You don’t have to wait until Cinco de Mayo to enjoy the sweet, sour, salty, boozy taste of a well-made margarita.

Often hailed as the quintessential Mexican cocktail, the origins of the margarita remain debated — some claim it was invented in Tijuana in the 1930s while others say the first margarita was concocted by a Dallas socialite at her Acapulco vacation home in 1948.

No matter where it came from or how you like yours — frozen or on the rocks, with or without salt, flavor-infused or classic — Sonoma County serves up some marvelous margaritas. Here are our top picks.

Santa Rosa

La Rosa Tequileria & Grille: La Rosa’s La Diabla is a favorite margarita made with lime, strawberry (or other fruits, your choice) and muddled serrano chiles, served on the rocks. A little spicy, a little naughty. If heat isn’t your thing, try one of their many other margaritas, or keep it simple with a shot of tequila from the expansive bar, which features over 180 artisan tequilas and mezcals. 500 Fourth St., 707-523-3663, larosasantarosa.com

Lazeaway Club at the Flamingo Resort: Grab a poolside table and a fresh margarita and enjoy the “ode to idleness” vibe at the resort restaurant. 2777 Fourth St., 707-510-4533, lazeawayclub.com

Windsor

Sweet T’s: The secret to the Texas Margarita? Pineapple and a kick of cayenne pepper. But oh, how sweet it is. 9098 Brooks Road S., 707-687-5185, sweettssouthern.com

El Gallo Negro: This Windsor restaurant and mezcaleria serves up Oaxacan-influenced dishes and a margarita for everyone with over a dozen festive options, including their tropical house margarita and the Mucho Caliente made with jalapeño-infused Herradura tequila. 8465 Old Redwood Highway, 707-838-9511, elgallonegro.net

Healdsburg

Agave: Agave offers one of the largest tequila selections in the county and hosts regular tastings. Order a house margarita to enjoy al fresco with a traditional Oaxacan molé. 1063 Vine St., 707-433-2411, agavehealdsburg.com

Roof 106: The Modern Margarita is a wonder of modern alchemy. This classic cocktail is crystal-clear, making for a sneaky drink that’s every bit as good as the original. Maybe better. 106 Matheson St., 707-723-1106, thematheson.com

Sonoma

La Casa Restaurant: One of the oldest restaurants in Sonoma knows how to throw down the margaritas — they offer six types — many use recipes that date back to the restaurant’s 1967 opening. Try the Coat Rack, which uses reposado tequila, Cointreau and fresh-squeezed lime; or order a house margarita during happy hour. 121 E. Spain St., 707-996-3406, lacasarestaurants.com

Taqueria La Hacienda: Sonoma locals flock to La Hacienda, not just for the best homemade molé in town, but also for their gigantic margaritas. Skip the house margarita and go top shelf with a blend of their famous margarita mix and El Jimador Tequila Blanco Triple Sec, topped with floats of Grand Marnier and Cointreau. 17960 Sonoma Highway, 707-939-8226, lahaciendasonomabarandgrill.com

Oso Sonoma: Oso’s food is great and so are the cocktails. Pair Oso’s shrimp tacos with a blood orange margarita, which uses tequila, blood orange puree, lime, agave and salt. 9 E. Spain St., 707-931-6926, ososonoma.com

Petaluma

Mi Pueblo: Mi Pueblo hosts a popular happy hour with specialty margaritas, such as the jalapeño margarita. Local fans describe Mi Pueblo’s margaritas as being “the size of a mixing bowl” and therefore shareable for two — but would you really want to share your margarita? 108 Kentucky St., 707-769-9066, eatmipuebloelcentro.com; 800 Petaluma Blvd. N., 707-762-8192, eatmipueblonovato.com/petaluma

Plaza Tequila: Popular with happy hour enthusiasts, Plaza Tequila offers margarita lovers plenty of options to pair with their expansive menu. Treat yourself to a top shelf margarita, topped off with a float of Cointreau, and sit back and relax on the shaded patio. 600 E. Washington St., Petaluma, 707-776-4949, plazatequila.com

Cotati

Mi Ranchito: Mi Ranchito loves tequila so much they have their own tequila club. Their specialty margaritas run the gamut of colors, tastes and sizes. Try the top shelf margarita or a fruity marg, like the strawberry or watermelon. 7600 Commerce Blvd., 707-795-7600, miranchitocotati.com

West County

El Barrio: One of the hottest spots in Guerneville, El Barrio pairs tequila and mezcal craft cocktails with small Mexican plates. USA Today once called their La Adelita margarita — made with blanco tequila, triple sec, housemade jamaica and lime — “sultry.” They also offer mezcal margaritas, like the simple El Barrio and the prickly pear-laced El Nopal. 16230 Main St., Guerneville, 707-604-7601, elbarriobar.com

Underwood Bar and Grill: A popular hangout for locals, including winemakers and artists, Underwood offers a top-notch craft cocktail program, which of course includes a margarita. Their Mercury Margarita uses Herradura Blanco tequila, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, housemade sweet and sour, and fresh orange juice. It’s a perfect match with their signature grilled hamburger. 9113 Graton Road, Graton, 707-823-7023, underwoodgraton.com

El Coronel Mexican Restaurant: This family-friendly establishment, with an outdoor patio, makes for a great spot to enjoy one of nine specialty margaritas — especially if you love a more fruity twist. Their Pink Cadillac margarita stars Chambord, giving it a distinct raspberry flavor, and the signature El Coronel Elegante features Don Julio Añejo and Cointreau. 1015 Gravenstein Highway S., Sebastopol, 707-829-7010, elcoronelrestaurant.com

Rocker’s Roadhouse: This Valley Ford saloon offers contemporary twists on classics, including the house margarita, which comprises fresh lime, tequila-infused soju and simple syrup. Make it spicy with added serrano and jalapeño peppers. Enjoy with the beer-battered fish tacos, served with apple-fennel slaw and a spicy remoulade sauce. Too many margaritas? Sleep it off at their onsite hotel. 14415 Highway 1, Valley Ford, 707-876-1983, rockeroysterfellers.com

Heather Irwin and Sarah Stierch contributed to this article.

The post Where to Get the Best Margaritas in Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

When you live in Sonoma County, you’re never lonely for out-of-town visitors. Family, friends, college roommates, even casual acquaintances are all eager to catch up with you and take in all that the region offers.

Now through New Year’s is high season for house guests, with the number of invading out-of-towners larger than the kids’ gift lists. For local hosts, it can be a challenge deciding where to take restless visitors, especially those on a budget. Farm-to-table restaurants and taquerias are a given. Winery tasting rooms? Natch.

Go any direction in Sonoma County, and you will wind up somewhere intriguing. You’re never far from good food, natural beauty and wine tasting. But with so many choices, we’ve creamed off a few foolproof excursions that will fill up a day and make your guests’ stay in Sonoma County more memorable.

Click through the gallery for a four-day itinerary that includes some not-so-obvious explorations of Sonoma County, guaranteed to please your guests as much as you.

Meg McConahey contributed to this article. 

