I spent a happy 24 hours eating my way through Petaluma earlier this year. I spent the night, by the way, at the exceedingly comfortable Sheraton Sonoma County – Petaluma, a 183-room mid-rise
property set on the town marina and next to the pristine wetlands of 165-acre Shollenberger Park. Just 40 miles north of San Francisco, the Sheraton is an excellent option if you’re coming up to Sonoma for the weekend and would rather not have far to drive to and from the Bay Area.
My meal plan went as follows:
I arrived in Petaluma in the late afternoon, so coming up with a dinner plan was my first consideration, and after digging around online and chatting with a couple of reliable local sources on the subject, I went with Central Market, which is right in the heart of downtown, across from the Mystic Theater, whose exterior you may recognize from several movies, including American Graffiti. Named for its chef’s dedication to market-fresh ingredients, this Mediterranean-inspired restaurant has high exposed-brick and pale-green walls. Preparation tends toward rustic yet refined – a creamy polenta topped with Dungeness crab and wild mushrooms, and organic romaine lettuce with local Point Reyes blue cheese, chopped egg, and crisp bacon. A nice list of wines by the glass included some distinctive varietals from Italy and Spain mixed with local wines.
As much as I love foods typically served in the morning, I rarely awaken with much of an appetite. I chose my morning meal based on my foremost A.M. need, good coffee, which I found at another spot right in historic downtown, just a block from the riverfront, at Petaluma Coffee & Tea Company. This first-rate roastery sells bags of high-quality beans and teas. I opted for a latte.
Fresh wild mushrooms and Dungeness crab over soft-corn polenta at Central Market, in downtown Petaluma. Photo by Andew Collins
After strolling around downtown Petaluma for a few hours, recognizing still more landmark buildings that have appeared in famous movies (Peggy Sue Got Married, Basic Instinct, Mumford), I finally decided I was ready for a substantial lunch. For this I ended up at one of the places I’d considered earlier as a possible breakfast option, Hallie’s Diner, a no-nonsense rectangular storefront a few blocks west of Petaluma Coffee & Tea. This is the kind of place where a good many of the patrons (and servers) know one another. The food is a bit more healthful than classic greasy-spoon (a very leafy green salad came with my prodigious tuna melt), but the emphasis here is still on hearty, stick-to-your-ribs dining.
By the time I hopped in the car and continued northwest up to Sebastopol, I was properly fueled although still with room for a dish of fig-honey ice cream at Screamin’ Mimi’s, but that’s a story for another time.
