Inside Sonoma

At last year’s Taste of Sonoma, my “most creative dish” prize went to A la Heart Catering of Santa Rosa, for their Shanghai duck sushi. It was a salty-sweet, chewy-soft bliss of a bird cooked in light and dark soy with brown sugar, star anise, ginger and scallions. The chefs married the meat with cranberries, [...]

Update Aug. 27: Estes’s Gag Order Dropped – Food Network Allows the Chef to Speak. Sort-of. It took some serious pressure over several days from my crack journalistic team, but Food Network bigwigs have decided that finally, Estes can answer a few questions about her upcoming TV appearance. Hey, the Next Iron Chef is a [...]

Is it paella you prefer? Or, perchance, potstickers? Either way, you now can get both at Vineyards Inn of Kenwood. Chef-owner Steve Rose has combined his love of the tapas served at his Spanish restaurant on Hwy. 12 with his appreciation of Chinese dim sum. And why not? Both foods mean little bites, lots of [...]

Ume (pronounced oo-may) means plum in Japanese. At the risk of brandishing the most obvious cliché known to weak writers everywhere, I’m still going to say it. Ume, the Japanese restaurant in Windsor, is a plum. Now, this isn’t shocking. Ume is owned by Debbie Shu, Debbie’s sister Kelly Shu and partner-chef Chang Liow, who [...]

How ’bout them apples? You’d think you’d find a few at this weekend’s Gravenstein Apple Fair, since the annual event is all about the juicy, crunchy orbs. Certainly the beautiful fruit is front and center at the celebration being held Aug. 14 and 15 at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol. You can bite into the [...]

For all the sophisticated restaurant cuisine that Sonoma boasts, it’s an old-fashioned favorite that’s the new trend. Italian food. And not fancy Italian food, but simple, delicious, stick-to-your-ribs eats like your mother (if your mother was a good cook) might have made. Catelli’s opened in Geyserville in March. Baci Café & Wine Bar opened in [...]