Day 1: Into the Armstrong Woods and to the coast

Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville is a great place to introduce visitors to the natural superlatives of Sonoma County. Magnificent, 1,200-year-old Sequoia sempervirens, commonly known as coastal redwoods, tower in a way that makes humans feel very small and very serene. Redwoods are among the natural wonders of the world and among the planet’s oldest living organisms. And they’re an easy drive from anywhere in the county.

The Armstrong reserve features a 1½-mile, ADA-accessible trail, making this an easy outdoors experience for everyone in your group. Arrive early and with jackets to combat the marine chill. At 7:45 a.m., you’ll find an empty parking lot and the quiet woods, sans Segways and smartphone selfie-taking hordes. By contrast, visitors to Marin’s Muir Woods have to make a reservation.

After an hour among the gentle giants, depart as the parking lot begins to fill. Those arriving have had their breakfast, so now it’s time for yours. Coffee Bazaar in Guerneville provides house-roasted coffee and pastries. Or drive a little farther west, along the Russian River, to Duncans Mills’ Gold Coast Coffee and Bakery.

Founded in 1877, Duncans Mills is a quaint station on the way to the coast from the river towns, with a charming general store and a depot museum next to where the Northwestern Pacific Railroad once ran. If you still have Christmas shopping to do, then Duncans Mills is a good place to browse. Don’t miss Jim Raidl’s Jim and Willies, a real curiosity shop of quirky antiques and curios with a friendly proprietor.

On the road again, continue west. For some sea air and wide-open ocean views to amaze visitors from land-locked places, stop at the Vista Trail in Jenner at the mouth of the Russian River. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot some harbor seals.

After watching waves crash in the fresh sea air, you’ll be ready for the drive south on Highway 1 to Bodega Bay. This is the classic Sonoma Coast scene of crashing waves, and trails along the bluff are accessible to most people. Check out the whimsical wind spinners at Candy & Kites, the colorful array of saltwater taffy at Patrick’s and the Japanese prints at Ren Brown Collection Fine Art Gallery.

Start heading inland for a hit of Alfred Hitchcock in the tiny town of Bodega. Snap a “The Birds” selfie outside the old Potter School, immortalized in the scene where schoolchildren run screaming and flailing from their classroom. It’s a private residence, so stay on the road. Then swing by the nearby Saint Teresa of Avila Church, also featured in the film.

You’ll be hungry by now. For lunch, consider the Estero Cafe in Valley Ford just a few minutes’ drive away. The restaurant pays homage to local farmers with its hand-lettered chalkboard menus and homestyle food. Its inventive brunches, sandwiches and salads make it one of the county’s top foodie destinations.

Day 2: Healdsburg for the holidays

Start your day by taking in one of the most spectacular gems of Sonoma County — Lake Sonoma. Then head to Healdsburg (a 10-minute drive) for a leisurely breakfast at Costeaux French Bakery.

Costeaux French Bakery is a frequent winner in baking competitions, and its fresh breads are served in Sonoma restaurants. But not many people know that Costeaux serves great breakfasts and lunches.

After breakfast, let the bookworms and audiophiles in the group browse the fiction, vinyl and CD selection at Levin & Company. Take the stairs to the mezzanine for its collection of local art, jewelry and crafts. Next, visit the antique markets — like Shoffeitt’s Off the Square and Antique Harvest — all within easy walking distance of the plaza.

No Healdsburg visit is complete without a winery stop, or two. Lambert Bridge boasts a tasting room with a large fireplace, making it a cozy place for sipping wines in colder months. The Healdsburg Bubble Bar, nestled in a quaint 1906 Queen Anne Victorian near the plaza, offers a wide assortment of sparkling wines.

As the sun goes down, head to Barndiva for a craft cocktail and dinner, and watch the outdoor lights twinkle over the quirky art on the patio. Don’t miss the eclectic collection of British Cigarette Cards at the Gallery Bar.

Day 3: In search of lost time, and more wine, in Sonoma Valley

Winter is a good time to check out the new museum exhibit in Jack London State Historic Park. Even if it’s too cold or wet to hike, you can take cover in the House of Happy Walls museum dedicated to the great writer and his wife, Charmian.

Right outside the park gate, Benziger Family Winery offers vineyard tram tours that will get you out of the tasting room and among the vines, which have their own sculpted beauty in winter.

Make it an outdoorsy day at Sonoma Botanical Garden, one of Sonoma County’s secret spots. Few travel writers have discovered it, meaning you may have this 20-acre garden of rare Asian plants all to yourself. Easy paths wind past ponds and through dense plantings of trees and shrubs with something of interest in every season. There is a nice gift shop for garden lovers as well as golf cart tours by arrangement for those with mobility problems.

In the town of Sonoma, the walkable square offers places to sip, shop and dine. For celebratory sparkles during the holidays, there’s SIGH Champagne bar. No reservations needed, and they always offer three flights of French, Californian and other tantalizing sparklers. If you have teetotalers or beer drinkers in your party, this is a great tasting room option. They also offer draft beer, regular wine and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as snack-sized bites, both savory and sweet.

Sonoma Plaza offers holiday cheer and attractions for history buffs, from the Sonoma Mission to the barracks and Toscano Hotel, all within two blocks. There’s a big parking lot behind the barracks on First Street East.

When you’re ready for a bite to eat, consider Tasca Tasca (TT Tapas). Tasca stands for tavern or pub in Portugal. Chef Manuel Azevedo offers updated Portuguese tapas with a fresh Sonoma spin. They’re also open late. Or head down Broadway to HopMonk Tavern for bar bites and beer, washed down with live music on the weekends.

Day 4: Petaluma, Sebastopol and a farm-to-table finale in Forestville

The age of Petaluma, settled in the 1850s, might not impress visitors from Europe, but the downtown’s quaint storefronts, heritage homes and retro memorabilia will make even your English uncle or Swedish aunt melt. But first, start with breakfast at Della Fattoria, one of the country’s finest bread bakers, famous for its Meyer lemon rosemary boule. Try the breakfast toast with ricotta cheese, banana slices, toasted pecans and honey.

Downtown, check out the vintage guitars and mandolins at Tall Toad Music and the 1,800 varieties of heirloom seeds at The Seed Bank, owned by Baker Creek, one of the country’s leading purveyors of heirloom seed.

For the afternoon, get behind the wheel and drive the 17 miles to Sebastopol’s The Barlow. Designed to look like old farm industrial buildings — without the dirt and rust — this marketplace is good for browsing. Watch local makers in action at restaurants, wineries, breweries and cideries, and art, jewelry, glass, crafts, design and clothing studios.

If you want to arrange for a farm-to-table grand finale, you could make reservations at Farmhouse Inn’s upscale but surprisingly low-key Michelin-starred restaurant in Forestville. For a more affordable but still delicious option, Farmhouse Inn’s casual eatery Farmstand serves woodfired dishes and pizza.

The post Holiday Guests Coming? Here Are 4 Perfect Sonoma County Day Trips appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

As a symbol of renewal, fresh eggs get a lot of attention this time of year. Their sunny yolks and over-easy dispositions make them inescapable breakfast workhorses. Here are our favorite egg breakfasts. Click through the above gallery for more.

