Here are a couple of newsy nibbles from the Sonoma County dining scene:

Santa Rosa’s Americana has opened a second location in Sebastopol, in the former Gypsy Cafe space. The restaurant opened July 6, and the menu is identical to the Santa Rosa restaurant’s breakfast and lunch offerings, featuring classic diner dishes with modern flair (including one of the best burgers in Sonoma County). Click through the above gallery for a few favorite dishes to order.

162 N. Main St., Sebastopol, americanasr.com

Popular Sonoma bakery and breakfast spot Baker & Cook now offers dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. The prix fixe menu is three courses for $72. Previous menus have included a shaved summer squash and pickled cucumber salad, yellowtail amberjack with steamed quinoa, lamb with saffron mashed potatoes and lemon cheesecake with blueberry compote.

Call or text 707-509-9225 for reservations. 18812 Highway 12, Sonoma, bakerandcooksonoma.com

After more than a year of false starts at Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, co-owner Catherine Bartolomei sits across from me as we dine from the new six-course tasting menu from chef Craig Wilmer. She’s enthusiastic about the former Coi and Petit Crenn chef now heading the kitchen of the luxury hotel.

The current menu includes complex seasonal dishes, two favorites being a ladder of perfectly stacked spring peas interspersed with tiny basil leaves and a rangpur lime emulsion, and a strip loin of beef from Snake River Farms. Sommelier Jared Hooper pairs the dishes with humor and a passion for offbeat wines.

Wilmer, who worked for many years with chef Erik Anderson (Coi, Truss, Barndiva), has settled into the kitchen over the last four months following the brief tenures of chefs Trevor Anderson, Daniel Beal and Jeremy Cabrera. Despite the prior chaos, Wilmer seems at home in the space and will hopefully elevate the food to its former critical acclaim.

Once considered one of the hottest reservations in Sonoma County, the restaurant went through a series of chefs after the departure of longtime culinary director and chef Steve Litke in late 2021. Litke oversaw the restaurant from its inception, retained a Michelin star for 14 years and made the dining spot a destination.

The Farmhouse Inn is an international darling of travel magazines and Instagrammers for its luxurious, modern guest accommodations and quiet location. It’s been owned by the brother-sister duo Catherine and Joe Bartolomei since 1999. The tasting menu is $225 per person, with wine pairings an additional $125. 7871 River Road, Forestville, 707-887-3300, farmhouseinn.com

A week before the much-anticipated reveal of California’s 2023 Michelin star winners on July 18, the international restaurant guide disclosed an amuse-bouche of 10 new Bib Gourmands — restaurants offering good food at a good value.

According to the news release, Michelin inspectors have chosen 143 California Bib Gourmands this year, including the 10 new additions. Frustratingly, none of the shiny new Bibs are in Wine Country — not in Sonoma nor Napa counties, nor north of the Golden Gate Bridge. But four of the newcomers are in the Bay Area: Bansang (San Francisco, Korean cuisine); Bombera (Oakland, Mexican cuisine); Petiscos (San Jose, Portuguese cuisine); and Snail Bar (Oakland, contemporary cuisine).

“The inspection team and I are very excited about these ten restaurants joining the wide array of Bib Gourmand restaurants already in the great state of California,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the Michelin Guides.

Other newcomers to the Bib Gourmand category this year are Carnes Asadas Pancho Lopez (Los Angeles, Mexican cuisine); Cobi’s (Santa Monica, Asian cuisine); Eat Joy Food (Rowland Heights, Taiwanese cuisine); Mabel’s Gone Fishing (San Diego, seafood); Maligne (Seaside, Californian cuisine); and Villa’s Tacos (Los Angeles, Mexican cuisine).

The complete list of Bib Gourmand restaurants will be available on July 18, along with the California Michelin star list, following the live ceremony in Oakland.

We’re not entirely sour grapes about the whole thing, though. Despite having no Wine Country restaurants debut on the Bib Gourmand list this year, last year eight local restaurants maintained their Bib Gourmand status, including Healdsburg’s Chalkboard; El Molino Central, Valley Bar + Bottle and FolkTable in Sonoma; Khom Loi and Ramen Gaijin in Sebastopol; Stockhome in Petaluma; and Glen Ellen Star in Glen Ellen.

Like this year, there were no new additions to the Bib Gourmand list from Sonoma County in 2022.

While the stars remain the restaurant world’s most coveted awards, being selected a Bib Gourmand by Michelin inspectors is also an honor and can put a restaurant on the map. To be considered for the Bib Gourmand category, restaurants must serve two courses, a glass of wine or dessert for around $40 or less — a tall order in California.

Today, the Michelin Guide comprises a series of guidebooks and announces awards annually across countries, regions and cities — there’s a Michelin Guide for France, but also one for Paris. In the United States, awards are announced in cities like New York City or Washington, D.C., and statewide, in the case of California.

The Michelin guide, launched by French tire company Michelin in 1900, began awarding stars to fine-dining establishments in 1926. In 1955, it introduced a second designation for restaurants deemed a good value by Michelin inspectors. It became known as Bib Gourmand in 1997 and was indicated in the guidebook with an image of the tire company’s mascot, “Bibendum,” also known as the Michelin Man.