Top Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinners in the North Bay
Posted on 13. Dec, 2010 by Carey Sweet in Blog, Food & Wine, Holidays
‘Tis the season to let other people do the cooking. Spend more time on gift giving and holiday celebrations by letting a professional chef work his magic in some of the North Bay’s best kitchens. Here are our picks on where to dine for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Ame at St. Regis (San Francisco) [...]
St. Francis Winery & Vineyards: Ode to Crab Winery Dinner
Posted on 09. Dec, 2010 by gina in Blog, Food & Wine, Sonoma Events
Crab cakes, crab bisque, roasted crab, barbequed crab, crab salad, crab with pasta, the list is endless and only limited by the imagination of a chef. Many recipes have been created to celebrate one of the oldest creatures on the planet found in oceans worldwide. Different types of Crabs vary in size from as small [...]
Douglas Keane’s Shimo Brings “Modern Steak” to Healdsburg
Posted on 06. Dec, 2010 by Carey Sweet in Blog, Food & Wine, New in California Wine Country, New in the Wine Country, Sonoma restaurants
When was the last time you had a $195 steak? With the opening of Shimo Modern Steak in downtown Healdsburg this past Friday night, you now can, rounded out with an oyster appetizer ($16), a romaine salad ($13), and a side of cauliflower gratin ($11). Yet Shimo being the work of Cyrus owners Douglas Keane [...]
Natalie Cole at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
Posted on 02. Dec, 2010 by gina in Blog, Sonoma County Events
As a young girl in the mid-1970’s I didn’t know Natalie Cole’s name. I only knew the sound of her voice and the songs – like her number one hit “This will be an Everlasting Love” – that made me want to dance. In 1980, after the disappointment of my first crush, I was old [...]
Top 10 Napa/Sonoma Romantic Hotels
Posted on 29. Nov, 2010 by Carey Sweet in Blog, Napa Hotels, Sonoma Hotels, Wine Country Hotels
1. Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford If you’re looking for a place to propose to your sweetie, why not present that sparkling ring while you lounge by the pool, sipping sparkling wine – the pool itself sparkles with a pebble-sheen floor inlaid with Italian mosaic tiles and glistening mother-of-pearl. Intimacy is the signature of this breathtaking [...]
Winemaker Dinner Series at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn Sante Restaurant: Audelssa Estate Winery
Posted on 23. Nov, 2010 by gina in Blog, Sonoma Events, Sonoma restaurants, Sonoma wineries
There used to be a well kept secret of a hidden jewel of a family owned winery in Sonoma. With incredible views from high on a mountainside, visitors could see all the way to San Francisco while tasting unbelievably balanced, sophisticated, and flavorful wines. The winery still rests amid 80 acres decorating a steep slope, [...]
It’s Crab Season – Do You Know Where Your Dungeness Is?
Posted on 22. Nov, 2010 by Carey Sweet in Blog, Food & Wine
Sonoma’s Dungeness crab season officially started last week, with professional fishermen setting out across Bodega Bay to catch the celebrated crustaceans. Plucked from a pot (as in trap), then plunked in a pot (as in cooking), there’s little better dipped in butter or kissed with lemon. If you’ve got a boat, or want to rent [...]
Heart of Sonoma: 27th Annual Holiday Open House
Posted on 18. Nov, 2010 by gina in Blog, Holidays, Sonoma Events, Sonoma wineries
Nestled in the picturesque Sonoma Valley between the towns of Kenwood and Glen Ellen lays the Heart of Sonoma. It is here, in this small region framed by hillsides, where winery staffs work diligently and passionately to create outstanding Sonoma Valley wines. This year, 2010 celebrates the 27th Annual Holiday Open House on Friday, November [...]
10 Best Wine Bars in Sonoma
Posted on 15. Nov, 2010 by Carey Sweet in Blog, Food & Wine
1. Cellars of Sonoma It’s billed as a tasting room, but it’s really a fashionable bar and retail store, set on busy Fourth Street off Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square. Crowds pack in for this boutique collective of small labels (generally less than 2,500-case production) filling the eight seats at the bar, and the eight chairs [...]
2010 Holiday in Carneros
Posted on 11. Nov, 2010 by gina in Blog, Napa Valley events, Sonoma Events
It will be anything but business as usual in the Napa and Sonoma Wine Country on November 20 & 21 as the Carneros region celebrates Holiday in Carneros. The Carneros region is the only area of Northern California wine country that crosses over the county lines of Napa and Sonoma. The wineries in the unique [...]
Proud to Be Green