The Log Lifter

Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy with Scrambled Eggs
Baker & Cook

Originating in 19th century lumberjack camps, this gut-stuffing breakfast warms the heart and fills the belly for a long day of timbering—or couch surfing. $18.

18812 Highway 12, Sonoma. 707-938-7329, bakerandcooksonoma.com

Greet the Meat

Midtown Corned Beef Hash
J&M’s Midtown Cafe

House-cured corned beef, crisp hash browns, and melted cheese lay a tasty base for gooey poached egg yolks that slowly drizzle over the beautiful mess. Chef’s kiss. $16.

1422 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707-545-2233, jm-midtowncafe.com

Bling Your Benedict

Lox and Latke Benedict with Caviar
Grossman’s Noshery & Bar

This bougie breakfast substitutes crisp potato latkes and luxurious lox for the usual Benedict players. A schmaltz Hollandaise and caviar pile on the posh. $32.

308 Wilson St., Santa Rosa. 707-595-7707, grossmanssr.com

Hugs and Quiches

Deep Dish Quiche
Costeaux Bakery Cafe

The Godzilla of quiches, this mighty mountain of eggs, ham, bacon, cheese, and crust at this local institution absolutely crushes the competition. $15.

417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. 707-433-1913, costeaux.com

Morning Nachos

Chilaquiles
La Texanita

Somewhere between crispy and soggy is the perfect texture of tortilla chips smothered in salsa rojo, cotija cheese, and onions, and topped with scrambled or poached eggs. Add carnitas if you’re feeling sassy. $20.

1667 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa. 707-527-7331, latexanita.com

The Mix Don’t Lie

Shakshuka
Pearl

The Arabic origins of this roiling red dish mean “mixed up,” but the piquant (not hot) combination of paprika, chickpeas, tomatoes, peppers, grilled Halloumi cheese, and baked eggs is more beauty than beast. $25.

500 First St., Petaluma. 707-559-5187, pearlpetaluma.com

Morning Motivator

Breakfast Sandwich
Americana

Greet the day with this easy, handheld traveler of a sando. Two overhard eggs, Estero Gold cheese, spinach, and housemade aioli on buttery toasted sourdough.

$15. 162 N. Main St., Sebastopol and 205 Fifth St., Santa Rosa. 707-827-3309, americanasr.com

Très Français

French Folded Eggs
Willow Wood Market Cafe

Velvety curds of steamed egg stippled with fontina cheese and basil will leave you wondering why Americans insist on overcooking and overstuffing this breakfast classic.

$16.75. 9020 Graton Rd., Graton. 707-823-0233, willowwoodgraton.com

The post 8 Favorite Breakfasts in Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Forestville’s unofficial motto is “The Good Life,” and it’s not hard to see why. A summer destination for bohemians and artists since the early 1900s, the rural town has majestic redwoods and river access, great restaurants, and laid-back, small-town style. Click through the above gallery for a few of our favorite things to do in Forestville.

Josephine Clements, Sofia Englund and Claire Weber contributed to this article. 

The post 14 Things to Eat, Drink and Do in Forestville, CA appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Gazing into the crystal ball to predict what we’ll be eating and drinking in the coming year is always one of my favorite stories to write as the new year approaches. It’s a combination of guesswork, wishful thinking and piecing together the breakout ideas of the previous 12 months that have gained traction.

During the pandemic, however, there have been few straight answers, though more frequent shifts that have moved the entire food industry in new directions.

Here are some of the innovations I predict will continue in 2022, finding new audiences or becoming significant trends for Sonoma County eaters.

Plant-based everything

If you’re still calling a plant-based diet vegetarianism, catch up. Reducing meat, dairy and egg consumption has gone mainstream, and most of us already have tried meatless burgers, Meatless Mondays and increasingly creative meatless dishes at restaurants that are less about “going without” and more about enjoying without.

We’ll see a continued explosion of alternatives for grocery staples (egg-less “eggs,” meatless frozen entrees, jackfruit everything) as well as chefs adding even more meatless menu items as demand grows.

Santa Rosa’s Cozy Plum Bistro (1899 Mendocino Ave., 707-526-3333, cozyplum.com) has created a comforting, approachable menu with dishes like “loaded tots,” crispy tater tots with taco “meat” made with soy, nondairy cheese, cashew sour cream and pico de gallo; and Philly cheesesteak with meatless steak, peppers, onions and a vegan herb cheese sauce. Little Saint is a plant-based restaurant slated to open in Healdsburg in February. Branch Line, another meatless eatery, opens in Railroad Square this spring.

Restaurants open fewer days

Staffing issues have forced restaurants to rethink their hours. Restaurateurs simply can’t afford to stay open on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon or a ghostly Monday night. Instead, they’ll only open during peak times.

After struggling to find back-of-house workers, John Ash & Co. at Vintner’s Inn and Resort recently announced they’ll be closed two days a week. Reservations are becoming required more often everywhere, and you may be directed to reservation apps like Tock that require you to enter a credit card number with your reservation. That way, if you don’t show up, you might have to pay a hefty fee, which discourages no-shows that dent restaurants’ bottom lines.

Diversified business models

Restaurants aren’t simply restaurants anymore. They sell pantry items, kitchen goods and lifestyle home goods, too, to bring in more revenue. Stockhome (220 Western Ave, Petaluma, 707-981-8511, stockhomepetaluma.com) sells Swedish candies and home goods along with jewelry, clothing and other locally made products. Franchetti’s Gasthaus (1229 N. Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-526-1229, franchettis.com) rents their restaurant kitchen during off-hours as a commercial kitchen to caterers and up-and-coming food businesses.

Local delivery options

National delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash and UberEats have almost entirely cornered the market on food delivery, and the hit on restaurants — up to 30% of the tab — is brutal. Local delivery options like Redwood Food Taxi, Petaluma Food Taxi and Sonoma Food Taxi keep dollars local and work with restaurants to make the process more equitable.

High-end dining isn’t going away

Luxury dining is booming. After being holed up at home, many want to spend their dollars on a food experience that delivers, whether that’s hosting clients with deep pockets or a special splurge for a couple. Expensive restaurants like Single Thread (131 North St., Healdsburg, 707-723-4646, singlethreadfarms.com) and The Matheson (106 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 707-723-1106, thematheson.com) are booked out for months. Cyrus restaurant, a reprisal of Chef Douglas Keane’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant that closed in 2012, is expected to open in late 2022.

Streamlined menus with hyperlocal ingredients

Lengthy menus with everything but the kitchen sink will be curated so restaurants can cut down on skyrocketing meat prices, take advantage of seasonal products and insulate themselves from supply-chain issues.

Expect menu prices to keep increasing as the cost of ingredients and operations rise for restaurant owners who can’t offset those costs with volume or cheaper ingredients. We’ll also see prices rising at supermarkets as consumers question the environmental and other impacts of industrial farming and meat production and supply issues become the norm.

