Great news – Darling is open
Darling ice cream, the younger sister of Sweet Scoops on First Street East, is wide open in the Market Place shopping center as usual.
Several people had given me a “scoop” (pun intended) that Darling’s windows were papered over, the sign was gone, and the door was locked. Remember, I always double check scoops and rumors, because faulty ones can do serious harm. And as we all know, many small businesses are already struggling.
Co-owner Ramie Hencmann responded to my query saying that Darling is proudly open six days a week and closed only on Tuesdays. It is just a few feet from Equator Coffee, north of Whole Foods, and is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Just like their Sweet Scoops, Darling changes flavors monthly to include ice creams, vegan ice cream made with pea protein, sorbets, vanilla frozen yogurt, and pineapple Dole Whip in cones, scoops, pints, quarts, floats, and shakes. They usually post the current flavors on a wall poster and you can check out monthly flavors and sources at darlingsonoma.com/flavors.
Our family loves to go to Darling for a couple of reasons: No hugely long line like Sweet Scoops, because Darling is off the tourism path, and staff are very sensitive, respectful, and considerate of customers’ food allergies, which is also true at Sweet Scoops.
Dead Letter’s Pop-Ups start
Yes, they are doing the teased pop-ups on Tuesday evenings, but we hope they send the schedules out earlier. First opportunities go to their club members. The Ramen Night and Fried Chicken dinners for October sold out before October 7.
The one remaining pop-up this month is called “Prime Night” for an “Asian-inspired steakhouse menu” on October 27. The menu starts with beef tartare, Little Gem salad, beefsteak tomatoes (no beef) with pork belly, and garlic crunch; New York steak or flatiron with black garlic tare, crispy potatoes, charred gai lan, and a slightly French dark chocolate pot de crème. $95. Only the 8:00 p.m. seating remains. 101 East Napa Street, Sonoma. Tickets at deadlettersonoma.com or (707) 933-3665.
Cindy Cosco to close Passaggio wines
With Cindy Cosco’s permission, we include excerpts from her letter sent to friends and fans because Cindy articulates so well the emotions many people feel as they close a business or segment of their lives.
I remember when Cindy Cosco left law enforcement and found her true loves, making wine and serving it to people, and then opened her downtown tasting room and moved it to Glen Ellen. Here is her closing statement.
“After 20 incredible years, I’ve made the very difficult decision to close the Passaggio Wines tasting room at Jack London Village at the end of October. When I look back on this journey, one of the things I am most proud of isn’t just the wine we made; it’s the community we built.
“The tasting room became so much more than a place to have a glass of wine. It became a place where people gathered, friendships were made, stories were shared, music was played, and a whole lot of laughter happened. Some of you came in as customers and became friends. That is something I will carry with me long after the doors close.
“To everyone who bought a bottle, joined the wine club, came to an event, spent a Saturday afternoon listening to music with us, or simply stopped by to say hello: THANK YOU. You became part of the Passaggio family, and you helped make this journey something I will never forget.
“We’ll be here through the end of October. I would love for you to come by, have a glass of wine, share a story, give me a hug, and help me celebrate everything Passaggio has meant to all of us. There may be a few tears. And there will definitely be wine. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of my journey and Passaggio. With love and gratitude, Cindy.”
Halloween fun for kids and their grownups
Vintage House offers its “Rocktoberfest” combo of Octoberfest and Halloween, with a costume contest on Saturday, Oct. 24, plus the El Coyote food truck and two bars. Organizers promise “an unforgettable spooky dance party and high energy rock sound of TJ Carter and Band.” $20 ahead, $30 at the door. 254 First Street East, Sonoma.
Serres Ranch holds a maybe-true Mystery Dinner on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the old Watriss House where “someone has been murdered in the Serres Ranch’s 150-year-old home.” They invite people to come help them solve the crime.
Dinner includes appetizers of butternut squash with farmer’s cheese crostini and a burrata board, followed by a harvest salad, beef tenderloin, rosemary garlic potato medley, sautéed green beans, Red Bird Bakery French bread and butter, and dessert of Serres Ranch Watriss fig cake. $200 public or $150 for wine club members. 16060 Hwy. 12, Sonoma. (707) 695-9144 or serresranchwines.com for last minute reservations.
Larson Family Winery’s Canine Costume Contest on Sunday, Oct. 25 should be better than ever this year. Dress up your dog and yourself, or don’t if you don’t want to, and enjoy the costume parade and loads of other family fun, always important at Larson.
The Larsons actually have three Labrador Retrievers for whom the winery’s 3 Lab wines are named. The Larson family has often brought the dogs (almost as therapy) to the school gardens they planted when their crew demonstrated the vineyard processes each season. Each adult ticket includes a glass of either the 3 Lab Cab, 3 Lab Pinot Noir, or 3 Lab Chardonnay, with a portion of your ticket price going to Pets Lifeline.
Costume prizes include a yearlong membership in their Circle M wine club, a magnum of Larson’s best wine, or two free wine tastings.
Check in at 10:45 a.m. with parade and judging at 12 noon. If you make a morning tasting reservation you can get a table. 23355 Millerick Road, Sonoma (Schellville). (707) 938-3031, ext. 20.
