Roadhouse Perfection

at ROCKER OYSTERFELLER’S

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

A drive along Tomales Bay is everything I want in a day trip… fresh air, vistas, farmland, grazing horses and sheep, bay, ocean, forest, and a car loaded with just the right music.

Rocker Oysterfeller’s in the tiny blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town of Valley Ford with the warm, comfortable spirit of a roadhouse turned foodie, with fresh, farmland ingredients and the best cocktails for many miles around.

The namesake plays on the dish Oysters Rockerfeller, which they serve using oysters pulled straight from nearby Tomales Bay, baked with bacon, cream cheese and cornbread crumbs (6 for $14). It’s a classic New Orleans dish created by 1800′s restaurant Antoine’s. How can I help but adore the creamy, briny appetizer created in 1899? Though Rocker’s version works, our server rightly steered me to her favorite oyster dish, doused in Louisiana hot sauce and garlic butter with local Estero Gold cheese melted on top. Dreamy.

Greens go down easy in a salad of nearby Bloomfield Farms‘ romaine, shaved Achadinha Capricious cheese (from Petaluma) and white anchovies in a Creole Caesar dressing ($10). A Cajun-style seafood and andouille sausage gumbo ($8/$12) is comforting on a fog-soaked day. Entree joys peak with buttermilk fried free-range chicken ($20) in a Lagunitas Ale and caraway gravy over mashed potatoes with a smattering fried cilantro and sage.

All this goes down beautifully with classic cocktails (like a Margarita, Sazerac, Vieux Carre) made from Northern California craft spirits like a lovely Pimm’s Cup ($9) mixing Pimm’s No. 1, ginger beer, cucumber, seasonal fruit, and topped with a float of Anchor’s Junipero Gin, or a Creole Sidecar ($12) mixing Germain Robin Fine Alembic Brandy with a Creole shrub.

Rocker Oysterfeller’s garnered a bit of buzz when it first opened in 2007, and I’m pleased to say it’s still worth a detour.

WEEKENDING in Healdsburg & Santa Rosa

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Dozens of weekends in Sonoma over the years and each is a pleasure, a respite from incessant work, as I breathe in vine-soaked air, taking in new and old restaurants and wineries.

Recent weekends in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa have offered many joys. There have been but a few disappointments, like the bland Asian “fusion” of Chinois in Windsor and likewise the ambitious mashup of Asian cuisines, inconsistent at Sebastopol’s Forchetta/Bastoni, though I dig their Go’s Balls, fried curry rice balls dipped in sweet chili sauce.

Similarly, the new Café Lucia, tucked down a narrow walkway off of Healdsburg’s town square, lacked the familial focus that makes it parent restaurant in downtown Sonoma, La Salette, so special. At Lucia, Bacalhau no Forno ($23), one of my Portuguese favorites, a baked “casserole” of North Atlantic salt cod, potatoes, onions, olives, is one note (salty) and quite dry.

As ever in the ingredient rich region, highlights abound. Here are a few recent additions:

SPOONBAR, Healdsburg (219 Healdsburg Ave., 707-433-7222)

Thanks to the legacy of Scott Beattie who launched Spoonbar’s exceptional bar and to current manager Cappy Sorentino who has kept standards high, Spoonbar is easily Healdsburg’s top cocktail bar. Weekending a few blocks from the town square was reason enough for multiple visits, working through the latest menu ($8-10.50 per cocktail). I even sampled a few of the “Trashy Cocktails” served for $5-7 during their weekday happy hour (5-7pm) where bar staff try to make artificially flavored, lowbrow spirits tolerable, like mixing Stoli Peach with house jalapeno shrub.

Cocktail highlights are many, including their rotating carbonated cocktails, like a vibrant Carbonated Sidewinder’s Fang (Appleton Reserve Rum, El Dorado 8 year Demerara Rum, orange, lime, passion fruit) or an herbaceous, elegant Carbonated Corpse Reviver # 2 (St. George Dry Rye Gin, Cocchi Americano, Cointreau, lemon, St. George Absinthe).

Bartender Tara Heffernan crafts a Burning Shrub using Tapatio Tequila, Tara’s jalapeno shrub, lime, grapefruit and Fidencio Clasico Mezcal, a balanced mix of smoke, spice and tart citrus. Vodka works here, too, with spice and rosy, balanced sweetness in Jalapeno Business: Charbay Pomegranate Vodka, Clear Creek Loganberry liqueur, lemon, ginger, the texture just perfect topped with a layer of raspberry-jalapeno foam.

