Sweet Treats: Beyond the Bakery

By biteclub

dabombeblog.jpgThere’s nothing a chocolate cookie can’t fix. At least that’s the message we’re hearing loud and clear from an increasing number of sweet treateries spiking the glycemic index of North Bay.

Maybe its a sign of tough times or just our collective need for a little fresh-from-the-oven comfort food, but it’s hard to walk down the street these days without bumping into a Whoopie pie or monster-sized cookie.

But forget the bakery. This week, we dig deep for a different kind of pastry pusher — one or two-person operations working from the backs of restaurants, in borrowed commercial kitchens and behind farm stand stalls.

Da Bombe Desserts: Cupcakes get super-sized by this cake-baking
duo. And bigger is definitely better when it comes to intense flavors
like a puckery lemon poppyseed with raspberry frosting, delicate
champagne, spicy carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and classic red
velvet. Pairs well with their pint-sized bons — one-bit nibbles of
chocolate cake and mousse covered by dark chocolate gananche.
dabombedesserts.com or 794.9164.

Dominique’s Sweets: This Cordon Bleu culinary grad has become one of the hottest commodities at Santa Rosa farmer’s markets with her buttercream-filled French macaroons. The light, almond-flavored cookies come in a rainbow of colors, sandwiching homemade caramel, rose, bittersweet chocolate and lemon inside. Don’t miss her new Hawaiian flavors: papaya with hibiscus, macadamia, coconut-pinapple and banana with caramel. Wednesday at the Santa Rosa downtown market; second and fourth Saturdays at the Santa Rosa Veteran’s building market or dominiquesweets.com.

French Garden Restaurant: Days of preparation go into the Sunday morning spread of French pastries sprawling across the restaurant’s bar. Flakey, buttery crusts, pastry cream and chocolate-filled Napoleons don’t just make themselves, after all. Part of the Sebastopol restaurant’s weekly farm market, pastry chef Eric Rocher incorporates fresh produce from the nearby biodynamic farm into fruit tarts and ridiculously rich quiches. Sundays from 10am to 2pm. 8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol, (707) 824-2030. 
Continue reading “Sweet Treats: Beyond the Bakery”

Sophie’s Cellars

By biteclub

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 seems a rather lonely spot to be selling small production local pinot noirs and artisan cheeses until you realize its less than a mile from Bohemian Grove, the annual secret retreat of the world’s most powerful men. In a single day, a member once spent $20,000 at the shop. And oh, the stories Haggard could tell you about the goings-on at the Grove. But, of course won’t — except to say that if you’re a winemaker hiding some of your best stuff in the basement, expect a call next July. Possibly in the wee hours.
Wine insiders look to Haggard’s encyclopedic knowledge of the local landscape to fill their cellars with wines from Rochioli, Flowers, Lynmar, MacPhail and Williams Selyem. The wine veteran can rattle off the rootstock of various vineyards with more authority than some winemakers, and it’s no exaggeration to say that he often knows exactly what a wine will taste like before he even opens the bottle.
But don’t think Haggard, who spent much of his career catering to high rollers at restaurants and hotels, isn’t 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.

A Goode Day: Will social networking save the wine biz?

By biteclub

adam.jpgIn a competition with more twists and turns than a midnight ride over the Oakville grade, the final ten candidates for Murphy Goode Winery’s coveted “Lifestyle Correspondent” gig are pulling out all the stops during an intense three-day race to the finish line in Healdsburg. And boy are their fingers tired.

In a swirl of iPhones, video and digital cameras, laptop computers, Tweets and harried blogs, each of the remaining hopefuls are trying to prove their mettle in the brave new world of social networking. The idea is that by using the native medium of the 35-and-under set — meaning blogs, Facebook pages, Tweets and other digital calling cards — new wine drinkers will flock to Wine Country. The winner will receive a $10,000 per month salary for six months in addition to housing and intensive on-the-job wine training.

Each of the ten have their own strategy to prove to winery reps that they’ll be the one to get folks talking and drinking.  The big question yet to be answered: Will anyone listen? And if they do, will it translate into actual sales?
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Louisiana Legacy Cajun Catering: Gator Done!

By biteclub

llcatering.jpgMissing the flavors of New Orleans after a cross-country move (and several not-quite-right-jobs), Rob Lippincott decided to bring the flavors of the bayou to Wine Country.

Each Thursday he and wife Karla (the daughter of Costeaux Bakery owner Karl Seppi) whip up jambalaya, gumbo and boudin at the Windsor Farmer’s Market.

“It’s not a glamorous food,” Lippincott says of his southern rice sausage, or boudin, made with alligator, pork or crawfish, “but it’s good.”  The couple use family recipes, authentic ingredients and say they’re selling out of their southern specialties each week.

Says the former Healdsburg chef, “I need to stick with what I’m good at.”

Lousiana Legacy Catering at the Windsor Certified Farmer’s Market, Old Downtown Windsor – Town Green, Thursdays from 5 to 8pm through the end of August. 707-237-1286 or louisianalegacy@gmail.com.

