Hungry Travelers - Page 41 of 83 - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

The Nectary serves delicious juice to chew

Posted on December 24, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat

Other than drinking a strawberry mango smoothie for breakfast every morning, I haven't really embraced the “juicing” trend. Sure, I know that juicing is an easy way to consume a greater variety of fruits and vegetables that will give your body a good dose of nutrients. And those nutrients may raise energy levels and promote clear, healthy skin. I also figured that California would be the perfect place to see what juicing was all about. I was right. The Nectary—and its founder Gia Baiocchi—provided the perfect introduction. Baiocchi opened the first Nectary in Sebastopol in 2014 and opened her second location in Healdsburg (312 Center Street, 707-473-0677, thenectary.net) in July 2017. The shop offers a multitude of products, including smoothies, chai, some prepared foods, and...Read More

Thomas George evokes Burgundy in Russian River

Posted on December 22, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

Westside Road in Healdsburg is the cool end of the Russian River Valley. That's just fine by Thomas and George Baker, founders of Thomas George Estates Winery (8075 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-431-8031, thomasgeorgeestates.com). When geography gives you cool vineyards in this part of Sonoma, you focus on the stars of Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since launching the winery in 2008, the Bakers have assembled four select vineyards to grow both varietals. These small-lot artisanal wines tend to spotlight individual vineyards, although the winery does make one blend from each grape. The winery tunnels into the hillside beneath the Baker Ridge Vineyard. Although the operation does have some stainless steel tanks and oak barrels, the dominant vessels are concrete eggs. The vessels have been gaining...Read More

California cuisine comes full circle at Dry Creek Kitchen

Posted on December 20, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

What began in northern California when Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 has evolved into the easy sophistication of Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen (317 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-431-0330, drycreekkitchen.com). Chez Panisse launched so-called California cuisine, the forerunner of the farm-to-table dining revolution. A generation younger than Waters, New York-born and trained Palmer became the leading apostle of progressive American cooking by the late 1980s. In 2003, he opened Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg to celebrate Sonoma's bounty and wine country lifestyle. It's a pretty place. Located in the Hotel Healdsburg (another Palmer Group property), Dry Creek Kitchen has garden terrace dining when the weather cooperates and a striking dining room when it doesn't. Some of the tables sit by the semi-open kitchen, where...Read More

Trattore: a little bit of Rhône, a whole lot of rock and roll

Posted on December 18, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

Walking into the tasting room at Trattore, it's easy to expect that the sound system might be blasting Kenny Chesney's 1999 country hit “She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.” A beautifully restored 1967 Huber tractor greets visitors as they come in the door. Tim and Mary Louise Huber have about a dozen tractors, half of which work the land. And their Trattore Farms (7878 Dry Creek Road, Geyserville, 707-431-7200, trattorefarms.com) is simply named after the iconic farm vehicle. The Hubers' 40-acre operation sits on the steep hillsides of the Dry Creek Valley just over the line from Healdsburg in Geyserville. Those hills look a lot like the Côtes du Rhône, and Rhône varietals dominate in Trattore's vineyards. The other prominent grape in the 4,000-case annual production...Read More

Cocktails honor the Barnsley spirits

Posted on December 16, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat

Jon Mattson, dining manager at Barnsley Resort (597 Barnsley Gardens Road, Adairsville, Georgia, 877-773-2447, barnsleyresort.com), has good advice for mixing cocktails. “One ingredient is the star,” he says. “Others should make that ingredient shine.” From that starting point, Mattson experiments until he “finds the ratios that really work.” A student of American cocktail history, he also delights in showcasing high-quality Southern products whenever possible. “I like to keep things simple and balanced,” he explains. He generally limits his cocktails to three ingredients. Even within that limited framework, he creates libations that nod to cocktail history as well as to the drinking habits of the Barnsley estate's late 19th century heyday. Estate founder Godfrey Barnsley originally called his property Woodlands and the name survives in the...Read More

Barnsley’s Rice House cooking exalts Southern tradition

Posted on December 14, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat

About 30 years ago, a farmhouse from the Rice Plantation in nearby Rome, Georgia, was dismantled and moved to the Barnsley estate. Carefully rebuilt and restored, the Rice House is now the setting for Friday and Saturday night dinners at the Barnsley Resort (597 Barnsley Gardens Road, Adairsville, Georgia, 877-773-2447, barnsleyresort.com). The meals celebrate the rich tradition of Southern cooking. “Southern cuisine is much more than fried chicken and lots of butter,” says Aaron Stiles, the resort's director of food and beverage. “You never hear people brag about discovering this really great Northern restaurant.” With its stone fireplace big enough for some hearth cooking, the Rice House feels a little bit like stepping back into a Southern grandmother's kitchen. And that's just as it should...Read More

Barnsley lights up a Southern Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat

What's better than an atmospheric ruin with a romantic backstory? An atmospheric ruin with a romantic backstory festooned with holiday lights. That's exactly what I discovered at Barnsley Resort (597 Barnsley Gardens Road, Adairsville, Georgia, 877-773-2447, barnsleyresort.com), about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta. Godfrey Barnsley was only a teenager when he left England in 1824 to seek his fortune in the American South. He settled in Savannah and established himself in shipping and the cotton trade. In 1828, he married Julia Scarborough, the daughter of a wealthy merchant and shipbuilder. In the early 1840s, Barnsley purchased 4,000 acres of former Cherokee land in North Georgia. Because Julia suffered from a lung ailment, Godfrey wanted to build her a home in the more favorable upcountry climate....Read More

Sonoma Cider stands out in heart of wine country

Posted on December 10, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

The 20 or so downtown wine-tasting rooms in Healdsburg are almost an embarrassment of riches. Sometimes there's just too much of a good thing. That's what the folks at Sonoma Cider thought when they opened Taproom (44F Mill Street, Healdsburg, 707-723-7018, sonomacider.com) in a former warehouse about a block south of the plaza last October. There's a no-nonsense air to the building that houses several 3,000-gallon and 6,000-gallon fermentation tanks, a bar with a giant screen TV, and a casual restaurant. Father/son duo David and Robert Cordtz launched Sonoma Cider in 2013. They take their cider seriously, but Taproom is free of pretense. “This is less upscale than wine-tasting,” says Taproom manager Kole Christen. “People can try something crisp and fresh. This is a place...Read More

Comstock embodies Sonoma wine country living

Posted on December 8, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

The success of the 2004 film Sideways made California Merlot unpopular for a while. But the dip in that red's reputation might have made helped clear the way for the winery and tasting room at Comstock Wines (1290 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 707-723-3011, comstockwines.com, tastings $20-$50). The photo above looks out the back of Comstock's tasting room to old Merlot vineyards. (That's a blue heron flying over the vines.) Many more vines were sacrificed to clear ground to build the winery, tasting room facility, and wine club residence. But not too many. Founded in 2012 using much older vineyards, Comstock still makes an outstanding Merlot that shows the restraint of the cooler Dry Creek Valley climate but bursts with black currant and violets. Currently producing...Read More

Buy top foodstuffs at SHED, or sit and be served

Posted on December 6, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

“This is a chef's dream,” Perry Hoffman said as he surveyed the busy scene in SHED (25 North Street, Healdsburg, 707-431-7433, healdsburgshed.com), the self-described “market, cafe, and community gathering space” that opened in Healdsburg in 2013. Hoffman knows what he's talking about. His grandparents founded The French Laundry restaurant in Yountville. Hoffman grew up working beside his grandparents and parents in the family business. After Thomas Keller purchased the restaurant in 1994, Hoffman worked in several other kitchens until he became chef at étoile restaurant at Domaine Chandon in Yountville in 2007. Three years later, he was awarded his first Michelin star. When étoile closed in 2014, SHED was just gathering steam. Hoffman jumped at the chance to embrace the more casual side of California...Read More