I love the texture of their clarified milk/whey punch, finely done here with Weller 7 year bourbon, but even more nuanced with Encanto pisco, the creamy whey enlivened by cinnamon and pineapple.

Classic Eastern European Slivovitz (plum brandy) doesn’t show up often on cocktail lists, but in The Mission Clear Creek Slivovitz subtly melds Encanto Quebranta pisco, the French apéritif Byrrah, elderflower and orange, into a nuanced, spirit-forward cocktail.

Beattie’s influence still shows in layered, garden fresh cocktails like Pear Pressure garnished Beattie-esque with a crisped pear. The drink blends Bartlett pear-infused Rittenhouse Rye with Clear Creak Pear Eau De Vie, Punt e Mes sweet vermouth and sherry, illuminated by clove and bitters.

Sage Canyon Flip was an immediate favorite earlier this year, simultaneously hoppy from Charbay R5 White Whiskey, lively with pear, sage and lemon, and textured with house orgeat.

Spoonbar remains the county’s “it” bar for artisanal cocktails, impeccable spirits collection strong on amari, whiskies, eaux de vie, etc… and knowledgeable bar staff.

THE SPINSTER SISTERS, Santa Rosa (401 South A St. at Sebastopol Ave., 707-528-7100)

Open since last August, The Spinster Sisters is helmed by Chef Liza Hinman from now defunct Santi in Santa Rosa, Eric Anderson (from Santa Rosa but in NYC as a founding partner of Prune Restaurant), and Giovanni Cerrone, a local in the California wine industry.

The sunny space welcomes me to its wrap-around, redwood bar in the center of the room. Dining at the bar for breakfast, I’d consider it possibly the best brunch I have had in the entire county over the past decade. I anticipate returning for dinner and lunch.

House pastries, Rancho Gordo bean tostadas, and Flying Goat Coffee flow as ‘50’s rock n’ roll sets a cheery backdrop. Thoughtful dishes are above and beyond the sameness one often finds on brunch menus.

A weekend special ($11) consisted of garbanzo beans, eggs, red bell pepper, caramelized leeks, chard, and mini-cauliflower sizzling in a cast iron pot, creamy with Greek yogurt and chili oil. Redolent of garlic, the dish proves why breakfast is no afterthought here.

The PARISH CAFE, Healdsburg (60A Mill St., 707-431-8474)

Parish Café was on my go-to list because they serve New Orleans cuisine in a charming, restored yellow house. The front porch is far more inviting than the rather bland interior, but one can sit at the counter inside and watch the kitchen staff churn out po boys and gumbo.

I must admit my expectations were not high. Nola cuisine, and certainly po boys, are often a poor shadow of what they are in the Big Easy. But Parish Café’s po boys are blessedly authentic and among the best in the West. The bread, made by family members at nearby Costeaux French Bakery, is appropriately crusty and soft. Fried oysters and shrimp are plump, delicately fried and sauces and toppings plentiful. Gumbo may not be the ultimate, but it’s solidly done with a dark, rich roux and Andouille sausage. Cornmeal fried oyster salad ($11) is freshly gratifying over heaping spinach leaves, bleu cheese crumbles, bacon and buttermilk vinaigrette. Parish is a welcome addition to downtown Healdsburg and one of the best lunch options in town.

CAMPO FINA, Healdsburg (330 Healdsburg Ave., 707-395-4640)

Alongside its parent restaurant, Scopa, Campo Fina is easily Healdsburg’s best Italian restaurant. Bocce ball in a glowing back bar and patio makes it all the more winning a place to spend an evening.

Where Scopa focuses on ubiquitous Neapolitan pizzas and antipasti, Campo Fina shines in shared small plates and cocktails, though their pizzas are also highlights (I’m partial to the sweet/savory speck and fichi, aka fig, pizza with preserved lemon, bufala mozzarella, aged balsamico and arugula contrasting the speck and figs. In true Venetian style, there’s cicchetti (little bites, $2.50-6) served all day, like tuna-stuffed sweet n’ spicy peppers ($3).

