hemian Bo
WRITERS PICKS
BEST EVACUATION RESPITE
When the phone rings and you’re issued a mandatory evacuation, you leave your home fast. When I found myself evacuated during the fires and in need of some human interaction, I headed to the Girl & the Fig. There are dozens of gathering places on the Sonoma Plaza, but the Girl & the Fig is always festive, no matter if there’s a drought, flood or fire. By the time we arrived, the tables were taken and so were the seats at the bar. But the homey lounge was wide open, so we staked out the territory and ordered drinks. Sondra Bernstein, the restaurant’s founder, and her partner, John Toulze, have infused the place with a sense of joie de vivre, which might be translated into English as “fun.” Sitting next to me was a group of women, all from Sonoma, all burned-out and all eager for much needed R&R. “There are worse things in life than losing your property,” a 93-year-old woman told me. I poured her a glass from the bottle of sparkling wine I had ordered. She shared her charcuterie platter. For my entrée, I had what I always have: the pastis-scented steamed mussel served with fries and toast. Disaster, I learned, has a way of making food taste miraculously good. For dessert, my friends and I shared the restaurant’s signature chocolate-dipped fig kisses, our reward to ourselves for the fiery ordeal that drove us apart and brought us together again. 110 W. Spain St., Sonoma. 707.938.3534. thegirlandthefig.com.—J.R.
BEST ELEVATION OF THE HUMBLE BEAN
Beans are not the magical fruit that we think of when we think “Napa.” The world-famous Napa Valley is all about Cabernet Sauvignon grapes purpling in the sun then magically maturing in red-stained oak—and, as the saying goes, the wine is bottled poetry. And the beans are . . . baked beans? Doesn’t have quite the lyrical zip to it. That’s what Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food founder Steve Sando thought until he started puttering around in the garden to grow a little fresh produce and
happened to grow an heirloom bean called Rio Zape. As Sando describes on the website of his now-world-famous bean company, “They were similar to the pintos I liked, but there was so much more going on. Hints of chocolate and coffee mixed with an earthy texture made my head spin. I was blown away by Rio Zape and the other heirloom beans I was growing, but also really confused why they were such a big secret.” That secret’s out, thanks to a shout-out from Oprah’s magazine. Rancho Gordo works directly with growers in California, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico, as well as collaborating with small farms in Mexico. But again, why buy black beans at $5.95 to $6.95 a pound from a foodie darling company in tony Napa Valley, instead of a 99-cent bag of frijoles negros from the corner market? Well, Ayocote Negro, for instance, is a rare indigenous bean from Mexico, the bean-meisters at Rancho Gordo tell me, a bean you wouldn’t necessarily be able to try in the U.S. It makes an inky dark broth, but the texture is more like a potato than a run-of-themill black turtle bean. Add a little house hot sauce, also available at the company’s outlet in Napa, along with a whole hill of beans. 1924 Yajome St., Napa. 800.599.8323. ranchogordo.com.—J.K.
Many thanks to our loyal customers!
Best Chinese Restaurant Sonoma County
We treat our customers like family. Healthy cooking standards include organic tofu, NO MSG, NON-GMO rice oil, use of steamers.
GOJI
1965 Mendocino Avenue Santa Rosa, CA 95404 707.523.3888 gojikitchen.com
BEST SUSHI FOR SUSHI HATERS
I’ve been told I’m a picky eater. So what if I don’t like sushi? I have never been fond of the taste or idea of raw fish. This all changed at Santa Rosa’s Tex Wasabi’s. My parents were visiting around the mid-semester mark, when my mom’s craving for sushi hit an all-time high. Of course, channeling my inner brat, I protested, but dad came in as the peacemaker and found rave reviews for Tex Wasabi’s. He said this place would marry my pickiness with Mom’s desire to break out of the ordinary because it was a blend of good ol’ American barbecue and “rock-n-roll sushi.” As we got ready to order, my dad, embarrassingly, explained our predicament to our waiter, who recommended we try some of the “gringo sushi.” We decided on the Jackass Roll.
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THANK YOU Best Cabernet SONOMA COUNTY
www.jordanwinery.com
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food & drink
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