Food made with hate can leave a nasty taste in your mouth. Especially eggs, according to Joshua Norwitt of the recently opened Humble Pie in Penngrove.

It’s a sort of mantra that he and fiance Miriam Lee Donaldson (the chef) have repeated to themselves for the six weeks or so since opening the homestyle eatery attached to the Black Cat Bar. Food made with love just goes down a whole lot better than food that isn’t. He says the couple came up with the idea for Humble Pie while sitting in a diner in Southern California. “You could just tell the food there was made with hate. The chef was back there sweating and cursing,” he told BiteClub. When their eggs arrived, the couple suddenly lost their appetite. “You could just taste the hate,” Josh said.

After working in restaurants up and down the coast (Josh is a Petaluma native and worked at Della Fattoria), they decided to take over the tiny kitchen at Penngrove’s famously eccentric bar when its chili-making owner recently retired. Armed with a handful of family recipes and some serious sibling togetherness (his sister Brook McCann and her chef husband Dan are also helping out), they’re serving an opening menu of locally sourced comfort food with an emphasis on pie–from tater tot to banana cream.

Everything is made from scratch, from the ketchup and hand-formed tots to the wontons. It’s a labor of love that may end up too big a challenge for the small staff in the long-term, but endearing nonetheless. The tot pie is a motherhood classic, done with shredded taters and cheese. Despite needing a bit more seasoning, it brings a huge smile of childhood familiarity. Fry Babies ($6) are homemade wontons stuffed with veggie cream cheese sitting in a pool of smackingly good honey ginger sauce. They need a goosing in the crispy department, but have solid potential. Also for starters, Blue Balls (local beef and pork stuffed with Point Reyes Blue cheese ($7) and prosciutto wrapped melon.

BiteClub fell in love with The Fungus Among Us ($12) — two buttery baked polenta cakes slathered with shitake ragu and a side of refreshing sesame draped greens. It’s dead-on delish. We caught a whiff of the potato-topped Shepard’s Pie ($12), but McNibs was feeling carnivorous and dove into a Steak Sandie ($12) piled with rare tri-tip, horseradish cream and red onions. Also on the menu, the ZucCanoe — a zucchini stuffed with cheese, crumbs and herbs ($9) and Lasagne pie ($10).

Dessert is, not surprisingly, pie. Homemade banana cream was the dessert of the night, though we caught a fleeting glimpse of peach. Early birds get the pie, here. The wine list is compact, but the kitchen has come up with some unique fruity beverages made with a mix of wine, strawberries and champagne.

Sitting in the tiny candlelit restaurant feels a lot like sitting in someone’s dining room. You can hear every joke in the kitchen. An old record player belts out scratchy vinyl, the plates and tables are adorably mismatched and every so often the chef steals a zucchini or two from the centerpieces for her creations. You can’t help but love the folksy vibe.

The menu is set to change up frequently depending on the chef’s whims and what’s in the garden. Like mom’s kitchen, not every dish is perfect, but all are made with a reassuring amount of butter and love. You’ll be hard-pressed to leave Humble Pie’s table hungry or unsatisfied.

Humble Pie, 10045 Main St., Penngrove, 707.664.8779. Open Wed. through Sunday 5pm to late (12ish). Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 2am.

If you go: Unlike mom’s kitchen, the restaurant is open late–until 2am on Friday and Saturday. You can get the full menu at the Cat’s bar (including tater tots if you ask nice), so you don’t have to miss a second of whatever country-punk, banjo-playing, wig or lingerie show that happens to be happening. (Which I say with nothing but love, cause the Cat rocks my world on a regular basis). Bonus!

The first annual Taste of Railroad Square happens Saturday, Aug. 23 from 12-4pm in, uh, you guessed it, Railroad Square. What exactly does the square taste like? For $40 (this is a benefit for the 6th Street Playhouse), you can find out by stuffing your face with gourmet goodies from the likes of Syrah, Stark’s Lococo’s and more. In addition to the tasty bites, the event alos features wine, beer, live music and other fun.

But you know, we’re all about the food, so here’s some of the lineup:

– Josef’s Restaurant: Curried salmon cake, vegetarian lavosh, spanekopita with cheese and spinach, prosciutto with melon

– Starks Restaurant and Kendall Jackson Winery: Mini Kobe Beef Sliders with Black Truffle French Fries, paired with Kendall Jackson wine.

– LoCoco’s Cucina Rusica: Crusini with prosciutto, figs marscapone and/or homemade ricotta & spinach ravioli

– Pizzio’s Cucina Italiana: Gnocchi with Gorganzola sauce, Penne con Salsicce (a Double Gold Winner at the Harvest Fair), Pesto with Chicken, Shell pasta with Ricotta Sauce and/or a hearty cheesy red sauce.

Syrah Bistro: Deep dark chocolate brownies

Mmmm. Brownies. Also in the house will be future resident Jack & Tony’s Restaurant & Whisky Bar (which isn’t set to open until later this year) serving up tri-tip; Wine Spectrum and others.

Check out the details at tasteofrailroadsquare.org.