Baccala (salt cod) croquettes ($11.5), are appropriately salty, contrasted by fennel, cherry tomatoes and aleppo chili. Charred octopus ($13.50) is dotted with potato, rapini/broccoli rabé, chicory and black olives. There’s a vibrant Italian wine selection or Bar Manager Erica Frey‘s lovely cocktails ($8), which thus far have utilized beer and wine – they recently gained their hard liquor license so there will be a wider range of cocktails going forward. Cleverly playing off a shakerato (an iced, shaken espresso), Shakerato Superiori is a winning blend of Marsala wine, Allagash Black Stout beer, cherry pistachio syrup, Angostura bitters and espresso, which plays as a rich, savory, bright dessert.

A Day in NAPA in Three Meals

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

With work (happily) permeating every trip and journey, my most restful weekends tend to be close to home. When I’ve been countless times, I needn’t dig and explore, but just relax and breathe in my surroundings. In recent Napa weekends, there are, as ever, fresh discoveries to share with you.

Breakfast: The Thomas

813 Main Street at Third, Napa, 707-226-7821

Over the past months, downtown Napa’s The Thomas in the old Fagiani’s bar is my favorite new Napa go-to. I’ve been for lunch, dinner, drinks… plus brunch just after it launched (now running close to 3 months). The three-level, AvroKO-designed space is as fantastic then as it is any other time of day, particularly the rooftop.

A basket of house breads ($9) is almost the brunch highlight: during my visit, it was pumpkin seed pecan and scallion cheddar muffins, and a yuzu-glazed coconut carrot scone with spreads of passion fruit curd and Black Mission fig-berry jam. French toast ($13) stuffed with banana and house hazelnut Nutella, topped with bacon is an optimal wake-up. Ditto their “BLAT” ($12 – also on the lunch menu), a massive sandwich of bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato, even better topped with a fried organic egg ($2).

I appreciate unique brunch specials like a baked apple in Chinese black vinegar or one of my most beloved Irish/Scottish regional foods: black pudding (blood sausage to you), savory with sage, parsley, pork and duck fat.

Lunch:
Napa Valley Biscuits

1502 Main Street, Napa, CA 94559, 707-265-8209

Unassuming, humble and off the beaten path, my latest “cheap eats” go-to in downtown Napa is Napa Valley Biscuits. Biscuit sandwiches ($4-8) are cheap, filling, fun, and oh, so Southern. There’s catfish, Western Carolina style BBQ pulled pork, country ham, sausage and the like, exploding from flaky biscuits. Similar to Soul Groove in San Francisco, chicken and waffles appears as a sandwich: The Pappy ($8), accented by bacon, hot pepper jelly, and sides of butter and maple syrup,

On the “fresher side”, watermelon salad ($6) is bright with Heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled peppers and crumbled queso fresco on top. To finish: housemade ice cream ($1.50 per scoop).

Dinner:
Lucy Restaurant & Bar

Bardessono Hotel, 6526 Yount Street, Yountville, 707-204-6030

From day one, Yountville’s eco-chic Bardessono hotel was home to a peaceful, modern hotel bar mixing better-than-typical Wine Country cocktails. The initial restaurant, however, was expensive and a bit staid. The hotel’s newer restaurant, Lucy, is still pricey but more approachable. Chef Victor Scargle and team deliver a garden-fresh beauty of a spread, some of it excellent, like perfect Russian blini topped with osetra caviar (in a 6 course, $95 tasting menu).

Local ingredients are front and center, with dishes subtly changing over the seasons. On the a la carte side, mixed greens ($10) from their on-site garden become special with pomegranate seeds and pineapple guava in winter. Garden carrots ($11) are artfully displayed confit-style and as chips in curry shallot dressing accented by carrot fronds.

Warm Dungeness crab salad ($19) is layers of flavor from Thai curry coconut sauce, joi choi (a dark, leafy green), with a flaky rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) biscuit sitting atop the crab. Chef Scargle shines combining sweet and savory (my preferred combo), fruit and meat. Case in point: Iberico fresco pork ($39) over forbidden rice dotted with lychees and Burgundy okra in caramelized pear jus.

Cocktails ($14) are pricey but well made, like a Tiki-spirited 3 Kings, infusing No. 3 Gin with cardamom, mixed with King’s Ginger Liquor, pineapple, vanilla, or Pop A Kappa, bright with Kappa pisco, lemon, egg white, bitters, with a hint of smoke from Del Maguey Minero mezcal.