Luxury steaks

Concerns about the environmental impact of beef are growing, pushing many consumers to buy from smaller-production ranches. And there are only so many cuts of prime rib and filet on a cow, making them increasingly expensive.

Watch for more braised meats from cheaper parts, ground meat, creative uses of offal (still a tough sell for many Americans) and consumers willing to buy high-end, sustainable steaks as a luxury at restaurants. At home, meat CSA (community-supported agriculture) options like Panizzera Meat Co.’s subscription boxes will allow local meat producers to sell directly to consumers, lower costs and offer locally raised meat (panizzerameatco.com).

A whole new cocktail hour

Booze drinking is evolving. Takeout cocktails are a boon to restaurants with full liquor licenses and will continue in the state of California post-pandemic (whenever that is).

Lower-alcohol or alcohol-free cocktails are rising in popularity, focusing on flavor rather than buzz potential. Brands like Seedlip have pioneered nonalcoholic spirits, and a new generation of zero-alcohol gins that express the botanical qualities are exceptional. On the other side of the fence, canned full-strength cocktails are on the rise, with several local companies jumping on the bandwagon. Cappy Shakes Cocktails from former Duke’s founders Cappy Sorentino and Steven Maduro lead the pack with not-too-sweet versions of gin and tonic, Tiki-inspired Sidewinder Fang and Cucumber Cooler. Griffo Distillery, Zaddy’s, Alley 6 and Barrel Brothers are also making top-notch canned party-starters.

Mushrooms as tonic

Mushrooms aren’t just for pizzas anymore. The healing properties of funky fungi are becoming big business. Farmacopia (95 Montgomery Drive, No. 90, Santa Rosa, 707-528-4372, farmacopia.net) is one local seller with a lot of variety.

Commercial kitchens as launchpads

Unused or lightly used commercial kitchens are worth their weight in gold for new restaurant entrepreneurs looking to get a foothold.

Old Possum Brewing in Santa Rosa (357 Sutton Place, 707-303-7177, oldpossumbrewing.com) has helped several restaurant concepts come to fruition, including Austin’s Southern Smoke BBQ and Bayou on the Bay. The combo of a brewery and outside food service has become big business, allowing each to stick to what they know best. We’ve also seen a boom in local food truck traffic at places like Shady Oak (420 First St., Santa Rosa, 707-575-7687, shadyoakbarrelhouse.com), Cooperage Brewing (981 Airway Court, Santa Rosa, cooperagebrewing.com), Hen House Brewing (322 Bellvue Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-978-4577, henhousebrewing.com) and others.

The post Here’s What the Local Dining Scene Will Look Like This Year appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Ready to ditch 2021 and say hello to 2022? Here are some spots to dine deliciously and celebrate the New Year.

Santa Rosa

Epicenter: Family party 5- 9 p.m. with laser tag, bounce houses, video games, magic show and bowling. Watch the ball drop at 9 p.m. and celebrate with a sparkling cider. Buffet menu includes cheeseburger sliders, pizza, chicken wings, fruit platter, fries and chocolate-topped cream puffs. 3215 Coffey Lane, Santa Rosa.

John Ash & Co.: Four-course dinner with choice of pheasant and quail terrine, beef carpaccio, avocado and tofu poke stack, baked rock shrimp cannelloni, portobello Wellington, Liberty duck breast, diver scallops, beef filet, blood orange creme brulee and huckleberry pavlova. Book at vintnersresort.com. 4330 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa.

La Gare: Four-course dinner with potato leek soup and Caesar salad, followed by choice of chicken cordon bleu, beef Wellington, prime rib, Australian lobster tail or surf and turf. For dessert, chocolate caramel cake. Three seatings: 5 p.m., 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. For reservations, call 707-528-4355. 208 Wilson St., Santa Rosa.

Ricky’s Eastbound: Pick-up dinner of herb-roasted lamb shank, au gratin potatoes, honey-roasted Brussels sprouts, salad and rolls. $110 for two, $215 for four. Email order to rickyseastboundorders@gmail.com. 5755 Mountain Hawk Drive, Santa Rosa.

Healdsburg

Matheson: Two New Year’s Eve parties at the tri-level restaurant. Downstairs, the menu includes caviar on smoked brioche with whipped tofu; seafood matsutake chawanmushi with Maine lobster and sea urchin; aged Sonoma duck with salsify, chard and mandarin; beef Wellington with whipped potato and Périgord truffle. Also a few specials, including Alba white truffle (additional cost) and house-cured foie gras. The Chef’s Tasting Menu Dinner is planned for the dining room and mezzanine for $175 per person (5 p.m. seating) and $275 per person (8 p.m. seating). Tickets available at exploretock.com.

Upstairs, Roof 106 will have an a la carte menu for walk-in customers (you can queue up at the host stand in front of the restaurant) from lunchtime to midnight. The menu includes wood-fired pizzas, appetizers, sushi rolls and deserts from the dinner menu.

The Matheson party continues with a ticketed New Year’s Eve celebration from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for $100 per person (must be 21 years and older). Music from the band Notorious, a DJ on Roof 106 and a midnight toast. The Matheson will have a la carte food, champagne, wine and cocktails available to order. Find details at exploretock.com/thematheson or by calling 707-723-1106. 106 Matheson St., Healdsburg.

Valette: Six-course tasting menu with caviar ($95 extra), Dungeness crab tartare, scallop en croute, mushroom gnocchi with prosciutto and truffle, maple-glazed Liberty Farms duck breast, American wagyu filet and Million Dollar Bar. $150 per person. Reserve at valettehealdsburg.com/reservations or 707-473-0946. 344 Center St., Healdsburg.

Rohnert Park

Sally Tomatoes: Served buffet dinner with salad, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, prime rib and chocolate bourbon torte. Stand-up comedy show and live music. Tickets at bit.ly/32rFUbQ. 1100 Valley House Drive, Rohnert Park, sallytomatoes.com

Sebastopol

Blue Ridge Kitchen: Enjoy dinner and a party at The Barlow. Three-course meal includes oysters and shrimp cocktail starters and entrees of braised Kobe beef short ribs, cioppino or butter-poached black cod. Lavender panna cotta or Mississippi mud pie for dessert. $95 per person, including admission to the after-party. Call 707-222-5040 for reservations. 6770 McKinley St., Sebastopol. brkitchen.com

Gravenstein Grill: Winter vegetable croquette, root vegetable salad, French onion soup, Dungeness crab salad, New York strip steak, Liberty duck breast, wild mushroom gnocchi and Meyer lemon tartlet. $150 per person; call for reservations, 707-634-6142. 8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol. gravensteingrill.com

Sonoma

Glen Ellen Star: New Year’s Eve menu starts with a sparkling wine toast and housemade Parker House rolls with brown butter. For dinner, choose between wood-baked halibut with slow-cooked fennel and saffron, sultanas, toasted pine nuts and sauce Maltaise or New York strip steak with Romanesco sauce, caramelized shallots and pomegranate Bordelaise. Entrees come with rigatoni cacao e pepe, 24North Parmesan Reggiano and grated Perigord truffles, served family-style. $100 per person. 13648 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. Reserve through resy.com or at glenellenstar.com. 707-343-1384.

