First Napa... now Sonoma!

[marie-louise]

I've already told my husband his cell phone is banned on this trip.

No need to worry about this-the only cells in the area are right around Bodega Bay and right around Sea Ranch. No way to get a call in Jenner...

Unless things have changed recently, there is no cell phone coverage at Point Reyes either.

S'kat, you will have a great time. That pool looks lovely. I've spent a lot of time in Healdsburg-I used to have a home on the coast due west of there. Here's my recomendations:

Bistro Ralph-Shamelessly make a pig out of yourself and eat all of those little butter-covered hot rolls they bring you before your meal. They will offer you more. Accept.

Chez Felix [same owners as Bistro Ralph]-I don't think the food is very good here EXCEPT for their pizza, which is the best dough I have ever had.

There is a Mexican place around the corner that is pretty good.

The Downtown Bakery and Creamery- Go here. Early and often. Get the Donut Muffins, get the Sticky Buns. Get some bread and walk down the street to the Oakville Grocery and buy something else to round out your picnic. Then go back again later and get their ice cream and some Gingersnap or Chocolate Wafer cookies and have an afternoon snack in the town square across the street. Take any of their cakes back to your house. We actually used to make that 1 1/2 hour drive over from the coast just to eat lunch at Bistro Ralph and go to the Downtown Bakery! (It is a beautiful drive, BTW, if blind curves and one-lane roads don't phase you.)

I agree with Rancho Gordo-do not miss the Jimtown Store. A fun place to shop even if you don't eat there. The owner is wonderful, she will autograph her cookbook for you (and it's a good one.)

I like to visit A.Rafanelli, Murphy Goode, and Sausal Wineries in those two valleys. I also like to go to Ferrari-Carrano, but more to look at their gardens than to taste their wine (which is good.) Sometimes I just look around the garden and never set foot in the winery!

There's an interesting cooking store in Healdsburg and some really fun cheapo "antique stores" where you can pick up 1950's artifacts.

Have a great time!

Edited April 28, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[gmi3804]

I was in the midst of planning a trip to Napa, but after reading this thread I'm contemplating giving Sonoma a try!

Which are the nicest properties to stay at? I love ultra-luxe, classy places. Hotel Healdsburg looks interesting; anyone been here? Any other recommendations?

Thanks!

Edited May 13, 2004 by gmi3804 (log)

[marie-louise]

I was in the midst of planning a trip to Napa, but after reading this thread I'm contemplating giving Sonoma a try!

Which are the nicest properties to stay at? I love ultra-luxe, classy places. Hotel Healdsburg looks interesting; anyone been here? Any other recommendations?

Thanks!

The 2004 edition of Frommer's California raved about The Gaige House Inn, saying "The Gaige House Inn is the best B&B I've ever stayed in." Please note, I have never stayed there.

[tanabutler]

Wow, I've never even heard of it, but it's beautiful.

Nitpick about their logo: it's physically impossible to have a star so close to the moon (so close as to be inside the darkened circle of the moon, that is).

What a pretty place. They're very smart to offer those much-larger photographs. The tiny ones don't let you see yourself in the rooms. (That is my pet peeve on websites for accommodations: cheesy photos.)

[marie-louise]

Wow, I've never even heard of it, but it's beautiful.

I'd never heard of it either, but it is mentioned in the Travel & Leisure article you posted.

Did you check out breakfast?

Remind me to stay here this winter, when it's half off & all the tourists are gone...

[winesonoma]

I was in the midst of planning a trip to Napa, but after reading this thread I'm contemplating giving Sonoma a try!

Which are the nicest properties to stay at?  I love ultra-luxe, classy places.  Hotel Healdsburg looks interesting; anyone been here?  Any other recommendations?

Thanks!

The 2004 edition of Frommer's California raved about The Gaige House Inn, saying "The Gaige House Inn is the best B&B I've ever stayed in." Please note, I have never stayed there.

I live here and I want to go stay there!!!

[s'kat]

I made it back in one piece. So, thankfully, did my liver, but just barely.

I guess I wasn't able to really conceptualise how the land was laid out until we arrived. Staying in the northern Alexander Valley was absolute perfection. A day's jaunt into St. Helena-Napa proved to be a bit busy for husband and I...

And after all of the fabulous restaurant recommendations, not a single one fell into place! We lunched at Zin the first day, and had hopes of eating at Bistro Ralph and Charcuterie. Unfortunately, everytime we rolled back into town, it was in that grey hour between lunch and dinner. In desperate need of some good, alcohol-soaking food, we did it pub-style at both the Healdsburg Bar & Grill, and the Bear Republic. On the way out, we did cruise by Santa Rosa, and ate at the Girl & the Fig. It was okay for lunch, but I think having dinner there would much better represent their specialities.

One night was spent at Santi in Geyserville (good osso bucco), but the rest were spent back at the rental home, dining on cheese courses. I thought that we would be eating out much more on the trip, but none of it worked out quite as planned. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

If you are bored, you can flip through my trip diary and see some of the wineries that we hit. I now see why they say 3 should be the per-day-limit.

Wine Country

Again, thank you for your tips, comments, and suggestions. If anyone living in Wine Country would like to adopt me, may I just mention that my husband is a horticulturist, and I'm more than happy to go hard at work in the fields.

Edited June 1, 2004 by s'kat (log)

[WineMiles]

That's awesome that you hit Taylor's refresher and Bubba's. As locals we get so many people asking us for restaurant recommendations that we rarely think to recommend all the really cool places. Next time check out Silverado Brewing Company. Good BBQ and good beer too. Glad you had a good time. Come back and see us again.

[tanabutler]

Great report, dawl. Looks like you really had fun.

(Hey! I see those Rancho Gordo beans! Woo hoo!)

Really great photos, and good work on the whole thing. I would welcome specifics about the cheeses and stuff you got at the Oakville grocery.

[s'kat]

(Hey! I see those Rancho Gordo beans! Woo hoo!)

That was one of the coolest things about going out there. Actually coming across these items I had only seen as internet icons (you mean Rancho Gordo isn't just some dude who hangs out on eGullet?), or coming to the wineries that my husband has spent years collecting.

On the reverse, it was interesting coming back home, and ordering a bottle of wine that I'd tasted at the actual winery just a few days earlier.

I would welcome specifics about the cheeses and stuff you got at the Oakville grocery.

Hmm.. cheeses. We got so many, that it was difficult to keep track.

That first day at the Oakville Grocery, we definately picked up Humboldt Fog, English Huntsmen, and some kind of cheddar. Additionally, we picked a couple of buckets from the olive bar, and grabbed a loaf of bread on the way out.

Later in the week, some friends and family met up with us, and we did our shopping at Sunshine Foods in Napa. Compared to the Healdsburg Oakville, this place was huge, and the cheese selection dizzying. While everyone else split up and went shopping, I was trapped in the cheese corner, looking at wonderful little wedges of bliss with strange names that I had never heard of.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture here, nor of the cheese tray we made later that night. To the best of my recollection, we got Affidelice Berthaut (this is the only one I did take an actual picture of), Castelmagno, Tomme de Savoie, Shropshrie Blue, and drunken goat. Actually, there was some sort of soft chevre as well.

While I was stuck in the world o'cheese, my husband was over at the meat counter, drooling over organic, free-range, grass fed "xxx", the likes of which are impossible to find in this little area of suburban sprawl. What a real treat to be able to walk into a store like that, and have at your hand such a wonderful and awesome selection.

Glad you had a good time. Come back and see us again.

It won't be soon enough!

[marie-louise]

Did you get to the Downtown Bakery???

I enjoyed all your pictures, but especially the pictures of the black cat at Sausal. I've been there a few times-and bought a case of their Cellar Cat Zinfandel-but the only animal I've ever seen there is an enormous black lab that sleeps in the doorway and won't move!

[s'kat]

Did you get to the Downtown Bakery???

I enjoyed all your pictures, but especially the pictures of the black cat at Sausal. I've been there a few times-and bought a case of their Cellar Cat Zinfandel-but the only animal I've ever seen there is an enormous black lab that sleeps in the doorway and won't move!

Actually, I'd forgotten that we stopped there. Yes, as I passed by, the name struck a bell, and I dragged my husband in. We'd already purchased our breads, etc at Oakville, so we picked up a couple of croissants for the next morning. Buttery goodness when warmed the next morning.

Later in the week, we found another bakery in Cloverdale called Schatt's, much closer to where we were staying. Very decent pastries, and friendly, enthusiastic people.

I didn't see the dog, but we actually asked if there were any cats around. The woman swooped up Gypsy from somewhere in the back, and brought her to us. As very dedicated cat-owners who were missing our babies, it was a great opportunity for much needed fuzz therapy.

[Stone]

Are Le Toque and Martini House still the two best non-French Laundry reservations for Napa?

[melkor]

Are Le Toque and Martini House still the two best non-French Laundry reservations for Napa?

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Terra is up there as well - but yes, that's pretty much the list.

[NVNVGirl]

I was in the midst of planning a trip to Napa, but after reading this thread I'm contemplating giving Sonoma a try!

Which are the nicest properties to stay at?  I love ultra-luxe, classy places.  Hotel Healdsburg looks interesting; anyone been here?  Any other recommendations?

Thanks!

←

A little late maybe...but check out the Kenwood Inn and Spa in Kenwood. I've stayed there and it was awesome...it was several years ago tho so things may have changed. I know they've gotten much larger.

Another place that's very special is at Tomales Bay at the Mankas Lodge....much more rustic, but romantic and first class...the restaurant is one of the best places I've ever eaten.

[samgiovese]

Are Le Toque and Martini House still the two best non-French Laundry reservations for Napa?

←

I've heard good things recently about Domaine Chandon since they had a chef change. Can anybody confirm?

[Free Martha]

You may want to consider Calistoga, a bit costly, but you can have the best of both worlds.

You are 25 min. from Healdsburg and the Russian River Valley(where I Live), but still have the beauty of the upper Napa valley.

No doubt you get a better bang for your buck anywhere in Sonoma county, but Calistoga is a great hub. Don't miss Eastside road, Chalk hill, Healdsburg square and the new Windsor town square.