Wine is a strong way to go at the recommend of Wine Director Brett Fallows. Crisp notes intensified when pairing a 2011 Signorello Estate Seta (Semillion/Sauvignon Blanc blend) with food (more oak apparent solo), while layered boldness is exemplified in 2010 Kunin ‘Pape Star’s blend of Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah. Most appealing was Fallows selection of a fruity, creamy yet balanced Italian white from the Veneto, a 2009 Sartori Ferdi.

ISLAND BREEZES: Searching for Caribbean

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Though not an island girl, I crave sorrel, that cinnamon-spiced, rosy-purple juice made from the petals of a sorrel plant, or multi-colored Scotch bonnet peppers, both common in the Caribbean and ideal together, sorrel cooling off the pepper’s scorching heat. One of my closest friends is Jamaican and we’ve been exploring local Caribbean food for years, though lacking in abundant options.

Saddened to lose Penny’s Caribbean Cafe – a tiny Berkeley dive with excellent Trinidadian home cooking – when Penny moved back to Trinidad a few years ago, I’ve trekked to San Leandro for festivals (Jamaican cornbread fritters) and curry goat at Sweet Fingers, savored the sunny patio though more Americanized food at Primo Patio Cafe tucked away in SF’s SoMa, dined at now defunct pop-up Kingston 11 in Berkeley, and appreciated Sarah Kirnon’s inventive Caribbean fusion (Jerk Cornish hen!) from her days as chef at Oakland’s Hibiscus.

Caribbean foods can also be found at Oakland grocers like Minto Jamaican Market and Man Must Wak where you can stock up on authentic ginger beers and Ting (beloved Jamaican grapefruit soda), to name a few items, and I’m curious about San Francisco-based caterer Lehi Cooks Jamaica. Thanks to my dear friend and her family who get their Jamaican food fix at this tiny haven, I’ve found my favorite Caribbean outpost in the most surprising of locales: Menlo Park.

BACK A YARD, 1189 Willow Road, Menlo Park, 650-323-4244 (also San Jose)

With squeaky front porch door and perpetual line out the door, closet-sized Back A Yard is clearly a locals’ favorite in suburban Menlo Park. The term “back a yard” refers to the way things are done “back home”, appropriate to this humble, comforting spot. Chef Robert Simpson began his cooking career in Jamaica, gained European perspective in Belgium, then cooked at various Caribbean resorts before coming to the Bay Area.

Under fluorescent lighting, crammed into a handful of tables, I down a Ting which cools off the Thursday-Saturday tender curry goat special ($12.75). Generous platters come with sides of sweet plantains, green salad, and coconut-laced rice ‘n beans, different from New Orleans’ version but equally heartwarming and moist. Another top side are warm, honey-sweet festivals, like a doughnut meets cornbread. Jerk chicken ($9.50) appropriately shines, though jerk tofu ($8.95) likewise exhibits meaty, grilled tones amidst silky texture. Friday’s special is escoveitch: it was snapper on a Friday I visited. Choose a grilled filet ($12.75) or whole fish (market price), head and eyeballs intact, not so much an immaculate fish dish as Caribbean comfort food, recalling days I’d polish off a whole grilled fish in the countryside of Vietnam.

Jamaica’s national dish, saltfish and ackee, is a must, served here only on Saturdays ($14.50). Salty cod is sautéed with Scotch bonnet peppers and subtly sweet, soft ackee, a fruit related to the lychee. This version shines compared to others I’ve had, confirmed by my friend as authentically reminiscent of saltfish and ackee she grew up with in Jamaica. Dessert ($3.25) is the one letdown, whether a blandly cold sweet potato pudding or a sliver of key lime pie lacking the tart oomph I crave in what is one of my favorite pies. Nonetheless, this hole-in-the-wall is a treasure bringing heartfelt Caribbean cooking to South Bay folk… and worth a trek for hardcore foodies.

MISS OLLIE’S, 901 Washington Street at Ninth St., Oakland, 510-285-6188

Chef Sarah Kirnon (formerly of the aforementioned Hibiscus) just opened Miss Ollie’s at the beginning of December, currently only during Tuesday-Friday lunch in a corner location of Swan’s Market in Old Oakland. Visiting opening week, lines were already long and waits for food even longer (30 minutes), not ideal for a low-key, eat-in or take-out lunch. Despite opening kinks, Oakland is clearly craving quality Caribbean, packing communal wooden tables in a spacious, spare dining room.

