For an elevated Wine Country experience, pair drinks and nibbles with Sonoma and Napa views at one of these six rooftop bars. Click through the gallery for details.
Jess Lander and Heather Irwin contributed to this article.
Nick’s Cove in Marshall is getting a significant upgrade with the help of “Top Chef Masters” winner Chris Cosentino revamping its menu.
The San Francisco chef who envisioned groundbreaking restaurants like Cockscomb and Incanto (known for its celebration of offal) is going all in on seafood, influenced by his childhood in Rhode Island.
The Nick’s Cove menu isn’t wildly different but includes some new takes on classics, such as a lobster roll with sea urchin aioli; Rhode Island clam chowder (a more brothy version of its cousin, the creamy New England, which is also available); “fries with eyes” (whole fried smelt), steak frites with Point Reyes blue cheese butter; and smoked black cod dip with fried saltines.
Fish and chips, cioppino, the Stemple Creek burger and classic Louis salad remain, plus a selection of raw and barbecued oysters. Fern Bar’s Sam Levy has upgraded the cocktail menu. 23240 Highway 1, Marshall, 415-663-1033.
Valley Swim Club doesn’t have a pool, and your swimsuit probably isn’t appropriate anyhow for the forthcoming seafood restaurant from the people behind Sonoma’s Valley Bar + Bottle Shop.
The roadhouse restaurant that’s replacing Delicious Dish in Sonoma will be a “California meets New England clam shack,” according to co-owner Lauren Feldman.
Slated to open in the coming weeks, the charming outdoor space will have an all-day menu of fried fish sandwiches, a poke bowl, salads, chowder and plenty of local seafood (and hopefully, some clams, too). The concept is inspired by trips Feldman and her co-owners, Tanner Walle, Emma Lipp and Steph Reagor, made to the East Coast and Bodega Bay.
“Swim Club references classic poolside, seaside and roadside traditions, as well as the spirit that imbues them. Swim Club exists where New England flavors, surf aesthetics and late ’60s California Naturalism intersect,” says the restaurant’s website.
In addition to filling Sonoma’s need for a seafood-focused restaurant, Feldman said, wildly fluctuating prices for chicken, eggs and other meat led the team toward sustainable local seafood with more stable costs.
“We’ve had such good luck with our seafood purveyors,” she said.
The restaurant also will have vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan dishes and wine pairings focused on their selection of natural wines.
“Fried food is so good with natural wines,” she said.
The roadside restaurant on the outskirts of town replaces Delicious Dish, whose owners, Lauren and Charles Cotner, fought their way through the pandemic but decided to go back to catering after selling the business.
Valley Swim Club will be located at 18709 Arnold Drive. Hours are slated to be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
When chef Shane McAnelly left his post at Bricoleur Vineyards in 2021, it broke my heart. The culinary force behind Healdsburg’s Brass Rabbit and Chalkboard seemed to have found his stride in the kitchen of the sprawling Windsor winery.
The good news: McAnelly is back and stepping into a new role at chef Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen. Huzzah.
“Super excited about my new opportunity and to be back cooking beautiful California produce,” McAnelly said in an Instagram post.
I’m looking forward to what he’ll bring to the iconic Healdsburg restaurant. Stay tuned for more details.
Perhaps the only thing better than tasting great wine is getting to sip and swirl while taking in the Wine Country scenery and soaking up some vitamin D. Sonoma County boasts a long list of stunning winery patios to do just that. Click through the above gallery for some inspiration. Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
Summer may be coming to a close but the Sonoma County hotel scene is only getting hotter. Celebrity chef Charlie Palmer’s forthcoming Appellation property in Healdsburg just revealed a sneak peek of a model guest room, while three popular hotels were recently named among Travel + Leisure magazine’s favorite California resorts of 2023. Click through the above gallery for the latest news from the local hotel scene.
Click through the above gallery for a sneak peek at some of the foods that will be served at the first Fork’n Good Festival.
Eaters wanted for the SoCo Market’s first Fork’n Good Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, in Rohnert Park. The event, organized by The Soco Market, brings together more than 30 Bay Area food trucks and beverage vendors for a day of munching, drinking and dancing at SOMO Village (1400 Valley House Drive, Rohnert Park).
Bite Club’s favorite local eats — with a few recommended dishes — include The Real Chamoy, Galvan’s Eatery (carne asada fries), Buns y Garnachas (messy-good burgers), AdoboS N’ More (lumpia), Lila’s Streetside Eats (nachos), Dino’s Greek Food Truck (chicken gyro), Indian Village Eats (elote with Flamin’ Hot Cheeto dust), Nellie’s Oysters (oysters, of course), and Bai Cha Boba Thai (milk tea). Richmond’s D’Groback is the guest pop-up we’re most excited for, however, with much-raved-about Indonesian food.
Tickets are $5 per person, and the event is family-friendly. thesocomarket.com
Cheese curds are, admittedly, a Midwestern delicacy that horrifies most Californians. Mostly, it’s the unappealing name because what is a curd anyway?
The chewy, squeaky nuggets are unaged bits of cheese that have separated from the whey and are best eaten the day they’re made or breaded and fried with a melty center (they have them at Bird and The Bottle in Santa Rosa).
But if you’re lucky enough to walk into Sebastopol’s William Cofield Cheesemakers just as co-owner Keith Adams is making a batch of Cheddar — like I did — you might just get a warm one right from the tank.
No promises, because he’s a busy guy, but it’s an unforgettably delicious experience. They’re also for sale in the cold case at the Barlow cheese factory and shop to warm up at home.
Curds are just the cherry on top of Adams’ cheesy experience. The Davis native is living his dream of making British-style wheels of Stilton-style blue cheese (Bodega Blue) and aged Cheddar (McKinley) in Sonoma County while still operating his Alemar Cheese Company in Minnesota. Alemar makes an award-winning Camembert-style cheese and the tomme-style Saint James, both available in the Sebastopol shop.
Marrying the aged dairy goodness, Adams makes the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich ($16 with slaw and chips) for visitors to his pub, a handful of wooden tables and umbrellas in a quiet alley outside his shop.
The sandwich has several secret ingredients, but Adams cops to including his St. James and McKinley Cheddar on Red Bird Bakery bread. The outside gets a smattering of extra-aged Cheddar crusted on top. Paired with housemade tomato soup ($10) Adams created with Chef Michael Dotson (formerly Petaluma’s Crocodile restaurant) it’s transcendent.
“The soup has 19 ingredients, and it took a lot of tries to get it right,” Adams said between batches of his new raclette-inspired cheese.
The pub also offers beautifully arranged cheese boards with fruit, chutney, bread and nuts ($16 to $82 for eight people).
“We wanted just to do a few things but do it really well,” he said. The menu also includes a Cheddar and apple salad ($13), wine, beer and hard cider.
“You can just come and set up shop for the afternoon. It’s a little oasis,” Adams said.
Save time afterward to peek into the cheese-making room, where you’ll likely find Adams up to his elbows in curds and whey.
Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers is at 6780 McKinley St. #110, Sebastopol, 707-755-0130, wmcofieldcheese.com. Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
It’s one of the great joys of summer: fruit fresh from the orchard and garden. Berries and early apples are now in season at many local farms. Click through the above gallery for five favorite u-picks in Sonoma County.
Sonoma County has a well-earned reputation for being sleepy. Sidewalks roll up around 9 p.m. (or earlier on weekdays) and most of us head to bed. But a growing number of restaurants are staying open for the night owls among us. Click through the above gallery for some favorites.
