Quite possibly the most popular “hair of the dog” drink, the bloody mary is an American icon. While its origins are debated (various bartenders claim to have invented it in early 20th century New York City), as is its name (Queen Mary or actress Mary Pickford?), there’s no doubt that this spicy libation is a go-to when one needs a “healthy” booze-laden start to the day after a long night out.

So what’s in a classic bloody mary? Vodka, tomato juice and a combination of other spices, many of which remain secrets to the bartenders who create them. After a lot of hard research, we present to you the best bloody marys in Sonoma County. From the town of Sonoma to the coast, discover where to find our favorite hangover cure.

Sonoma Grille, Sonoma

Back when bartender Steve Ney joined Sonoma Grille, he brought his famous bloody mary recipe with him from his prior employer, as well as his “secret ingredients.” A supply of spices and mysterious sauces goes into the housemade mix, which is coupled with Hanson habanero vodka and topped with chilled jumbo tiger shrimp. Cult followers call the bloody mary “superb” and “possibly the best bloody mary I’ve ever had.” 165 W. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-938-7542, sonomagrilleandbar.com

Washoe House, Petaluma

The iconic roadhouse in Petaluma is famous for more than just the prime rib, fried foods, and business cards and dollar bills stuck on the ceiling. They’re also known to be a great spot to suck down a bloody mary. Opt for the top shelf and enjoy a bloody mary topped with an assortment of garnishes like shrimp, bacon, pepperoncinis, olives and pickled green beans — all the necessities for a hangover cure. Pair with fried calamari and you’ll be doing just fine. 2840 Roblar Road, Petaluma, 707-795-4544, thewashoehouse1859.com

The Shuckery, Petaluma

Leave it to The Oyster Girls at Petaluma’s The Shuckery to concoct a seaworthy hangover cure: mini bloody mary oyster shooters. A fresh oyster is suspended over a short glass of a classic bloody mary. 100 Washington St., Petaluma, 707-981-7891, theshuckeryca.com

Ausiello’s 5th Street Grill, Santa Rosa

Settle in for Sunday football with a burger and a spicy bloody mary at one of Santa Rosa’s favorite pubs, Ausiello’s 5th Street Grill. “Best bloody marys in town,” said one fan, who joins many pub-goers to enjoy Ausiello’s take on the cocktail. Served in a mason jar, it’s made with Tito’s Vodka and house bloody mary mix, and topped with a huge slice of bacon and pickled veggies. 609 Fifth St., Santa Rosa, 707-579-9408, ausiellos5thstreetgrill.com

Grossman’s Noshery & Bar, Santa Rosa

The New York-style deli, restaurant and bar in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square puts a Jewish spin on the classic cocktail. Its “Bloody Maury” is made with house bloody mary mix and a choice of vodka, gin or tequila, with an everything spice rim and garnish of house pickles. Plus, Grossman’s serves unique, housemade infused vodkas, such as horseradish, dill pickle and Sichuan peppercorn. 308 Wilson St., Santa Rosa, 707-595-7707, grossmanssr.com

Healdsburg Bar & Grill, Healdsburg

A casual get-together spot for families and friends, the Healdsburg Bar & Grill (known locally as HBG) is also a gathering spot for bloody mary enthusiasts. “Delish,” is how one fan describes the HBG Bloody Mary, which is made with the classic vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire and hot sauce and finished with a salted rim. 245 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-3333, healdsburgbarandgrill.com

Acorn Cafe, Healdsburg

As Healdsburg’s preeminent brunch destination, Acorn Cafe serves a delicious bloody mary. The Acorn Bloody Mary is made with house mix and Manzanilla Sherry and garnished with fresh and pickled veggies. Order alongside the avocado toast or breakfast sandwich for the ultimate hangover helper. 124 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 707-955-7001, acornhealdsburg.com

Fern Bar, Sebastopol

The cocktail wizards at Fern Bar serve up a killer bloody mary for those who like a healthy dose of spice in their drink. The bloody mary is made with vodka, tomato, gochujang, Sriracha, sambal (spicy chili paste), katsuobushi (smoked and fermented skipjack tuna flakes) and “Fres-Yes” hot sauce from Sonoma County-based Hot Drops. 6780 Depot St., Suite 120, Sebastopol, 707-861-9603, fernbar.com