Named after, and in tribute to, Kirnon’s grandmother, the food is decidedly more casual than in her Hibiscus days, modeled after the Caribbean one-stop shops she grew up with: affordable (under $10) daily changing dishes from curry goat to her popular fried chicken – grandma’s recipe.

Initially, dishes were uneven, whether flavorless, cold Creole ham and sweet potato salad ($7.50), or a two-note (salty and HOT) saltfish and ackee ($8), begging for more plantains and ackee to contrast Scotch bonnet peppers and uber-salty cod. But Miss Ollie’s sorrel is a superior, refreshing rendition, while lamb patties ($7) in a puff pastry evoke an Indian-Caribbean empanada, redolent of cardamom and allspice.

Daily specials are announced via Facebook, like fresh loaves of Jamaican hard dough bread or chicory coffee sweetened by condensed milk with Creole doughnuts. Miss Ollie’s fills a needed void and is certainly one to watch.

DOUGHNUTS & BAGELS in OAKLAND

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Bagels and doughnuts in their many iterations (beignets, malasadas, bomboloni, etc…) are two of the more comforting breakfast – or any time – foods. It’s tougher than it should be to find proper bagels, but alongside notable SF sources, the East Bay welcomes a few new arrivals.  I stop first for fuel at Berkeley’s just-opened coffee and wine bar Bartavelle for a well-executed Sightglass Coffee cappuccino in the tiny-but-charming former Cafe Fanny space next to Kermit Lynch and Acme Bread.

First, bagels. Like anyone who has ever lived near or in NYC, I miss New York bagels. There’s nothing like properly boiled and baked bagels, with dense, chewy insides and cracklin’ exterior, topped with excellent schmear and lox. In Manhattan, I’ve schooled my California born-and-raised husband, The Renaissance Man, on NY bagels, journeying to different neighborhoods, from Barney Greengrass and Ess-A-Bagel, to favorites like Russ & Daughters.

Outside NYC, we get little that is comparable. In the Bay Area there’s the likes of short-lived Spot Bagel or now the excellent Schmendricks in pop-up form at Fayes Video & Espresso Bar on Wednesday and Friday mornings or by individual order. I’m impressed by Schmendricks bagels from Brooklyn native, Dave Kover, his wife Dagny Dingman, lawyer-turned-baker, Deepa Subramanian, and her husband Dan Scholnick. While I anticipate a permanent storefront for Schmendricks, Wise Sons‘ bialys, as a cousin to the bagel, fill a void.

Then there’s Montreal-style bagels, less chewy than a NY bagel, slightly thinner yet dense, with a touch of char from wood-fired baking. Beauty’s Bagel has been the rave of Oakland since opening this Summer, their bagels hand-rolled, boiled in honey water, then baked in a wood-fired oven. Yes, it’s NY prices: $9 for closed, $12 for an open-faced bagel sandwich, or $1.65 per individual bagel (in a few choice flavors like sesame, poppy, onion, or everything). But the quality is a significant step up from most. After apprenticing at a Montreal bagelry and working as a chef at Delfina, Blake Joffe and girlfriend Amy Remsen, made roughly 800 bagels a week at Addie’s Pizza Pie in Berkeley before opening Beauty’s. Serving Healdsburg’s coffee king, Flying Goat, they also craft chopped chicken liver, deviled eggs, cream cheeses/schmear and pickles in house, sourcing smoked trout and lox. It’s a fresh lox, scallion schmear, tomato, red onion and capers bagel sandwich that makes me smile, almost as if I’m back in Manhattan on the hunt for a perfect bagel and lox… including the Manhattan prices.

On to doughnuts. SF masters the best in both old school Bob’s Donuts (particularly at 1 or 2am when they’re pulling those gems out of the oven) or the newer gourmet wave at Dynamo Donuts, with their beautiful Campari or spiced chocolate donuts, to name a few. Oakland gained two doughnut newcomers this summer, Donut Savant and Doughnut Dolly.

Downtown Oakland’s Donut Savant serves essentially glorified donut holes, their Twitter feed making me crave flavors like key lime, pumpkin or an Old Fashioned with Bulleit bourbon glaze, Angostura bitters cream and a twist of lemon, which they introduced at Oakland’s Art Murmur in August. This led to disappointment when first crossing the Bay Bridge weeks after they opened only to be met with a sign during regularly scheduled morning hours saying they’d return hours later with more donuts.

When I was able to trek back to the humble shop and find actual donuts, I bought every one in sight. Flavors were straightforward, rather than the interesting aforementioned. Chocolate coconut donut holes won over chocolate or vanilla, though a dark chocolate donut with a light dusting of sugar was plain but more satisfying. One topped with butter cream stood out with creamy contrast and candied ginger strips.

Doughnut Dolly charms in an alley off 49th Street. Pastel-striped walls and a friendly woman graciously attending to each customer makes it feel immediately like a beloved neighborhood secret. By the bottle or glass, Jittery John’s (JJ’s) Cold Brew Coffee is bracingly strong, New Orleans’ style chicory coffee, made by a Oakland local – adding cream or milk makes one $10 bottle stretch to 4-5 glasses of iced coffee. Dare I say it’s almost worth stopping in just for this eye-opening brew that reminds me of Nola? Doughnuts are the filled kind (no holes), the strawberry jelly donut superior to a childhood favorite with fresh jam inside. On my visits, flavors were a little basic for my tastes, the “naughty cream” basically a standard vanilla, with the chocolate pudding-like vs. dark and seductive, but the donut itself has a soft, gratifying texture. When taking a few additional donuts home, a few seconds in the microwave ensured they melted warm in my mouth.

NAPA COCKTAILS with DINNER

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Judging a cocktail contest in Calistoga and sampling Wine Country cocktails early in 2011, I witnessed a rise in quality congruent with the cocktail renaissance exploding across the nation, beyond longtime torchbearers like SF and NY. This is especially notable in Wine Country where the god of wine dominates. Despite growth, making a dent in the all-consuming wine culture is still an uphill battle, so local bartenders tell me. Not only is the local community wine-driven, but the constant influx of travelers are mainly here for wine, after all. Though you won’t see many cocktail bars opening up, restaurants continue to refine their cocktails and spirits selection, so that one finds, a few city-quality cocktails amongst the vineyards.

GOOSE & GANDER, St. Helena

1245 Spring Street at Oak, St. Helena,  707-967-8779

Arguably, the number one talent in Wine Country has long been Scott Beattie, who crafted exquisite cocktails in sleepy, chic Healdsburg at Cyrus long before many of the country’s big cities had clued in, leading the way in farm-fresh, artisanal cocktails (note his book, Artisanal Cocktails), torching kumquats and crisping apple slivers from his backyard as garnishes.

When Beattie left Spoonbar to take over the bar at St. Helena’s Goose & Gander – which opened in April – Sonoma’s loss was Napa’s gain. Goose & Gander is in the former Martini House in a 90-year-old craftsman bungalow with idyllic yard and patio. Red walls, bookshelves, brown leather booths, fireplaces, wood ceilings and floors impart a charming hunting lodge feel.

Beattie works alongside talent like Michael Jack Pazdon, who previously supervised the bar program at SolBar and has won numerous cocktail contests (including the aforementioned Charbay/Perfect Puree competition). Beattie, Pazdon and crew serve fantastic drinks. There’s a handful of cocktails (all $11) on the regular menu, but ask for “the book” for a more extensive selection to suit every palate – and peruse an impressive spirits collection lining the bar.

Mellivora Capensis (honey badger) is a prime example of Beattie-style cocktails: Eagle Rare 10 year bourbon, honey and lemon sound like a classic base, but it gets interesting with a touch of peat from Ardbeg Scotch, pineapple, black cardamom and chili, coconut foam contributing texture, with edible flowers the crowning touch.

Cucumber Collins (Square One cucumber vodka, yuzu, lemon, fresh and pickled cucumber, huckleberries, seltzer) and a Coastal Pimm’s Cup (Pimm’s No.1, St. George Terroir Gin, lemon, bitters, seltzer, bay laurel) are classic Beattie: visually striking and artful as they are refreshing and flavorful.

