Big Bottom Market, the much-loved gourmet market whose biscuits once made Oprah’s holiday list of “Favorite Things,” has officially transitioned to Piknik Town Market, following the departure of co-owner Michael Volpatt and the sale of the business two weeks ago.
New owner Margaret van der Veen (known locally as “Mags”) quickly confirmed that the famous biscuits are still baked daily.
“Same recipe, same biscuit, different basket,” said van der Veen, who is co-owner of Brot Modern German restaurant with restaurateur Crista Luedke.
“People have been asking me for elevated groceries on Main Street for years, like fresh grab-and-go and more plant-based dishes,” she said. That includes the Greener Than Green salad with all sorts of greens, including Little Gem lettuce and Green Goddess dressing, and the Rainbow Salad.
“There’s every color in there, and it’s an ode to this town,” van der Veen said.
The market will be open for breakfast and lunch, adding more gourmet groceries and picnic provisions in the coming weeks and additional beer and wine selections. Piknik Town Market will reprise Big Bottom Market’s popular to-go picnic boxes filled with charcuterie, olives, nuts, fruit and cheese.
“I’m starting slowly and building the business, seeing what customers’ needs and wants are. But there is a hole for the upscale groceries in town. People want fresh baguettes without standing in line at large grocery stores,” van der Veen said.
Piknik Town Market is open from Friday through Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (and open on Friday until 5 p.m.) 16228 Main St., Guerneville, 707-604-7295, pikniktown.com
More dining news
Summer Break for Cyrus: Chef Douglas Keane has announced that his Geyserville restaurant, the Michelin-starred Cyrus, will close for an employee holiday from July 3 to 13. “Part of this dream was always to provide a work environment that would sustain its employees, not drain them. This coming week marks our first-ever summer break and continued fulfillment of that promise. We hope to see you when we return, refreshed for service,” Keane said in an email. The restaurant opened last September and quickly gained attention from critics with its 20-course tasting menu and Keane’s focus on creating sustainable, living-wage employment for his staff.
Iggy’s Organic Burgers with duck fat and beef patty, buttery brioche, organic American cheese, ketchup, mustard, onions caramelized with a secret sauce, and pickles are served on the plaza, Friday in Downtown Healdsburg June 30, 2023. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
With the heat index rising and summer in full swing, I’ve got two new restaurants and an old favorite worth heading out for. Give yourself the night off from the kitchen and bring the family.
At Iggy’s Organic Burgers, come for the ice cream and cheesecake, stay for the burgers. Healdsburg is awash with new restaurants opening this summer. But for our money, one of the best options for a family night on the Plaza is the new Iggy’s Organic Burgers and Angela’s Organic Ice Cream shop housed together in a single space.
The narrow space has just a handful of tables flanking the parlor’s ice cream cabinets (the open freezer cases that you look into to drool over ice cream flavors like Dulce de Leche Brownie or Lemon Curd). But dripping ice cream cones and messy burgers are best consumed outside anyway. And you’ll be in good company with hordes of tots holding melting cones as they run through the Plaza.
Lavender Angela’s Organic ice cream is served in a sugar cone at Iggy’s Organic Burgers on the plaza in downtown Healdsburg. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
The burgers are a bit more adult (though kids will like them, too). My favorite is the Biggy ($12), made with two duck fat and beef patties, cheddar, “Million Island” dressing (like Thousand Island), caramelized onions, secret sauce, pickles, and not two but three buttery brioche buns. Take that, Big Mac. You’ll need a pile of napkins to eat this gooey mess of a burger with thin patties and all the dripping cheese and sauce. We’ll never eat one of those thick, half-pound monstrosities again. OK, we will, but this burger is truly astounding.
Fries ($5) are a new addition — freshly cut potatoes fried in duck fat and tallow. These aren’t for vegetarians.
The combination ice cream shop and burger restaurant also sells thick slices of cheesecake from the award-winning College Confectionista, Anamaria Morales.
