707 Scout

By 707 correspondent, Heather Irwin.

More SF players moving north: The team behind SF’s Circa, The Cosmopolitan, and Parlor Bar plan to open ~THE SOCIAL CLUB~ in Petaluma this July. Executive chef Steven Levine will create a rustic American menu around a wood-fired oven and grill expected to include smoked short ribs, grilled Angus hangar steak, Prather Ranch burgers, and Sonoma fried chicken. Prices will range from $5-$24. Levine garnered critical acclaim for The Cosmopolitan and was the former chef of Freestyle in Sonoma. Owners are currently looking for a chef de cuisine.

Big names attached include restaurateur Mick Suverkrubbe, designer Lauren Geremia (Blackbird, Churchill, Citizen’s Band), a beverage program developed by Alex Fox (Bar Tartine, Gary Danko, Myth), and GM Damion Wallace (Wexler’s, Bistro Aix, Gary Danko, and Myth). The bar menu will include 50 bottled craft beers, single-malt scotches, and bourbons, along with an affordable wine list. Outdoor fire pits and a large patio are key outdoor features planned for the restaurant.

Bacon beckons at ~ST. FRANCIS WINERY & VINEYARDS~ on Saturday May 19th, when the Sonoma Valley winery hosts a Luxury Bacon Dinner. It’s a porktastic voyage that includes a bacon-stuffed roulade of beef, chicken-fried bacon and gravy, smoked bacon tamari, and banana bread with bacon lardons for dessert. 100 Pythian Rd. at Hwy 12, Santa Rosa, 707-833-0242.

After closing in January for much-needed repairs, Napa Valley’s ~OAKVILLE GROCERY~ reopens Tuesday May 22nd. The 130-year-old general store best known for its gourmet picnic fare has an upgraded interior and menu. There’s a new walk-up espresso window and ice cream counter (serving locally made Three Twins ice cream, natch) along with a farm stand featuring fresh produce from nearby Rudd Farms. Newly appointed toque Jason Rose (formerly of the Delfina Group and La Cocina) has rejiggered the menu to include updated sandwiches, salads, baked goods, and seasonal produce from the farm. The 130-year-old general store was rescued from an uncertain future by winery and restaurant owner Leslie Rudd (Dean and Deluca, Press, Oakville Estate) in 2007. 7856 Saint Helena Hwy. at Oakville Rd., Napa, 707-944-8802.

It’s a busy month for Rudd, who will also open the forthcoming ~FRENCH BLUE~ in St. Helena on Tuesday May 29th. The restaurant, named for the signature blue doors that have stood at the entrance of the redesigned building for 50 years, will serve a variety of farm-to-table-inspired dishes using a wood-fired oven. Executive chef Philip Wang (Carneros Inn, Daniel, Jardinière) heads the kitchen, while designers Howard and Lori Backen dish up sleek Wine Country design. Managing partner Stanley Morris (Teatro ZinZanni) adds to the restaurant’s star-power credentials. French Blue will serve dinner only (5pm-11pm) until Monday June 4th, when it opens for lunch, adding breakfast service Wednesday June 13th. 1429 Main St. at Adams St., St. Helena, 707-968-9200.

By 707 correspondent, Heather Irwin.

Restaurants are blooming throughout the spring and summer north of the Golden Gate. ~THE SPINSTER SISTERS~, a collaboration between Prune NYC’s Eric Anderson, wine insider Giovanni Cerrone, and chef Liza Hinman (formerly of Geyserville’s Santi) is slated for a summer opening in Santa Rosa. The team are tapping local music, arts, and bicycling bigwigs for input—which should make for an eclectic vibe. 401 S A St. at Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa.

~GLEN ELLEN STAR~, the much-anticipated eatery from French Laundry alum Ari Weiswasser, has been pushed to Friday May 18th. You can read a previous post about the project in tablehopper here. 13648 Arnold Dr. at Warm Springs Rd., Glen Ellen.

Meanwhile, the second outpost of the critically acclaimed ~ROSSO PIZZERIA & WINE BAR~ is nearing completion, looking at a late May opening, in downtown Petaluma. Owners will pay homage to local dairies with a fresh mozzarella bar. 151 Petaluma Blvd. at C St., Petaluma.

Just opened is ~FLIPSIDE BAR & BURGER~. Taking cues from SF burger joints like Umami Burger and Super Duper, this luxe newcomer goes beyond the patty, cheese, bun equation, adding fried eggs, Gruyère, or artisanal bacon to sustainable beef and bakery buns. And the truffle mac ‘n’ cheese is worth the trip alone. 630 Third St. at Humboldt St., Santa Rosa, 707-523-1400.

Want to bring a little Wine Country home? Take your pick of more than 125 heirloom tomato starts Saturday May 5th at ~KENDALL-JACKSON WINE CENTER~. Green thumbs know not to dawdle because the early bird gets the, well, tomato plant. There’s also a farmers’ market during the event, showcasing some of Sonoma’s best baked goods and spring produce. 5007 Fulton Rd. just off Hwy. 101, Santa Rosa, 866-287-9818.

By 707 correspondent, Deirdre Bourdet.

What mom doesn’t love to have someone else cook for her? Most restaurants in wine country stay open on Mother’s Day for brunch, but here are a few top picks offering particularly special opportunities to spoil your mom on Sunday May 13th.