Costeaux French Bakery: A Healdsburg classic

By biteclub

If there’s an award for “most enthusiastic baker”, it’s Will Seppi, owner of Healdsburg’s inimitable Costeaux French Bakery, because every holiday is an excuse for a pastry.
A local favorite is their Bastille Day blowout with baguettes getting their ends lopped off by a guillotine. Everyday, however, is a reason to stop in for a sandwich, french onion soup, pick up a loaf of bread or a sweet treat.
This sprawling sit-down cafe is both restaurant and walk-up bakery where you can pour over a morning coffee with a walnut sourdough baguette. Lunchtime’s sweet-savory Monte Cristo (turkey, ham and Jarlsberg cheese on cinnamon raisin bread) is a classic. Brunch is also a great time to taste some of their delicious desserts.
Thinking wedding cakes? Costeaux’s elegant, classic cakes that can be customized all kinds of ways to match your taste. Standouts include Grand Marnier cream cheese frosting on a poppy seed rum cake (with raspberry conserve and fresh raspberries); Swiss buttercream chiffon; whipped cream topped vanilla cake stuffed with strawberries or chocolate truffle – just to start.
417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707.433.1913.

Summer Cocktails: Sipping through SoCo

By biteclub

summerthyme.jpgThere’s no sound more beautiful than the clink of ice in a cocktail glass on a hot summer day. Because whether it’s 5pm or just north of noon, ’tis the season for salted rims, muddled mint and tiny paper umbrellas.

But cosmopolitans and chocotinis are so last fall. Taking advantage of the summer’s bounty of fresh fruit, herbs and vegetables (yes, veggies!), creative bartenders are creating of-the-moment cocktails that both satisfy and quench. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the menu.

Artful cocktails…
Bloody Mary:  An abundance of summer tomatoes was all the incentive Chef Thaddeus Palmese of Starlight Wine Bar needed to create his own Bloody Mary mix. He first roasts fresh tomatoes, the adds garlic, onion, celery, homemade Worshteshire sauce, lemon juice, fresh horseradish, his own Creole seasoning and a bit of chipotle for heat. Palmese’s version gets blended with a Soju, a distilled Korean spirit. 6761 Sebastopol Ave # 600, Sebastopol, 823-1943,

Summer Thyme (see image, left): The name says it all — a crisp, refreshing signature cocktail from Healdsburg’s Cyrus restaurant that brings together thyme-meyer lemon lemoncello, gin, lemon juice, herb-infused simple syrup, cucumbers, sunflower petals and seltzer. Like many of Cyrus’ wildly adventurous recipes, it’s possible to try at home (recipe at the end of this article), but much more satisfying to get from the source –unless you’ve got sliced cucumbers, sunflower petals and thyme-infused simple syrup just sitting in your fridge.
Continue reading “Summer Cocktails: Sipping through SoCo”

Final 10 headed to Healdsburg for Murphy Goode’s $10K-a-month gig

By biteclub

Like golden ticket winners to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, the ten remaining candidates for Murphy Goode winery’s much-talked-about $10,000 a month social-networking gig are headed to Healsburg on July 18. Over four wine-soaked days, they’ll take part in a final round of interviews, meet winemaker David Ready, Jr., and experience “hi-jinks, excursions, poker, Liar’s dice, food and, of course, wine drinking,” according the winery.

Making the final cut: Hardy Wallace, author of wine blog DirtySouthWine.com; Adam Beaugh, a DJ and web whiz for the governor of Texas;  college student Rocky Slaughter who’s resume includes leading a statewide campaign to change the California state statue in 2006;  former reality-show casting director Todd Havens; video producer Kamary Phillips; a former host of two network cable shows and banjo-player, Rachel Reenstra; Spin Magazine digital guru Nicholas Pandolfi; web designer Eric Hwang; Microsoft advertising staffer Annie Lee; and nutrtionist/blogger Jennifer Weber.

Hailing from locales around the country — Austin, Boston, LA, New York, Seattle and Tampa — these hopefuls are busting their humps to land what may be the most coveted job in the wine biz. As “Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent”, the winner will spend six rent-free months touting  the the winery on Twitter, Facebook and other online social networking sites. They’ll be paid $60,000 for the half-year gig and be expected to spend plenty of time interfacing with the public, drinking wine, hanging out in the vineyards and making the rest of us green with envy.

Since the contest was announced in April, nearly 2,000 applicants submitted brief video resumes to the winery’s website, areallygoodejob.com. Controversy broke out in June when the winery announced the Top 50 finalists would not be selected based on popular votes from fans (several had launched extensive vote-getting campaigns), but by criteria set forth by the winery. Meaning that candidates actually needed to have the requisite skills needed to create videos, interface with customers, write cohesively and use the Internet.

The winner will be announced on July 21 and begin work at the winery on August 15. Losers go home with some fine memories of Sonoma County and a hangover.

