Press "Enter" to skip to content

Food & Wine

Our favorite cookbook of 2018

In which the secret of Mary's meatballs and Italian salad dressing are revealed, along with the charming backstories of a Sonoma family's three-generation success. Dig in.   Continue

Two Sonoma area wines make Wine Spectator’s Top 10 list

Only two California labels ranked on the Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of the Year, and both come from the immediate Sonoma area -- one from Carneros, the other a Sonoma Valley designate. Italy, with the top pick, and France dominated the list, released today. But #6, and... Continue

Sonoma’s newest restaurant: Mint and Liberty

Sonoma Valley also has its share of upscale restaurants, writes Jonah Raskin. What's been missing from the area since the closing of the Breakaway Cafe is a destination restaurant that's midway between the plaza and "up valley." Now there's a new eatery in the old Breakaway... Continue

Family Album, Italian Style

Family Album, Italian Style The story of Mary Fazio has a little of everything -- even her meatball recipe For over 60 years and four generations as a family business, Mary’s Pizza Shack has been a Sonoma Valley tradition, a wonderful homegrown (and homemade) success... Continue

Wine, Women and Rock and Roll

This all-female band doesn’t make music, but a beverage that’s as intoxicating as a great rock song. By Jonah Raskin Cyndi Lauper expressed the idea loudly and clearly in the dour days of the Reagan presidency when girls were supposed to say “No” to everything... Continue

New plans for Sonoma’s Breakaway Cafe

The Breakaway Cafe is closing, temporarily, to be reborn as Mint & Liberty. The concept is “a modern twist on a classic diner,” according to owners James Hahn and his wife Mila Chaname. Also on the team: Managing Partners Melissa Cameron and Aaron Mills. The executive... Continue

Wine biz adds to quality of life, study says

Residents of the North Bay’s five wine-producing counties hold mostly positive views of how wine businesses are impacting their quality of life, according to the findings of a new study by Sonoma State University researchers.Themes The survey, which took place in February and March of... Continue