Healdsburg

Penthouse Steakhouse: Near-Fine Dining Among the Dancers

James Beard Awards Announce Semifinalists: Bay Area's Well Represented, Obviously

​The day has come for the James Beard Foundation to announce the semifinalists for the 2012 Restaurant Awards. As SFoodie has written before, the finals can resemble the Oscars in that they're often career awards rather than a measure of how the nominees are performing at this very moment. Tha ... More >>

Now Open: Chomp 'N Swig, Navin, and Jake's on Market

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. The small stretch of shops on Clement between the anchors of inner and outer Richmond has a new addition: Chomp 'N Swig. Richmond Blog SF notes the restaurant (in the former Cafe Mereb space) is open, se ... More >>

Crumb Elevates The Art of Soft Baking

Tamara PalmerCrumb's Peanut Goodness cookie.​"I started Crumb because I like to feed people," says cookie maven Ann Marie Milo. "More importantly, I love dessert." Crumb launched in San Francisco back in May, and is carried in the city at Falletti Foods, Bryan's Grocery, and JCC Cafe. Varieti ... More >>

Charlie Palmer Restaurant Coming to S.F.? Here's the Clues

​Is there a Charlie Palmer restaurant coming to San Francisco? Last night SFoodie walked by the Crescent Hotel and spotted the sign above indicating a change in ownership liquor license to Palmer City-Core Restaurant. Does this mean the celebrity chef who already has a foothold in Healdsbur ... More >>

Driver Crashes While "Fooling Around " with Girlfriend

.... And they will probably still blame the bad driving on the woman​Here's an unfortunate incident of being forced to kiss and tell.California Highway Patrol officers were called to the scene of a car accident on Highway 101 in the North Bay at about 11:45 p.m. Friday where a male driver crashed ... More >>

Jerome Waag Co-Chef at Chez Panisse, Maverick's New Chef, and Kare-Ken's Curry

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. Working up the Chez Panisse ladder: Yesterday Tablehopper shared a rumor that long-ago busboy Jerome Waag, was moving into the downstairs co-chef position at Alice Waters' Berkeley restaurant. Today, Ins ... More >>

Gleaning Vegetables in the Heart of Wine Country

Still from the Perennial Plate's episode in Healdsburg.​Gleaning is not a subject that comes up much in high-density San Francisco, which is located far enough from fields and large-scale gardens that we can romanticize the idea of an overbountiful harvest. But in more agricultural areas, so much ... More >>

Mellow Out with Two New Videos from the Sandwitches

The Sandwitches​Unlike their namesake, San Francisco's the Sandwitches are something of an acquired taste. Their rootsy, bare-bones rock can at first seem rough-hewn and somewhat difficult -- but given time, one begins to recognize the subtlety and emotional honesty in their songs, especially ... More >>

Rose Tea and Toast Open, Bar Tartine Closes for a Week

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. Eater SF notes two drink-inspired restaurant openings: Another new wine bar in Rockridge, Toast (5900 College at Chabot), has officially launched today. Owners Heither Sittig and Kristin Policy, first-tim ... More >>

Bakesale for Japan Update

​Bakesale for Japan Where: Multiple Bay Area locations When: Sat., April 2, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Cost: Items priced individually The rundown: Since we last checked in, Samin Nosrat's Bakesale for Japan has snowballed, with dozens of locations spanning the Bay Area, Southern California, the Paci ... More >>

Drink 2011: Cocktails, Let's Go Bowling

​Bakesale for Japan Where: Multiple Bay Area locations When: Sat., April 2, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Cost: Items priced individually The rundown: Since we last checked in, Samin Nosrat's Bakesale for Japan has snowballed, with dozens of locations spanning the Bay Area, Southern California, the Paci ... More >>

Three Cocktail Tutorials for Shaking Up Your Game

Lou BustamanteCocktail mise en place from a whiskey primer at Beretta.​There's something oddly charming about the month of January, the brisk days so full of potential and resolve that only a fresh start can bring ― or maybe that's just the hangover finally wearing off. Maybe you resolved to ... More >>

Fall Luxury Chocolate Salon

Tamara PalmerDon't let the moderation fool you.​TasteTV's Fall Luxury Chocolate Salon is a miniaturized version of the larger event that takes place in the spring, but still promises to pack plenty of confectionery sampling and gift-shopping into a small space. We'll be making a beeline to loc ... More >>

Save the Date: Fall Apple and Cheese Tasting in Healdsburg

pengrin™/FlickrSonoma County Gravenstein.​An orchard of ancient Gravenstein apples ― prized for their ability to tart and plump up a pie by Jonathan Kauffman ― will be the setting for a fall tasting next month in Healdsburg. The three-hour event at Gina's Orchard is heavy on samples of s ... More >>

Bear Republic Previews 23 Brews for This Year's Great American Beer Fest

Brian YaegerHealdsburg's Bear Republic Brewing is entering 23 of its brews in this month's Great American Beer Festival in Denver.​At last year's Great American Beer Festival, Bear Republic Brewing's Racer 5 IPA took home a gold medal, not for American India Pale Ale, but for American-style St ... More >>

Spoonbar's Scott Beattie Talks Cocktails at Plum, Bracina

Jeremy Brooks/FlickrScott Beattie (right) with the author.​After stopping by Spoonbar in Healdsburg earlier this month, we sat down to chat with Scott Beattie for a taste of what to expect behind the bar at Plum, the perennially delayed Bracina, and other projects from Northern California's tr ... More >>

