tastier, classier cousin to pecan pie. 5400 Cazadero Highway, Cazadero, (707) 632-5335
Don’s Dogs and More Cafe: Monte Rio has a love-hate relationship with the Grovers. While some folks in these parts can be pretty unfriendly to big-talkin’ conservative-types, the Grove also raises quite a bit of money each year for their fire services, schools and churches. But if you’re craving a dog, Don’s is the place to get your wiener relished. Locals swear by the Don’s Dog, a grilled quarter-pounder best eaten on the deck. Bohemian Hwy and Hwy 116 intersection, Monte Rio, (707) 865-4190.
Sophie’s Cellars: For three weeks each year, John Haggard is at the beck and call of the world’s most powerful men. The other 49 weeks, he’s just a guy from Monte Rio who happens to run a world class wine shop. Nestled deep among the coastal redwood groves of West County, Sophie’s Cellars caters to the grand cru-set during the Grove gathering, but is equally happy to sell a $15 bottle of chardonnay. In fact, he seems to get just as much satisfaction match-making visitors with local eateries and tasting rooms (with maps and coupons), giving insider menu tips and suggesting tasty wine pairings. Call him the Concierge of West County. 20293 Hwy 116, Monte Rio, 707-865-1122. Open 11am to 7pm, closed Wednesday.
Boon Eat + Drink: Simple, stylish decor with an equally simple and stylish menu. This funky eatery serves up just a handful of local, seasonal dishes, but almost all are done to perfection. Flat iron steak, a beefy boon burger with garlic aioli and pickled onions ($9), fresh salads and a giant bowl of truffle fries with sundried tomato ketchup and garlic aoili shouldn’t be missed. And Humphry Slocombe ice cream is a perfect foil for all those gin fizzes you’ve been packing.16248 Main St., Guerneville, 869-0780.
Sarah’s Forestville Kitchen | Forestville
RESTAURANT CLOSED
At the helm of Sarah’s Forestville Kitchen is Chef Greg Hallihan (formerly of Stella’s Cafe) — a breakfast/brunch/lunchery in the heart of Forestville.
Locals may remember it as the former Tin Pony, with a smashing outdoor courtyard just off the main drag and now-revamped indoor dining room. Here, Hallihan brings his solid kitchen skills to the table, pulling off a globe-trotting menu that ranges from fried chicken and grits to homemade corned beef to Thai curries.
This is a two-or-three visit spot, because there’s just so much that looks good. First-time picks include a memorable order of jalapeno cheese grits with shrimp, Sarah’s Ruben (made with the aforementioned corned beef), red curry and a Southern fried chicken sandwich. My dining pals, Evelyn and Jan both agreed that the grits were the standout of the day (and I concurred). Other BiteClubbers swear by breakfast, where yummies like a crispy Monte Cristo sandwich, biscuits and gravy, house scramble, and mixed veggie hash beckon. The cafe features a number of breads from nearby Nightingale Breads, the tiny bakery operated by former nurse Beth Thorp.
It’s a breakfast, brunch and lunch spot, with occasional winemaker or locals dinner, but you’ll need to call ahead or check out their website to find out when they’re open. Bring cash, because they don’t take checks or cards and reservations are only accepted by phone. 6566 Front Street, Forestville, 887-1055.
The Barlow, a Sebastopol food, wine and art center moving forward
The Barlow, a mixed-use industrial center with a focus on food, wine, art and sustainable retail in downtown Sebastopol has announced plans to break ground this fall. Looking toward a summer 2011 opening, the 6.5 acre campus plans to include the long-running Sebastopol Farmer’s Market at it’s center, along with restaurant, retail, artisan food producer and wine production tenants.
Years in the making, The Barlow is one of several farm market/retail proposals being aggressively pursued in Sonoma County, including the Sonoma Market Hall (in Santa Rosa, also hoping to open next summer) and the Railroad Square Market (also moving forward with plans). Smaller in scope than the ambitious Market Hall and with a strong focus on hyper-local retailers, the Barlow will revamp the historic Barlow Apple Factory warehouse that’s become more eyesore than attraction.