Rocker’s Roadhouse, Valley Ford

Oysters and bloody marys go hand in hand at Rocker’s Roadhouse in the hamlet of Valley Ford. Served in a mason jar, the bloody mary is made with house mix and vodka-infused soju and topped off with pickled vegetables. Rocker’s also offers a Tomales Bay oyster shooter: a house bloody mary paired with a chilled Miyagi oyster on the half shell. 14415 Highway 1, Valley Ford, 707-876-1983, rockeroysterfellers.com/roadhouse

Rocker Oysterfeller’s at the Wharf, Bodega Bay

Rocker’s seaside sister, Rocker Oysterfeller’s at the Wharf, has its own take on the classic cocktail. Also served in a mason jar with a spiced-salted rim, the “bayside bloody mary” includes vodka, house mix and pickled vegetable garnish. 595 Highway 1, Bodega Bay, 707-772-5670, rockeroysterfellers.com/rockersatthewharf

Hanson of Sonoma

Too hungover to get dressed or rather enjoy a bloody mary in the comfort of your home? The family-owned organic vodka distillery Hanson of Sonoma sells a $55 bloody mary cocktail kit that can be picked up at its Sonoma location or shipped right to your door. The kit comes with a recipe card, lemon juice, a bottle of bloody mary mix from Sonoma Gourmet, and your choice of Hanson’s original, habanero, Meyer lemon or cucumber vodka. Order online. 22985 Burndale Road, Sonoma, hansonofsonoma.com

Honorable Mentions

HopMonk Tavern: 691 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-935-9100; 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol, 707-829-7300, hopmonk.com

Brother’s Cafe: 3135 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-541-6345, brotherscafesr.com

Sax’s Joint: 317 Petaluma Blvd. S., Petaluma, 707-559-3021, saxsjoint.com

The Twins Restaurant: 572 E Cotati Ave., Cotati, 707-242-3075, thetwinsrestaurant.com

The Parish Cafe: 60 Mill St., Healdsburg, 707-431-8474, theparishcafe.com

Russian River Pub: 11829 River Road, Forestville, 707-887-7932, russianriverpub.com

Sarah Stierch and Maci Martell contributed to this article.

The post The Ultimate Guide to The Best Bloody Marys in Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

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.

Morgania Moore and her husband, Brook Bannister, both have deep family ties to the rural Alexander Valley outside Healdsburg. As a child, Moore spent many weeks visiting the home her grandmother built in the Soda Rock area near the Russian River. Bannister’s father had a place nearby, and Bannister grew up fishing and swimming in that same stretch of river, though the couple didn’t meet until they were in their 20s.

Now raising their 11-year-old son, Monroe, in the home that Moore inherited from her grandmother, the creative family is deeply connected to the land and to the handcrafted spaces they’ve brought to life together.

“This house, as the crow flies, is very close to the house my dad built in 1978,” says Bannister. “It was on the edge of these huge expanses of cattle range and maybe a few vineyards. There weren’t any other people around, and you could go out and walk forever and feel like you were out in nature. So this is really close to that; it has the same kind of feel.”

The low-slung, stick-built 1970s cottage and adjacent shared studio unfold in a series of imaginative rooms that bear the mark of a family captivated by craft. Bannister, a winemaker, musician and woodworker, has built much of the home’s furniture, from tables and shelves to kitchen cabinets. Moore, whose creativity extends from lighting and floral design to jewelry and textiles, has filled the rooms with large-scale foraged finds from nature. And Monroe, who attends a nature school near Forestville, plays music with his dad and oversees a massive Lego operation.

There’s space enough for the family to be creative, each quietly absorbed in solitary pursuits in different parts of the home during the day. As the afternoon wanes in the early darkness of winter, they circle back to the kitchen to talk, read and make dinner together.

“We’re all so individually into whatever we’re into. So we try to give each other a lot of room and patience to work on projects,” says Bannister.

“One of the things about having creative impulses is you dig the hole, and then you find your way out,” he says. “That’s how interesting things get made — but it’s also a more difficult process at times.”

Moore and Bannister wander into art projects the way others might pick up a book, following ideas as they come. They’re drawn to the possibility in the curve of a piece of bone, the palette of river stones, the shape of a piece of recycled metal. Bannister translates these inspirations into furniture or music, while Moore sculpts overscale pendant lights in papier-mâché, braids fabric into textured cushions and twists reclaimed fireplace screens into large-scale installations. Entire tree limbs brought inside arch over seating areas, and finds from Moore’s years spent on film sets populate the scene. It’s not just a cabinet of wonders, but an entire home of artistic imagination and creativity.

They both want to honor the house’s humble, artsy history and stay true to its bohemian, 1970s roots. “I had a couple friends who were interior designer people come through, and they were like, ‘Paint the ceiling in here, and brighten it up,’ and do all this stuff. And I just can’t do it,” laughs Moore. “There’s something about it. The old is still here, and I’m trying to bring in some new. But there are stains and marks everywhere that represent years and years of life in this house.”

There are years of life and history in the surrounding hills as well. Winter rains uncover clay and pebbles that Moore collects and brings back to her studio to wire into jewelry. The rains also rejuvenate the river flows and give a flush of green and gold to the landscape. “There are materials all around us…That’s country life, you know?” says Moore.

The crispness of early winter in the Alexander Valley means vineyards turning colors and native plants starting to grow back. “Winter isn’t empty; it’s really beautiful. More sculptural for sure, because the leaves are off the oaks, and the grasses are laid down,” says Bannister. “You can see the shapes of the branches and how they’re framed, and you can really see a large swath of the valley from the house.”

A few years back, a winter storm washed up the waterlogged trunk of a huge black walnut tree onto a nearby sandbar of the Russian River. Where someone else might see a tangle to clear away, Bannister saw a once-in-a-lifetime project. He and a friend cut the walnut into logs and hauled them out of the river to mill into slabs, which took a couple of years to cure. Stained and shaped into live-edge cabinet fronts, that walnut is now the hallmark of the family’s character-filled kitchen.

“To start with something as crazy as a giant tree lying on the bank… it’s kind of a long, interesting process where you have to be patient and have some faith,” says Bannister. “Only later on do you find out what you’ve got.”

This sustainable, local approach to craft is deeply resonant for Bannister and Moore, who are motivated by a desire to conserve the land for the future and their young son.

“We have cut down millions of trees that ended up just being wasted. I’ve always just hated that, how little value is placed on keeping old-growth trees in the forest and not cutting them down,” says Bannister. “So when I got interested in making furniture, I was inevitably pushed towards salvaged and reclaimed stuff. It’s just more beautiful than anything you can buy from a supplier. I’m not interested in making stuff out of trees that came out of rainforests.”

Monroe explored carving spoons from the same walnut that Bannister used for the kitchen cabinets. In fact, the couple often find themselves drawn to the same stones, clay and other natural materials. “That’s the cool thing,” explains Moore. “Artistically, we don’t always go together, but eventually Brook and I end up at the same spot.”

And as the family wanders through the chapters of their creative life, the spaces of their home continue to evolve. “You use a room one way for a while, and then you want to do something different with it,” says Bannister. “You look at it as a template.”

“The house is like a canvas that receives your creativity as it comes. It’s seeing what happens over time.”

The post Creative Family Transforms Healdsburg Home With Handcrafted Design appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Dreaming of a coastal getaway? Check into these gorgeous hotels along Highway 1 in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties. Take a walk on the beach, go surfing, eat oysters or just relax with a tasty glass of wine and someone special by your side. Click through the gallery above for eight favorite places to stay on the coast.

Sofia Englund, Maci Martell and Sarah Stierch contributed to this article. 

The post 8 Gorgeous Waterfront Hotels on the Sonoma-Marin-Mendocino Coast appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Forget about that sad sprig of mistletoe hanging all by its lonely self. For a more appropriately Sonoma-style spin on the holiday tradition, find a spot underneath the mistletoe along one of our many woodland trails. Mistletoe grows widely in our deciduous valley oaks, and it’s easily recognized this time of year, when the leaves have fallen and the delicate shapes of the oaks’ branchwork are revealed. Though it represents a sweet custom, in reality the parasitic mistletoe can damage the health of our oaks; large infestations harm trees by sapping water and nutrients. But nonetheless, the time spent hiking outdoors to spot the bright-green, lacy garnishes will bring calm and good health to your season.

Spot mistletoe in the oak woodlands at these local parks.

Glen Ellen

Eldridge Trail to Fern Lake. Begin at the end of Orchard Road on the campus of the Sonoma Developmental Center.

Windsor

Foothill Regional Park. 1351 Arata Lane.

Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve. 2080 Kawana Terrace or 3820 Petaluma Hill Rd.

The post Where to Find Mistletoe Outdoors in Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Whether you’re a Wine Country visitor on a Thanksgiving getaway or a local looking to get away from relatives, there are plenty of winery tasting rooms that are open this Thursday. A Thanksgiving visit to Sonoma and Napa wineries is also a good excuse to start your Black Friday shopping early and bring home bottled gifts (to yourself, or someone equally deserving of a special treat). Click through the gallery for details.

The post Take a Break from the Turkey: These Local Wineries Are Open on Thanksgiving Day appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Sonoma Magazine was honored Friday with an Eppy Award for Best Digital Magazine with under 1 million unique monthly visitors.

The annual awards, presented by Editor & Publisher, recognize excellence in online journalism, digital storytelling and design. Other 2019 Eppy Award winners this year include The Boston Globe for Best Daily Newspaper Website, CNN for Best Online News Website and ESPN for Best Mobile App. This is Sonoma Magazine’s first Eppy.

Since its founding in 2013, Sonoma Magazine has provided an insider’s guide to Sonoma Wine Country. Its digital presence has grown dramatically in the past three years to keep its ever-expanding audience on the pulse of local restaurants, wineries, arts, entertainment, culture and style.

Content created exclusively for sonomamag.com combines vivid photography and informative articles to provide useful guides to the stars and hidden gems of the area. Longtime favorite dining blog BiteClub, penned by dining editor Heather Irwin, has also found a new home on Sonoma Magazine’s recently redesigned website.

“It’s an honor to be awarded an Eppy,” said Sonoma Magazine’s Digital Editor Sofia Englund. “Thanks to the efforts of our small but dedicated team, sonomamag.com has become the little lifestyle website that could. And when you’re lucky enough to live and work in Sonoma County, there’s never a shortage of great stories to tell.”

This is the 24th year that Editor & Publisher—whose roots extend to the founding of its predecessor, The Journalist, in 1884—has awarded its prestigious Eppy Awards. The magazine covers the North American newspaper industry. This year, 300 entries were submitted in over 30 different competing categories.

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Fifty Sonoma County dishes may seem like a lot, but to be honest, it wasn’t easy to whittle down our list from the hundreds of incredible and iconic meals we’ve had from Cloverdale to Cotati. 

What makes the grade? Eating isn’t an exact science, but these dishes represent either the chef or the restaurant, use great local ingredients or have been around so long that they’ve become part of the fabric of Wine Country. That, and the fact that we got great input from our readers.

No doubt we’ll miss plenty of favorites, but that’s the fun of lists like these – doing the research for the next list.

In no particular order, we present Sonoma Magazine’s 50 Favorite Sonoma County Dishes in the gallery above. 

The post 50 Things to Eat in Sonoma County Before You Die appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Sonoma Magazine has received three coveted magazine awards in the 34th Annual National City and Regional Magazine Awards competition, including General Excellence – the top national award for city and regional magazines. The awards were announced Monday at the City and Regional Magazine Associations’s (CRMA) annual conference in Minneapolis.

This is the second time Sonoma Magazine has been awarded “General Excellence” in its circulation category. This year, the CRMA judges highlighted the magazine’s coverage of the October 2017 wildfires:

“Wrapped in a package that is stunning and beautiful, Sonoma [magazine] is a top-notch regional magazine that exudes local know-how. Visual features sit comfortably alongside reader service stories, and these attributes came together in extraordinary fashion in a special issue about the area’s wildfires.”

Sonoma Magazine also won the Feature Story category for Julie Johnson’s evocative retelling of the 2017 wildfires, “October Inferno,” published in the Jan/Feb 2018 “Fire Issue.” The judges commended Johnson’s “great reporting” and “clear, clean style,” and called the piece “a harmonious amalgamation of writing and reporting.”

(Sonoma Magazine was awarded best Feature Story in 2016 for “Up Against the Wall,” Phil Barber’s gripping account of Kevin Jorgeson’s and Tommy Caldwell’s historic Dawn Wall climb.)

The magazine’s July/Aug 2018 photo essay “River of Dreams,” which featured Russian River images by Windsor-based photographer Ron Koeberer, won the top award in the Photography category. “These images possess a dream-like energy, allowing the reader to float from one page into the next,” said the judges, “Ron Koeberer builds thoughtful tension between the still and active moments to maintain the same vantage point throughout the feature.”

Commenting on winning three awards in this year’s CRMA competition, Sonoma Magazine publisher Michael Zivyak said: “With three wins out of only 35 categories in competition, Sonoma Magazine remains the Jack Russell terrier of the magazine world – the small magazine that acts like a big one.”

Other winners of the general excellence awards for their category of circulation were D Magazine (Dallas) and Washingtonian.

Subscribe to Sonoma Magazine here. 

The post Sonoma Magazine Named Best Small City and Regional Magazine in the U.S. appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.