> Watch all the finalists’ videos

Top 10 French Restaurants in Sonoma County

By biteclub

French Garden Restaurant: Stop by from 11am to 2pm Sunday for a mini farm market featuring produce from the restaurant’s own biodynamic gardens and shockingly good house-made pastries including mini quiches, eclairs, cookies and tarts. 8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 824-2030
Bistro 29: Crepes, both sweet and savory, are the signature of Brian Anderson’s Santa Rosa bistro. Order off the menu or mix and match ingredients (bacon, maple syrup and a soft-boiled egg is BiteClub’s fave) to make your own creation.  Plus, the best escargots stewing in a miniature hot tub of garlic, herbs and melted butter. Five-course Prix Fixe Bastille Day menu includes two crepes, charcuterie, roasted pork loin and salad. 620 5th Street, Santa Rosa, 546-2929
Rendez Vous Bistro: Downtown Santa Rosa’s newest comer to the French bistro game has made big improvements since opening and features a top-notch patio for summer sipping. Late night and two happy hours each day. 614 4th Street
Santa Rosa, (707) 526-7700
Chloe’s French Cafe: This is a restaurant I get asked about often– partially because folks can’t believe how good it is, and
partially because they’re trying to figure out where it is. Located in the Sutter Medical Building, its an unlikely location, but always ridiculously crowded at lunch. Brothers Alain and Marc Pisan, along with Alain’s wife Renee serve up brasserie-style fare: homemade croissants, Palmier, sandwiches (including a hearty Nicoise, grilled ham and Brie and zut alor, Croque Monsieur–Béchamel sauce, baked ham and Gruyere on bread) along with soups, quiche, salads and daily crepe
specials. Don’t leave without some of Alain’s Parisian-quality pastries — eclairs, tarts and cakes made daily. Chloe’s French Café, 3883 Airway Dr., Suite 145, Santa Rosa, 707.528.3095. Open 7:30am to 5pm
weekdays. Closed on weekends.
K&L Bistro: Michelin-rated, Sebastopol’s home of French soul food has long been a favorite of Francophiles. Best bets include duck confit, rich onion soup, skate wing and steak frites. On July 14 they’ll be serving up a prix fixe dinner with a number of choices including warm rabbit rillette, fig salad, Coq au Vin, duck confit, skate wing, creme brulee or Crepes Suzette. 119 S Main St, Sebastopol, 823-6614
Cousteaux Bakery: Healdsburg’s Frenchest bakery goes full-tilt into the July 14 spirit with moustache painting, Eiffel Tower decorating, can-can dancers, cake tossing and the Tour de Cousteaux Stationary Bike Race. Oh, and then there’s the bread and pastries, not to mention a special menu on Bastille Day of Vichyssoise, escargots, Parisian sandwiches and french fries. 9am to 4pm, July 14, 417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 433.1913.
La Gare: Classic, old school French cuisine. Chef Roger’s a whiz a Beef Wellington and is trying to mix things up at this 30-year-old institution by adding dishes like goat curry. 208 Wilson St., Santa Rosa, (707) 528-4355.
Healdsburg Charcuterie: Escargots are always on the menu at this cozy bistro, along with a house charcuterie plate of salami, duck rillette and pate.335 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, (707) 431-7213.
Bistro Des Copains: Worth the drive to Occidental for Provencial pates, duck and hearty French home-cookin.3782 Bohemian Highway, Occidental, 874-2436.
Bistro M: Settled into the Windsor Town Green Bistro M has familiar old friends from owners Bryan and Matthew Bousquet’s former restaurant, Mirepoix: steak frite, escargot, coq au vin and steak au poivre. 610 McClelland Drive, Windsor, 707-838-3118
 

Guess who’s cooking at Bohemian Grove

By biteclub

bruno.jpgWho knew that Bruno’s on Fourth’s Rick Bruno was hobnobbing with all the movers and shakers at the Bohemian Grove for the next few weeks? Apparently he’s been cooking for members of the uber men’s club for the last 15 years. The secret Monte Rio retreat is a sort of summer camp for former presidents, banking tycoons, media moguls and other captains of industry. But only those with a “y” chromosome (meaning dudes) can attend.

No wonder he has that enigmatic smile on his face. Delish!

West County Grill rises again as Pizza Vino 707

By biteclub

pizzavino.jpgBiteClub’s been hearing for a while that former West County Grill partner Stephen Singer has been thinking of reopening the shuttered downtown restaurant — but now we’ve got confirmation.

After sitting silent for nearly a year (despite several top chefs sniffing around at the location), the downtown Sebastopol restaurant will be reborn as Pizza Vino 707, we hear, within the next few weeks. The website doesn’t give much info, other than touting wood-fired pizzas (which makes sense, since the grill spent oodles on a state-of-the-art pizza oven), cocktails and “daily specials” on the plaza.

It’s still a bit unclear who’ll be in the kitchen, but insiders say Singer, who lives in Sebastopol, will continue to be a major player. The restaurant has been advertising on Craigslist for a few weeks for servers and kitchen staff.

Opening Soon: Pizza Vino 707, 6948 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol

Stay tuned for more details…