Ramen Gaijin is a new pop-up in Sebastopol featuring authentic Japanese ramen.
Zazu will host a spirited dinner with local distillery Spirit Works.
First, we’ve got to state the obvious: there was a whole lotta shaking going on last Sunday. But Napa wants everyone to know it’s still very much open for business. Despite some damage and a few red- and yellow-tagged restaurants in downtown Napa, nearly everyone has reopened.
The good news is that many newer restaurants are in historic brick buildings that have already been retrofitted and thus survived the earthquake with relatively little damage. The vast majority of wineries are also open, despite some of the scary images of wine barrels that toppled like Lincoln Logs.
Sonoma County escaped relatively unscathed other than a broken dish or two, so its restaurants are also open for business.
~WINE COUNTRY WEEKEND~ is the top dog of wine events in Sonoma County and one of the most fun. More than 200 top-notch wineries and restaurants bring out their “A” game for the weekend. It is a see-and-be-seen hoopla that no one wants to miss.
The three-day event starts with winemaker dinners and barbecues throughout the county and a gala dinner at Francis Ford Coppola Winery tonight from 6:30-10pm. Locals know that the poolside stage and million-dollar vineyard views make this Geyserville destination worth the drive. The kickoff to the weekend of indulgence features chef John Toulze of the ~GIRL & THE FIG~ in the kitchen and more than 25 wineries pouring.
Saturday’s Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch is gastro overload with 65 restaurants sampling gourmet bites and more than 150 wineries pouring Sonoma’s best wines. Let’s just say you’ll have to work very, very hard to get to even half of the goodies on hand. Other Saturday events include wine and food pairings with Kendall-Jackson, wine tours with the “Sonoma Wine Country Weekend Sommelier Stars,” a self-guided tour of the MacMurray Estate, a Steel Chef competition, and plenty of bubbly in the Bubble Lounge.
So ramen is finally becoming a “thing” in Wine Country, and I almost don’t want to tell anyone about the ramen pop-up ~RAMEN GAIJIN~, happening on selected Mondays at Woodfour Brewing. Almost. But word of mouth is traveling fast and seats are selling out even faster.
In July, chefs Moishe Hahn-Schuman and Matthew Williams quietly started a every-other-week slurp-and-burp shindig featuring incredible bowls of ramen with homemade rye noodles, pork belly, bonito flakes, mushrooms, and pickled veggies.
This week, I got access to the kitchen, where the chefs were prepping for that evening’s dinner—it’s a whirlwind leading up to the first seating at 5:30pm. We absolutely loved the donburi ($11), with a chicken thigh with a six-minute egg, burnt kale, and salmon roe; heirloom tomato salad with creamy tofu and shiso ($9); and both the miso and shoyu ramens ($13 each).
I won’t claim to be a ramen expert, but nearby slurpers seemed totally sold. The shoyu ramen is a heartier and meatier broth that’s topped with a host of ingredients like toasted rye noodles, pork belly, leeks, wood ear mushrooms, and wakame. The vegetarian miso ramen has a lighter, brighter, tangier flavor. Leave room for dessert, though. We swooned over a blackberry sorbet with yuzu curd, coconut and sesame granola, and blackberries. The Woodfour Ramen Gaijin dinners run from 5:30pm-10pm. Come early, because seating is first come, first served, with the waiting list opening at 4:30pm. The next pop-up is Monday September 8th at Woodfour Brewing (6780 Depot St. at the Barlow, Sebastopol, 707-823-3144), with others planned for Sebastopol’s Forchetta and SHED in Healdsburg.
Get ready for a super-spirited dinner Thursday September 4th at ~ZAZU~ with Sonoma County craft distillery ~SPIRIT WORKS~ and Ziggy the Wine Gal. Spirit Works’ founders Timo and Ashby Marshall start the evening with a guided tour and tasting at their brand-new distillery (at Sebastopol’s Barlow), which is followed by a three-course meal at Zazu. Expect plenty of delightful and seasonal surprises on the menu. $89 per person; not including tax and gratuity. Call 707-523-4814 to secure your spot at the table.
Get up close and personal with the harvest at ~GARY FARRELL WINERY~ as they launch the Harvest Tour, Tasting, and Lunch high above the Russian River Valley. Guests get a behind-the-scenes winery tour and a chance to view all the crushpad action before a seated wine tasting and catered lunch on the winery’s woodland terrace. Six of Gary Farrell Winery’s acclaimed single-vineyard wines are featured, and guests can choose from a menu that includes artisan sandwiches and salads or a selection of local foods in a shared picnic basket. The cost is $75 per person and it’s offered at 12:30pm daily by reservation only.
By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Top photo credit: Heather Irwin, second photo credit: Zazu.
Marcia Gagliardi is a freelance food writer in San Francisco. She writes a weekly column, Foodie 411 for the SFCVB on their “Taste” site; a monthly gossip column, “The Tablehopper” for The Northside; and regular features for Edible San Francisco. Her first book came out in March 2010: The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco: Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion.
