Author Archives{careysweet}

With almost two decades of writing about food, restaurants and the chefs that make them happen, Carey Sweet has won numerous national restaurant criticism and food writing awards, including First Place in the nation from the Society of Professional Food Journalists.

A near-native of Arizona, Sweet now lives in Sonoma County, splitting her time between Scottsdale and the North Bay, where she is active in professional food and wine memberships and activities.

She is a regular contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle (covering restaurants, food and wine), 944 San Francisco magazine (restaurants, chefs and food), and North Bay publications such as the Bohemian.

In covering Arizona's food industry, she contributes to numerous publications, including a weekly Dining News column for the Arizona Republic, plus regular restaurant reviews and food feature stories for the newspaper and its several affiliate magazines. She has a monthly food feature column in Phoenix Magazine, as well as regularly scheduled restaurant reviews and travel features emphasizing culinary adventures. Additionally, she is the Arizona editor for Gayot Guide's restaurant coverage, and contributes to the North Bay coverage.

A wine lover, she also consults for a boutique winery with vineyards in Chile and Argentina.

Sweet has been a longtime volunteer for C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program), a national organization which provides education, professional chef mentoring, national scholarships and job placement within the restaurant industry for at-risk high school students.

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Discover Sonoma’s Hidden Gem Wineries This Weekend

3 days ago in Insiders Guide.0 Comments

The second annual Sonoma Valley Reserve event that takes place this weekend is much more than just a grand tasting at top wineries. The festival, running May 19 and 20, is actually an immersion experience, with 10 unique tours in full daytrips around the region. And more than just visiting wineries, the Reserve showcases a collection of coveted Sonoma Valley {…}

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Tap a Keg for a Modern Wine Country Wedding

4 days ago in Weddings.0 Comments

Alcohol can be a significant investment for any wedding, particularly if top-shelf liquors are served. Adding further to the cost is an open bar, where guests may order as many drinks as they wish. Then, if you factor in both a rehearsal dinner and a reception, it’s easy to see how costs mount up. To keep the outlay more reasonable, {…}

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Silvers’ Syrah Shines with Full Entrees Again

1 week ago in Food.0 Comments

When chef-owner Josh Silvers’ former Syrah restaurant was reinvented last April, the Santa Rosa Railroad Square eatery rolled out a new name (Petite Syrah) and a new concept (composed, seasonal Cal-Ital dishes in small portions and at smaller prices). The idea was to keep the crowds coming in during recession-weary times for what Silvers called “A nosh, a nibble, a {…}

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Flipside Bar & Burger Now Open in Santa Rosa

1 week ago in Food.2 Comments

It takes a while to make a good burger. About a year, as it turns out for Flipside Bar & Burger, which was initially scheduled to start serving last August in downtown Santa Rosa, next to Third Street Ale Works. The doors finally opened last week. But it seems it’s been worth the wait for this stylish destination that just {…}

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Ticket, Quick! Savings on Sonoma Wine Country Weekend for Locals

1 week ago in Insiders Guide.0 Comments

Pssst. Here’s an insider secret that’s sure to stir up an appetite. Sonoma Wine Country Weekend is coming up soon, over this Labor Day weekend – Aug. 31 through Sept. 2. It’s three non-stop days of food, wine and reveling at fabulous venues across Sonoma County. Every year, the lengthy line-up of winemaker dinners, lunches, winery barbecues, grand tasting and {…}

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Get in My Belly, Mister Hof-Brau

1 week ago in Food.0 Comments

I’m dreaming of a giant platter of hot, juicy hand-carved brisket, mounded with mashed potatoes, rich gravy, crisp fresh veggies, and slabs of fluffy buttered bread. It’s partly the periodically rainy spring weather that puts me in the mood, and primarily the good news that Mister Hof-Brau has reopened in Santa Rosa. It’s that same Hof-Brau that for decades reigned {…}

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Wine Flights Take New Meaning with Alaska Airlines

1 week ago in Insiders Guide.0 Comments

I was flying to Los Angeles on Alaska Airlines the other week, reveling in the joy, ease and convenience of the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport. Seriously, it’s 20 minutes from my house (no two-hour commute to the Big City), we park literally next door to the terminal, then waltz in to check in with a real, smiling person. {…}

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Take Over an Entire Property – and the Town – for Memorable Bachelorette Party

2 weeks ago in Weddings.0 Comments

Sometimes, when friends live all across the country, it can be difficult to plan a bachelorette party. Gal pals may come to a bride’s town for her actual wedding, but making another, earlier trip for that great last blow-out together might be out-of-reach. Yet here’s a thought. The bachelorette party can be celebrated a night or two before the wedding. {…}

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Screening Dreams at the Fourth Annual Film Fest Petaluma

2 weeks ago in Insiders Guide.0 Comments

The subjects are entirely different from one another. Yet whether they’re focusing on “an unusually cheery criminal,” or an exploration of “haiku, taiko, and persimmons,” the short films showcased at the fourth annual Film Fest Petaluma this Saturday use artful storytelling combined with animation, stop-motion, documentary, comedy and drama for award-winning cinematography. It all comes together May 5, for a {…}

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Brew-Ha-Ha in Cloverdale

3 weeks ago in Food.1 Comment

It’s no joke – something new is brewing in Cloverdale, and thanks to entrepreneurs Mike Morisette and Marne Dupere, the town soon will be landing its very own Flying Goat. Anyone familiar with great coffee knows that Flying Goat is beloved for its fresh roasted beans and house made chai served at its stores in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa. Morisette {…}