Back to regular programming

Thanks so much to the many people who have mentioned to me that they are glad I am “back.”  It is truly inspiring to hear people are reading.

We made it through Thanksgiving, and now we’re back to regular programming, meaning my column as you might remember it.

Many local restaurants and tasting rooms are thinking creatively to update themselves and attract old or new customers to try something new. We have loads of changes in the food and wine business here in Sonoma, including some that I call “Musical chairs without moving.”

Mozaik opens on Napa Street

Miranda Ives’ food business has morphed from her coffee and hot dog cart at Friedman’s to Hare & Hatter at the former Sonoma Sausage space in El Paseo, and now her Mozaik replaces her Sausage Emporium facing Sonoma Plaza.

Ives’ newest culinary adventure features Dukkah soup of cauliflower and leeks with pita bread ($14); hummus served with endive, watermelon radish, snap peas, carrot, naan bread, and green pea falafel ($30); and Kashmiri short rib tacos on tandoori naan ($23). Some familiar items might include a Caesar salad, “macaroni au fromage,” avocado toast, a smoked trout board, smash burgers, and quiche Lorraine with fries.

Dinner adds Asiago stuffed gnocchi ($26), Sichuan wontons with prawns ($29), sea bass ($39), a New York strip steak ($69), and Ethiopian chicken thighs ($39). Vegetables are on the side ($9 to $11). Lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., supper 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday. 31 East Napa Street, Sonoma. (707) 934-9674. hello@mozaiksonoma.com

Mary’s Pizza Shack – Boyes Hot Springs

Owner Nanette Albano Lane, Mary’s granddaughter, has added some really tempting new specials including crab and shrimp ravioli with mushrooms and marinara or Alfredo sauce, a lemon herb and shrimp scampi with sautéed shrimp cooked in creamy Alfredo over linguine, their classic potato skin pizza, gnocchi with ham, peas and fresh spinach and Alfredo sauce. She is bringing back their jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, Italian sausage, covered with meat sauce and melted mozzarella, in addition to a Margarita pizza with buratta. The four new entrée dishes all come with soup or Mary’s or Caesar salad, and they are all under $23. 

Il Fuoco Pizza brings back Cochon Volant BBQ

Rob Larman has added pop-ups of his popular Cochon Volant BBQ on the weekends to his already yummy Il Fuoco Pizza evenings.  Catch the barbecued pork sandwich ($12) or the 14-hour beef brisket sandwiches on potato buns with radish slaw and pickled red onions ($14). Larman also sells his barbecued meats by the pound, including baby back ribs, brisket, and pork shoulder ($21 to $32 per pound). Sides of cole slaw and beans are also available. And then there’s pizza, salads and Lizzy’s cookies. 18350 Hwy. 12, Boyes Hot Springs. (707) 522-7778.

Murphy’s Irish Pub has new chef

Michael Robertson is the new chef at Murphy’s Irish Pub bringing along his Irish Spice Bag, Kung Pow Brussels sprouts, Cornish Pasty, and Cottage Pie (made with beef instead of lamb) from The Cellar in Benicia. An Irish Spice Bag includes chicken, shishito peppers, fried onions, wedge fries and curry aioli. Of course bangers and mash, fish and chips, burgers, shrimp Louie, and much more. 464 First St. East, Sonoma. (707) 935-0660. 

Chalets in Sonoma?

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn has a fun wintery way to fill an outdoor spot for entertainment and revenue. Their Swiss Chalets replace the warmer months’ weekend music and cocktails on the east-facing lawn. In each of the three chalets guests can indulge in a three-course menu where you choose between a salad Lyonnaise or French onion soup, followed by selections of roasted trout, pot-au-feu with braised short ribs, potatoes and vegetables, or a lightly smoked pork loin with braised greens and spätzle. Alpine fries (sort of like Canadian poutine) and a flatbread with fromage blanc and caramelized onions and bacon are shared on the table. ($125). 

“Enhancements” include cheese fondue with sourdough, potatoes, pickles, and fruit, or the Berner platte with bratwurst, smoked pork, potatoes and sauerkraut ($35 each selection). Special beverages range from hot chocolate and eggnog to hot toddy, plus Veuve Clicquot champagne and German wines. Happy hour 3 to 5 daily, dinner every evening. 100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma. (707) 938-9000.

Fig café & Winebar

About 50 of us had the good fortune to indulge in a fabulous “experiment” – or test dinner – recently at the girl & the fig’s Suite D. The five-course Paris-inspired dinner was meticulously prepared and served, with wines included. 

Guests received a baked egg with Chanterelles and black truffles, followed by a small cabbage leaf “stuffed” with pork and pistachios in a Cognac and beef broth, and then a slice of entrecote de boeuf with pomme purée. The fourth course was aged comté cheese with divine fig jam and brandied raisins, and finally riz au lait, meaning a small bowl of rice pudding with spiced nuts and whipped caramel that could be a whole meal for some people. 

And it just might be a hint of what is to come at the fig café and winebar in Glen Ellen. Maybe a real French bistro? Or maybe not. “Who knows?” teased girl and the fig managing partner John Toulze. “We might do something else.” 

Jack London Lodge (aka Jack London Saloon)

Jack London Saloon has added “Afternoon Delights” and “Tailgate Snacks” to its regular menu. Afternoon Delights offer chicken tostadas, pork belly skewers, olives and goat cheese, a baby iceberg wedge salad ($9 to $11) and beer and wine specials from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tailgate snacks show up on Monday and Thursday (football) from 5 to 8 p.m. and include chili with cornbread, Loaded Tater Tots with buffalo chicken, beef barbacao, or pulled pork and beer battered fried pickles ($10 to $13). 13740 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen. (707) 996-3100.

Pre-opening reviews for Enclos

Recently the San Francisco Chronicle and Sonoma Magazine published glowing reviews of Enclos,the new Sonoma restaurant set to open December 5. Both publications suggested that Chef Brian Limoges and team will bring a long missing Michelin star to Sonoma. Santé, at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn used to have one. Since the California Tourism Board paid Michelin $600,000 to expand its evaluations to cover the whole state, we must always read them with eyes wide open. Could trying to compete with Yountville’s French Laundry, or Healdsburg’s Single Thread restaurants, with unique bites leaning Japanese, and their requisite high prices, work here?

Both reviews omit the deep history of the restaurant’s location, that runs from a women-oriented bookstore owned by Cynthia Solomon and Ginny Jones, to Curtis Dorsett’s Peterberrys restaurant, most remembered for his hanging model airplanes and his singing to customers. Dorsett eventually moved Peterberrys across the street to where Saul Gropman and John McReynolds later started Café LaHaye. Then came Pasta Nostra Italian restaurant, followed by the popular Rin’s Thai café in the small Victorian house on the south side of East Napa Street. 

Eventually, McReynolds became Culinary Director for Mac and Leslie McQuown, owners of Stone Edge Farm, and opened their Edge restaurant with Fiorella Butron serving as executive sous chef, and then executive chef. Leslie McQuown designed the original interior of Edge in eye-catching black and white, all of which has changed again under the guidance of designer Jiun Ho. Find Butron and her great food now at her Allikai Eatery on West Napa Street.

The beloved and sorely missed McReynolds, who died last July, was an early advocate of foraging and preserving, and wrote beautiful books, including The Stone Edge Farm and Estate Vineyards & Winery Cookbook and The Stone Edge Farm Kitchen Larder Cookbook. 

The Chronicle review of Enclos boasts “a mini venison tart…is carefully balanced on deer antlers,” apparently inspired by Limoges’ walks in the Sonoma hills where he has seen lots of deer in their surroundings. Not sure I can handle this but will let you know after I visit this week.

Nibs and Sips

Ohm Coffee replaced Monday Bakery on East Napa Street after Monday Bakery closed. In Napa, Ohm carried Monday Bakery’s baked goods and Monday carried Ohm’s coffees. With brighter colors than short-lived Monday Bakery, Ohm Coffee seems to sell good coffee and Baker & Cook pastries. Give them time to figure things out.

Santa this Weekend at Larson Family Winery

Join Santa and lots of your neighbors and new friends this Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8, at Larson Family Winery, down there in Schellville and almost in Wingo. Yes, Wingo.

The Larson family started out with cattle, hosted the largest rodeo in Northern California for years, make terrific wines (such as Three Lab Cab), share their animals with their fans, and do loads for the community. Now in their fourth generation of Larsons and Millericks on the property, they have made fun improvements to the property since a disastrous fire that burned their tasting room barn and some memorabilia. 

 So join them this weekend, along with Santa (and photos with Santa) for a special day or two for adults and kids. $60.  You can also make reservations to play cornhole and ride in a glider, if you dare. 23355 Millerick Rd., Sonoma. Reservations for Santa photos at (707) 938-3031, ext. 20. 

Cucumber recall:

SunFed farms of Arizona has recalled thousands of pounds of cucumbers because of salmonella, causing several people to be sick in many states. You do not want salmonella in your intestinal system.