Executive Chef Kelly McCown’s (formerly at Sacramento’s Ella) food is notable. Spicy whole blue prawns ($16) are large and juicy, skillet-roasted brown, swimming in shallot garlic butter, rosemary, and chilis over polenta. A bright crudo of Hawaiian lemon snapper ($17) is lined up next to heirloom tomatoes dotted with shaved tomatillos and sea beans. As a twist on the ever-gratifying wedge salad, a Berkshire pork belly “wedge” ($15) is an understandable hit: a disc of iceberg topped with a hefty chunk of pork belly and Shaft’s blue cheese dressing. Jersey cow’s milk ricotta gnocchi ($18) melt joyously in my mouth, intermingling with cherry tomatoes, basil, and tomato coulis, crowned by a light Parmesan crisp. Goose & Gander is the whole package and works as well as a romantic date night as it does a relaxed stop for a bite and drink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE-THOMAS, Napa

813 Main Street at Third, Napa, 707-226-7821

Follow the vintage neon signage of the former Fagiani’s, where The Thomas opened just last month in a 1909 building restored by New York’s AvroKO Hospitality Group. First visiting during opening week, I dined on the partially covered third floor terrace (though housing a second bar, this floor is for diners only) gazing out over downtown Napa. As the sun set over the river below, rooftops and hills peeking above the the deck, I was transported to Europe and beyond, a timeless moment on a summer night.

I’m immediately hooked though waiting to see how the place evolves, particularly with just-launched brunch and recently named bar manager Jim Wrigley of London’s Albannach and the Lonsdale. During my visit, AvroKO’s Cocktail Director Naren Young was in town serving drinks from the menu he co-created with Linden Pride, with whom he runs Saxon+Parole in NY.

Drinks are classic, simple, playful with the ubiquitous (though not so much in Napa) Negroni on tap ($12), and for a change of pace, a White Manhattan on tap ($15), utilizing Death’s Door white whiskey, white vermouth, kirschwasser, jasmine bitters. The latter is a good two servings, arriving with an additional mini-carafe on ice to fill up after your initial glass is empty.

An ideal aperitif/starter is Jasmine ($14), made of Campari, Beefeater Gin, Combier triple sec and lemon juice, or have fun with beer in an Improved Radler Cocktail ($13) of pineapple-infused grappa, Hefeweizen, ginger, peach bitters, and lemon juice. Dessert was a winning round of a Grasshopper (Marie Brizard creme de menthe and cacao, although I couldn’t help but wish for Tempus Fugit’s menthe and cacao instead) and an elegant whiskey cocktail with biscotti.

Executive Chef Brad Farmerie (of NY’s The Public) goes for casual, comfortable American food, though prices range $21-45 for mains, the latter being for wood-fired strip steak. Also pricey is the raw bar seafood tower (mini $22, medium $67, large $125) but a mini offers a fine sampling of East and West Coast oysters, smoked mussels, Dungeness crab and plump shrimp with Sriracha cocktail sauce. On a warm night on the terrace with an icy-cool White Manhattan, it was perfection.

Beet gnudi ($21) in smoked almond-celery pesto with Cowgirl Creamery cottage cheese is a colorful, gratifying gnocchi dish. Grilled chorizo sausage ($13.50) is lively, even exciting, with txiki cheese, black bean chocolate puree and padron peppers. Save room for a dessert of dreamy dark chocolate pot de creme with cookies or decadent monkey bread.

The three-story space has a big city energy, with much of the staff from NY, imparting a welcome cosmopolitan vibe atypical of the area. The bottom floor boasts a vintage oak bar and pressed-tin ceiling, which looks like it’s been there for 100 years, in keeping with the historicity of the building, freshly incarnated.

GRAPE TO GLASS:

Pre-harvest Party at Richard’s Grove & Saralee’s Vineyard, Windsor

Photos & article by Andi Berlin

The 17th annual Grape to Glass at stately Richard’s Grove celebrates the wines of the Russian River Valley, a cool atmosphere known for producing rich chardonnays and bright pinot noirs. More than 75 wineries set up booths in the toasty afternoon heat, accompanied by a host of farmers market vendors and local restaurants offering small bites.

While pinots and chards dominated, some of the most exciting pours were citrus-y Rosés, robust Cabernet Francs and an experimental Sauvignon Blanc. My top taste goes to Trione Vineyard’s 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, with a flavor profile of green apple and citrus, paired with savory cucumber. Extremely crisp and refreshing in the sun, it’s also full-bodied and complex. During the fermenting process, the winemakers added a new yeast called Alchemy II from South Africa, imparting notes of gooseberry and grass.

Other wine highlights included a cloudy and sweet unfiltered 2007 Pinot Noir from Lion’s Pride, a cooperative effort between Russian River Valley winegrowers and students at the local El Molino High School – it pleased with light flavors of apricots and peach. I also enjoyed a spicy 2008 Zinfandel from Sandole Wines in Sebastopol. A fine example of a powerful, zesty Zin, it rocks the palate with dark flavors of black pepper, plus a hint of fresh strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNDER the STARS in GUERNEVILLE

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

BIG BOTTOM MARKET, 16228 Main Street, Guerneville; 707-604-7295

Amidst towering redwoods, summer heat, and parties along the Russian River is the small town of Guerneville, one of Sonoma’s most unique towns, with vibrant gay community, laid back river/woods culture, and haunting redwood state park, idyllic for a quiet forest walk. On a recent summer weekend, barbecues and live twang bands added color to the bustling main street.

Foodies have a destination cafe/restaurant in Big Bottom Market, open since last summer by co-owners Michael Volpatt and Crista Luedtke (the latter owns neighboring boon hotel + spa and boon eat + drink restaurant), drawing crowds for breakfasts, lunch and cups of my favorite Sonoma County coffee, Flying Goat (their own special Big Bottom Blend). Their breakfast biscuits ($3-9) are stuffed with a changing array of goodness like bananas, peanut butter, strawberry white chocolate, or ham, Swiss and dill pickle (loved the mustard in the latter but was on the hunt for the ham). Offerings change daily and each biscuit is adorned with what’s inside.

My recent weekend in Guerneville coincided with the launch of their dinner service (Thursdays-Saturdays only, 5-9pm). Executive chef Tricia Brown cooked at one of my all-time favorite restaurants anywhere, Gramercy Tavern in NYC, moving from Brooklyn to Sonoma for an entirely different life. With that pedigree, she is certainly cooking elevated “cafe” food. In the rustic farmhouse-feel shop lined with wood floors and wine and gourmet food items for purchase, there’s comfort food for dinner like a Moroccan chicken tagine ($18) of apricot-studded couscous laden with Castelvetrano olives and toasted almonds, or green chile cheddar turkey meatloaf ($17) over chipotle mashed sweet potatoes.

Unexpectedly, sandwiches ruled: pinot pulled pork ($16) covered in spicy BBQ sauce, garlic aioli smeared on a toasted brioche, with sides of bourbon-bacon baked beans and cilantro-lime coleslaw (both $4 individually or 3 for $11), and a sandwich special of wild salmon, softly pink, almost medium rare, topped with slaw on buttery brioche. Both were made with care, blessedly robust in flavors and texture. Chilled cucumber soup spiked with mint and yogurt ($6) is a refreshing summer starter. Only a large pile of dry crostini felt out of place on a mezze platter ($9) of roasted red pepper hummus, lentil walnut pate, cucumber red onion yogurt salad and olives.

Small, local winemakers are featured on the wine menu, including a few of my go-tos like Thomas George Estates and Unti. They also feature different winemakers, like Sonoma’s Paul Mathew Vineyards made by winemaker Mat Gustafson. I sampled all three of his featured wines, like a mineral 2010 Weeks Vineyard Chardonnay with slight citrus notes from stainless steel aging, rounded out by a hint of oak. I found the 2011 Knight’s Valley Valdigue most interesting (and most affordable at $7 glass/$33 bottle). It’s a chilled wine more akin to a Lambrusco or other chilled red with dry, strawberry notes, earthy yet bright.

Certainly when in Guerneville, one can enjoy the retreat-like (though dated) Applewood Inn, but Big Bottom Market hits at a lower price point though obviously more casual. For a sleepy (peaceful), small town in the redwoods nestled between vineyards and ocean, the Market’s casual gourmet approach feels appropriate.

End the night at Rio Nido Roadhouse dancing under the stars out back to live music (blues, classic rock, etc…) Were it not for the redwoods and that clean, crisp Sonoma air, crusty, older cowboys, families and the dive bar/beer setting feels like you’re in a small Texas town, embracing the warm Summer night.