~LA TOQUE~ only serves Sunday brunch once a year, and Mother’s Day is that once. This year the restaurant shows off the new spring produce from its Napa gardens with a three-course prix-fixe menu that includes a boozy aperitif, basket of warm cinnamon churros, and plenty of choices at each stage of the game. Think spring veggie “soupe au pistou” with wild nettles, or burrata with olio nuovo, mint, and fleur de sel to start; followed by lobster omelet with leeks, potato, Fontina cheese, and lobster hollandaise, or grilled New York strip steak, crispy halibut, crab cakes, or even a vegetarian “short stack” of portobello mushrooms with béarnaise. Dessert options include the kitchen’s beloved Gâteau Concorde au Chocolat, as well as a lemon crêpe brûlée with blood orange-brown butter sauce. Total cost for the prix-fixe is $65 per person (plus optional wine pairing on two courses for an extra $24), though the under-21 types can get everything but the booze for $48. Call the restaurant or go online for reservations. 1314 McKinstry St. at Soscol Ave., Napa, 707-257-5157.

For mothers with an Italian bent—or those who just love their salami—~ESTATE~ in Sonoma is the place to hit. This year the three-course Mother’s Day brunch menu is chock-full of housemade MANO FORMATE charcuterie, from the aperitivo selection of salumi that kicks things off, through the prosciutto that tops the baked eggs with leeks and truffle crema, all the way to the bacon panino with arugula, Fontina, and roasted red bell pepper aioli. Come to mamma. Three courses are $32, and you can add a glass of prosecco, mimosa, bellini, or other creative selection from the restaurant’s famed Prosecco Bar for an astoundingly low $3. Check the website for the full menu of options. 400 W. Spain St. at 4th St. W., Sonoma, 707-933-3663.

Due to local land use restrictions, Napa Valley has only one restaurant that’s actually in a winery—but that one is more than worthy. Michelin-starred ~ÉTOILE~ is located at Domaine Chandon in Yountville, just a few short minutes from downtown. Its charming young chef Perry Hoffman recently won Food & Wine’s award for The People’s Best New Chef in California, working with the restaurant’s five acres of Carneros gardens, foraged wild products just outside his kitchen door, and of course the impressive variety of Chandon family wines at his fingertips. This year, Hoffman’s Mother’s Day brunch features an ultra-seasonal selection of goodies, like a chilled fennel soup with smoked trout, brioche, and fiddlehead ferns; Delta asparagus salad with prosciutto di Parma, sous vide egg, and rhubarb; fettuccine with spring green garlic, Maine lobster, garden herbs, and preserved lemon; halibut with ramps, tempura squash blossom, hearts of palm, and bacon lardons; and a beef tenderloin with potato terrine, English peas and leaves, and roasted mushrooms. The three-course tasting menu is $75, plus $35 for optional wine pairings. There is also, of course, the Swedish-built caviar cart to take things to an 11…. 1 California Dr. at Solano Ave., Yountville, 888-242-6366, option 2.

By 707 correspondent, Deirdre Bourdet.

Last weekend I got to peek inside the newly renovated Martini House building in downtown St. Helena for a media preview of ~GOOSE & GANDER~. Though the garden patios were still a work in progress, the upstairs dining room and basement bar looked ready to rock. And rock they did, with a mind-blowing cocktail menu from bar manager Scott Beattie and his team of crack mixologists, and a parade of outrageously soulful eats by chef Kelly McCown.

While the basement bar was hardly touched by renovations, the menus have taken off in entirely original and delicious directions. Some highlights of the cocktail hour portion of the evening: first, a Spring Shrub, made with St. George Botanivore gin, lemon, ginger, seltzer, and rosemary-pear shrub (a “shrub” is a pre-cocktail era drink made primarily with a reduction of fresh fruit-infused vinegar. Did you know? I didn’t); the colorful Cucumber Collins, made with Square One Cucumber vodka, fresh huckleberries, yuzu, and sliced fresh and huckleberry-pickled cucumbers; and the insane fried Castelvetrano olive and escargot skewers, showered with fennel pollen, and paired with melted anchovy butter for dunking. Oh yes they did.

Upstairs, the weird balconied hole in the middle of the Martini House dining room has been filled in to give better table spacing and a centralized energy. Rich red walls and dark leather booths modernize the look of the exposed wooden beams without losing the soothing historic vibe. Chef McCown said he wants Goose & Gander to feel like a true “public house,” where people hang out, eat really delicious unfussy dishes—he calls his menu “rustic American pub food”—and just relax and feel comfortable. Although he admitted the kitchen does use some modern techniques (the pork T-bone is cooked sous-vide before it’s fired, for example), you won’t find any foams, tweezers, or antigriddles in the kitchen. He’s after layered, complex flavors and textures that taste amazing without a whiff of pretension.

The menu wasn’t yet finalized when I was there, but I am praying fervently that I can revisit the crispy-skinned confit duck leg (a glorious by-product from Sonoma-Artisan Foie Gras’ operations—which are, sadly, moving to Nevada soon); the seared scallops with fried green tomatoes, coil of pancetta, and jalapeño beurre blanc; and/or the luscious Loch Duart salmon topped with crisped prosciutto curls. The chicken breast was a shocking sleeper hit too, with its punchy potatoes and gremolata—but then there was that tender pork T-bone, smothered in a saffron and curry infused piperade with whole candied garlic cloves. Too much goodness for a single night.

And, there’s more: chef McCown has also scored an exciting exclusive on restaurant service of the new charcuterie line by David Katz (of Panevino fame). Katz’s delicate lavender-scented salumi, lamb chorizo, tender duck prosciutto, and more will eventually be available through limited retail channels, but Goose & Gander is the only restaurant that will be slicing it up for you.

The soft opening for the public is today, Tuesday April 24th. 1245 Spring St. at Oak St., St. Helena, 707-967-8779.