It’s hardly news to the carnivorous-set that Mike’s at the Crossroads is probably the best place to dive into a nice half-pounder in the North Bay. Count me among the converted, having recently refreshed my tastebuds with a classic Mike burger ($6.50). Maybe its the tomato relish, the soft buns, the pristine lettuce or the Harris Ranch chuck ground locally. Maybe it’s just the lowbrow, DGAF-vibe that sticks a spatula in the eye of Wine Country foodie pomposity. Whichever way you grill it, it works.

What’s got fans atwitter, however, are the fries. For years, Mike steadfastly refused to make ’em. He had eleven reasons, in fact, why there was no changing his mind.

With a recent change in ownership, however, fries have made a debut on the menu. Mind you, they’re only around on Fridays at this point, but you can now get them hot, greasy and delish. Me? I’m still a fan of the dijon potato salad, thank you. But don’t let me keep you from getting your knickers twisted about it, though.

Need more reasons to check out Mikes? If you’re still a virgin, start with the classic. No substitutions, no changes. Even though he’s no longer an owner, Mike’s rules live on (as does the Jets schwag): All burgers get cheese (in fact, they’ll charge you a nickel to take it off); all burgers are cooked medium rare (a warm pink center).

Looking for more excitement in your life? Check out the KRUSH burger with sauteed mushrooms, onions and garlic in a Zinfandel glaze; a Western hickory burger, blue cheese burger (the Nauvoo), Stinky Breath Burger (guaranteed to keep people outta your face all afternoon) and the newish chili burger. Your call. I like to keep things simple.

Whether Mike’s is the (self-proclaimed ) best burger west of the Pecos is still up for some debate. It’s a mean burger, for sure. With fries? Even meaner. But just how mean? Show up in a Patriots jersey and order a white zinfandel at the bar and you’ll find out.

Mike’s at the Crossroads, 7665 Old Redwood Hwy., Cotati, (707) 665-9999

When someone says cheap and Indian food in the same breath,
it’s usually a recipe for indigestion, if not worse. You just don’t
want to play roulette with bargain-basement goat meat and lamb
slathered with curry sauce. Hence my slight trepidation when
BiteClubbers turned me onto Masala Jack’s which recently opened in
Cotati, featuring a menu full of curries under $7–many under $5.

Instead,
BiteClub found one of Europe’s largest curry chains come to America.
The new Cotati restaurant (which we hear may be branching out to Santa
Rosa’s downtown soon) is slick and clean, upscale Indian dining on a
daal budget. Though I’ve only begun piecing the details together, it
appears that Masala Jacks is an offshoot of Masala Jak’s–a popular
Indian restaurant from Glasgow, Scotland. That alone gives the spot
cred, as legend has it that tikka masala (one of the most popular curry
dishes ever) got its start on the British Isles. Suffice to say Brits
(and Scots) know their curry.

So here’s the deal. The menu is
packed with Indian delights both familiar and exotic. With prices so
low, feel free to explore outside your comfort zone. Palak Pakora ($2.95)
are deep fried spinach fritters that come with tamarind and mint
dipping sauce and are nearly enough for a meal on their own. Chicken Tikka Masala ($6.95) is a spicier, hotter version that you’ll find elsewhere in SoCo, but filled with big chunks of chicken. Palak Paneer,
a fresh homemade cheese cooked in creamy spinach sauce ($5.95) has
plenty of heat as well, cranking up the fascination factor on a dish
that sometimes crosses into Gerber-like mush.

Tandoor dishes, cooked in a clay oven, include the usual chicken and kababs, but also include Batakh Achari ($9.95), a pickled duck served with mango chutney. Karayla Ghosht ($5.95), a combination of bitter melon and lamb studded with spices or Bengan Bharta ($5.95), a mesquite smoked eggplant cooked with onions, tomatoes and spices that’s a perfect match with jasmine rice.

Everything
is prepared to order, so expect to cool your heels and kick back with
some Bollywood on the flat screen if you’ve got a big order. Bets bet
is to chillax with a glass of mango lassi and order up some naan. The
clay-oven baked flatbread comes in a variety-pack of flavors, from
plain to garlic, onion, cherry-stuffed and (BiteClub’s fave), chili cheese.

The one drawback to Jack’s is the fervor with which they spice, well, everything. You’ll
find whole cloves, cardamom and other herbal goodies in everything from
curries to rice. It’s not a fun thing to bite down on any sort of whole
spice, so be aware. Heat can also be eye-wateringly intense on some
dishes, so ask your server ahead of time if you’d like things cooled
down.

It’s fairly amazing that Masala Jack’s can keep prices so
low while serving up tandoor and curry that’s on par with some of the
better Indian restaurants in town. Maybe its better not to ask too many questions. And just go with the Bollywood vibe.

Masala
Jack’s Original Good Ol’ Indian Curryhouse. Open daily 11:30am to 9pm;
7981 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati, 707.795.2251. Order ahead if you’re
planning to take out.

Despite some tough economic times, there’s no reason to go hungry. BiteClub’s putting together a big fat list of cheap eats for Wine Country. Here’s your chance to add your .02 for the best, yummiest and most satisfying meals on a budget.

Have at it…And stay tuned for the results.