Barndiva

Saturday night dinner was at Barndiva, located at 231 Center Street in Healdsburg.

Corkage is $25/bottle. We had a bottle of Boatique Sauv Blanc Musque.

One of the options for the first course was Cauliflower Soup: Caramelized Florettes, Caper, Raisin Almond, Red Wine Reduction. This was delicious and very creamy. The raisin gave it a unique taste.

The other option for the first course was Yellowtail Hamachi Crudo: Sticky Jasmine Rice, Avocado, Citrus Pickled Chili, Tamari Soy. Another delicious dish but I liked the cauliflower soup better.

One of the options for the entree was Herb Basted Local Petrale Sole: Lobster Risotto, Pickled Fennel Creme Fraiche Nage. This was probably the best sole we had all week.

The dessert was Dark Chocolate Bavarian Dome : Almond Streusel, Ice Cream, Fleur de Sel. This was a fancy dessert, worthy of a $39 meal.

2018 03 10

Screamin' Mimi's

After lunch, we stopped at Screamin' Mimi's for ice cream. It's located at 6902 Sebastoopol Road. Some consider it one of the top 10 ice cream places in the US.

I ordered the Deep Dark Secret this time. It's an intensely flavored chocolate. Ice cream is sold by weight. This one cost $3.42. 

The Mimi's Mud is the most popular and supposedly accounts for 1/3 of sales. With sales over $1 million/year, that's a lot of mud. It's coffee, chocolate chips, cookies and fudge.

2018 03 10

Lowell's

We went to Lowell's Saturday for their $15 3-course lunch. It's located at 7385 Healdsburg Ave. in Sebastopol.

One of the options for the first course was a cranberry scone. This was very moist.

The other option for the first course was Winter Minestrone, with daily bean, seasonal greens, tomato, soffrito and parmigiano. This was bland.

Brassica Hash, with two poached eggs, romanesco, cauliflower, cabbage, potato, red onion, parmigiano and toast. The Satsuma jam served with the toast was delicious.

Braised chicken, potato, braised greens and I asked for mine without the charred scallions. Not exactly what I was expecting with the menu description but the brick of shredded chicken was very tasty. We were trying to figure out what they used to bind the chicken but they used nothing. I think they fried it in the mold to keep the chicken together.

2018 03 10

Monti's

We had planned to try The Shuckery in Petaluma on Friday but they decided not to do Restaurant Week so we went to Monti's instead for their $29 3-course dinner. It's located at 714 Village Court, near the Montgomery Village.

This was a delicious white blend. Cline Cellar's Cashmere--$28. Buy one bottle and get free corkage on a 2nd bottle.

Citrus Marinated Baby Beets, Spiced Pecans, Hobb's Bacon, Chèvre Crema.

Burrata Cheese with Green Olive Tapenade, Fleur de Sel and Lemon. This was delicious and a huge portion.

Sole Almondine, French Green Beans, Fingerling Potatoes, Radish, Caper Brown Butter. The sole was great but I felt guilty eating it since it was swimming in butter.

Warm Chocolate Cake with Coffee Caramel, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Buttered Almonds. The cake had a strange grittiness, almost like unmelted sugar.

Warm Apple Spice Cake, Caramelized Apples, Hazelnut and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. This didn't have much flavor and I couldn't find a trace of apples.

2018 03 09

Ca Bianca

Thursday dinner was a Ca Bianca. Their 3-course dinner was $39.

It's located at 835 2nd Street in downtown Santa Rosa. It used to be the Marshall House, which was built in 1876.

Insalata di Beet: Organic mixed greens, roasted beets, almonds, oranges, and feta cheese

Branzino alla siciliana: Sea Bass sauteed with capers, olives and fresh tomato. This was good but there was great variation in portion size. Some at my table got twice the fish.

Panna cotta: The traditional Italian vanilla beans panna cotta. I'm not used to seeing panna cotta as a slice but this was pretty good. Not as good as the panna cotta in Corsica but pretty creamy nonetheless.

2018 03 08

Walter Hansel

Wednesday was Walter Hansel, located at 3535 Guerneville Road.

They have a very reasonable wine list. We ordered the Villa Remotti Barbera d'Asti--$25. 

Walter Hansel always has an amuse bouche. This was a shot of celery root salad.

The first course was a Mesclun Baby Greens and Asian Pear Salad, with Three Citrus Vinaigrette, Laura Chenel's Cabecou, Candied Pecans. This was tasty but a very small portion.

One of the options for the entree was Petrale Sole, with Poached Savoy Cabbage, Baby Leeks, Carrots, Marble Potato, Champagne Beurre Blanc. This was very good.

The other option for the entree was Grilled Akaushi Skirt Steak, with Wild Mushroom Demi-glace, Watercress. This steak was very well prepared and the demi-glace was delicious.

Pomme Frites were served with the Steak. These were delicious and came with a cumin aioli and Heinz ketchup.

Dessert was Fresh Raspberries and Meringue Brittle, with Bellweather Farm Creme Fraiche, Raspberry Coulis. This was good but laughable as part of a $39 menu.

At the end of the meal, you get a shot of either Madeira or Sauternes.

Overall, this was disappointing. Walter Hansel normally has a $35 3-course menu. For the $39 Restaurant Week menu, I would have thought they would have thrown in a little something extra. And, no, the amuse and the shot are not the something special. They serve those regularly.



2018 03 07

Rosso Pizzeria

Tuesday was Rosso Pizzeria for their $29 dinner. It's located at 53 Montgomery Drive in Santa Rosa. They also have a location in Petaluma.

We brought our own wine. Corkage is $10. This was a Bedrock Compagni Portis Heritage White. It's a blend of Gewurztraminer, Trousseau Gris, Riesling, and Roter Veltliner. I liked the Carlisle we had the other day better.

First course was a choice of salads. This was Capo Salad--Rafter Ranch Arugula, Oven Roasted Artichokes, Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, and Whole Lemon Vinaigrette.

Another of the salad options was Caesar Salad--Chopped Romaine with Creamy Lemon Anchovy 

For the 2nd course, we opened up a Sheldon 2012 Grenache.

You could choose a personal pizza. This is the Quattro Formaggi--gorgonzola dolce, fontina. house made mozzarella, parmesan, slow roasted onion and wild arugula

Salumi--rosemary, cured meats, house made mozzarella, pepperonata, parsley and EVOO. I liked this than the quattro formaggi but I couldn't find much salumi.

We had a Peche Merle Zinfandel with our last course.

Briased Shortribs served over Cramy Parmesan Polenta, Spring Onion Salsa Verde and Smoked Onion Jam. This was amazing. The short rib was fork tender and delicious!

Wood Fired Sonoma County Mushrooms served over the polenta.

2018 03 06