According to Barney Aldridge, whose company Aldridge Management is backing the project, the campus will include the renovated warehouse plus eight additional structures. “We’re starting to get commitments from people,” he said, but as yet, he’s remaining mum on exactly who. Several local purveyors, including a local meat rancher, cafe, roastery and caterer, are rumored to be seeking out spaces.
In addition to the eight buildings, which will be built according to green standards, the space will also include a fountain, fire pits, a garden, bocce ball courts, sunken seating area, children’s play area, public bathrooms, parking and a number of art installments. Aldridge said that he also plans to create large awnings for the outdoor farm market to enable it to continue year-round, and possibly more than one day a week. Sebastopol farm market manager Paula Downing confirmed that she hoped to move to the more spacious site once it was completed.
Kenyon Webster, Planning Director for the city of Sebastopol said that site is now past the major hurdles of the public hearing process and is now moving into non-discretionary building and engineering permits and hopes to receive final approval from the Design Review Board in August. “He (Aldridge) is past the kind of public controversy point that you sometimes see with larger projects,” said Webster. The site had been on hold for several years while the city wrangled over zoning changes to the site, ultimately deciding to maintain the current industrial zoning, rather than adding any residential zoning to the site. Aldridge said he also was required to conform to FEMA standards because the site is on a hundred year flood plain. Road improvements are also part of the deal, according to Aldridge. The existing warehouse, which blocks McKinley St. and sits on the city’s sewer line, will be relocated and the road continued to help relieve some of the traffic congestion at the Highway 12 intersection and connect to Morris Street.
Adjacent to the Barlow is the 120,000 square foot Sebastopol Co-Op, already occupied by a number of artists, the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, the Guayaki Tea Company and Wolford Glass Company. Aldridge plans to include them in the development plans.
“What we’re looking to do is create a community environment — to take a property that’s pretty unattractive right now and turn it into a community center,” said project manager Amber Faur of the now-vacant Barlow warehouse. “We want to cultivate that locavore vibe of artisan food, wine and community,” she said.
Now that those have been overcome, plans are moving forward quickly, Faur describes the completed space as a sort of San Francisco Ferry Building with a strong community feel. “This is just a really great spot to bring together local synergy,” she said.
Fresh corn and flour tortillas
It’s hard to appreciate a great tortilla until you actually eat one. And chances are you’ve never eaten one.
Sadly, most of the tortillas we consume are about as fresh and wholesome as gooey white bread — meaning not exactly the stuff that Mexican grandmothers were grinding by hand each day and serving fresh each meal. A culinary staple and nutritional cornerstone, they’re essential to the Latin American food lexicon, but sometimes overcomplicated. Corn tortillas, the most authentic of Latin American tortillas, should contain exactly three ingredients: Corn, lime (calcium hydroxide) and water. Flour tortillas usually have five: Flour, baking powder, water, salt and lard. But even the best ingredients can’t mask the fact that excellent tortillas are made fresh each day, rather than sitting for days (or weeks) in a refrigerator. It’s sort of like eating a stale baguette — it’s still a baguette, but the magic is gone.
One of the most passionate advocates for the iconic corn tortilla, used most frequently for tacos, taquitos, gorditas and of course, corn chips, is Karen Waikiki, The founder of Primavera Tamales and recently opened El Molino Central (11 Central Ave, Boyes Hot Springs) is renowned for revitalizing traditional methods of stone-grinding corn into masa, an art all but lost in Mexico. Each morning, around 11am, staff feed soaked corn — grown by a single farmer in Nebraska — into the specially-made grinding machine for the day’s tortillas and tamales. “No one is grinding corn anymore. People just stopped grinding corn and use instant ‘Maseca’ instead. But (grinding) is just the way it should be,” Karen said, hustling through her kitchen. A longtime friend of Mexican cooking authority Diana Kennedy and Alice Waters, she’s concerned with what she sees happening to the native tortilla.
Maseca is a readily-available prepared commercial cornmeal flour that is ubiquitous throughout Latin America, and has simplified tortilla preparation. But advocates of slower, more traditional culinary style bristle at its use — which is also predominant in the US. Waikiki said only a few tortillerias in California still stone grind their corn, which, in local hunts for stone-ground corn tortillas proved true. Most say they use Maseca for their tortillas.