Kivelstadt Cellars Eatery: Truffle fries and a glass of 2020 Carignane Pet-Nat Wondering for $15 on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Josh Yenne will play live from 1- 3 p.m. on New Year’s Day. Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. New Year’s Day. Reserve at kivelstadtcellars.com or exploretock.com. 22900 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-938-7001.

Layla at MacArthur Place: Dungeness crab cakes, warm Berkshire pork belly, stuffed Sonoma quail and a choice of two seasonal desserts. $110 with wine pairings available for $60 extra. Seatings at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. 29 E. MacArthur St., Sonoma. Reservations at macarthurplace.com, 707-938-2929.

Picazo Kitchen & Bar: Traditional Mexican chile en nogada with poblano chile stuffed with veggie peccadillo, vegan walnut sauce, pomegranate and parsley, all served with cilantro rice and corn flour tortillas. Other options include lobster tail pasta with fettucine Alfredo or 6-ounce steak frites with chimichurri. Reserve ahead both for dine-in and take-out. $45 for one, $85 for two. 19101 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, 707-935-3287.

Sonoma Grille and Bar: Three courses include choice, for the first course, of raw Royal Miyagi oysters, chilled baby scallops with sweet and spicy sauce, lobster bisque drizzled with basil oil or blood orange salad with feta, pistachios, frisée and Champagne vinaigrette. Entrees are a choice three-cheese ravioli with tomato sauce; spinach fettuccine with sea scallops; Blue Nose seabass with Tuscan lentils or tenderloin filet with grilled asparagus and crispy shoestring potatoes. For dessert, choice of chocolate torte with gelato and chocolate sauce, cranberry pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce or strawberry cheesecake with strawberry Champagne sauce. $80 per person. 5 -10 p.m. Also open New Year’s Day. 165 W. Napa St., Sonoma. Reserve at 707-938-7542.

Wit & Wisdom: Multi-course meal includes a caviar amuse bouche of Yukon gold roti with crème fraîche and Mina Reserve Osetra caviar and dill. A la carte first course includes choice of smoked burrata with Burgundy truffle and shaved Alba white truffles ($35) or ahi tuna tartare with quail egg. Additional courses include scallops, wild mushroom tagliatelle, lobster pot pie, eye of ribeye steak with potato puree and creamed spinach. Add a black truffle to any course for an additional $65. For dessert, a “Farewell to 2021 chocolate extravaganza” consists of Valrhona milk chocolate cream, brownie bar, gold leaf and Champagne gelée. Reserve at opentable.com/r/wit-and-wisdom-sonoma. Dinner is 5 -9 p.m., and the bar will be open late for a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 1325 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-931-3405.

Valley Ford

Dinucci’s: Antipasti plate, minestrone, salad, ravioli with Bolognese sauce, filet mignon or Alaskan halibut, mashed potatoes and cheesecake. $42 per person. Music from Nick Foxer. Book online at dinuccisrestaurant.com or call 707-876-3260. 14485 Valley Ford Road, Valley Ford.

Kathleen Hill contributed to this article.

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After being stopped in its tracks at the onset of the pandemic, the Napa Valley Wine Train is once again inviting wine (and train) enthusiasts to hop on the one-of-a-kind attraction starting Monday.

The train is a popular way to explore Napa wines and cuisine, while taking in the views of the valley’s rolling hills and vineyards. The first experience to be relaunched Monday is the fan-favorite Legacy Tour, which begins with sparkling wine, is accompanied by a four-course gourmet meal and tour of Napa Valley, and ends with a photo opportunity and exclusive tastings at local wineries.

More winery tours and even a Murder Mystery Tour will be opening in mid-June.

To give back to the community after months of pandemic struggles, the Napa Valley Wine Train has partnered with OLE Health to host a temporary vaccination clinic at their train station since mid-April. Additionally, health care workers will be offered complimentary tickets to celebrate the train’s reopening, as a way to thank them for their efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

The train’s antique rail cars became a space for dining service in 1989, but the railroad they travel on opened in 1864 as a route to take passengers from south Napa to Calistoga. The 16-car train is one of a few historic passenger trains that are still in operation in the United States. Visit winetrain.com for more information or to reserve your spot.

The post All Aboard! Napa Valley Wine Train Resumes Operations appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

With The Matheson, Healdsburg’s homegrown star chef is trading on his family’s deep roots, reclaiming a 110-year-old building once used as a bakery by his great-grandfather— and betting that Wine Country’s hottest food town has room for ‘the opportunity of a lifetime.’

Dustin Valette was smiling, cracking wise, smoothing things over with a contractor whom he’d asked to tear down a 9-foot section of wall that was 6 inches out of place. It was mid-March, and the two men were talking on the second floor of The Matheson, Valette’s soon-to-be finished restaurant facing Healdsburg’s storied downtown plaza. The two shared a laugh, although nobody was laughing a few days earlier when Valette caught the mistake.

So why the near perma-smile on Valette these days?

Having accomplished much in the pedigreed restaurant world of Healdsburg, this homegrown star chef is wading into a risky pool with his new venture: a trilevel, 231-seat restaurant with two bars, a mezzanine dining loft, and an outdoor patio with an airy view of downtown. It will open blocks from his namesake restaurant, Valette, the rustic eatery he has owned and operated with his brother Aaron Garzini since 2015.

And the past year has not been kind to restaurants, new or long established.

“We’ve never lost so much capital, to be honest,” said Valette of his existing eatery, hit hard — like restaurants everywhere — by on-again, off-again health orders meant to keep people safe. A loyal customer base, combined with a creative takeout menu and a variety of business loans helped keep the place afloat, avoiding furloughs for the majority of the 37-member staff.

Even as he scrambled to ensure the survival of his first restaurant, Valette was putting in 18-hour days preparing for the opening of his second, a self-described “crazy vision” designed to preserve and pump life into a historic building at the heart of the city his family has called home for five generations.

Valette is co-owner of The Matheson along with his business partner, longtime Silicon Valley executive Craig Ramsey. Their brainchild is a multistory mélange of two restaurants, anchored on the ground floor by a craft cocktail bar and primary dining room, with more casual rooftop dining, including a sushi bar, above. A third story, comprising two 1,900-square-foot condos, sits well back from the street. The complex will also feature two ground level retail stores: Plaza Gourmet and Copperfield’s Books. First scheduled to open in January of 2020, The Matheson’s eagerly awaited debut has been pushed back 15 months during the pandemic.

Yet there was Valette, grinning, upbeat, bordering on exuberant while giving a tour of the new place, which he regards, in a way, as the old place.

The 41-year-old Valette and his wife, Johanna, have two girls, 5 and 4. He is currently running on four hours of sleep, but not to worry: He just downed a double espresso. Also, operating on scant rest is something of an inherited trait, passed down from his father, Bob, a longtime Cal Fire pilot whose air tanker runs have for decades arced over local skies during wildfire season. One of those flights is depicted in a large mural, painted by San Francisco artist Jay Mercado, that will hang in the new restaurant. Another of Mercado’s paintings depicts a man baking bread in a woodfired furnace. This is Dustin’s great-grandfather, Honoré Valette, who a century ago owned a bakery in this very building.

