Bruno’s on Fourth: The cozy space formerly known as Rubix (formerly known as Café de Croissants) has been transformed into a breakfast and lunch spot featuring American comfort foods with an Italian twist. Currently they’re open Tuesday through Sunday and will be starting dinner service in June. 1226 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707.569.8222.

SEA Thai: Interior work continues as Petaluma’s favorite Thai spot comes to the former East West Café spot in Montgomery Village. BiteClub has circled the parking lot several times (along with curious others) waiting for some news on the opening date. 2323 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa, 546.6142

Japanese Steak House: Apparently the Wonderful Buffet off Summerfield Road wasn’t. The space is in the midst of becoming a brand-spanking new Japanese restaurant with a focus on steak. No word on opening, but stay tuned for details. If you go, head out on a Friday when next door neighbor, Asia Gourmet Market (also at 4100 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 537.6888) serves up fresh BBQ pork buns.

Opening near you? Restaurant you want BiteClub to write about? Email me!

Grab your darkest movie-star shades, your wide-brimmed hat and your SPF30, it’s time to dine al fresco in Wine Country. Whether you’re out for a little lunchtime sun, a poolside happy hour or an evening under the stars, BiteClub has some of Wine Country’s top picks for dining out.

Best spot to see and be seen: Flavor Bistro
Whether it’s Wednesday night market or Saturday supper, Flavor’s prime spot on the square makes for some prime people watching day and night. The Santa Rosa bistro’s spinach salad and extensive by-the-glass wine list makes for a light, refreshing dine. Flavor Bistro, 96 Old Courthouse Square. Santa Rosa, 573.9600.

Secret Garden
Sneak away for a lunchtime rendezvous at the girl and the fig’s cozy enclosed patio. Intimate, relaxing and charmingly decorated, it’s a romantic favorite. Don’t miss the cheese bar, where owner Sondra Bernstein has stocked a mind-boggling collection of artisinal cheeses. 110 West Spain Street, Sonoma, 707.938.3634

Ladie’s Luncheon
A tuna-egg-mayo foccaccia sandwich and iced tea on the patio of Café Citti is something of a lunchtime tradition for gal pals in Wine Country. Casual dining, a relaxed atmosphere (that’s kid-friendly without being a free-for-all) and some of the best-looking waiters in Wine Country. No wonder the ladies love it here. 9049 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood
707.833.2690.

Cozy getaway
You don’t have to be a guest to eat at the Glen Ellen Inn. This little jewel box of a hide-away has a bubbling fountain and plenty of spots for gazing longingly into your sweetie’s eyes. Before diving into a few oysters. Don’t miss the Dirty Dozen–12 raw oysters with a Bloody Mary mignonette–by candlelight. 13670 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen, 707.996.6409

Small plates under the sun
At Willi’s Wine Bar, you never know might be sharing a small plate next to you–a local winemaker, a touring author, a local luminary, or perhaps your neighbor. Willi’s patio is a favorite gathering spot for power-lunchers, tourists and everyday diners looking for a little dining inspiration. 4404 Old Redwood Hwy., Santa Rosa, 707.526.3096

Dining under the stars
El Dorado Kitchen is BiteClub’s absolute favorite spot for dining under the stars. Grab a quiet table by the pool, order up some of EDK’s killer cocktails and wait for the sky show. 405 First St. West Sonoma

Riverside dining
Casual French fair is the plat du jour at Petaluma’s Water Street Bistro, where outdoor diners have a view of the nearby Petaluma River and pedestrian bridge. 100 Petaluma Blvd N Ste 106, Petaluma,707.763.9563

What’s your favorite spot for outdoor dining?

You know things are bad when the sound of your own wheezing and sneezing wakes you from a NyQuil-induced blackout. Trouble looms when Jell-O and applesauce sounds reeeeally good and a Kleenex box becomes your sleeping partner.

Yep, I’m wading through an eater’s worst nightmare: The dreaded head cold. Because it’s not just the aches and pains, the stuffed up head or the red eyes that are so bad. It’s the fact that you can’t taste anything. Which kind of makes eating a moot point in my book. And without some serious daily grubbing-well, I shudder to think about it.

Hankies in hand, pajamas tucked under my jeans, Panang curry seems the only solution. The hotter the better. And don’t spare the coconut milk.

Jhanthong Banbua, the long-time Santa Rosa Thai fave that fronts the seedy Gold Coin hotel on Mendocino Ave., is the closest bet. And, despite a couple of ho-hum take-out experiences there recently, the combination of elegant presentation and skillful combinations of lemon grass, fish sauce, lime and coconut milk makes this a favorite feast of the senses. Even if a few of mine are still home in bed watching Ellen.

Sniffling through lunch, my sick-day lineup goes like this:
– Salad rolls: Wrapped in a spongy, crepe-like casing rather than rice paper, salad rolls are layered with crisp, cool, veggies like cucumber and lettuce.
– Spicy green papaya salad: A sensory overload with pungent fish sauce and tangy lime juice–an air horn to sleeping senses
– Gang Panang (which, honestly, is just fun to say): This creamy, hot, sour mixture of lime leaves, sweet basil, red curry paste and sneaky little green chilies is both soothing and invigorating. (Take extra Kleenex, you’ll need it when your sinuses drain).

Five tissues later, my lips are prickling with heat, my nose clearer and my belly full. So it ain’t Jell-O. Call it comfort food that refuses to be comfortable. Call it just what the doctor ordered.

Jhanthong Banbua, 2400 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 707.528.8048

I am ashamed–very ashamed–to admit that after living in Sonoma County for more than three years, I have never been to Hank’s Creekside. Call me a brunch snob. I simply refuse to stand in an hour-long line for pancakes*. No matter how many Food Network stars rave about them**.

I stand corrected.

Well, sort of. Because I still have no idea if their pancakes are worth the wait. I can’t tell you with any assuredness that their biscuits and gravy will make your knees buckle. But I can tell you that their burgers are damn fine. Damn fine. And if that’s any indication about the rest of the menu, I may be standing along the banks of the Santa Rosa Creek with the rest of you sleepy-eyed brunchers sometime very soon.

Let me break it down-
– Medium rare means just that: I’ll worry about food-borne illness. Here at Hank’s if you want your burger a little on the pink side, it comes that way. Not charcoal grey through and through. That means they’re confident about the meat. And it shows.
– Skip the foie-gras: I’m all for culinary imagination, but sometimes it’s nice just to taste the hamburger. A little onion. Maybe some avocado if I’m feeling adventurous. Hank’s gets it.
– Toasted bun: Not too bready, and nicely crisped. No onions or sesame seeds or other goo-gaws to get stuck in your teeth afterwards.
– Enough is always enough: Sometimes you want a burger as big as your head. Usually, however, you don’t. Hank’s Creekside serves up burgers that are thick enough to satisfy. ‘Nuff said.
– Sides matter: Crispy fries are a burger’s best friend. Again, dead-on.
– Burger with a view: If you’re lucky, you’ll get a prime spot by the windows, overlooking the jungle of vines climing the banks and the creek below. What could be better?

So, after careful consideration, I’m elevating Hank’s to my new favorite burger joint (see past winners here). Giving all you burger fans yet another reason to throng to Hank’s. Just save me a place in line, will you?

Hank’s Creekside, 2800 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707.575.8839

* Since pretty much everyone in Sonoma County has been to Hank’s at least once in their life, I’ll forgo a lengthy explanation. But for those of you (like me) who are Hank’s Virgins, imaging a place where the smell of bacon and eggs permeates everything, ‘How Ya Doin’ staff, ketchup bottles on the table, kids everywhere and just about everyone talking to their neighbors (because they’re probably actual neighbors).

**Rachel Ray has recommended Hank’s in her Tasty Travels show and Guy Fieri was recently at the restaurant filming for his forthcoming show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Is Santa Rosa becoming Sonoma County’s gastropub capital? We realize beer and brew spots are the hottest new trend in restaurants, but two new pubs are set to open downtown this summer. Get ready to grab a pint at Toad in the Hole (which has been taunting passersby in its Railroad Square location for months) and now, Stout Brothers (an Irish-themed pub and restaurant) which will take over the Anatolia space on Fourth St.

In other news, SEA Thai restaurant will soon be moving into the space formerly occupied by East West Café in Montgomery Village. We’re hoping this is an outpost of the amazing SEA Thai in Petaluma. BiteClub called Petaluma early this morning for confirmation and is eagerly awaiting word.

Finally, BiteClub hit the Downtown Market (check out the photos here) and was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of foodie newcomers to the space.
Worth the trip:
– Check out the portable wood-fired pizza oven of Pizza Politana. They’ll whip you up a fresh, crispy pizza in just two minutes. Tell Naomi BiteClub sent you.
– Killer Brownies are just that. Full of gooey chocolate and other tidbits, they’re a steal at $2.50. Check out the brownie biscotti, dipped in white chocolate, as well.
– Say a hearty bonjour to the Gallic gastronomes making savory buckwheat crepes filled with brie, salmon and crème fraiche or sweet crepes with caramel apples.

In celebration of the opening day of Santa Rosa’s Evening Market-
Top 10 reasons to hit the farm market

10. Fava beans. With Chianti or without.
9. Zucchini blossoms. Put them in your hair, or stuff them with cheese and fry ’em up.
8. Sweet pea blossoms. She’ll think you picked them yourself.
7. Carrying a market basket is sexy.
6. Free samples.
5. Fresh bee pollen.
4. Peaches, oranges, strawberries and plums that actually have flavor. (See #6)
3. Spicy salad mix.
2. Full Circle bread
1. Supporting local farmers is sexy

SCHEDULE
– Santa Rosa Farmer’s Market: Wednesdays/Saturdays, 8:30am to noon, Year ’round rain or shine.
– Santa Rosa Evening Market: Wednesdays from 5pm to 8:30pm, May 16 through Aug. 29
– Cotati Farmer’s Market: Downtown, Thursdays, 4pm to dusk, late May through August
– Petaluma Farmer’s Market: Saturdays 2pm to 5pm, late may through October
– Sebastopol Farmer’s Market: Sundays, 10am to 1:30pm, April through December
– Healdsburg Farmer’s Market: On the Square, Tuesdays, 4pm to 6:30pm, June through October and Saturdays, 9am to noon, May through November

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had? Don’t think too hard about it or try to impress me–just let whatever comes to mind pop in there. Was it at Chez Panisse or Cyrus? The French Laundry, Syrah or maybe Spago?

Or was it that awful Thanksgiving that mom burned the turkey and the whole family went out for Chinese? Maybe it was simply a crisp, cold apple fed to you by a lover; a plate of warm scones just out of the oven; the first time you ever tasted tandoori chicken; or Vietnamese noodles with barbeque pork at that little dive down the street.

It’s a fun trip down Memory Lane. Try it in the car or during an especially dull meeting at work.

I spent most of the weekend thinking about it after stumbling upon a totally tangential fact in the new book Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, a new biography by Thomas McNamee. Here’s the fact: In October 2006, the Chicago restaurant Alinea was named by Gourmet magazine as the Best Restaurant in America. (Chez Panisse got bumped to number two). Out of millions of restaurants in this country, this hyper-modern, semi-surrealist spot was, in a word, the best.

Which is really weird, because I just ate at Alinea. You may recall this as Chicago’s haute-experimental restaurant where my dining companion and I spent four hours snickering at the over-the-top-earnestness of the courses set before us. (How do you keep a straight face while serving bacon suspended on a wire? See the review.) Don’t get me wrong–it was very cool and probably the most inventive (and expensive) meal I’ve ever eaten–but really? This was ostensibly the best meal (best restaurant=best meal, right?) I might have had the pleasure of eating in the entirety of the United States?

Hmmm. Had I missed something?

So, I looked at the rest of the Gourmet list to see where else I’d eaten–what other potential “Best” meals I might have absent-mindedly snarked my way through. Of the fifty restaurants selected by Gourmet in 2006, I’ve eaten at five–that’s a respectable 10 percent. They include Alinea (1) along with Cyrus (15), Higgins (28), Zuni Café (37) and Paley’s Place (46). But here’s the thing: Not one of them was the best meal of my life. They were great, fabulous, incredible, lovely meals. But not even a top 10 of the best meals of my life.

Just off the top of my head, if I were to put together a mix tape of my Culinary Greatest Hits, it would start out with the lettuce ravioli that I shared with friends in Florence, Italy. Or the picnic of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and bread we all shared in the Boboli Gardens.

I’d also have to include, closer to home, Pho Vietnam takeout on a Friday night, cuddled with my main squeeze; the warm baked pears with butter, cinnamon and fresh cream delivered to my bed on Mother’s Day morning; a plate of freshly cut Sonoma County greens and fresh goat cheese drizzled with vinegar and oil; Strauss Creamery butter on an Acme baguette; a basket of Oregon raspberries picked fresh from my ex-father-in-law’s backyard on a summer night; spinach leaf cups filled with dried shrimp, sugar cane syrup and ginger and peanut at California Thai; Dungeness crab from Swan Oyster Depot; Swedish pancakes with melted butter and Meyer lemon juice from my own lemon tree; and quite honestly-a Double Double at In-N-Out after a hard night of carousing.

And that’s pretty much just what I ate this week. Heh.

Without minimizing the artistry of chefs like Thomas Keller, Alice Waters and Grant Achatz it comes down to this: Haute spots with linen napkins, water menus and cheese carts don’t have a lock-up on Best Meal contenders. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether the bill is $5, $50 or $500, or if you’ve made the reservations three months ahead of time. For me the “Best Meal Ever” is a magical sensory imprint of time, place, flavors and people that goes well beyond what’s on the plate and which celebrity chef made it. It’s that perfect moment when your mind, your palate and your soul have all been sated.

Which is a long way of saying I’m still searching. Funny thing is, I have a feeling I’ll find it where I’m least expecting it.

What about you? Where was your Best Meal ever? Tell me.

See Gourmet’s Top 50 Restaurants 2006 list.

My family laughs hysterically when I talk about California barbeque spots. In their neck of the uh-holler-ribs are a religion. Pulled pork gets smoked with as much gusto as a pack of Virginia Slims. And their sauce don’t taste like vinegar, ya’ll.

From Memphis to Mobile, how you sauce your barbeque is part of a complex regional and philosophical identity. Suffice to say, you don’t mess with it. Tart vinegar sauce in the Carolinas; a smoky and tangy in Tennesse; rubbed down hotter than hell down south; and teeth-achingly sweet in Kansas City.

So, maybe I’m being a bit picky–a bit too literal–and clearly flying my Midwest colors when I say that I’m not happy with any of the three sauces I’ve just ruined my sandwich with at BarBersQ. Napa’s newest foray into the haute-smoke-shack scene, the storefront restaurant opened about a month ago with former Mecca chef Stephen Barber at the helm.

Here’s the problem: All three of Barber’s sauces taste like vinegar. This might not be a bad thing, except that I HATE VINEGAR SAUCE ON BARBEQUE! For me, it kills the sweet, fatty, smoky wonder that is pulled pork or ribs. I want a hint of sweet, a hint of tang, and a hint of smoke all wrapped up in a nice tomato-based sauce. Not some clear, runny liquid that makes me pucker and cry.

So why all three of Barber’s sauces taste like vinegar, I have no idea. The good news? You can forgo the sauce altogether, because it’s served conveniently on the side. That or bring your own and get down to some serious business with one of BarBersQ’s otherwise killer pulled pork sandwiches. Spice rubbed meat piled impressively high on a fresh-made bun with a scoop of coleslaw (which frankly, I appreciate very much), it wants for nothing. Except a decent sauce.

Redemption at BarBersQ comes in the form of cornbread squares that are firm and sweet with (could it be?) a hint of smoky bacon–oh please, let it be bacon–and honey butter. Rancho Gordo baked beans are also on the menu, along with collard greens, veggies, cole slaw and potato salad. At between $3.75 and $5.75, you can easily rack up a pretty serious bill just on sides, however. Skip the BarBersQ fries entirely. I was misdirected to this side which is a boggling $5.75 and were actually less impressive and less seasoned that the frozen fries I force my kids to eat. For me, that’s an unforgivable misstep by someone as experienced as Barber. Dude, get the fries right.

With a meal as full of ups and downs as mine, I was understandably leery about trying dessert. Word on the street is that the key lime pie is very moist and the fried apple pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce almost intrigued me enough to order it. Almost. Becasue what I’m honestly jonesing for is a fried Twinkie with a fried Snickers chaser. Just like mom used to make. Hold the damn vinegar sauce.

BarBersQ, 3900-D Bel Aire Plaza, Napa, 707.224.6600. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Pleasure is not an ‘extra’ in life. It’s not something to be doled out in a miserly fashion. It’s not something to be avoided, made to feel guilty about, or worst of all, ashamed of. Pleasure is what makes life worth living.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the thing is, most of us don’t get that kind of message very often. Eating chocolate and butter, drinking wine and just digging our toes into the dirt are activities most of us consider a rather indulgent deviance from practicality, diets and ‘to-do’ lists. We look at hips and thighs and tummies in absolute shame, rather than just enjoying life and letting ourselves be happy.

So I’m about to give you permission–in fact insist–that you eat that extra bit of truffle with relish. Screw the diet today. Go plant a garden instead of filing that report. Hug a honeybee (uh, gently.) Or drink a glass of wine at lunch. I won’t tell your boss.

Why? All I can say is that a doctor, a scientist and a really beautiful woman told me it was okay.

Let me back it up. Over the last two days, I attended Taste3, this insane conference of big thinkers from the music, art, science, food and wine worlds. Each big thinker talks for 20 minutes, making their case. And those of us in the audience try to take as much of this information in, process it, write about it and try to make the world a better place for it. No pressure, right? So after listening to all the big ideas, here’s my take-away. Eat, drink and be happy, dammit. It’s not only your right, but your obligation. Just do it sustainably and like you mean it.

Still need convincing, so chew on this-

Justification One: French doctors say it’s true
Georges Halpern, a distinguished professor of pharmaceutical science and a pretty darned sexy guy of a certain age who says pleasure is something we need often to be healthy. Using medical studies, lots of charts and, a French accent that refused to be denied (hey the French practically invented pleasure), Halpern comes to the undeniable conclusion that we’ve all known instinctively, but refused to let ourselves acknowledge: eating chocolate, having great sex, listening to music, tasting a bit of fat on the tongue and drinking red wine make us better, healthier, happier people. Diet Coke doesn’t. Nor do sugar-free cookies or salt-free diets. So, indulge. Immediately.

Justification Two: Chocolate makes you sexy
Katrina Markoff has a sort of Nigella Lawson quality that makes men and women throw themselves at her. The sort of quality that makes watching her talk, smile and most of all, eat, a deeply satisfying experience. I don’t care who you are. It doesn’t hurt that she makes chocolate studded with the most exotic products imaginable–curry, wasabi, hemp seeds, sea salt, chili peppers. She makes maple caramel paired with bacon, for god’s sake. She has a passion for love, beauty and culture. “Chocolate is a medium to tell stories,” she says. Plus, it releases hormones that make you feel like you just had sex. Yeah. I’m sold.

Justification Three: Make new friends with your zucchini
Yeah, who doesn’t like a nice fresh basket of yielding tomatoes or crisp cucumbers from your backyard. SF’s Victory Garden program is thrusting the hands of urban dwellers deep into the dirt. “It’s a relationship with the unknown,” says Blair Randall, director for its parent program, Garden for the Environment. Backyard gardens are not only good for you, they’re great for the environment. Not to mention how hot you’ll be handing out those giant zucchinis.

Justification Four: Half a bottle a day is okay
Procyanidin is your friend. It’s the tannic stuff found in varying degrees in red wine. Roger Corder, professor of Experimental Therapueutics at William Harvey Research Institute in London (as I mentioned yesterday, but bears repeating) has found that drinking a half bottle a day keeps the doctor away. But only when drinking lower-alcohol red wines rich in procyanidins. Want to know what’s best? Check out his forthcoming book, The Wine Diet.

Bonus Justification: Feeding your lover honey gives you good karma
Okay, I kind of made that up. But honey really is the most carbon-efficient sweetener you can eat. And, hey, using it creatively sounds like fun to me. Because we all need to support bees right now, because they’re dying off in massive numbers for some unknown reason. An environmental canary in the coalmine? Check out maarec.org for more details. Don’t forget about the feeding your lover thing, though. Dr. Halpern would really approve.

Find out more about the conference at Taste3.com.

Stay tuned for BarberQ in Napa. Fries worth the trip?

David Arnold can’t just leave things well enough alone. He has to make them better. More bubbly. More, well, gin and tonic-y.

With a carbon dioxide tank, a bottle of gin, and dozens of bags of powdered acids, and lime extract that he’s processed through some sort of jerry-rigged distillation machine, he’s demonstrating to us how to make a better gin and tonic. Okay, maybe not a better one, but a more fizzy, more flavorful, higher alcohol gin and tonic that packs both a flavor and boozy wallop. In initial tests willing subjects often ended up on the floor drunk. But happy.

As director of culinary technology for the French Culinary Institution (basically a license to be a mad scientist of food), Arnold was just one of a dozen or so speakers at the opening day of Taste3 in Napa, a mind-bending conference that brings together the most creative minds in music, food, storytelling, wine, technology and art, it’s a whirlwind of ideas that is meant to make your mind explode.

Sort of like Arnold’s super-charged gin and tonic. (Which by the way, is a throat-burning blast of mouth-puckering citric acid and gin “no ice, no tonic “that will have you on the floor after about four sips.) But it’s pretty perfect for washing down a maple-infused sea salt caramel topped with bacon, the brainchild of Vosges exotic chocolate wunderkind Katrina Markoff.

But that’s a whole other story (coming tomorrow)…

With my brain bursting from schmoozing, chewing, drinking and listening to some of the most amazing minds on the planet, here’s what I know for sure…

– Mushrooms may just save the world. Mycologist Paul Stamets is studying how fungi may treat small pox, breast cancer, HIV and AIDS. And you thought they just tasted good on pizza.

– Soon, your microwave will be able to talk to your IPod, which will play a selection of music to motivate your ass to work off exactly the number of calories in that macaroni you just ate. Isn’t technology wonderful?

– You are hereby allowed to drink a half-bottle of wine a day without guilt. Provided its red, and from the southwest of France. Roger Corder, author of the Wine Diet and professor of experimental therapeutics in London has recently figured out exactly which wines best protect your heart.

– The George Foreman grill is more than just an appliance gathering dust in your cupboard. It’s become the new hotplate for many homeless and low-income cooks who want to cook for themselves, but don’t have access to a real kitchen. Finding hidden kitchens in prisons, homeless shelters and taxi-stands, the Kitchen Sisters are telling the real stories of cooking in America

– And, hey, did you know that there really is a difference between the smell of regular orange and mandarin orange? Or just a few molecules difference between the odor of cassis and raspberry in wines? Alexandre Schmitt is helping winemakers and other nose-needing professional how to use their senses to see the world.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow.