Sonoma

The 'Homebrew Chef' Offers Up a Cinema-Themed Beer Dinner

If you've ever been to one of Sean Paxton's (aka The Homebrew Chef) beer dinners, you know what kind of madness awaits. Countless inventive beer infusions and inspired pairings are the hallmark of his dinners, with a dose of molecular gastronomy and heady conceptual tie-ins for good measure. Tomorro ... More >>

Two Festivals This Weekend Celebrate World's Best Foods: Cheese and Chocolate

In a scenario where we were asked at gunpoint to choose whether we'd give up cheese or chocolate for the rest of our life (you know, threatened by hardened criminals who are discerning about such matters), we'd be hard-pressed to come up with a decision. Thankfully we can celebrate both this weekend ... More >>

Avoid All the Cliches This Valentine's Day: Four Offbeat Ideas

If you've managed to tunnel your way through the growing thicket of Valentine's Day misery (you know what we mean: glittering greeting cards with babies on rose beds in soft focus, waxy milk chocolate roses, contrived puns about love, and "aphrodisiac dinners"), we're proud of you. Valentine's Day i ... More >>

Fall Book Preview: 5 Local Food Titles to Anticipate

When it comes to food-centric books, the Bay Area is a publishing powerhouse, and this fall is no exception. Here are the titles we're most anticipating this season, presented in chronological order: The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes by James Freeman, Ca ... More >>

Wine Harvest Day Tripping in Sonoma County

Harvest time in wine country is quickly approaching and it's time to start making plans to head up north to "help" -- drink wine -- with this year's harvest. While you may be thinking about Napa Valley with its sleek tasting rooms and celebrity chefs, unassuming and rustic Sonoma has just as much to ... More >>

Bottles Up

"Fat Bottom Girl" Cheese Makes the Dairy World Go Round

One great thing about Northern California: Whatever your foodie pleasure, there's always more of it out there than at first seems possible. We've lately discovered yet another great cheese out there in the hills: Fat Bottom Girl, spring cheese from Bleating Heart in Sonoma. Like so many pursuing th ... More >>

Learn How To Raise Chicken In The City at 18 Reasons

What: Chickens 101: How To Have City Birds Where: 18 Reasons When: Tues., May 8, 7-9 p.m. Cost: $35 The Rundown: Nick Rupiper has raised chickens in Sonoma Valley for the last six years and will be teaching city dwellers all about his labor of love. Backyard flocks are increasingly common among ... More >>

Drivers Break Guinness World Record with Donuts

Drivers in Sonoma just might have broken the Guinness Book of World Records for -- of all strange things -- spinning the most donuts yesterday afternoon. News reports detailed the excitement at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma where 75 drivers spun simultaneous donuts for more than15 seconds (how man ... More >>

Cookie Brittle: Two Words That Go Great Together

​Upon initial inspection of Holly Baking's Sweet Ginger Cookie Brittle, Cook E. Monster conjured up images of sticky candy getting stuck in the back teeth. Instead, these neatly shatter into piles of sugar, cinnamon, and pulverized ginger. The box touts all-natural ingredients, but the cookies the ... More >>

Chocolate and Spirits: Coco Delice Boozes It Up

​Coco Délice has embraced alcohol. The Emeryville based chocolatier, long a purveyor of premium bon bons in classic French style, has recently added adult-beverages to its fillings. For their newest additions, the chocolate shop tapped Berkeley-based Bison Organic Brewing. The result: Bison Bla ... More >>

Yogurt Saint Benoît Curdles It French-Style

​ I'm a little closer to my food production than most. We keep chickens for eggs, grind our own flour, bake bread in the oven from time to time, and keep a number of food-producing plants. My yogurt maker, however, meditates quietly in my pantry in a box marked "seldom used cooking utensils. ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Krave Takes Beef Jerky Upscale

​Eventually everything goes upscale. Orange juice went from concentrate to "pure premium" to "just pkt" [sic] and finally to true fresh-squeezed in stores. The most recent food to jump on the upgrade bandwagon? Beef jerky. And pork and turkey jerky(s), too.