Throughout the day, Karen and her staff use a wooden press to flatten the masa (or dough) and throw them on the grill at El Molino. Crispy, dense and intensely flavored, they’re the real deal. Fanatics can buy fresh masa for torillas for $1.25 or prepared tortillas for $3.50 a dozen. Realizing that her demographic is both the tony spa-set of the nearby Sonoma Mission Inn as well as the heavily Latino working-class population, she aims to entice both. “We want the local community to buy and like these,” Karen says, pointing to the irregular edges on her tortillas — a sign that they’re handmade rather than machine-made. “Otherwise, all this is just pointless,” she added.
At Central Market (42 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, 778-9900) Chef Tony Najiola is so enamored with Waikiki’s corn tortillas that he makes a pilgrimage to Sonoma each week to pick up a batch for his lengua tacos at Central Market. “They’re so good, with the soft tongue and corn tortillas that I’ve decided they’ll stay on the menu as long as we’re here,” he said.
Dearer to most Americans are flour tortillas, the ubiquitous wrapper of burritos and enchiladas. Because of it’s higher gluten content, flour tortillas can be stretched larger, making them idea for the two-pound super burritos that stretch the definition of actual Mexican cuisine. Flour tortillas are relatively new to Latin American culture, but have quickly become a mealtime staple, especially in Northern Mexico.
Flour tortillas are tastiest when made with lard (old-fashioned pig fat) crisping up and lending flavor, rather than just structural support to the meal. Most commercial tortilla manufacturers have abandoned this diet-unfriendly ingredient for more politically correct vegetable shortening or other oils. One of the best spots for fresh, warm flour tortillas is at Tortilleria Jalisco (897 W Napa St., Sonoma, 935-7356), where locals takeaway still-warm bags by the pound and swear by the posole. Run by a group of women, most mornings you can watch as they roll the dough and lineup stacks of balls for pressing and griddle-cooking. They’ll cost you just a few dollars for a stack of 10, in flour, wheat or spinach flavors. Jalisco also makes fresh corn tortillas with Maseca.
But Mexican-food lovers will tell you that the best place to find fresh tortillas is on Saturday and Sunday when the posole and menudo come out. Most good restaurants will make the effort to make fresh tortillas when their bread-and-butter customers (hint, not the burrito-crowd) come in for authentic eats. Local faves that usually have fresh tortillas on the menu include Antijos la Texanita, the new Don Pedro’s, housed in the former Pepe’s spot, 2000 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa; Pupuseria Salvadorena (1403 Maple Ave., Santa Rosa) and El Malecon (217 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park, (707) 794-9047).
Also check out:
– Chevy’s Fresh Mex: Not everyone’s a fan of this national chain, but there’s no denying their hot, fresh flour tortillas. Kids love grabbing dough balls for a little pre-meal entertainment, and watching the tortilla machine is oddly fascinating for all ages. (24 4th Street, Santa Rosa, 571-1082)
– La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas: It’s easy to get addicted to these tasty supermarket corn tortillas with a homemade taste. These irregularly-shaped tortillas (making them seem a bit more homemade) are a mix of corn and wheat, making them pliable and exceptionally tasty. Available at most supermarkets. La Tortilla factory also makes dried masa available for tortillas and tamales.
– Fresh Lard: Lard is less difficult to find than it used to be, but the key is getting really fresh, white lard. Fremont Diner sells containers of white lard (used for pie crusts) for $18.
Knock Knock Santa Rosa
Knock Knock.
Who’s there?
Your dinner, a movie, some wine and a carton of Ben & Jerry’s for later.
It’s Knock Knock Santa Rosa.
If you’ve ever been pregnant, sick, babysitting, indisposed, on house arrest, tipsy or just plain tired, you can appreciate the idea of a friend who’ll pick up and deliver to your doorstep whatever you’re craving, anytime you want, with a smile. Knock Knock is that friend.
Available by Tweet, Facebook, text or phone call, the cheerful crew at this we’ll-deliver-anything start-up spend their days and nights running out to Sonoma County restaurants, stores, gas stations and minimarts then delivering the goods to local doorsteps. Seem like a ridiculous luxury? Hardly. Within Santa Rosa, the cost is a $10 flat fee for one stop and $3 for each additional stop (with a few conditions*), and the time frame’s usually about a half hour. Outside Santa Rosa (they now deliver to Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, Cotati and Sebastopol), it’s $15.
And in case you missed it: They’ll pick up and deliver anything legal from 9am to 3am daily. Anything.
Which is where the wheels start turning. Yes, they’ll return your videos. Yes, they’ll bring you beer (as long as you’re legal, junior). They’ll go get you Thai food and a tasty bottle of wine to go with it. They’ll bring you cough medicine and tissues at 2am. They’ll do your grocery shopping, pick up your patio furniture and drop off your dry cleaning. Suffice to say co-owners Matlock Zumsteg, Melissa Gordon and Jinx Rhodes haven’t turned anyone down yet.
Their oddest requests so far: Octopus for a late night sushi session, a roll of antacids to a refluxing bridal party on the town and a combination gasoline/cookies & milk run. They don’t deliver beer after 2am or people — meaning they’re not a taxi service and it’s a cash-only biz, so you’ll need to have some bills on hand.
What’s really sustaining them isn’t the beer-set, but restaurant and grocery delivery. “Restaurants can’t afford to staff delivery, and that’s where we come in,” said Melissa. The trio have a staff of independent drivers dispatched by “hub” workers who answer phones and social networking requests 18 hours a day. Unlike other restaurant delivery services, they’ll go to any restaurant that’s open and get you anything off the menu. In fact, they’ll even help you order if you don’t know what you want. They also go to grocery stores and even farmer’s markets for fresh goods.
To test out Knock Knock, BiteClub gave some pretty unclear lunch requests — some noodles with bbq beef and spring rolls from Pho Vietnam. Thirty minutes later, two boxes of vermicelli arrived, still warm and just what we wanted. Solid.
The idea behind Knock Knock was inspired by Pink Dot in Los Angeles, a market that delivers groceries and other goodies around town. Anyone who lived in San Francisco or New York during the dotcom boom remembers fondly Kozmo.com, the hipster bike messengers who would deliver magazines, movies, food and just about anything else until their sad demise in 2001.
Just two months old, Knock Knock has the modest goals of trying to promote local, sustainable businesses and helping the creative trio (and their staff) make ends meet. Start-up costs for their web presence and business permits from the city were about $150, good news for the part-time documentary makers, improv actors and W-Trans contractors who just months ago were brainstorming how to pay rent. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” said Matlock.
“We’re just trying to be so helpful for your $10,” said Matlock. “Just tell us what to do, because we never ask ‘Can we do it?’ We just figure out how.”
Want Knock Knock to deliver something? Find them at knockknocksr.com or on Facebook . First-timers need to call 543-1110 to get the details on delivery. Currently, they’re a cash-only biz but plan to be able to take cards in the near future.
*This is a business, after all. Orders over $50 have an 15% service fee and big jobs (like picking up patio furniture) may cost a little extra. But Melissa says they’re willing to negotiate to figure anything out.
Bastille Day 2010
Bastille Day is July 14, 2010. Celebrate avec les amies!
Chloe’s French Cafe: Two ooohlala events at Chloe’s. Through this week, the restaurant will serve a special luncheon of Crepe jambon Gruyere with roasted sweet peppers, Salade verte, Parisian style pistachio macaron, a glass of dry Rose wine and complimentary French beret for just $15.95 plus tax. On Saturday, the 17th the cafe hosts a luncheon with live French music from Deborah Kuhl. On the menu, Poulet Provencal, Summer squash potato gratin, Roasted vegetable melange and strawberry Napoleon. Price is $28.50/person plus tax. Includes a complimentary French beret. A selection of French & Sonoma wines will be available for purchase by the glass or bottle. RSVP by calling the cafe at 707-528-3095. Seating is limited to 40 guests. Lunch starts at 12:00 pm. 3883 Airway Dr,
Santa Rosa.
Bistro M: Three-course Bastille meal for $30, offering a choice of appetizer (Escargots or French Onion Soup), entrée (Bouillabaisse or Steak Frites with Sauce Béarnaise) and dessert (Tarte aux Citron or Mousse au Chocolat). Two drink specials Kir Royale and Pernod will also be offered for $6. Bistro M will continue to offer its regular menu as well. Reservations are suggested, but not required. For more information, contact the restaurant at 707-838-3118. 610 McClelland Drive, Windsor.