Iggy’s is one of the few places in Healdsburg affordable enough to frequent regularly. Open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. 109 Plaza St., Healdsburg. Information is online at instagram.com/iggysburger.
Cozy Plum
A second outpost of Santa Rosa’s popular vegan comfort-food restaurant (the first is at 1899 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa) has opened in Sebastopol at the former Slice of Life location.
The narrow interior looks pretty much the same as before, but the menu includes crossover dishes inclusive of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores.
As the latter, I’ve always appreciated chef Charles White’s approach to plant-based dishes that are flavorful. His creative riffs on familiar favorites include a Philly cheesesteak (the “steak” is a gluten-based meat alternative); “burgers” made with soy, peas and rice; and nachos loaded with beans, vegan cheese (that actually melts), pico de gallo and cashew sour cream.
The revamped menu has been abbreviated to include the best-of hits from the Santa Rosa location such as stuffed jalapeños, burgers, bowls and wraps. Best bets include the new Israeli couscous salad ($16.50) with large pearls of the pasta/grain (even foodies argue what category it belongs in) atop fresh greens with various seeds and an almond-chipotle dressing.
The Green Chile Cashew bowl ($17) is a heaping bowl of lettuce, rice, beans, salsa, cashew cream, quinoa and avocado tossed with housemade ranch dressing. It’s enough for two adults or a hungry teen.
If you’re a burrito fan, grab the Crispy Tenders wrap with faux chicken tenders (it’s the fried breading we all like anyway), shredded iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and bread and butter pickles. Coconut “bacon” ($3 extra) adds a salty crunch.
It’s always the burgers I return to, like the fat Mushroom Gouda ($19.50) with crispy onions, pickled jalapeños, trumpet mushrooms, vegan Gouda cheese and a soft sourdough bun that’s been waved over the grill for a toasty munch. Virtuous and delicious.
Cozy Plum is at 6970 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-823-3333, cozyplum.com.
Return to Oyster
After a quick stop at The Barlow’s new Punchdown natural wine bar (note to self: wanting to love orange wine and actually liking it are very different things), I took a second pass at Oyster, a newish seafood spot from chef Jake Rand.
The indoor/outdoor space has expanded since opening in November 2022, doubling its seating.
And that’s a good thing, as outdoor tables on warm summer evenings are at a premium both for the oysters, ceviche, po’boys and recent addition of soft-shell crab, and for the impressive stock of bubbles from California and beyond.
The oyster poboy at Sebastopol’s Oyster restaurant. (Kim Carroll/For Sonoma Magazine)Mussels mariniere at Sebastopol’s Oyster restaurant. (Kim Carroll/For Sonoma Magazine)
While the Octopus a la Plancha and baked oysters are still favorites, one new dish might make my Best Dishes of the Year list: shrimp ceviche in coconut milk. Served in a petite bowl atop a platter of ice, it’s a creamy, rich dish with fresh avocado, sea salt flakes and red onion. What works so well is the complement of buttery bits of shrimp with the faint coconut flavor and tart citrus. Unlike other ceviches, it’s not too hot nor too fishy, nor cheapened with too many chopped vegetables or the zing of too much lemon. It’s just right.
If you like uni and roe, try the raw oysters topped with pearls of orange caviar and soft uni. It’s like inhaling an ocean breeze. Order the grilled bread with soft black garlic butter to sop up all the leftovers. Think of it as a quick trip to the coast without the crowds.
It’s a given that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but why not make it the most delicious? Start your morning with a kick of flavor at some of the best Santa Rosa restaurants and cafes.
Outdoor patio at Molti Amici in Healdsburg. (Adahlia Cole)
Just hours before Molti Amici’s friends and family preview Wednesday, the Healdsburg restaurant looks like an HGTV home makeover set with just hours to go before the reveal.
A cacophony of saws, hammers and squeaking ladders is the soundtrack behind owner Jonny Barr, who flits around the renovated space sweating every detail. Everything must be perfect because expectations are high for the former SingleThread general manager and his team.
The restaurant at 330 Healdsburg Ave. officially opens Friday evening in the former Campo Fina space, offering a Californian-Italian menu of fire-kissed Neapolitan pizzas, housemade pastas and “unconventional” cocktails.
“People are stopping by all day, popping in to see what’s coming. It’s fun to walk them through and take the time. There’s just so much excitement from the community,” said Barr.
The restaurant-industry veteran has enlisted a group of close friends to round out his team, including co-executive chefs Sean McGaughey and Melissa Yanc (Troubadour Bread & Bistro, Quail & Condor Bakery), who created the menu, along with chef de cuisine Matthew Cargo and bar director Danielle Peters.
Neapolitan pizza with squash blossom, zucchini and ricotta at Molti Amici in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin)
Molti Amici loosely translates to “many friends” in Italian.
“Molti Amici starts with friendship. Sean and I first connected at SingleThread, and it was like peanut butter and jelly. We just go together,” said Barr.
Husband and wife team McGaughy and Yanc worked at the three Michelin-starred restaurant before launching their Healdsburg businesses.
The outdoor patio, with 23 tables, is currently the only seating at the restaurant. The bright outdoor space includes an eight-seat bar, bocce court and wood-fired oven for piping hot pizzas. The restaurant’s interior is incomplete, but Barr hopes to open it within two weeks.
Barr took over the space in December after the unexpected closure of chef Ari Rosen’s restaurant Campo Fina — a Healdsburg institution for more than 10 years.
The goal has been to pay homage to the restaurant’s history while giving it a fresh, new look.
Expect seasonal dishes like a summer-inspired pizza with zucchini and ricotta, salad with stone fruit, fennel pollen and watercress, or a Raviolo al’ Uovo with truffle and sage brown butter.
Larger dishes include spatchcock chicken and bone-in rib-eye.
Tiramisu and panna cotta at Molti Amici in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin)
The dessert menu, overseen by pastry chef Melissa Yanc includes simple classics like panna cotta dressed up with labneh and blackberries and tiramisu with Marsala wine.
Drinks include an unnamed cocktail (an emoji of an enthusiastic Italian hand gesture) made with Campari, prosecco and orange, wine, beer and nonalcoholic cocktails.
As contractors put the finishing touches on the patio and art is hung on the walls, Barr leans back in his chair contemplatively in a brief quiet before the storm.
“I’m kind of a swan right now. The surface may look cool, but I’m paddling like crazy under the water. But this is really just about friends doing the things we love,” he said.
The restaurant will be open 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with an abbreviated menu at the opening and a more extensive menu coming in a few weeks. Lunch service will be added later this summer.
Molti Amici, 33o Healdsburg Ave., moltiamici.com. Reservations are highly recommended.
Snake River Wagyu Babette with potato pave, alliums horseradish and black truffle from The Matheson in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Wine Spectator has announced the winners of its 2023 Restaurant Awards, which honor the world’s best restaurant wine programs, and a handful of Sonoma County restaurants made the list.
This year, the American lifestyle magazine recognized 3,505 dining destinations from all 50 states and more than 75 countries and territories, including 28 Wine Country restaurants: nine in Sonoma County and 19 in Napa Valley. New local awardees this year include Sweet T’s Restaurant and Bar in Windsor.
Healdsburg’s SingleThread restaurant was one of 93 Grand Award (the top award) winners. (Find all Sonoma County winners in the gallery above.)
Launched in 1981, Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Awards are assigned on three levels — the Award of Excellence, the Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award — based on the quantity, quality and regional breadth of restaurant wine selections.
“In a time of technological innovation, restaurants offer the human experience diners are hungry for — listening to their customers and offering personalized experience,” said Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator. “This annual issue celebrates the places where wine is at the top of that conversation.”
The Restaurant Awards issue, which features Napa Valley chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller on the cover, becomes available on newsstands July 11. Find this year’s winners here.
A former chef at Copenhagen’s Noma — considered to be one of the best restaurants in the world — will take over the vegan culinary program at Healdsburg’s Little Saint.
Ironically, the food, art and event space’s new executive chef, Stu Stalker, spent the last three years creating the perfect hamburger with Noma’s Rene Redzepi at Popl, an upscale burger spot in Copenhagen opened during the pandemic.
“When COVID-19 happened, it was something to do, something new and exciting even though the world was shut down,” Stalker said. “But as soon as we could travel, it was obvious that my time in Copenhagen was up.”
Stalker will open a new restaurant concept, The Second Story, on the second floor of Little Saint on July 7.
The night before Stalker left Copenhagen last December, planning to open a restaurant in San Diego, he got a call from Little Saint owners Jeff and Laurie Ubben. The opening culinary team fronted by Kyle and Katina Connaughton of nearby SingleThread and the Ubbens were parting ways. Would Stalker be interested in heading up a new concept at the space?
Within a few days, Stalker arrived in Healdsburg.
“As soon as I saw the space, it felt like the right thing to do,” he said. He spent a week touring the Little Saint farm, talked to food purveyors in the area and began figuring out how to create a multicourse prix fixe menu of elevated — but not overly precious — vegan cuisine.
Executive chef Stu Stalker at Little Saint in Healdsburg. (Emily Dorio)At Little Saint’s Second Story. (Emily Dorio)
Dishes on the opening menu may include a mushroom and zucchini skewer with smoked vegan butter and a tamarind glaze; a one-bite tart with cheese made from pumpkin seeds; fresh beans marinated in rose-petal oil; aebleskiver, a puffed Danish pancake ball with savory greens; or a rich pastry filled with celery foot, preserved truffle and tarragon.
The menu will rely heavily on the farm, but Stalker is clear that The Second Story isn’t about plucking only perfect leaves or pristine vegetables for the plate. He plans to use everything, whether for sauces or the forward-thinking cocktail program that incorporates fruit and herb-based shrubs, vinegars and juices into the drinks.
“Often you’ll see that the imperfect produce goes to staff meal or compost. I don’t care about that at all. All we want is for it to be delicious. We adapt to farm,” he said.
Stalker is careful to point out that while the menu will be innovative, he isn’t trying to compete with restaurants like New York’s Eleven Madison Park, which created a high-end meatless menu last year.
“This is a neighborhood restaurant, not a super-exclusive club,” he said.
The cost is set at $120 per person, roughly in line with restaurants like Valette or The Matheson, but far less expensive than SingleThread or Cyrus.
Co-owner Laurie Ubben said the second story of Little Saint, where the production kitchen is located, was long planned for a more refined dining concept. The downstairs all-day cafe, overseen by chef Bryan Oliver, switched to a more casual menu last winter, featuring sandwiches, salads and vegan comfort food.
Stalker’s cuisine will be complemented by Executive Wine Director Alex Sarovich’s Wine Spectator-recognized wine program, pastries from Executive Pastry Chef Baruch Ellsworth, and beverages from Executive Director of Beverage and Sustainability Matt Seigel.
The restaurant will be open 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. For more details and reservations, go to littlesainthealdsburg.com.
Lynzie Brodhun, left, and her sister Lexi Brodhun drink beer and listen to live music at Brewster’s in Petaluma on Sunday, September 9, 2018. (Beth Schlanker/ The Press Democrat)
Locally made craft beer and seasonal cuisine are already a perfect match. Throw in some live (mostly free) music, and you’re in store for a great night out.
From brewpubs and beer gardens to roadside diners and farmers markets, check out our list of over a dozen places in Sonoma County to eat local cuisine while listening to live music. Click through the above gallery for details.
A warm ambiance in one of the three dining areas at The Madrona in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
I caught up with The Madrona’s new executive chef recently as he finished his first month at the revamped space. Chef Patrick Tafoya took over the kitchen of the venerated restaurant after chef Jesse Mallgren jumped to Jordan Winery in May as their new executive chef.
Tafoya has a diverse resume, having worked at the coastal Duck Club (now called Drake’s) and owning his restaurant, P/30 (closed in 2011). After the 2017 wildfires, he and his family spent several years living in Kansas City, where he headed the dining program at a local casino serving 1,000 people a night. Most recently, he was executive estate chef at Round Pound Estate in Rutherford.
As The Madrona’s new kitchen boss, he’s got big shoes to fill.
“Jesse has a reputation as one of the most celebrated chefs. You can’t walk into this building and not see what he did here,” Tafoya said. The restaurant gained a Michelin star in 2008 and held the honor for over a decade.
But Tafoya isn’t driving at those kinds of kudos.
“There’s a lot of pressure in that,” he said.
“My goal is to make the food approachable, comfortable and like someone’s home. We want people to feel comfortable from the moment they enter,” he said. That means leaning heavily on the estate’s sizable culinary garden for the 21 meal services (brunch, lunch and dinner) each week. For example, the team has planted 20 varieties of tomatoes on the property, and Tafoya is excited about showcasing them on the menu this summer.
The current dinner menu mixes some of Mallgren’s classic dishes and new items from Tafoya. Caviar and Onion Dip, warm bread with chicken schmaltz, Dayboat Scallops Crudo, Chicken Paillard, Dry-Aged Liberty Farm Duck and the Madrona Burger have remained. Tafoya has added an Estate Crudite with herbed creme fraiche, a Little Gem Salad, Grilled Local Peach with burrata and prosciutto and Corned “Beet” Tartare.
“My ideals and goals fit really well with the new ethos of The Madrona,” he said. “I am committed to curating a dining experience that encapsulates the distinctive style and spirit of The Madrona, honoring its illustrious past while offering our guests a diverse range of approachable dishes.”
The restaurant is open to the public for lunch and dinner. 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-395-6700, themadronahotel.com.
Summer is officially here. Sonoma County hotels are celebrating the arrival of the sunny season with a series of events and new experiences. From a special dinner on the coast to the reopening of a historic Russian River resort, here’s what to look forward to during a Wine Country stay this summer. Click through the above gallery for details.
A modern, cedar-clad home makes for a pretty retreat in the woods in Cazadero. This three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is listed for $1.658 million. (Lunghi Studio)
A modern, cedar-clad cabin makes for a beautiful forest retreat in western Sonoma County. The spacious three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 177 Mohrhardt Ridge Road is situated among the redwoods by Austin Creek in Cazadero, just a few miles from Guerneville. It is listed for $1,658,000.
The home, which was designed by Marks & Marks in Piedmont, has forest views on all sides via ample oversized windows and doors framed in clear-coated red cedar. Vaulted and beautifully trussed ceilings create a sense of spaciousness and drama indoors, while fir siding adds a woodsy warmth.
The home makes good use of space with a loft that can function as an office or exercise room —that is, if you don’t prefer to move your workout or yoga practice outdoors to the expansive elevated deck. The kitchen has granite countertops, a hand carved stainless steel hood and custom cabinetry.
Exterior cedar siding and modern clean lines make the home blend into the natural setting. A short walk down the one-acre property’s steps leads to the creek and a waterfall.
Click through the above gallery for a peek inside the home.
For more information about this property at 177 Mohrhardt Ridge Road, contact listing agents Sudha Schlesinger , 707-889-7778 and Stewart Moore, 707-583-4196, Engel and Völkers Sonoma County, 328 Healdsburg Ave., Suite B, Healdsburg, 707 477-3982, sudhaschlesinger.com
