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Fresh From Our Farmers: Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market Opens for 2013

Friday, at 12:17 by

Update: The Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market opened last Friday night and continues through the last Friday of October. It was an enormously successful opening. On Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., the Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market opens for its 2013 season, with many familiar vendors returning and a few new ones joining in at one of the prettiest markets in the county. Occidental is surrounded by towering redwoods, which filter light and provide shade, so welcome in summer’s heat. Coastal fog… Read More »

Fresh From Our Farmers: Strawberry Stand in West Santa Rosa

Wednesday, at 3:28 by

I didn’t expect the aroma of onions as I stepped out of my car at Lao Saetern’s strawberry stand on Highway 12 between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol but that is just what enveloped me as I breathed in the cool spring air. At that moment, there were nothing but bright red strawberries on the stand’s counter but within a minute or two, a young woman began piling bunches of glistening red onions, peeled and trimmed, on one side of the… Read More »

Chez Panisse Fire

Friday, at 9:16 by

Early this morning, sometime between 1 and 3 a.m., a fire broke out at one of the world’s best-known restaurants, the iconic Chez Panisse (1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley). It is the second fire at the restaurant, which was founded in 1971 by Alice Waters. The destruction is less severe than that caused by the first fire, which closed the restaurant for several months in 1982, and it appears so far to be limited to the large front porch, though the downstairs dining… Read More »

Seriously: You can have fun filling your gas tank

Thursday, at 12:49 by

If I were to put a bumper sticker on my car, which I won’t, it would likely read “I brake for tamales.” This morning after dropping my grandson Lucas off at his school on Sonoma Ave. in Santa Rosa, I had to get gas, one of my least favorite chores. I really really hate it. It’s right down there with cleaning up after my cat coughs up a giant hairball and over the years I have considered moving to Oregon… Read More »

Fresh From Our Farmers: Bloomfield Farms

Thursday, at 12:29 by

Since Mike Collins relaunched his certified-organic Bloomfield Farms about three years ago, it has established itself as one of the heavy hitters of local produce, with a successful Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, a presence at Bay Area farmers markets and farm events that draw scores of visitors from both in and out of the county. The farm’s produce is also sold at several Bay Area supermarkets, including Community Market and certain Whole Foods. F.E.E.D.Sonoma and Planet Organics also purchase… Read More »

Fresh From Our Farmers: Sonrisa Family Farms

Wednesday, at 6:58 by

Everything at Sonrisa Family Farm in Petaluma seems to radiate with an inner glow, a sense of purpose, of intention and of beauty. The first word that came to mind as farmer Lisa Colorado lead me around the five acres where she and her husband have lived for more than a decade was “adorable.” This is not to suggest the farm is not a serious endeavor; it absolutely is. But there are sweet embellishment everywhere, from the way tile stepping… Read More »

A. G. Ferrari Foods: Tonight on Mouthful

Sunday, at 3:15 by

If like me you are still trying to find your way after the closure of Traverso’s, you might want to tune in to my radio show, Mouthful, the Wine Country’s Most Delicious Hour, tonight to hear what Paul Ferrari of A. G. Ferrai Foods has to say about the upcoming holidays, Italian traditions and how a big store with several locations still manages to procure foods from small artisan producers in Italy. Mouthful airs live from 7 to 8 p.m.… Read More »

Cloverdale on Saturday: Crafts Fair + Gram Parsons Birthday Concert

Friday, at 3:04 by

Tomorrow, Cloverdale is the place to be, especially if you love the music of the late Gram Parsons, who was born on November 5, 1946. Doug Jayne has once again pulled together a birthday tribute concert, an evening of Cosmic American Music, which, decades after Parsons’ death in 1973, continues to exert an extraordinary influence. An entire generation may not have discovered the honky tonk if it weren’t for Parsons. At the time he came to national prominence, country music… Read More »

Welcome to the parish. Parish Cafe, that is.

Monday, at 6:30 by

I’ve known for a while that Parish Cafe, chef Rob Lippincott’s New Orleans restaurant, was due to open in Healdsburg any day, but on Saturday, when I was driving towards town after a visit to the Davero Tasting Room, I spotted an open door and people sitting at tables on the broad porch. I hit the brakes, checked the rear view mirror, backed up and slipped into the parking lot. It was a perfect time for lunch. Before long, I… Read More »

DaVero’s Last Sunset Supper of 2012

Friday, at 2:54 by

Next Thursday, September 27, DaVero hosts its final Sunset Supper of the season. The featured chef is Matt Paille of Epicurean Escape Catering and the wines are, of course, DaVero’s. In honor of the season and this bittersweet time of year, the final Sunset Supper of 2012 will launch a new tradition The DaVero’s Harvest Supper. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m., with cauliflower soup with sage brown butter and black pepper bruschetta with chevre, figs, basil and balsamic vinegar,… Read More »