Inside Sonoma

One of Sonoma Country’s best dining bargains is back in business: The Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Café and Bakery reopens for lunch on June 24.

Here, in the eatery on the corner of 7th and B streets, you can dig into a seasonal a la carte selection of crazy good dishes priced at crazy low prices of just $4 for appetizers, $9.50 or less for entrees, and $4 for desserts. The menu changes weekly and features organic fruits and vegetables from SRJC’s Shone Farm in Forestville.

That means tucking into treats like curried kabocha squash and red lentil soup; a fennel, celery and baby beet salad with Meyer lemon vinaigrette; and juicy grilled skirt steak with rich caramelized onion-red wine reduction sauce over mashed potatoes and root vegetables for less than $18. Add in steamed persimmon pudding in lemon rum sauce, and you’re still waddling out for less than many fine restaurants charge for a single entrée.

How do they do it? The good, old-fashioned American way, of course: Exploiting young talent. The café’s chefs and staff are students, enrolled in a curriculum to train them for the professional food industry. You know, do a good job, get a good grade, and that kind of threat. Many of the Culinary Arts faculty are professional chefs with extensive backgrounds in the food business, so you can bet they let the kids do the heavy lifting.

Oh, but I jest. For the students, slaving in the kitchen and café is valuable training, and if it means we diners benefit while they expand their young minds, then all the better.

You can grab a seat Wednesdays through Fridays, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are recommended, as folks tend to gather pretty greedily for savory delights like sauté of duck confit and artichokes on a potato pancake decorated with celery root frizzles, or steamed Pacific mussels in mustard cream with spaetzle and rainbow chard.

There’s also a casual bakery that’s open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Those offerings are good, too, such as breads, scones, and pastries.

But perhaps the best deal of all is the periodic Food & Wine Fridays, held from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. These events showcase dishes made with fresh (and primarily Sonoma Country) ingredients, and paired with Sonoma Country wines. While you enjoy the three-course/three-wine lunch, students and instructors in the Culinary Arts Program discuss the recipes, the wines, and the principles behind the pairings, highlighting the important role that wine plays in Sonoma Country cuisine. And all of this for just $35.

To check the schedule and make the mandatory reservations, call 707-527-4372. Do it quickly; the 24 seats available for each session go fast.

Do practice some patience, too. The Café is open only when school is in session, so make sure you’re not planning your meal on a holiday (July 2) or other such interruption.

Details: SRJC Culinary Café, 458 B Street, Santa Rosa, 707-576-0279, santarosa.edu/instruction/culinary-arts/cafe_&_bakery