Roche-Sushimoto Ramen Night
Yes, Sushimoto’s ramen is back at Roche Winery’s downtown tasting room, next to the girl & the fig, on Thursday, October 29. Expect their tasty pork belly ramen evening, that starts with a seasonal salad, pork and chicken yakitori with sweet chili glaze and slaw, pork belly ramen with soft egg onions, mushrooms and bok choy, and a seasonal dessert. Halloween costumes encouraged but not required. Seatings at 6:30 and 7:45. $57 to $59.122 West Spain Street, Sonoma. Reserve at sushimotos.com/event
Beltane Ranch is offering lots of fun at “The Patch at Beltane Ranch” Friday Oct. 23 through Friday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Expect a variety of activities, explorations and food. Find your Beltane-grown pumpkin, visit farm animals, wander the hay maze and pyramid, hang out at the fire pit, enjoy music and sip a little wine. Admission fees range from free for kids to $425 for a super special private lounge. Be sure to check beltaneranchevents.com for all the prices and opportunities.
Art & coffee with Sondra Bernstein
Just back from Italy, artist and restaurateur Sondra Bernstein offers a rare experience at her Protologue gallery, inside Dead Letter restaurant on Sonoma Plaza.
As one of her Digital Art Conversations, Bernstein invites artists, collectors, and the curious on Tuesday morning, Oct. 27 to learn about digital art and creative technology from herself and Lisa Kolb, exploring art with hospitality in person, and Sasha Stiles with art and poetry, and Pauline Foessel, co-founder of 100 Collectors on the evolution of online collecting. Stiles and Foessel will attend virtually.
Complimentary admission includes fresh coffee, pastries, and discussion. 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. 101 East Napa Street, Sonoma. Register at protologue.digital/events
Hungarian Sister City Dinner November 7
This is not the stuffed bell pepper that Berkeley/Kensington School cooks forced us to eat once a week that I can still visualize and smell to this day.
This is tasty Hungarian food, all prepared and enjoyed to raise funds to bring Hungarian vineyard and wine students to Sonoma and to help send Sonoma students to intern in our Sister City of Tokaj in the Hungarian wine country.
This is an annual dinner at Burlingame Hall that I have enjoyed several times, including both Sonoma wines and wines from Tokaj. On Thursday, November 7 you can expect passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by green bean soup, chicken paprikash or a vegetarian dish of onions, tomatoes and peppers, both served with egg drop noodles and cucumber salad.
And then there’s the dessert – a traditional cake with vanilla custard, chocolate, and sour cherries. The evening also includes live music, a raffle, a live auction, and Hungarian folk dancing, along with a performance by the Eszterlanc Folk Ensemble. $80 Sister Cities members, $85 non-members. 6 to 9 p.m. 252 West Spain Street, Sonoma. Call (707) 938-0224 for tickets.
New Neighbors’ Table at Sonoma Mission Inn
You might want to try Santé restaurant’s new Neighbors’ Table (only) on Thursday nights at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, where Sonoma native and Santé Chef de Cuisine Jennifer Venezio offers a three-course dinner priced to attract Sonoma residents for an excellent dinner out.
I tried this menu last week and am here to rave about it. It is a true best of the class effort to attract locals to Santé restaurant priced at $49. I enjoyed a generous serving of Caesar salad instead of the soup on a hot day, a perfectly cooked boneless Rocky chicken breast and thigh with vegetable bean ragout, while my friend enjoyed the vegetarian corn ravioli with Heirloom tomatoes. We both chose the chocolate bread pudding with chocolate ganache and coffee crackers. And she took both of the second halves of the bread pudding home for breakfast with coffee the next morning.
Kudos to Chef de Cuisine Jennifer Venezio.
Not incidentally, the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn was just named #10 of the Top 25 Destination Spa Resorts in the United States by Condé Nast Traveler readers for 2026. 100 Boyes Blvd., Boyes Hot Springs. (707) 938-9000.
Nibs & Sips
Lee’s Soups have been prepared, delivered, and soon to be available at the Friday morning Farmers Market by Lee Morgan Brown, formerly Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance and a former “boot camp” student at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. A Texas native with an M.A.in Gerontology and time spent opening an international hotel and starting an import business in Indonesia, she is putting all of that together in deliciously healthy soups.
If you can’t wait to try her soups and pricing until she starts selling at the Farmers Market in November, contact Lee at [email protected] or check her out at leessoups.com.
Leslie McQuown has purchased the Patz & Hall property on Eighth Street East and turned it into her signature elegant tasting room experience, calling it La Maison. She and Enclos chef Brian Limoges pair the wines with food from her two-Michelin star Enclos restaurant on East Napa Street. Leslie McQuown also just opened a Patz& Hall tasting room last week, in the house at the corner of Patten Street and First Street East in Sonoma.
Poppy in Glen Ellen now has “Pick Two Tuesdays” where customers choose one entrée (appetizer) and one main “plat” from specific selections on the menu for $45, plus $25 for “select wine bottles. Dessert and wine not included” in the dinner price.
They also offer steak frites Wednesdays and Rack of Lamb Thursdays for three courses, served family style with wine included for $65. 13690 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen. (707) 938-2130.
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