What sounded like a ridiculously simple task turns out to be nothing of the sort. Like choosing a favorite child, I’ve struggled with who to include and not include on this list — adding names, taking away names, re-adding names. And I’m sure I’ll be taken to task for many of my choices.
There are so many factors to include: Innovative menus, use of local ingredients, consistently good cooking, wine lists and the restaurant’s staying power. But when it came right down to having to put together a final list of names, what I came back to again and again were restaurants with a guiding forces in the kitchen. Chef-driven restaurants with a clear point of view.
In order to keep the list to 25, I’ve had to make some other qualifications. For the purpose of this list, I’ve excluded restaurants (like Chloe’s French Cafe and Dierk’s Parkside) that have limited hours though they’re clearly worthy of note.
Ethnic and cheap-eats restaurants are also in short-supply, which I’ll explain by saying that this list is primarily focused on restaurants with classic French or Italian influences that have define the California Wine Country culinary experience.
That leaves a whole lot of restaurants off the list. Restaurants like Rocker Oysterfeller’s (which I love for oysters and brunch), Peter Lowell’s (amazing pizzas, veggie-centri, conscious eating), Humble Pie (homemade pies and comfort food), Pamposh (top-notch Indian) and Bruno’s (a favorite neighborhood spot) have so much to offer, as do local taquerias like Las Palmas. These are among the restaurants that defy conventional wisdom and are re-invigorating the local culinary scene. So stay tuned for another list…
There are others that have had recent chef changes (French Garden, Barndiva) that are also worthy of attention but still need settling-in time (maybe next year!)
But at some point, I had to put a stake in the ground. Some were easy picks. Others harder. But ultimately the list has been chosen. Here are BiteClub’s 25 Top Sonoma County Restaurants for 2009…
Continue reading “Top 25 Restaurants: Destination-worthy dining”
I’ve been obsessed with root beer floats lately, mostly from the Fosters Freeze (400 4th St, Santa Rosa – (707) 576-7028) too dangerously close to my house for comfort. There’s something about that creamy soft serve bubbling together with the nip and tickle of root beer that I can’t get enough of. Seems I’m not alone: I got an email this week from a CHOW how to make your own root beer, and I know that Diane Peterson is working on her own tasting over at Kitchentalk. Everything old is new again. 