Bistro Des Copains: Live music, rose wine flights, $1.50 oysters and special menu items in addition to our regular menu. Call for reservations. 3782 Bohemian Highway, Occidental, 874-2436
Bistro 29: Five course Bastille Day dinner, $49 per person. 620 5th Street, Santa Rosa, 546-2929
Costeaux Bakery turns Bastille Day into a three-ring can-can on July 14 with an array of whimsical entertainment and a special menu.
Activities include a fencing demonstration, petanque street bowling with bread boules, kids’ Eiffel Tower cookie decorating, and Guillotine-style “Heads Will Roll” bread slicing. There will be special appearances by Marie Antoinette singing “Let Them Eat Gougeres,” the “Ooooh La La” can-can dancers from Raven Theatre and “La Cage aux Folles” dancers from Gloriana Musical Theatre. 417 Healdsburg Ave. 433-1913
Charcuterie: KRSH 95.9 FM does the cooking while the Charcuteries’ owner/chef Patrick Martin spins the turntable, noon to 2pm. 335 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, (707) 431-7213.
Meanwhile, in Napa…
Gott’s Roadside (formerly Taylor’s Refresher): To celebrate Bastille Day this Wednesday July 14, Gott’s Roadside will be pouring winemaker Philippe Melka’s prized 2007 Métisse. Chef Rick Robinson has created a special Bastille Day only Franco-American hamburger brimming with sautéed mushroom duxelle and melted Gruyere ($9.99) to compliment Melka’s wine. Fries + mayo optional and recommended. Melka’s wife, Cherie will be at Gott’s Roadside in St. Helena from 5-7pm (Philippe will be in SF at the Ferry Bldg Gott’s from 12-2 and 5-7pm.
Campovida
After five years of sitting fallow, the once-glorious organic food and wine center, Fetzer Valley Oaks, is humming back to life with a new name and new owners. Purchased from Brown-Forman in April, husband and wife team, Gary Breen and Anna Beuselinck, have rechristened the 51-acre Hopland property Campovida, meaning “field of life.” The revamped center is scheduled to open officially in late summer, including a tasting room, biodynamic gardens, a wedding and event center with private on-site lodging, and a retail store.
First opened in 1983, the original center attracted the attention of chef-greats Emeril Lagasse, Julia Child and John Ash, who were all among its culinary visitors. The center closed in 2006 after the Fetzer’s parent ownership decided the expansive center was too much of a financial drain on the company.
New owners have already spent more than a year renovating the gardens and outbuildings that sat unused for half a decade. The 12-acres of biodynamic gardens that once boasted more than 2,000 varieties of fresh fruit, herbs, vegetables and edible flowers had become wildly overgrown, but Fetzer vineyardist Ken Boek has been instrumental in recovering the gardens he once maintained.
Magnanimus Wine Group, also calling themselves Mendocino Farms for this project, have been tapped to manage food and wine activities at the property including wine-tasting from their own stable of organic, sustainable and biodynamic wines, selling local artisan products, providing organic vineyard and garden tours and hosting wine and food related events at the property. Magnanimus Wine Group produces about 10,000 cases of sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines annually from its four labels, Mendocino Farms, Old River Vintners, Talmage Selection and Ukiah Cellars.
The tasting room soft-opens this month, but the property will kick into full swing with culinary events, classes and programs this fall. For more information, go to campovida.com.
Fruta: Michoacan Ice Cream in Santa Rosa
Chocolate smockololate. When it comes to hot licks this summer, Mexican ice cream is the coolest. In flavors like corn, queso (yeah, cheese), sweet potato, and walnut as well as more traditional strawberry, mango and vanilla, Michoacan neverias (ice cream stores) are 31-flavors like you’ve never seen.
Or maybe you have. “Everybody, when they come in they say, ‘It’s just like home. It’s just like Mexico’,” said Carolina Cruz, co owner of Santa Rosa’s Fru-ta, a Michoacana paleteria y neveria. Cruz and her husband, Salvador, who hail from Guadalaraja opened the tiny shop on Stony Point Road with veteran Michoacan ice cream maker Alberto Medina heading up the kitchen. “He makes everything Michoacan style, pure 100% fruit. When people see that name, they don’t care how long they have to drive to get it,” said Cruz.
Among the specialties are elote (corn), that tastes like the sweetest, ripest corn you’ve ever eaten, and is surprisingly delish; mamey, a Mexican fruit like papaya, changunga, a small sweet fruit found in Michoacan and a sort of fresh ricotta-like cheese (queso) made into ice cream. Also unique: Mangonada, a puree of mangos with a sour “salsa” of chamoy (a sweet/hot condiment), lemon juice, salt and pepper that devotees swear is addictive.
For the less adventurous, there are more accessible sorbets of lime, mango and strawberry; frozen yogurt, chocolate covered bananas and strawberries, and smoothies with every fruit under the sun, along with horchata, pina coladas and fruit popsicles (paletas) in dozens of hues and flavors.
Nestled deep in the heart of Roseland, it’s a welcoming spot, but not always staffed with English-speakers — so you may need to do a bit of pointing and smiling if your question’s getting lost in translation. BiteClub resorted to some rather embarrassing pantomime, but ended up with the goods.
Window shopping and tastes are, of course, free, so there’s no harm in taking baby steps, should neverias be new to your vocabulary. Chances are, however, you’ll be fluent in the universal language of Michoacan ice cream treats before you know it.
Fru-ta, 2770 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa, 542-6026. In the Bellvue Shopping Center, Open M-F 11am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 9pm.
(Also of interest: La Michoacano, in Sonoma. Exotic flavors are made onsite, and are amazingly creamy and rich, often with fruit or other tidbits (nuts, candy) mixed in. Flavors are usually on the board, but its worth asking for a few samples just to, you know, make sure you’re making the right choice. Top bet: Pinenut and Mexican caramel. Don’t miss the paletas, frozen bars made with fresh fruit. 18495 Highway 12, Sonoma)
Your favorite fresh tortillas?
Where do you get great fresh tortillas in Sonoma County (and beyond?). BiteClub’s on the hunt for soft, pillowy flour tortillas and great corn tortillas. Tell me your faves!!
Don Pedro’s | Santa Rosa
Fancy-pants dining is nice and all, but you know the single most-asked question I’ve heard for the last three months: “What’s up with Don Pedro’s?” You know, the taqueria on Sebastopol Road that’s been taunting us all with its curious signage. Is it open? Not open? Open? Not open? All the hubbub just confirms what I’ve always suspected — it takes a lot of tacos to make great cuisine in Wine Country.
So here’s the long-awaited answer: Don Pedros is now officially open. The menu has been expanded to include breakfast (American and Mexican, with a focus on omelettes), homemade tortillas, rellenos, six types of salsa, burritos, and entrees like fried fish and enchiladas. Outdoor seating, lowered prices, all that good stuff. The Shrimp Diabla Burrito, decidedly delicious. For dinner, chile verde, adobada, chicken mole, pork spare ribs and on weekends, menudo and birria.
But why the delay? Well, there’s always a backstory.
The iconic restaurant on the corner of Stony Point and Sebastopol has been in the Kocalis family since 1961, and has been a Mexican restaurant of some sort since 1972. It’s most recent tenant, Pepe’s, occupied the building since 1986, serving up legendary local burritos.
But when Pepe’s lease came up last February, the restaurant decided to move to spacious new digs up the street at 1512 Sebastopol Ave. (in case you were wondering), and property owner Don Kocalis brought in Don Pedros, which he hoped to open relatively quickly. Unfortunately, he got mired in four months of unexpected city permitting issues and $100,000 in renovations and upgrades. Meanwhile, Kocalis was working on a another project on his property just to the west, planning a three-story Art Deco office building to get under construction in October. Kocalis points out that when it comes to red tape, things seemed to move a bit more smoothly with his ambitious office building than with the little corner taqueria.
But that’s all mole under the enchilada now.
What’s left to prove is whether Don Pedro’s can live up to the popularity of Pepe’s. Diving into a super burrito the size of a small child in my burning hands, I’d say they’re off to a solid start.
Don Pedro’s, 2000 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa