The evergreen wonderland of the Russian River Valley formed a lush backdrop to Kate and Alex Fishman’s July wedding. (Annamae Photo)
The evergreen wonderland of the Russian River Valley formed a lush backdrop to Kate and Alex Fishman’s July wedding. The couple, who at the time were living in Oakland and working at tech companies (Kate in HR and Alex in sales), both grew up in New York and met through good friends. At their wedding, they wanted their loved ones, many traveling from the East Coast, to experience the natural beauty of California.
“We really fell for the type of nature here, the redwoods and the rough coastlines,” explains Kate.
The couple and many of their guests stayed at The Stavrand for the weekend, allowing for a series of gatherings, including an epic jam session with their very musical families the night before the wedding.
The wedding dinner at The Stavrand in Guerneville. (Annamae Photo)Bubbles at The Stavrand in Guerneville. (Annamae Photo)At The Stavrand, Kate found inspiration for her dress, with its delicate leaf embroidery, and for her flowers, which took their palette from the hotel’s colorful, hand-painted Talavera tile. (Annamae Photo)
“The Stavrand was a new venue at the time, so we did some of the heavy lifting, but the result was that it was a really unique wedding,” says Kate. She found inspiration there for her dress, with its delicate leaf embroidery, and for her flowers, which took their palette from the hotel’s colorful, hand-painted Talavera tile.
For the ceremony, the couple stood inside a rustic semicircle of blooms set close to the ground, overlooking a sweeping view of redwoods. Afterward, guests toasted with pink sparkling wine, then moved to two long tables set up on a lawn surrounded by fruit trees for an elegant reception dinner.
For Kate and Alex, the setting was where all the elements of the day came together.
“The place where it happened was exactly what we would have dreamed of, in front of this majestic background of forest, with the sun shining and this beautiful blue sky,” says Kate. “It just feels like we were surrounded both by the love of our family and friends, and by the beauty of nature.”
At The Stavrand, Kate found inspiration for her dress, with its delicate leaf embroidery, and for her flowers, which took their palette from the hotel’s colorful, hand-painted Talavera tile. (Annamae Photo)Flower arrangement at The Stavrand. (Annamae Photo)Dinner setting at The Stavrand. (Annamae Photo)
A newly constructed home in a development just two miles north of downtown Healdsburg has hit the market. The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home at 111 Chiquita Road includes an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and is listed for $995,000.
The 1511-square-foot main home, built in 2021, takes many design cues from Craftsman houses. Details of the early 20th century style include a covered front porch with a pair of angular wood pillars and a series of double-hung windows. Doors, cabinets and trim throughout the home have handsomely unadorned square edges.
The interior has deep-toned floors but an airiness is achieved through modern details like white walls, quartz countertops and an open-concept kitchen suited for entertaining.
The auxiliary living space has a full kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom ready to accommodate guests or serve as a rental.
Other amenities include walk-in closets and a main-bedroom balcony. Click through the above gallery for a peek inside the home.
For more information on 111 Chiquita Road, contact listing agent Grace Lucero, Vanguard Properties, Healdsburg Center Street, Healdsburg, 707-433-7775, vanguardproperties.com/agents/grace-lucero
Liberty Farm Duck Breast with rhubarb, turnip and pistachio from Hazel Hill at Montage Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
The Forbes Travel Guide has honored Montage Resort and SingleThread Farms and Restaurant, both in Healdsburg, with its top five-star luxury rating in 2024. Several additional local establishments have garnered Forbes’s four-star ratings or been recommended as part of the magazine’s recently unveiled Star Award Winners list.
Forbes describes these annual awards as an “independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruise ships.” The magazine’s Star Rating system puts an emphasis on reviewing service quality.
“Ensconced among the vineyards in Sonoma, Montage Healdsburg immerses you in wine country,” wrote Forbes. “The hotel, which debuted in January 2021, seamlessly blends into the landscape, with its 130 rooms tucked into bungalows that bear the same shade of brown as the heritage oaks that cloak them.”
The pool area at Montage Healdsburg. (Christian Horan Photography/Montage Healdsburg)
The Montage Resort has a reputation for attracting the rich and famous to its 250-acre estate nestled in the hills above Healdsburg. According to The Hollywood Reporter, pop star Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey Bieber, are among the high-profile guests who have recently stayed at the property.
Among its sumptuous offerings, the resort boasts a 4,600-square-foot accommodation called the Guest House, priced at $15,000 a night. Catering to well-heeled travelers, the hotel’s “The Sky’s the Limit” package, which runs up to $95,000, includes private jet flights from anywhere in the United States.
The Guest House, Montage Healdsburg’s presidential suite. (Montage Healdsburg)A freestanding bath tub in the guest house at Montage Healdsburg. (Montage Healdsburg)
In addition to its five-star rating of the Montage Resort, Forbes also highlighted the Montage Spa and the resort’s restaurant, Hazel Hill, with their very own four-star ratings.
The 11,500-square foot Montage Spa includes 11 treatment rooms, a fitness center and a zero-edge pool.
The French-inspired Hazel Hill offers breakfast and lunch, but it is the restaurant’s dinner menu that steals the show.
“The open kitchen at Hazel Hill uses local, seasonal ingredients to craft dishes like plump gnocchi with fava beans, morel mushrooms and white asparagus along with tender Liberty Farms duck breast with rhubarb, turnips and a sprinkle of pistachios,” wrote Forbes.
Greek yogurt Panna Cotta from Hazel Hill at Montage Healdsburg. (Emma K. Morris)
A short drive south of Montage, located in downtown Healdsburg, SingleThread is the only three-star Michelin restaurant in Sonoma County. Run by husband-and-wife team chef Kyle Connaughton and farmer Katina Connaughton, the restaurant also has a five-room inn where guests can stay the night. (Forbes separately included the inn in its “recommended” list of places to stay.)
“To call SingleThread Farms a restaurant is akin to calling Buckingham Palace simply a house. This temple of haute cuisine in Sonoma County’s quaint town of Healdsburg delivers on the oft over-used promise of ‘farm to table,’” wrote Forbes.
Sourcing ingredients from its 24-acre biodiverse farm in the Dry Creek Valley, SingleThread serves a kaiseki-style 11-course menu.
“The Japanese philosophy of omotenashi — a deep sense of hospitality where a guest’s every need is anticipated — permeates every aspect of the fine-dining room, from the service to the artfully presented plates,” wrote Forbes.
At Single Thread restaurant in Healdsburg. (Garrett Rowland/Sonoma County Tourism)At Single Thread restaurant in Healdsburg. (Eric Wolfinger/Sonoma County Tourism)
Sonoma’s MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa received two separate four-star ratings from Forbes: one for the entire property and another for the recently refurbished Spa at MacArthur. Forbes also recommended the property’s restaurant, Layla.
Additional Sonoma County luxury establishments that were recommended by Forbes include Farmhouse Inn and Farmhouse Inn Restaurant in Forestville and Hotel Les Mars in Healdsburg.
The Forbes Travel Guide also handed out a plethora of awards to luxury hotels and restaurants in Napa this year, which include five-star ratings for Auberge du Soleil, Four Seasons Resort and Residences, The French Laundry, Meadowood Napa Valley and Meadowood Spa.
Forbes Travel Guide Star Award inspectors rate properties based on up to 900 objective criteria, according to Forbes. The inspectors are always anonymous and spend at least two days staying at the hotels they review. See the complete list of 2024 awardees here.
Holstein Schnitzel with fried farm egg, fresh anchovies, crispy capers and watercress from Tisza Bistro chef/owner Krisztian Karkus Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
After closing their Windsor restaurant in 2020, owners Krisztian Karkus and Alena Rebik took their schnitzel show to weekly farm markets and pop-ups to keep their schnitzel fans happy. The couple spent two years remodeling the old Singletree Café in Windsor, creating, a permanent home (and outdoor beer garden) to showcase hard-to-find German, Czech and Hungarian dishes including chicken Cordon Bleu, duck leg confit, wiener schnitzel, or hunter’s schnitzel, made with wild mushroom sauce. Don’t miss the strudel, spaetzle and wonderfully messy currywurst.
Holiday Inn lobbies aren’t known for housing destination restaurants, which was precisely chef Krisztian Karkus’ problem.
“It was a very awkward location, and I lived through a lot of rejection. Tourists don’t want to come to the bottom of a Holiday Inn,” Karkus said of the original Tisza Bistro in Windsor, which closed in 2020.
But the restaurant defied the odds for nearly four years, drawing a devoted following to his Eastern European menu. Generous portions of pan-fried schnitzel finished with butter, soft piles of spaetzle, and homemade strudel stand out in a county awash in small plates.
The restaurant lived on, however, under a pop-up tent at the Healdsburg and Windsor farmers markets — not a place frequented by chefs trained at Michelin-starred restaurants. At least, not ones slinging schnitzel and breakfast sandwiches for hours in the heat and rain.
The work paid off, and in late January, Tisza rose from the ashes at the former Singletree Cafe in Healdsburg after two excruciating years of remodeling — often by Karkus — and it’s even better than before.
Tisza Bistro chef/owner Krisztian Karkus plates a Charred Octopus starter Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)Duck Leg Confit with celery root purée, caramelized vegetables, griottes and duck jus from Tisza Bistro chef/owner Krisztian Karkus Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Charming and homey, the new Tisza Bistro has a welcoming dining room and open kitchen accented by glittering copper pans and oversize picture windows that bring rays of sunlight into the once-gloomy space.
Much of the furniture is secondhand (yes, those are the chairs from Cattleman’s in Santa Rosa), given a new life with some sanding and staining. Karkus and his wife, Alena Rebik, did the landscaping, painted and even built a bar, something the longtime chef said he enjoyed — at least some parts of it — during the lengthy remodeling.
“I took on a lot of projects myself. It was really fun and almost hard to snap out of it,” he said soon after opening. Other chefs also stepped up to help with equipment and storage during the build out. “Everyone just stepped up for us, and no one asked for anything in return,” Karkus said.
It turns out those long days at the market were also a boon. Longtime customers remained loyal, and Karkus said they maintained relationships with many of them through the farmers markets. It also strengthened his connection with local farmers who bartered with the chef. Because no one can say no to schnitzel.
Tisza Bistro chef Krisztian Karkus runs the kitchen and wife Elena Alena Rebik the front of the house in the former Singletree Cafe location Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)Potato Latkes with smoked salmon, soft egg, pickled mustard seed, creme fraiche and arugula from Tisza Bistro chef/owner Krisztian Karkus Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
On a Thursday night, just weeks after opening, the dining room is packed with locals. The Hungarian-born chef said more than 60% of his longtime customers are from Healdsburg, making the new location an instant win.
Alena Rebik, who is Czech, works the dining room with a sweet smile and recommendations for favorite dishes and explains some of the unfamiliar Eastern European wines, like a dry Tokaji that’s crisp and minerally, Gruner Veltliners and rieslings that are better known to Americans as sweet and sticky. Here, they are lean and mouthwatering with bright acidity and pair remarkably well with heavier dishes.
The menu leans in on classic Czech and Hungarian dishes like pan-roasted calf’s liver, which came to the menu after Karkus received 20 pounds of the tender meat and immediately sold out.
Chicken Cordon Bleu with potato purée and mixed green salad with Dijon vinaigrette from Tisza Bistro chef/owner Krisztian Karkus Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Other crowd favorites include Chicken Cordon Bleu, Duck Leg Confit, Wiener Schnitzel and the foresty Jager Schnitzel, or Hunter’s Schnitzel, made with wild mushroom sauce.
Clearly, this isn’t delicate tweezer food but rib-sticking fare that doesn’t require a laundry list of rare ingredients to impress. It’s a relief to just eat yummy food without overthinking every bite.
Tisza is a restaurant that took a village — or maybe a county — to rise again, and its fans are happier than ever to see Karkus and his magic schnitzel back in the kitchen.
Apple Strudel from Tisza Bistro chef/owner Krisztian Karkus Monday, February 12, 2024 in Healdsburg. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Best bets
Potato Latkes, $20: It’s a bit of a weird presentation, served on two separate plates, but a knockout nonetheless. The first is a colorful plate of thinly sliced smoked salmon dotted with creme fraiche, dill sprigs and pickled mustard seeds with a soft-boiled egg at the center. Two crispy latkes are served separately so you can compose the dish perfectly with a small squeeze of fresh lemon — a dreamy way to start your meal.
Farmers Cheese Bisquits, $8: So fluffy they threaten to float away if you’re not quick about eating them.
Potato Dumplings, $15: Hand-rolled potato balls are filled with smoked brisket and rolled in duck fat. Served on a bed of creamed spinach to make it, you know, healthier.
Wiener Schnitzel, $29: The classic. A plate-sized piece of pounded pork loin dredged in egg and breadcrumbs, pan-fried in oil and finished with butter. This isn’t the tough, bready, oil-slicked schnitzel you’ve suffered through before. There’s a reason fans schelp to the markets for this venerable Austrian dish. Served with lingonberry jam, buttered potatoes and dill-cucumber salad.
Jager Schnitzel, $34: Wiener schnitzel leveled up with creamy wild mushroom and porcini sauce. Tiny, buttered dumplings known as spaetzle serve as the base, soaking up every last drop of the gravy — the absolute best thing on the menu.
Rabbit, $42: Is it beautiful? It is not. But is it delicious? Yes, it is. Steamed yeast dumplings and rabbit saddle are bathed in an earthy root vegetable sauce and a dab of sour cream.
Strudel, $14: This seemingly simple dessert is made in-house by stretching the dough into thin, buttery layers filled with seasonal fruit, including apples, cherries and poppy seeds.
The menu changes frequently, with new dishes and desserts appearing often. Karkus plans to put goulash, paprikash and crepes, known as palachinka, on the menu in the coming months.
Tisza Bistro is at 165 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. Open for dinner Wednesday through Monday, closed Tuesday. Reservations highly recommended.
Chef Casey Thompson of Folktable restaurant in Sonoma, which closed in November of 2024. (Courtesy of Folktable)
Renowned Sonoma chef Casey Thompson will be appearing on the upcoming fifth season of Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions,” premiering 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18 on Food Network.
The stakes for the show are high, the competition is intense, but an opportunity to work with Guy Fieri is always a strong draw.
“I have actually done charity work with Guy in the past and he is a joy. Easy to be around, easy to talk to, but he expects a lot for his television. And you don’t want to let him down,” said Thompson, who is the executive chef of Folktable restaurant.
Chef Casey Thompson of Folktable restaurant in Sonoma. (Erika Cole)
Now in its fifth season, the culinary reality show pits top chefs from the East and West coasts against each other over the course of an eight-week bracket system tournament. The 32 chefs competing on the show will vie for the “Tournament of Champions” belt, as well as a $150,000 cash prize.
What was Thompson’s initial reaction when she received the casting call to appear on the show? “The same reaction I always have had when the shows call—‘No way am I doing this,’” she said.
It certainly is not the first time Thompson has been featured on television. She has made several appearances on Bravo’s Top Chef series in the past.
“It has been a very long time since I have competed. I initially felt like a fish out of water. The other competitors seem to compete in the same group in every show on television!” she explained.
Previously, Thompson was a runner-up and was voted Fan Favorite on Top Chef: Miami (season 3) and appeared on Top Chef: All-Stars (season 8) as well as Top Chef: Charleston (season 14). She also was a guest judge on Top Chef Junior episode 7.
When asked about the differences between the experience of working in a reality TV show kitchen and working in a restaurant kitchen, she said: “No comparison. Folktable is a farm-to-kitchen set up. We wash a lot of vegetables and serve a lot of people. There is no lighting, makeup, or steam irons. There certainly is no $150,000 prize.”
At Folktable restaurant in Sonoma. (Erika Cole)At Folktable restaurant in Sonoma. (Erika Cole)
Thompson’s Folktable, located in the Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma, is a farm-to-table restaurant that has received the prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction three consecutive years, most recently in 2023. A native of Texas, the chef has a flair for fusing southern comfort food with Sonoma County flavors.
It was the desire to be close to where fresh ingredients are harvested that brought Thompson to this region.
“I came to Sonoma for the opportunity to work directly with a farm and a farmer. A chef can ship whatever they need right to their back door, but can they grow it?” she said.
With Folktable’s focus on making the best use of fresh, seasonal ingredients, menu items are crafted using locally sourced produce from onsite certified organic farm, Tank House Farms. Popular dishes include Whole Roasted Eggplant with confit chickpeas, tahini yogurt, garlic-pine nut oil and herbs; Crispy Sunchokes with feta, dill, garlic butter, anchovy cream; and a Honey Fried Chicken Sandwich.
As far as Thompson is concerned, Sonoma seems to have just the right combination of ingredients to make it thoroughly appealing.
“I love Sonoma. We have made it our forever home. We love the pace, the people, the connection to its past and the need to keep it small but elevated. You can spot a tourist a mile away here—they are wearing heels,” said Thompson.
Also competing on the upcoming show is Crista Luedtke, chef and owner of Guerneville’s boon eat + drink and proprietor of boon hotel + spa. Read more in this Press Democrat article.
Flat Iron Steak Frites at Underwood Bar and Bistro in Graton. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
Now in its 15th year, Sonoma County Restaurant Week (Feb. 19-25) highlights dozens of local restaurants with value-oriented prix fixe menus. Winter is a painfully slow time of the year for restaurateurs, and the program brings a needed business boost with special menus and offerings.
Each year I select some favorites that I think offer a good value and interesting menu. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some great choices I haven’t highlighted. I hope you’ll take some time to browse through the Sonoma County Restaurant Week website and explore all the menus at socorestaurantweek.org.
Reservations are highly recommended since many restaurants will fill up — especially on weekend nights. Hopefully, you’ll find some new spots, revisit old favorites and experience all the deliciousness of Sonoma County restaurants.
Liberty Farms Duck Breast with leg en croute, koginut squash, roasted chestnuts, rapini and a l’orange jus from the Dry Creek Kitchen Thursday, November 2, 2023 in Healdsburg. (Photo John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Lunch
$15, Acre Pizza: Giant slice, personal Caesar and lemonade. 6760 McKinley St., Sebastopol. Also in Petaluma and Cotati, acrepizza.com.
$15, The Grove Cafe: Recently revamped cafe at RCU headquarters. The lunch offering includes a warm prime rib sandwich — thinly sliced prime rib on toasted ciabatta bread, caramelized onions, smoked Gouda cheese and horseradish aioli served with house-made potato chips and a sweet treat for dessert. I’m not saying it’s fancy, but it’s a nice lunch option. 3033 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa, thegrovecafe.org.
$15, Parish:Grab a cup of gumbo and a shrimp or fried green tomato po’boy at this NOLA-style restaurant. Another $5 gets you three beignets. 60 Mill St, Healdsburg, theparishcafe.com.
$25, Hazel Hill at Montage:Rub elbows with the jet set at this ultra-luxury hotel, if only for lunch. The view from the outdoor dining area is worth the price of admission alone. Two-course lunch includes a salad, duck rilletes, or cauliflower soup; coq au vin, cavatelli pasta, or grilled rockfish. 100 Montage Way, Healdsburg, montage.com/healdsburg.
$25, Stockhome: The best Restaurant Week deal here is the two-course lunch menu that includes shrimp Skagen with toasted brioche and Swedish meatballs with mashed potato, gravy, lingonberry, and pickled cucumber. 220 Western Ave., Petaluma, stockhomepetaluma.com.
Jesse, left, and Geo Borba dig into some Acre Pizza they ordered while having beers at Crooked Goat in Sebastopol’s Barlow district. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)Meatballs and mashed potatoes at Stockhome restaurant. (Photo courtesy of www.newrevmedia.com)
Dinner
$35, Agave:Best mole in Sonoma County. Three courses include salad, Mole Negro de Oaxaca Chicken (vegetarian option available), and churros. 1063 Vine St., Healdsburg, agavehealdsburg.com.
$35, Canneti Roadhouse:Grilled Romaine with Pecorino cheese or cremini mushroom soup with focaccia; beef cacciatore over white corn polenta or pasta with fava leaf pesto, tiramisu or chocolate pannacotta. 6675 Front St., Forestville, cannetiroadhoues.com.
$35, Diniucci’s: Four courses include antipasti plate, salad, beef and spinach ravioli with Bolognese, petrale sole or cannelloni crepes. 14485 Valley Ford Estero Road, Valley Ford, dinuccisrestaurantandbar.com.
Seafood Ramen with a medley of scallops, shrimp and squid in a shiso ponzu broth from Taste of Tea in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
$35, Taste of Tea: Japanese homestyle cooking is the focus of this expansive teahouse. The four-course meal includes a pickle plate and tea, miso soup, ramen and dessert. An extra $5 gets you a boba milk tea. 109 North St., Healdsburg, thetasteoftea.com
$35, Townes: The newly-opened Townes restaurant in downtown Santa Rosa offers several three-course options, including trout tartar, coq au vin, Meyer lemon mousse or steamed mussels, flat iron steak frites, and olive oil cake. 610 Third St., Santa Rosa, meetattownes.com.
$35 Trillium Wine Bar: Another newcomer wants to impress you with a cup of seafood chowder, Dungeness crab roll, and coconut cake. 16222 Main St, Guerneville, trillium.bar.
$35, Inca’s Peruvian Cuisine:Well-crafted Peruvian dishes with lots of choices on its three-course menu, including ceviche or Causa Santa Rosa (a personal favorite); pan-fried rockfish or Arroz con Pollo (chicken and rice), Papa Ala Huancaina; tres leches lucuma cake or Peruvian caramel custard. 799 Gravenstein Highway S., Sebastopol.
$55, Criminal Baking Co.: Dinner for four includes take-and-bake Pot Pie (gluten-free available) plus family-style side salad for four and 4 cookies or bars. 808 Donahue St., Santa Rosa, criminalbaking.com.
$55, Underwood Bar & Bistro: Longtime West County hangout is often overlooked by other parts of the county, but the food is destination-worthy. We’re especially impressed by their secret Thai menu, featured in the three-course option. Go for the Hat-Yai Fried Chicken with sticky rice and cucumber salad. 9113 Graton Rd, Graton, underwoodgraton.com.
$55, Dry Creek Kitchen:Michelin-quality dining includes a three-course meal of kanpachi crudo or beet salad; steak with potato pave, creamed Swiss chard, or pasta with wild mushrooms, lemon, Parmesan cream, and rosemary; yuzu cheesecake or orange caramel tart. 317 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, drycreekkitchen.com.
Cookies by Tracy Mattson of Cookie…take a bite! (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
Sweet Perk
$5, Cookie…take a bite!: Seven gourmet cookies and a brownie bite! 430 Larkfield Center, Santa Rosa, cookietakeabite.com.
Ren Brown and his gallery and Japanese garden in Bodega Bay, Calif., Nov. 11, 2023.
(Photo: Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Concealed behind a gate just steps from Highway 1 in Bodega Bay is is a jewel box of a Japanese garden, filled with meticulously sculpted cypress and pine trees, a flowering cherry, a dry stone river—even a tiny teahouse. It’s the result of owner and gallerist Ren Brown’s lifelong passion for the art and culture of Japan.
Brown and his late husband, Robert DeVee, moved to Bodega Bay in 1989 to open a gallery dedicated to Japanese art. The couple quickly found a location—a well-lit space with frontage along Highway 1 to capture coastal visitor traffic. Fortunately, just behind the gallery was a sturdily built, though rather dated, cottage.
Realizing their luck, the couple bought the property and made plans to remodel the home. Both home and garden now incorporate Japanese design principles and aesthetics. Outside, that means a restful, peaceful garden with such hallmarks as a rock garden, carefully trimmed evergreens, bonsai, and wabi-sabi stone footbridges. Inside, the Japanese touches include shoji screens, tatami mats, and antique tansu chests of every size to display Brown’s collection of Japanese ceramics.
“It’s what I love,” says Brown.
Ren Brown at his gallery and Japanese garden in Bodega Bay. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Though Brown grew up in the East Bay, his childhood was steeped in the culture of Japan. His mother had been born and raised there, the daughter of a Presbyterian missionary who traveled throughout Japan’s smallest island on horseback to convert the locals. As a young college graduate, Brown’s father traveled to Japan during the Depression, looking for teaching work. His father later earned a doctorate in Japanese history and taught the subject at UC Berkeley for many years.
“I was always surrounded by Japanese visitors coming to the house, Japanese art and ceramics,”says Brown.
From the mundane to the sacred
His tranquil courtyard garden, completely enclosed by a wooden fence, feels worlds away from the highway just beyond. One enters through a traditional torii gate, a gate commonly found at the entrance to or within a Shinto shrine, symbolically marking the transitional step from the mundane world to the sacred one.
The torii at the entrance to Brown’s garden was made by Sonoma County sculptor Bruce Johnson. Brown first became familiar with Johnson’s piece when he was curating an exhibit at Sebastopol Center for the Arts. The exhibit was meant to allow the local Japanese American community to show appreciation for those who supported them while they were incarcerated during World War II.
The torii, which features hammered metal and redwood and a sculpted juniper tree growing in the middle, is angled to frame a view of the garden. It centers on the pond, where shimmering koi glide peacefully through the water and the gentle sound of a small waterfall echoes peacefully among the stones.
The gentle sound of a small waterfall echoes peacefully among the stones (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)Shimmering koi glide peacefully through the water. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
In the jewel box space, serpentine stone pathways lead past water features and plantings of Japanese maples, now mostly bare in the winter season.
There’s a small dry-gravel garden, much like ones seen in Japanese homes and temples in Kyoto. The raking of the gravel around the islands of stone is a meditative, cleansing ritual, particularly after a winter rain.
Masterly sculpted evergreens
Precisely sculpted evergreens are a fundamental feature of traditional Japanese gardens. To shape his trees, Brown sought out Michael Alliger, a master aesthetic pruner who for many years has also maintained the exquisite garden at Osmosis Day Spa in Freestone.
Alliger says that while Brown’s garden is smaller than the one at Osmosis, it is very authentic in both hardscape and in the palette of plants and koi. Standout specimen trees, winding paths that reveal new views around each small bend, and the innovative use of stone are all hallmarks of traditional Japanese garden design, explains Alliger.
Precisely sculpted evergreens are a fundamental feature of traditional Japanese gardens. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Japanese black pines and other specimen trees are carefully trimmed to open up the branches and showcase the trunk and branching structure. The pruning isn’t hard, says Alliger, but it does take a lot of focus, concentration, and timing.
Each season has its own beauty
Winter reveals details that might be missed at other times of the year: the shape of branches bare of leaves, delicate catkins cascading down from the twisted walking-stick tree. Even the borrowed scenery: a reflection of sky and hillside on water, or a glimpse of the coast over the garden wall, seems more vivid in winter. Brown says that the garden receives less moisture than gardens do in Japan, so the moss isn’t as lush as it might be, but there are softened edges of green that might not be as apparent in summertime.
“The garden has beauty every month of the year,” says Brown. “There are different things that bloom, new views revealed. But the strength and power of the shaped tree is what holds everything together and makes it unified.”
In gallerist Ren Brown’s Japanese garden in Bodega Bay. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Brown often reminds himself to slow down and take time to enjoy the serenity of the space.
“Too often, gardeners find themselves focusing on all the things to do—the deadheading and the weeding. They don’t spend time just enjoying,” he says. “Japanese garden styles are meant to make you slow down—to take the sharply angled path, to follow around the corner, to take in that next view. You’re compelled to breathe it in.”
Ren Brown’s gallery of Japanese art features rotating exhibits of ceramics, works on paper, and other finds. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Visiting the gallery and garden
Gallery owner Ren Brown will happily share his garden with gallery guests who would like share in the space’s serenity.
“The whole point of a gallery is to offer beauty, and the garden is another way of doing that,” says Brown. “We often find that people who come to visit the gallery can enjoy the art even more after spending a few minutes in the garden.”
Ren Brown’s gallery of Japanese art features rotating exhibits of ceramics, works on paper, and other finds and is open year-round, 10 a.m.5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
The Ren Brown Collection, 1781 Highway 1, Bodega Bay. 707-875-2922, renbrown.com
Melissa Yanc and Sean McGaughey of Quail & Condor bakery and Troubadour in Healdsburg. (Emma K Creative)
Sonoma County is home to a dazzling array of restaurants, but we sometimes forget that dining out isn’t the only way to enjoy the region’s cuisine. Hands-on cooking classes in everything from bread baking to pasta making offer an opportunity to transform Sonoma County’s farm-fresh produce and artisan ingredients into something truly delicious. What’s even better is that you’ll get to learn new skills in a great setting, including wineries and restaurants, and under the expert guidance of local chefs.
Here are some of the best places to get cooking right now.
Healdsburg
Quail & Condor
Ever since SingleThread alums Melissa Yanc and Sean McGaughey opened Quail & Condor in 2020, fans have been lining up for a taste of the couple’s next-level breads, croissants, and pastries. Last spring, the bakery began hosting hands-on cooking classes with Lisal Moran, who worked as a pastry chef in San Francisco before joining the Q&C team.
The workshops, offered two to four times each month, give participants a taste of how retail bakers practice their craft — without having to roll out of bed at 5 a.m. — while teaching techniques for laminating puff pastry dough, working with yeasted doughs, and whipping up quick breads like Q&C’s legendary Parm-onion drop biscuits.
Moran knows baking can be intimidating, so she peppers her instruction with lighthearted tales of her own kitchen disasters. Each class features three to five recipes around a theme, and everyone leaves with a box of goodies to take home.
Seeded bread from Quail and Condor Bakery in Healdsburg. (Emma K. Morris)A sparkling wine cocktail with pomegranate juice during a ‘Holiday Entertaining, Northern Italian Style’ cooking class at Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
Relish Culinary Adventures
After 15 years of hosting cooking classes in its downtown demonstration kitchen, Relish pivoted in 2023 to focus on corporate events and pop-up classes for private groups. Founder Donna del Rey still occasionally offers classes and culinary activities to the public, such as the currently running winter mushroom foraging and lunch series, so check the website periodically to see what pops up.
Bricoleur is all about creating experiences that go beyond wine tasting. Sure, you’ll find food and wine pairings, but you can also book an after-hours dinner experience at the winery’s Chef’s Table, learn to seed a garden, join a weekly yoga session overlooking the vines, and — you guessed it — take a cooking class.
Chris Ford, who previously worked with Thomas Keller at Bouchon in Yountville, is a frequent guest chef at Bricoleur. Next month, he’ll lead a hands-on chocolate-making class that promises to reveal the decadent secrets of ganache.
Previous cooking classes at Bricoleur Vineyards have taught guests how to shuck oysters, and other essential Wine Country cooking skills. (Paige Green Photography)Students Louis Brouillet, left, and Celia Schwenter and Nirupam Singh, at right, watch intensely as chef Giet checks his ciabatta dough. (Chris Hardy/For Sonoma Magazine)
Petaluma
Central Milling Artisan Baking Center
Petaluma’s Keith Giusto Bakery Supply store isn’t just a great place to pick up artisan flours and cool kitchen tools for your culinary creations, it’s also home to the Central Milling Artisan Baking Center.
In the center’s gleaming education kitchen, you can join top bakers and culinary experts for hands-on classes in bread baking, milling, fermentation techniques, pasta-making, and lots more. We especially love the Italian cooking classes by Rosetta Costantino, author of the “My Calabria” cookbook. Classes are available for both newbies and experts, in-person and online.
Sonoma Family Meal doesn’t just provide tasty, nourishing food for community members in need — 700,000 meals and counting since 2017 — it also offers monthly cooking classes in the nonprofit’s community kitchen.
The current series features donut-making from cookbook author Kim Laidlaw. Classes typically cost around $100, and proceeds help fund Sonoma Family Meal’s mission to feed local families in need.
Laci Sandoval worked her way through some of Northern California’s top kitchens, including Boulevard in San Francisco, before falling in love with Sonoma County and opening the Wind & Rye cooking school in 2014.
Set on the Penngrove homestead Sandoval shares with her husband Travis, Wind & Rye invites participants into the couple’s farmhouse kitchen for classes in everything from butchery and sausage-making to cake decorating for kids. Guest instructors include the oh-so-talented Leah Scurto of Windsor’s PizzaLeah, and Nicole Plue, winner of a James Beard Award for outstanding pastry chef. Classes typically run about four hours and each concludes with a shared meal and drinks.
Laci Sandoval, owner of Wind & Rye Kitchen culinary workshops, in her teaching kitchen in Penngrove. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Sonoma
The Epicurean Connection
This is the place to get hands on with some stretchy, melty goodness. For more than three decades, Epicurean Connection founder and award-winning cheesemaker Sheana Davis has been championing the local farmstead and artisan cheese movement. Together with her husband, wine expert Ben Sessions, Davis opened Epicurean Connection in 1992 and began hosting immersive cheesemaking classes.
Sign up to learn the art of pulling mozzarella or create your own two-pound wheel of Creme de Ricotta, spiced to your personal taste. Each 90-minute session includes a sampling of artisan cheeses paired with a glass of wine.
Bling Bling Dumpling booth serves up fried pork dumplings with veggie spring rolls Friday, May 27, 2022, during BottleRock Napa Valley in Napa. (Erik Castro / For The Press Democrat)
BottleRock Napa Valley (May 24-26) has announced this year’s delicious lineup of chefs and restaurants. Whether you’re scarfing pizza with Pearl Jam, barbecue with Queens of the Stone Age or hot dogs with Megan Thee Stallion, you’ll be jamming with some of the best festival food in the country.
The three-day music extravaganza, now in its 11th year, has always been known for its gourmet food stalls, wine tents, craft beer, and, oh yeah, some top-notch artists and bands, including Stevie Nicks, St. Vincent, Ed Sheeran, and many others dominating the stages this year.
Though the much-anticipated food celebrity lineup for the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage is yet to be announced, we’ve got the scoop on what’s on the food playlist.
Restaurant newcomers
Chispa: A. tequila-centric bar in downtown Napa.
Slanted Door: Chef Charles Phan’s groundbreaking Vietnamese restaurant.
Lao Table: Laotian cuisine from San Francisco.
La Calenda: Inspired Mexican cuisine backed by chef Thomas Keller.
Kitchen Door: Chef Todd Humphries’ globally inspired Napa eatery.
Pizzeria Delfina: Award-winning woodfired pizza.
Otra: Chef-led Mexican food from San Francisco’s Lower Haight.
New England Lobster & Crab Shack: Destination-worthy crab and lobster sandos from Burlingame.
How You Mac’N: Napa food truck featuring — you guessed it — mac and cheese.
Hayley Erbert, left, and Derek Hough attend day three of the BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Napa Valley Expo in Napa, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)BottleRock guests enjoy the sunshine and music of Paris Jackson on the JaM Cellars Stage at the 10th annual BottleRock Napa Valley, Saturday, May 27, 2023. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
Only two Sonoma County food purveyors are on this year’s list: Gerard’s and Mariapilar ice cream.
Also on the roster: Mustards Grill, Morimoto Asia, La Toque, PRESS Restaurant, Oenotri, Morimoto Napa, Moro, Goose & Gander, Torc, Tarla Mediterranean Grill, Compline Restaurant, Oakville Grocery, Boon Fly Café, Charlie’s, The Q Restaurant & Bar, Zuzu, Bounty Hunter Smokin’ BBQ, Ristorante Allegria, Osha Thai, Stateline Road Smokehouse, Di Filippo Wood-Fired Pizza, Imagination on Fire, Ox & the Fox, Empress M, Taqueria Rosita, NapaSport SteakHouse, Frankie’s Deli, Villa Corona, JAX While Mule Diner, Croccante Artisan Pizza, El Porteño Empanadas, Monday Bakery, Mo’s Hot Dogs, Phat Salads & Wraps, The Original Burgerdog, Napa Yard, The Chairman, Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, Cluck Me Fried Chicken, Cooked by Gio, Gerard’s Paella and Nash & Proper.
Wineries that will be pouring at the festival include Caymus Vineyards, The Duckhorn Portfolio, Miner Family Winery, Cardinale, Shafer Vineyards, Schramsberg Vineyards, Blackbird Vineyards, Silverado Vineyards, Emmolo Wines, Frias Family Vineyard, Sinegal Estate, Mumm Napa, Robledo Family Winery, Lang & Reed, Vintner’s Diary, Mathiasson Wines, Art House Wine and presenting sponsor JaM Cellars.
Clockwise from top left, Cajun Spiced Catch of the Day, Shrimp and Grits, Bacon + Cheddar Hushpuppies, Collards + Mac and Cheese, Southern Fried Chicken Dinner, Smoked Trout + Baby Lettuces from Easy Rider in Petaluma. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
KQED’s long-running restaurant review series “Check, Please!” made a visit to Petaluma’s Easy Rider restaurant in its latest episode and the results were finger-lickin’ good.
Host Leslie Sbrocco highlighted Easy Rider’s “Southern-style hospitality and classic comfort foods” in her introduction, while guest Yemi Ogunkoya selected the restaurant for its impressive Southern fried chicken dinner with collard greens, shrimp and grits, and bacon cheddar hushpuppies.
The KQED show lets three local diners, rather than professional critics, share their favorite Bay Area restaurants. Each guest eats at the other two diners’ picks, offering their own assessment of the food. Ogunkoya’s fellow guests, Shivani Torres and Daniel Phung, raved about Easy Rider’s menu and atmosphere.
“I like that they’re using ingredients that are seasonal and local,” Torres said of the restaurant.
Bacon + Cheddar Hushpuppies with strawberry/ jalapeño jam from Easy Rider in Petaluma. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)Southern Fried Chicken Dinner with leftover collards, mac n cheese, bacon truffle gravy and Calabrian chili honey with The Derby Cocktail from Easy Rider in Petaluma. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Ogunkoya was drawn to Easy Rider for its date-night vibe, sleek interior and large portions. The episode aired on Feb. 8 and the guests on the show enjoyed fried green tomatoes with aioli, pork belly biscuits, steak tartare, crispy Brussels sprouts, ricotta donuts, and Easy Rider’s famous fried chicken dinner, which Torres and Phung dubbed the best fried chicken they’d ever had.
Easy Rider cocktails were also a highlight with “Check, Please!” guests who enjoyed the espresso martini and PYT made with vodka, strawberry, lemon and seltzer.
The Petaluma restaurant opened in 2022 with chef and co-owner Jared Rogers helming the kitchen. Rogers has appointed chef Lloyd Norton as the current head chef. Dustin Sullivan is a co-owner of Easy Rider.
In 2022, the restaurant was reviewed by Sonoma Magazine dining editor Heather Irwin, who described its “easy mix of classic Southern and Low Country dishes like shrimp and grits, crab cakes, collards, Cajun-spice fish, and fried chicken that draw you in gently rather than forcefully with an overblown caricature of Southern cuisine.” Irwin recommended the restaurant’s hushpuppies, fried chicken dinner, crab cakes, and shrimp and grits.
