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1 week ago | 
sonomamag.com | Heather Irwin |Maci Martell
Pop-up stars Bayou on the Bay will offer deep-South dining at Marla Santa Rosa Bakery and Cafe on Wednesday and Thursday of alternating weeks. Following a strong start on April 16 and 17 with their Gumbo and Grits Get Together, their April 30 and May 1 dinners will feature Cajun tamales.
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1 week ago | 
sonomamag.com | Heather Irwin |Maci Martell
Navigating the Healdsburg food scene can be perilous for new restaurant owners. Locals have strong feelings about the lack of affordable, family-friendly restaurants in the upscale tourist mecca, while restaurant owners face steep rents and skyrocketing food costs that can easily break them. The new owners of The Burrow (formerly The Wurst) are trying to straddle the line with their forthcoming restaurant — and after seeing a draft of the menu, things look hopeful.
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2 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Carey Sweet |Maci Martell
As events season kicks into gear in Wine Country, my calendar quickly fills with tasting parties nearly every week through the summer. It’s a tough job to attend so many gatherings but it’s also rewarding, offering the opportunity to explore both new and established producers, sample an array of wine styles and — most importantly — identify the trends shaping the industry. Take the International White Wine Festival in Anderson Valley in February, for example.
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2 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Maci Martell
Making matzo (or matzah), the traditional unleavened crackers of Passover (April 12-20), is an 18-minute baking ballet for Amy Brown and Joe Wolf of Santa Rosa’s Marla Bakery. “It’s a labor of love for Amy and I. We try to make it taste good and keep to traditions,” said Wolf. According to ancient Jewish law, the clock begins ticking the moment water is added to flour, salt and olive oil.
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3 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Maci Martell
Easter is hopping right around the corner — which means its time to start planning your Sunday brunches and egg hunts. From restaurants and bakeries to churches and social clubs, various Sonoma County establishments are celebrating the spring holiday with an assortment of activities and treats. We’ve also included some local Passover treats for good measure. All meals and events will take place Easter Sunday, April 20, unless noted otherwise.
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3 weeks ago | 
pressdemocrat.com | Maci Martell
Sonoma County made aviation history 114 years ago when local pilot Fred J. Wiseman glided his biplane from Petaluma to Santa Rosa to deliver mail and newspapers — marking the first airmail flight in America, and reportedly, in the world. Born in 1875 and growing up in and around Santa Rosa, Wiseman became a bicycle shop manager at 23 and drew local attention as a champion cyclist and race car driver, according to a 2010 article in the Sonoma Historian.
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3 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Heather Irwin |Maci Martell
Hidden deep within rural west county is a restaurant you’ve visited a hundred times or have never heard of. Locally, it’s legendary, a longtime favorite of wine industry folk who stop in for a beer after a long day among the vines and barrels of Green Valley. No one bats an eye when someone wearing dusty boots and Carhartt pants walks through the door. Underwood Bistro is part of the fabric of Graton, having weathered nearly 25 years in the volatile restaurant industry.
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3 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Tina Caputo |Maci Martell
Named for the Bohemian Highway that twists and turns its way through Sonoma’s majestic Northern Coast Range of redwoods, Bohème Wines is an unexpected find in laid-back downtown Occidental. The winery specializes in fresh and focused Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, inspired by cool-climate Sonoma Coast vineyard sites. The storyKurt Beitler founded Bohème Wines in 2004, but his winemaking origin story begins decades earlier.
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3 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Heather Irwin |Maci Martell
The former Fig Cafe in Glen Ellen will bloom into a new restaurant this spring, appropriately called Poppy. “The Fig Cafe had a wonderful run,” said John Toulze, managing partner of The Girl and The Fig and the forthcoming Poppy. After 20 years in the community, Toulze said it was time for a new concept. The restaurant won’t veer wildly off course from the café, which was known for its mix of California-Mediterranean cuisine.
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4 weeks ago | 
sonomamag.com | Heather Irwin |Maci Martell
Chef Douglas Keane’s new book, “Culinary Leverage: A Journey Through the Heat” (Koehler Books, 2025) opens with three dedications. First to his hardworking hospitality family, then to his dog, Roxie, and finally to “all the people with food ‘allergies.’ Without you, I might have finished this book a few years ago. You annoy me.”You now know Douglas Keane. But his book — funny, heartbreaking and raw — lays the award-winning chef’s life open like a spatchcocked chicken.