Built in 1911, the structure has been subjected to countless alterations in the intervening decades. “Few if any characterdefining features remain,” noted an architect’s report prepared for city hall on The Matheson project. Still, it was vital to Valette that the structure be renovated, rather than demolished. Such is his personal connection to the building and the town.

But that work was nowhere near complete in mid-March, as men in hard hats bustled among sawhorses, ladders and stacks of plywood. The opening date had been pushed back yet again, this time until June, as the pandemic gave some ground but still clung stubbornly to the region, clouding the outlook for any new business in the vulnerable hospitality sector.

Asked if it felt as if he was walking on a tightrope with no net, Valette again laughed.

“Well, let’s see: I have one restaurant, and I’m trying to open a second restaurant during a pandemic. What kind of f—— question is that?”

It’s not just that there’s no net, he said. “There’s a pit down there with jagged rocks, and alligators. But this is what I want.”

“This” is the most ambitious thing Valette has taken on since venturing into the hyper-competitive Healdsburg dining scene. The Matheson project includes two distinct restaurant spaces. Downstairs is a more highbrow experience. Valette and Ken Tominaga, the sushi-whispering owner of Rohnert Park’s Hana Japanese Restaurant, will work their magic in an open kitchen. Guests can belly up to the bar or serve themselves at an 88-bottle self-serve wine wall.

The upper level, named Roof 106, will offer a more relaxed vibe — along with a rooftop cocktail bar, outdoor patio and garden lounge with plaza views. The workhorse there will be the Mugnaini wood-fired pizza oven, custom-made at that company’s Healdsburg plant. “This to me is the holy grail,” says Valette, patting the 3,800-pound beast. “I’ve always wanted one but could never afford it.”

Valette comes from modest means and has turned that into a running joke: “I’ve got a lot of money,” he says, “it’s just all red, with a little minus sign next to it.” That became less of an issue when he partnered with the deep-pocketed Ramsey, a longtime employee of Oracle who founded the cloud software company Vlocity. A Healdsburg local and frequent diner at Valette, his conversations with Dustin led to a friendship, then a business partnership. Remarking on his good fortune, Valette describes himself as “the luckiest SOB in the world.”

But if the project’s upside is huge, so is the risk he’s taking. While Ramsey is writing the checks — neither partner would share the total cost of the renovation so far — there’s more at stake than money. From his days mastering Charlie Palmer’s “American Progressive” cuisine at Dry Creek Kitchen to his runaway success at Valette, Dustin has emerged, both in Healdsburg and the wider Wine Country food scene, as a gleaming success story. That aura could quickly evaporate, should The Matheson flop.

That scenario strikes Kyle Connaughton as unlikely. He is co-owner and head chef at the 5-year-old SingleThread, the county’s only three-star Michelin restaurant — but just one of Healdsburg’s top-notch eateries, an all-star cast that also includes Spoonbar, Chalkboard, Barndiva, and Bravas Bar de Tapas, to name a handful. Asked if he thought there was room, or the need, for a 231-seat restaurant – by far the biggest around the plaza – Connaughton answered with an emphatic yes, pushing back against the suggestion that the town’s restaurant scene had reached a point of saturation.

With the permanent closure of several Healdsburg restaurants during the pandemic, diners “are looking for more variety,” says Connaughton. He’s also a fan of The Matheson’s versatility – its appeal to both Healdsburg locals and those visiting. “You can sit downstairs and have more of Dustin’s cuisine” – a nice piece of halibut, for instance, done with olive oil snow, Niçoise olives, and sunchokes – or repair to the rooftop “and have a more casual experience,” Connaughton explains. Tominaga’s sushi counter has the feel, he adds, of “a restaurant within a restaurant.”

The Matheson is “an ambitious project” says Charlie Palmer, “but I think the town can absorb it.” In the two decades since Palmer opened Dry Creek Kitchen, he notes, Healdsburg has become a “world class” restaurant town. “I love that it’s grown from within, in a lot of ways,” Palmer says. “[Valette] worked here, and now [he’s] gonna do his own thing here. Not go off somewhere else and do it. It makes our restaurant and food community that much stronger.”

The Matheson made a big, if not entirely welcome, splash when the project was announced in 2018. The prospect of a large, modernist restaurant abutting Healdsburg’s beloved town square stoked anger and fear in a town that is perpetually grappling with questions about its evolving identity— and blowback over its devotion to high-dollar tourism. Healdsburg’s median home price, the highest in the county, soared amid the pandemic, reaching over $880,000.

The project faced stiff opposition from citizens who believed its sheer size would be out of scale with surrounding buildings. “It was like we were opening a Cheesecake Factory,” says Valette, recalling some of that incoming flak. Critics pointed to language in Healdsburg’s general plan, recommending that the city “promote uses that are harmonious with the special character of the Plaza, that are small-scale in nature.”

Over the course of several meetings with the Planning Commission, Valette and Ramsey agreed to shrink the number of seats, and to set back the rooftop trellis and condos, to ensure the building would not appear to loom over the plaza. When the Planning Commission approved the revised project in early 2019, former Healdsburg mayor Brigette Mansell promptly filed an appeal, signed by dozens of like-minded residents and business owners. “Dustin’s a good guy, and he knows I support his restaurant,” says Mansell, whose appeal was rejected by a unanimous City Council. “But we just didn’t think it was in line with the code [calling] for businesses to be small-scale.”

A retired teacher, Mansell expresses dismay at the rivers of “new money” flowing into Healdsburg. “We’re putting up huge buildings, big houses, creating so many changes,” she laments. “And it’s not really serving the very people that give Healdsburg its authenticity, its small-town charm.”

But part of reason he’s building a big eatery, Valette explains, is that a higher volume of customers enables him to charge less. Affordability is a key issue for many residents of Healdsburg, and often arose on the campaign trail last November, says attorney Ariel Kelley, who won a seat on the City Council. “One of the things I heard loud and clear, was that they felt our city restaurant options were not affordable to locals,” she says. Valette is determined to keep prices at the Matheson reasonable, “so I feel good about that,” says Kelley. The Matheson, with its mixed-use housing and retail stores, is far more likely to enliven and invigorate the plaza, Kelley adds, than to overcrowd and overwhelm it.

“The community bucked us at first,” Valette acknowledges. “But I never got upset. It drove me to work harder, to refine the vision even more.”

“You’ve gotta have a vision,” he adds, “something that’s bigger than yourself, that wakes you up in the morning, that makes you say, ‘God, I’m tired. But I need to get my ass out of bed and go work on this dream.’”

“I’d get up in the morning, and Dustin would already be in the kitchen, cooking,” recalls Bob Valette. “At 10 years old he was making breakfast for the family, and I’m not talking about a bowl of cereal. Breakfast was eggs, bacon, wild pork sausage, potatoes, onions, you name it. He wasn’t much on cleanup, but he sure did the meal right.”

Dustin’s parents were both professional pilots. His mother, Carol Toney, flew an air ambulance. Bob flies for Cal Fire, piloting a specialized S-2 tanker that carries up to 1,200 gallons of retardant. One of the homes the family lived in was an old hunting cabin on the grounds of what is now the Hawkeye Ranch, near the top of Geysers Road as it winds up the Mayacamas Mountains overlooking Healdsburg Bob had graded an airstrip behind the house. When it was time for the Valette kids to go to school, “I’d throw ‘em all in the airplane” — a small Cessna — “zip out of there and drop ‘em off at my cousin’s in Alexander Valley, right on Highway 128.” From there, they would catch a bus to school.

Some mornings, “if the cop wasn’t there,” says Bob, “I’d turn the plane around right there on Highway 128.”

Growing up, Dustin always heard stories about his paternal great-grandfather, a baker from the town of Decazeville in southern France. Honoré Valette and his wife immigrated to America in the early 1900s. After being processed at Ellis Island, they came by train to San Francisco, where he opened a bakery. The 1906 earthquake “knocked everything down and burned everything up,” says Bob, whose grandfather eventually made his way to Healdsburg.

At some point Honoré lived outside of town, off Mill Creek, where a road was named after him. His “Home Bakery” was located on the site now occupied by Valette. And his “Snowflake Bakery” stood within the footprint of what’s now The Matheson.

In Valette’s understanding of his family’s local roots, Honoré looms large. “I always heard the stories about this guy who left the old country with nothing in his pocket, to pursue the American dream,” he says.

While he never wanted for essentials, Valette’s family was not well off. Through high school, Valette often worked 40 hours a week. If he wanted new shoes, it was on him to earn the money to buy them. The family also seldom took vacations, so travel was a novelty when Valette embarked on his career as a chef. His job gave him a ticket to walk into a restaurant in any given city and announce: “I’m here, what can I do?”

Valette’s dedication also has roots in a more deep-seated longing. “Around 10 or 11,” he says, “my mom and dad split up.”

One of things he says he missed was sitting around the table as a family. “I liked cooking, I liked food, but I was always, from a young age, missing those days when we would sit together, breaking bread, enjoying each other’s company.

“I think that’s what got me into this industry, because now I’m able to share the thing I loved so much.”

After five years at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen, Valette gave his one-year notice. It was time, he told Palmer, “to do my own thing.” Lacking the capital to buy a place himself, he had to line up investors. Three times, with three different buildings, his plans fell through.

The third time it happened “was rough,” recalls Valette.

That third deal went sideways on a Sunday. The next day, he walked past the restaurant Zin, on Center Street. Chatting with the owners, Jeff and Susan Mall, he mentioned the latest setback. They asked him to have coffee the next day, where they told him they’d decided to sell Zin, after a 15-year run. Was he interested in buying?

Valette was. “It took about 5 minutes to negotiate the purchase,” he says. Zin became Valette, the restaurant Dustin and Aaron, by then a highly regarded server and sommelier, had long dreamed of opening. The debut was a kind of homecoming: it stood on the site of Honoré Valette’s second Healdsburg bakery.

The brothers worked hard, and Valette prospered. Dustin started looking for “a way to expand this vision we had.”

“We wanted to stay in Healdsburg, but there wasn’t a lot of opportunity.”

By kismet or coincidence, another building that loomed large in his family’s past then emerged as, possibly, an even bigger part of his future.

The first Healdsburg bakery opened by Honoré around 1911 stood at 106 Matheson Street. Old-timers remember that address as home to Garrett Hardware, then Jacob Horner Restaurant, then Italian restaurant Felix & Louie’s. In 2017, amid rumors it would be torn down to make way for another large hotel project, the building was purchased by Ramsey, who had different plans.

Ramsey was a frequent diner at Valette. A bachelor at the time, he often sat solo at the bar, where he took his dinner. Nothing if not gregarious, Valette would often sidle over and chat him up.

“We developed a friendship,” says Ramsey.

“I liked him so much, and I liked his food so much, I started thinking it might be nice to do something with him.”

Before buying the Matheson Street building, Ramsey asked Valette if he’d be interested in a partnership, “and he said, ‘Absolutely,’” Ramsey recalls. It was only after that exchange that Valette explained his family’s connection to the property, “which to me was just great,” says Ramsey.

He sees in Valette a creative chef and a man of “great energy” and work ethic, with no blind spot for marketing and sales.

“Everybody loves him,” Ramsey says. “You go into his restaurant, it feels like a family, and he’s your best friend.

“I trusted the man and believed in him. And I loved the idea of getting him into the building his great-grandfather was in.”

“My father saved four people’s lives,” says Dustin. “I cook steak.”

He and his father were recounting Bob’s heroics during a wildfire that menaced a family trapped by flames in the combustible fall of 2017, when much of Sonoma County and the surrounding region was ablaze. The fire was “north of Clear Lake, south of the Sacramento Valley,” Bob remembers. The driver of a car was trying to make his way down a dirt road, to safety, but the flames were too close.

“I don’t know how the hell they ever got in there,” says Bob, now 80, who from his cockpit on that flight could see the family — two parents, at least two children — waving and screaming for help.

Flying lower than usual — at greater risk to himself — he made six precisely targeted “little drops,” each batch of retardant making another hundred or so yards of the road passable. When he finished, the tanker was empty, but the driver was able to make his way down the dirt road to a larger, paved road, and to safety.

“Am I saving anyone’s life? No,” says Dustin, who points out in the next breath what he is doing: “Building something that will hopefully be there for my kids, and their kids; giving workers opportunities, and helping revitalize the square.”

It’s clear he sees this opportunity, to reinvigorate downtown Healdsburg while honoring his family name, as a kind of professional apotheosis — the most important work he’ll ever do.

With a crew from San Leandro installing the elevator, Valette bounds up the backstairs to Roof 106. Envisioned as an “escapist perch” over the plaza, the rooftop lounge will feature planters, fire-pits, and eclectic furniture — none of which are in sight on this March afternoon. Standing on a plywood floor — the large stone tiles have yet to be set down — he gazes out on the plaza, recalling his days at Dry Creek Kitchen. “I used to have Tuesdays off, and would sit on the grass and read a book or listen to music. And my ass would get wet.”

He’s long dreamed of giving folks the chance to experience the plaza from this vantage – without soaking their backsides.

After three and a half years of hard work, that vision is coming to life before his eyes. “To be this close,” he says, “it’s crazy, dude.” “Would I like to be getting more sleep right now? Yes. Do I miss my family? Yes.

But there are moments in life where you sit back and say, ‘This thing is bigger than me.’”

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Dozens of woven bamboo lanterns float high above the outdoor-indoor dining patio flanked by two-story sliding glass shoji walls. Inside, water gently tinkles into a charming concrete pond filled with aquatic plants. The best tables are beside the aquascape that lulls diners into lingering just a little longer.

Located inside the former Peter Lowell’s, the newly opened Khom Loi has been an ambition for chefs Matthew Williams and Moishe Hahn-Schuman for years, after travels to Thailand inspired them to host several pop-up dinners featuring many of the dishes that have now made their way onto the menu. Like Gaijin, the food is their own take on the cuisine, inspired by the flavors of their travels.

Khom Loi, which means floating lantern in Thai, is an homage to the cuisine of Chiang Mai and nearby Laos, with nods to central and southern Thailand. There’s nothing shy or demure about the spicy, sweet, sour and bitter flavors of East Asia in every one of the dishes. There is nothing American-ized or even explained on the menu. Instead, it’s an immersion — sometimes a little awkwardly immersive.

“It’s about having fun,” Williams said. That means using hands, rolling rice and wrapping lettuce around tidbits of food. “Our dishes are like what you would find in Thailand.”

That sometimes means having no real idea what you’re eating (unless you have a cellphone handy to look up words like rau ram and naam prik noom). It’s more fun, however, when you start asking questions, such as, what do you actually do with sticky rice?

“I roll it up in a ball in my hands,” Williams said. “You dip it; you don’t pour curry on it. You have fun with it.

What do you do with the piles of lettuce, basil and mint that come with several dishes? You wrap up morsels in them, or take a bite of one thing, then a bite of another. Even for an experienced diner, it’s an adventure that takes some understanding if you really want to appreciate it more deeply than at a surface level.

But being an outsider is what’s so enjoyable, especially when we can’t travel to a far-flung place for the original experience. It’s about making that effort to engage, learn something new and make a few awkward mistakes along the way.

Or just go to Khom Loi to eat really good Pad Thai. Your call.

Best Bets: Must-order dishes

Gai Tod (lemongrass fried chicken), $10: The smell of lemongrass and fried lime leaves are enough to send you into orbit. Sharp black pepper and chile sauce (nam jim) with two-bite fried chicken pieces make this almost impossible to put down, or share.

Som Tam Pu (green papaya salad), $12: Dried shrimp and fish sauce are two of my favorite things about Thai food, but sometimes it’s difficult to find either of these salty, fishy flavors that pump up the volume of green papaya salad. Here, unripe papaya are crunchy carriers for the tart-sweet lime fish sauce I could literally drink with a straw.

Yum Som-O (winter citrus salad), $14: This is where the team’s varied culinary backgrounds shine through with a Cali-Thai flair. Bitter pomelo and grapefruit are tossed in fish sauce with green apple, toasted coconut, dried shrimp and fried peanuts. It’s a perfect winter dish that somehow tastes like summer.

Pad Thai, $18: The true measure of any Thai restaurant is this simple noodle dish. 1. It should never be red. 2. It shouldn’t be too sweet. 3. It should have the “wok hay” or breath of the wok. 4. Palm sugar and tamarind should be included. Ketchup shouldn’t. Khom Loi gets it right on all fronts and includes tofu, chicken thighs and prawns for extra, extra credit.

Bpet Yang (charcoal-grilled Liberty Duck breast), $18 (half) or $35 (whole): Another local-meets-Thai dish with a crispy charred exterior and buttery soft, rare interior. Just like it should be. The fun is in mixing and matching the duck with bites of lettuce, pumpkin, long beans and a green chile sauce.

Khao Niaw (sticky rice in a basket), $3: Sticky, glutenous rice has a special place in Thai cuisine; it’s used mostly to soak up sauces as you might with bread. Don’t try to use a fork or you’ll end up with a mess. Instead, pinch off a handful, roll it into a ball and dip it into soup or the sour dressing of green papaya salad. Fragrant jasmine rice is better for soaking up curry, however.

Sundae, $10: Save room for soft-serve ice cream flavored with lemongrass and other “flavors of Thailand” (they change). Topped with fresh mango (we got brûléed bananas, which were even better), crunchy coconut peanut crumble and condensed milk, this refreshing meal-ender is studded with sticky mochi for an extra surprise.

Great Picks: seriously delish

Plaa Thawt Lat Prik (crispy whole rock cod), $32: The only reason this isn’t a Best Bet is because I know how people are about a whole fish staring back at you, studded with millions of little bones inside. I feel you. However, this fried rock cod is scored before frying for maximum crispiness. Tamarind and chile stick to the skin, and the small bites are perfect for eating with chopsticks or a fork. Don’t forget the juicy and delicious head — the cheeks are one of the best parts. Sadly we made a mess of the poor cod and ended up eating a few bones. Ask for a little help if you’re new to eating whole fish. We should have.

Het Paa Naam Tok (charcoal-grilled mushroom salad), $15: If you’re a Ramen Gaijin devotee, you’ll recognize these (or something very similar) from their menu. Sweet and earthy mixed mushrooms get kissed by charcoal, adding bitterness and depth. Toasted rice powder binds everything together, and Thai coriander, basil and mint give the dish a pop of fresh, light greenery.

Going back for

Kaeng Khei Whwan Hoy (green curry with clams), $20: The massman curry with wagyu short ribs was very good, but seeing this dish with fresh clams and a light green curry in coconut milk made me wish I’d ordered this instead.

Not my jam

Tom Yung Goong Nam Khon (spicy sour shrimp soup), $16: There’s a lot to love about this showstopper, with huge head-on gulf prawns, coconut milk, galangal and mushrooms, but a float of sliced limes add bitterness rather than depth. Fishing out huge unshelled prawns with finger-poking antenna, then pulling off shells and legs at the table is more of a messy task than a pleasure. Large chunks of inedible herbs also make it a minefield.

Needs a warning

Tua Tod Samu Prai, $5: “Thai peanut crack” had us at “crack,” but these little nuts are only for experienced heat-seekers. They’re tossed into several dishes where they’re less atomically hot, but the combination of lemongrass, lime leaf and skin-on peanuts are hard to resist — even when you know you should.

Drinks

A lovely by-the-glass wine list highlights lighter wines that pair well with Thai flavors, offered in 150-mL, 350-mL and 750-mL sizes. A longer, brilliantly curated bottle list includes offbeat picks from the Basque Country, Portugal and Hungary along with rieslings, pinot gris and a whole lot of bottles of fermented grapes we wouldn’t even try to spell. I wish I had delved a little deeper into these wines. There’s Thai beer, naturally, along with local ciders and brews. Don’t miss the Thai iced tea with a float of coconut cream and a hint of cardamom.

A few notes

Allergens: Shellfish, fish sauce and peanuts are a huge part of the flavor of Thailand and are in many of the dishes. If you’re deathly allergic to any of these, Khom Loi might not be a good fit. Gluten-free and a few vegan dishes are available.

Despite the frequent use of lime leaves on the menu, you won’t find them referred to as “kaffir” — a term often used to differentiate them from American or European limes. Instead these richly perfumed leaves are called “makrut” because the k-word is actually a highly offensive slur in South Africa and other regions.

Khom Loi is at 7385 Healdsburg Ave., Sebastopol, 707-329-6917, khomloisonoma.com. Open Wednesday through Sunday for dinner. Reservations strongly recommended. Parking is very limited and on the street only. Until indoor dining returns, the restaurant is serving outdoors in a tent and for takeout.

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