Inside Sonoma

If you’ve driven by the French Garden in Sebastopol on a recent Sunday, you’ve probably wondered what all the fuss is about in the parking lot facing Bodega Avenue.

Long tables stretch under the canopy of patio trees, with hoards of folks clambering over each other to grab leafy greens and other spring produce. It looked like a private party gone amok when I first saw it.

Yet instead, owner Dan Smith has introduced a weekly farmer’s market, which makes complete sense when you figure that his restaurant is named for his 30-acre organic, bio-intensive farm nearby. That’s the same plot of land that supplies French Garden’s exquisite heirloom fruits and vegetables; now you can take home some surplus and prepare your own feasts.

It’s not like the area doesn’t already have lavish farmer’s markets – the Sebastopol and Santa Rosa set-ups are mere minutes away. Yet the Garden has something they don’t: fresh-baked pastries and breads from its chef Didier Gerbi. Gerbi has been at the stove since July, relocated from his own restaurant and patisserie in southern France.

And while you’re there, take the opportunity to check out the Garden’s Sunday brunch. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can choose from Mediterranean specialties like house made pheasant-guinea fowl- pistachio pate served with onion jam, flowers jelly and sprout salad in truffle oil; pink and red beet salad with roasted macadamia nuts and Cypress Grove truffle goat cheese; or a Norwegian Plate of smoked salmon, crème fraîche, American caviar and chives with mini blinis.

Details: French Garden, 8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-824-2030, frenchgardenrestaurant.com.

Click here for a full listing of Sonoma County Farmers Markets & farms open to the public.