Sonoma in the City: Huge wine tasting

Close your eyes and imagine you're in Sonoma County. Wait -- whose shoulder is that?​Sonoma in the City Grand Tasting Where: Westin St. Francis hotel, 335 Powell St. (at Post) When: Tuesday, July 12, 5:30 - 8 p.m. Cost: $55 Unless you're willing to spend more than $60 a bottle, Sonoma Cou ... More >>

Tonight: Sneak Preview of PBS Food Show

​Where: Goldman Theater, 2150 Allston (at Oxford), Berkeley When: Tonight, 6-10 p.m. Cost: $10 in advance, $15 at the door The rundown: We imagine there is a Venn diagram that would show a wide crossover between foodies and public TV supporters. Tonight in Berkeley, there's an event geared ... More >>

Fruit Bats, J. Mascis, Sonny and the Sunsets Play at Huichica Festival in Sonoma Next Weekend

http://www.gunbun.com/hmf​In this weeks issue of SF Weekly, we ran a story about music festivals in Northern California, but unfortunately, there was (hopefully no more than) one glaring omission: the second annual Huichica Music Festival, which takes place on Saturday, June 4th at Gundlach Bu ... More >>

San Francycle: Did David Chiu Drive on Bike to Work Day?

​Wasn't Bike to Work day fabulous this year? We certainly saw a lot more cyclists out than usual, and we hope to see them out again on the remaining 364 days until next year. Let's do a quick roundup of the best of the bikes. According to the Chron, the mayor and "almost every member of the Bo ... More >>

Fremont Diner's Nashville Hot Chicken Is Totally Worth the Food Miles

Alex HochmanThat's not some bottled hot sauce tossed with Fremont Diner's hot chicken.​Chewing our first bite of Fremont Diner's Nashville Hot Chicken ($10.50), we were already mentally calculating how long it would take to drive back to Sonoma the next day to get our fix. Three pieces of Fult ... More >>

Next Week: Kitchen Table Talks Jaws About Heirloom Fruit

​On Aug. 31, Kitchen Table Talks (a joint venture of Civil Eats and 18 Reasons) reconvenes at Viracocha to discuss, with curatorial gusto, heirloom fruit. Various stewards of storied seeds, rootstocks, and growing traditions shall be present, including Terry Harrison, who founded the Sonoma An ... More >>

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 >>

Bay Music Linx Roundup: Burning Crud, Amoeba Relief, & Ye Olde Music

Pigs (www.myspace.com/oaklandsswinest)​Searching for the Mission's best karaoke [Mission Mission] Oakland act Pigs: "My mom always thought it would be a cool band name. That and 'Burning Crud." [SF Gate] Amoeba takes Haiti relief online [Bay Bridged]Vampire Weekend cover Rancid [Stereogum] ... More >>

Tourism Board on Odd Juxtaposition of Words 'County' and 'Country': We Meant to Do That!

Is Sonoma Country a constitutional monarchy? Or do its kings still rule by divine right? ​You receive odd things when you work at a newspaper. A job candidate signifying he or she was ready to "hit the ground running" sent us some baby shoes (we gave them to a baby). An even more deranged candidat ... More >>

Snacktion: Sonoma Sunshine's Chocolaty, Nut-Studded Take on the Rice Krispies Treat

T. Palmer​Name: Sonoma Sunshine KrispettesBrand: Caroline's DessertsOrigin: WashingtonFound at: Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe (2890 Taylor at Jefferson)Cost: $4.95Ingredients: Marshmallows, organic gluten free crispy brown rice cereal, unsalted butter, apricots, pistachios, chocolate chips, s ... More >>

Sunday's Pork Prom to Feature Something Altogether Tastier than Bon Jovi Covers

medXtreme/FlickrA Mangalitsa hog -- your, um, date for the Pork Prom.​This sounds like a prom worth getting dressed up for. Pork Prom ― a sort of CSA pork party ― will take over Blue Bottle's coffee roastery near Jack London Square in Oakland (300 Webster at Third St.). Here's the deal: O ... More >>

Prix Fixe Alert: Two-Night Wine Feast at Bar Tartine

bittermelon/Flickr​Sonoma's Scribe Winery is the focus of two nights of post-harvest celebrating via a prix fixe menu with wine pairings at Bar Tartine (561Valencia at 16th St.). The $85 dinners (including wine) kick off tonight: roasted bone marrow and Scribe Tartine Cuvée jam; winter veggie ... More >>

Snacktion: Sweet Onion and Crème Fraîche Flat Bread

T. Palmer​Name: Sweet Onion and Crème Fraîche Flat Bread Brand: Rustic Bakery Origin: Sonoma Found at: Faletti's (308 Broderick at Fell) Cost: $5.99 Ingredients:Unbleached flour, seasonal sweet onions, creme fraiche, olive oil, turbinado sugar, wild yeast starter, sesame seeds, sea salt. Calorie ... More >>

Thanksgiving is Coming Fast. Know What You'll Be Serving?

4505Meats.comTurducken from 4505 Meats: Why settle for one bird when you can have three?​Mission dwellers have a grazing option today. Starting at 5 p.m., Bi-Rite Market (3639 18th St. at Guerrero) is setting up a Thanksgiving tasting station set up in front of the store -- samples of Bill Nim ... More >>

Another 24 Hours: Craigslist's Farm and Garden Classifieds

Got $800? You can keep this bull from becoming hamburger.​SFoodie's weekly look at some urban essentials offered up on Craiglist. • Looking to improve your flock? Look to the city of Sebastopol, that charming namesake of a lackluster Jay Farrar solo record renowned for its apples, where one ... More >>

Escape All the Fog and Cruelty This Weekend at the Vegan and Vegetarian Food Fest

jahat/FlickrTime to get out of town.​Given our crappy weather, ample sausages, and an embarrassment of generally meaty action catering to local carnivores, we're guessing vegans and vegetarians might seriously consider driving 40 minutes north of the city for this weekend's first annual Vegan ... More >>

Summer Reading That Won't Make You Stupid: Sonoma Farm Diary That Thinks Globally

In Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking in California (UC Press, $24.95), Sonoma State professor Jonah Raskin writes about more than just day-to-day operations at family-run, organic Oak Hill Farm alongside Mexican immigrants, an Irish mechanic, and a French beekeeper. Raskin also des ... More >>

Beer Is Good Food

Tour the city's breweries and brewpubs this summer.

Queer Food Capital: Macy's Cooking Demo to Feature Out Chefs

Janine Falvo of Carneros Bistro, Sonoma. Does the idea of a hottie in the kitchen get you going? Top Chef geeks and culinary divas of all genders, head to The Cellar at Macy's (170 O'Farrell at TK). Saturday at noon, Macy's Union Square will be dishing out a special LGBT cooking demo featu ... More >>

A Glass of Flowers: Ferry Plaza Pinot Noir Tasting Explores Sonoma's Terroir

jspatchwork via FlickrFlowers Pinot Noir: Where Burgundy meets SonomaFrench winemakers are always talking about terroir, that elusive term that can't really be translated into English, or, for that matter, into American concepts about viticulture. Terroir encompasses all the environmental factors th ... More >>

Foie Gras Follies: San Francisco's Symbolic Resolution, Ignoring Lesson from Chicago

Snacktion: Grindstone Bakery's Gluten-Free Coconut Crunch Cookie

Name: Gluten-Free Coconut Crunch Cookie Brand: Grindstone Bakery Origin: Santa Rosa Cost: $3.09 Found at: Other Avenues (3930 Judah) Ingredients: Whole quinoa, millet and buckwheat stone ground at the bakery, coconut, extra virgin unrefined coconut oil, cold pressed rice bran oil, agave nect ... More >>

The Rich and Photographed

Reps Etc.

Puny Power

Runty cars go for glory at Infineon Raceway

Best Foie Gras

Best Biplane Rides

Vintage Aircraft Co.

Summer Events a Go Go!

What to do, all summer long

Best Wine Seller

K&L Wine Merchants

Stick to the Suds

Eldos Grill & Brewery

Best Outdoor Market

Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market

Cannonball

Hiphopulation (43 Productions)

Best New Restaurant

Elisabeth Daniel

Letters to the Editor

Geez, Someone Didn't Get His Nap; New Design Gets Two Thumbs Up; Pouring Fuel on the Fire; Girls in the System

Side Dish

Bauerware; Profit Margins; Bing, Bing, Bing

Fine Wining