At Spoonbar in Healdsburg, Scott Beattie Riffs on Classic Warm-Weather Cocktails

Lou BustamanteAt Spoonbar, ex-Cyrus barman Scott Beattie has a simpler, more refined focus on classic cocktails.​On a recent fog-soaked day in the city, the promise of sunshine lured us north to the warmth of Healdsburg, Yountville's counterpart as a showcase of Sonoma County's best food and d ... More >>

Voluntary Kombucha Ban Spurs Some Makers to Jigger the Formula

Rana ChangBut not too fresh, please ― at least to satisfy the TTB.​Our favorite morsel from the blogs. Rachel Swan of the East Bay Express traces kombucha's recent decline, after the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau posted an online warning that drinks with an alcohol content of .5 ... More >>

IF YOU GO

Rana ChangBut not too fresh, please ― at least to satisfy the TTB.​Our favorite morsel from the blogs. Rachel Swan of the East Bay Express traces kombucha's recent decline, after the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau posted an online warning that drinks with an alcohol content of .5 ... More >>

Chill Out in Healdsburg

The perfect summer getaway is closer than you think.

Ambience as Chill as the Drinks

Peaceful little bars offer sweet summer relaxation.

Chill on the Hills — and in the Bay

Find summer adventures on land, at sea, or in the air.

Dressed to Chill

S.F. summer fashion is a piece of layer cake.

Vibranz Bubbles Up in Local Kombucha Scene

Tamara Palmer​We've got a promising newcomer to add to our local resource guide to kombucha. Healdsburg's Vibranz, a new line of bottled kombucha beverages from the makers of Sonoma Sparkler juices, sent us some of its nine flavors to sample. The company hopes to distinguish itself in the mark ... More >>

Our Local Beer Experts Blind-Tasted Stouts. Guess Who Won?

B. YaegerThe lineup ranged from Anglo to Cali.​For this month's blind beer-tasting, we gave in to the dark side. Stouts originated in England in the mid-18th century, and might have fizzled out had it not been for the Irish. Deriving its name from particularly strong or "stout" porter, stout i ... More >>

Hey Vegans: Thanksgiving Dinner's Free at Cafe Gratitude Again

flirianders/FlickrThere's no excuse for rawists to spend the holiday alone in front of the dehydrator.​Can you say, "I feel grateful?" or perhaps "I feel bountiful?" Café Gratitude sooo wants you to. Keeping with a well established annual tradition, four out of five Café Gratitude locations ... More >>

Another 24 Hours: Craigslist Farm and Garden Classifieds

CraigslistCreepy, right?​SFoodie's weekly look at some urban essentials offered up on Craiglist. A keg of Anchor. A bottle of Jack. A bowl of chips to dip in fly-speckled guacamole. Fuck that. We're so over mediocre parties we're going to dial in a pig roast every time we get an invitation: ... More >>

From Goats to Egyptian Onions, Craigslist Can Hook You Up with the Essentials of Urban Life

Find a hand job. Or a truckload of Zinfandel grapes.​Nearly 70 years ago, Albert Camus ruminated on the isolation of city life: As a remedy to life in society I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means. If only he'd lived to know Craigslist. We're no longer ... More >>

September Tasting and Preserves Swap Should Prove Just Peachy

pickyourown.org​ Gayle Okumura Sullivan of Dry Creek Peach and Produce in Healdsburg, one of the last peach farms in all of Northern California, will join Omnivore Books owner Celia Sack in hosting a special tasting of Dry Creek's heirloom yellow and white peaches. They'll also oversee  ... More >>

Recchiuti and Handal Prove Chocolate and Cheese Aren't Strange Bedfellows

Amarena cherries and Blu del Moncenisio cheese await enrobing for the Red, White & Blu course.​A recent afternoon at the headquarters of confectioner Recchiuti provided definitive proof that, in the right hands, chocolate and cheese do go together. As part of his mostly sold-out Tas ... More >>

Want to Make Your Place Feel More Lived In? Try Butchery

J. Birdsall Farr at work: This could be your dining room table.You know, a house just isn't a home these days without a little pig butchery. Just so happens that if you score the winning bid in the San Francisco Street Food Festival's silent auction, you'll be able to give your flat exactly w ... More >>

Michael Bauer Watch: What's He Got Against Oliveto?

Drop Oliveto to make room for the House of Prime Rib? Seriously?

The Chronicle's 2009 Top 100: Who's Out, Who's In

To be continued ...

Drink of the Week: Sonoma Sparkler's Natural Blood Orange

The newest flavor courtesy of Healdsburg's Sonoma Sparkler is this gorgeous sparkling blood orange juice. The bubbles are restrained but still manage to elevate the seriousness of the blood orange. It tastes especially luxurious when sipping out of a long-stemmed wine glass. I may have to get some m ... More >>

Cellar Rat: Week 12 at Unti Vineyards

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

Cellar Rat: Week Nine at Unti Vineyards

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

Cellar Rat: Week One at Unti Vineyards

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

Bearded In The Bay: Locals Snag Four James Beard Awards

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

Bearded In The Bay: Nominees Announced

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

French Laundry Tops Michelin Guide: What Do Tires Have To Do With It?

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

French Laundry Tops Michelin Guide: What Do Tires Have To Do With It?

By Ella Lawrence Harvest is now officially officially over. I know I've been saying this for a few weeks, but now there is absolutely nothing left for me to do in the cellar. It's been a gradual weaning-off, from the 9-hour days that left me covered in sweat and grape juice and shaking muscles to t ... More >>

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The Lights Went Up (Scenery)

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Decisions, Decisions

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Fighting Nuns

Oh, brother -- sisters invade the W Hotel

Side Dish

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Gluttons for Punishment?

Left Bank to Left Coast