I have mixed feelings on posting about Armstrong Redwoods. Armstrong feels more like home than many of the places I’ve lived. After spending a few years living out in my uncle’s riverside cabin in the semi-remote town of Guerneville, I explored Armstrong Redwoods often. It became a quiet place of meditation to me, my own zen garden, and it’s also my favorite place in the North Bay to take photos.
Mount Tamalpais, or Mt. Tam, is close to San Francisco and has some of the most beautiful views in the world. From the top of the East peak you can see the fog rolling in from the sea, contrasting with the Golden Gate bridge and an unexpecting downtown San Francisco laying in wait. There are miles and miles of trails and some amazing mt. biking.
Kokomo Winery, named after the city in Illinois where winemaker Erik Miller is from, is home to an extensive tasting menu where you can get cab with your pinots, but what really makes this winery one of my favorites is the friendly staff, the value, and I love all of their wines. That’s a powerful combo, and it’s in a little village of wineries out in the center of the Dry Creek Valley (Zin country).
Why you should go: Go for the solid wines and cool staff. Stay to hit up the other family wineries next door.
Website: kokomowinery.com
Case Production: 4,000 – 5000
Wines: Muscat Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Grenache, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Late Harvest
My Favorites: ALL OF THEM, but especially Peter’s Vineyard Pinot Noir
Location: 4791 Dry Creek Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Surrounded by vast grapevines Sonoma County’s brew scene is taking off with a bunch of new breweries popping up all over. It’s great to see, because the Russian River Valley used to be covered in hops long before the grapevines took over. Now all that remains are the old hop kilns, converted into wineries. Like they say in wine country, “It takes a lot of good beer to make great wine,” so the following is my list of the top 5 breweries to check out in Sonoma County. I’m leaving some out like Lagunitas and Russian River Brew Co, people can easily find those. This list is for people who don’t want the massive crowd and long lines. Link to the map
Located in a warehouse in Northwest Santa Rosa, driving in will take you to a hidden spot in the industrial area of Santa Rosa — far away from the downtown area. That’s the beauty of Cooperage, away from the heavy traffic areas. The atmosphere is laid back with locals sitting at the bar after work. The beer is great here, they are rotating taps right now while they’re still new and seeing what people like. Cooperage brews some Belgian Style Sours and Barrel aged beers, focusing on wild and spontaneous fermentations, but they also offer some great hoppy beers and IPA. My favorite was the Makin’ Hoppies (Pale Ale).
Why Go Here? Go here to get away from the crowd, play some corn hole, and great beer and some great music. Oh and no food as of yet, but there’s some great authentic Mexican food right down the street.
The newish Fogbelt has some great beers on tap and I like their small tap room, but what really does it for me is their food menu which pairs great with their beers. I particularly like their pretzels and cheese sauce, along with their Double IPA. Fogbelt is tucked just outside the downtown area on the western side of the highway. Fogbelt has plenty of seating indoors and out to eat and drink at. Fogbelt is growing their own hops at their estate and is working with local farmers to bring back hops to Sonoma County. Gotta love it.
Why Go Here? Bring the ladies, there are two wineries with tastings rooms right next door. Everybody wins!
Saint Florian is the patron saint of firefighters, which makes sense it a perfect name for this brewery started by Windsor Fire Captain and his wife, and their small tap room and beers are some of my favorite. 5% of profits go to fire-related and community based organizations. Seating is definitely limited as they have just opened shop, but certainly worth checking out as their beers are great. I really liked the 48/96. You can find them also on tap in many of the local bars and restaurants, and in local grocers.
Why Go Here?If you’re a firefighter or know someone who is (they have t-shirts and other swag). Or if you just want to drink great brews and to support a fantastic brewery. Oh and they have a really cool looking growler!
I don’t always drink heavy beers, but when I do it’s usually “Porterluma.” Okay, they make a lot of other beers here, but I like their Porter probably the most. The Triple J is a Belgian style Tripel that is pretty delicious as well. Located accross the street from Lagunitas, Petaluma Hills Brewery takes good advantage of the traffic generated by Lagunitas, but don’t discount their beers because of that. They’re just smart. The tasting room is small but has a great L shaped bar.
Why Go Here? If you’re headed to Lagunitas, or don’t want to battle the crowds. If you want a cozy place to watch a game with friendly people.
Okay, I have to admit I’ve never been to their tasting room before, but I’ve drank so much of their beer that I’d feel remorse if I left them off this list. 101 North is located right next to Petaluma Hills and across the street from Lagunitas. I’m still in love with their Heroine IPA. You can find it on tap at lots of the local bars and restaurants, and in the bottle at local grocers too.
Why Go Here? If you need a Heroine fix. And if you’re in the area.
A few other breweries on my radar:
If you do decide to visit Picante, you must try the mole! It’s probably what they’re most know for, but you can’t lose here with any dish. This last visit I ordered the tostada with battered fish, and split a ceviche with my dad. The chips are house made and cut into strips, perfect for dipping into the ceviche –I highly recommend Picante’s ceviche!
“Mole is one of the most representative dishes of Mexico, especially for major celebrations. Ninety-nine percent of Mexicans have tried at least one type of mole. The dish enjoys its greatest popularity in central and southern Mexico, but simpler versions of mole poblano did make their way north. However, northern versions are far less complex and generally used to make enchiladas.
The consumption of mole is strongly associated with celebrations. In Mexico, to say “to go to a mole” (ir a un mole) means to go to a wedding. Mole has a strong flavor, especially the dark ones and is considered to be an acquired taste for most. This has spawned another saying, “en su mero mole”, which means something like “one’s cup of tea”.”
— From Wikipedia (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_sauce)
While Picante may come off looking like a glamorous cafeteria, it is pretty beautiful inside and out with plenty of seating to handle high volume, but I’ve never been there when it’s super busy so tables have always been easy to find. It’s not the most authentic Mexican food out there, but it makes up for it in a lot of ways, and they also cater to the Bezerklian, Non-GMO, vegetarian crowd; complete with a vegetarian only menu.
Flo has two tv’s and the inside is small, but they also have a massive patio with umbrellas and plenty of parking. It’s so new that the wedding parties and honeymooners haven’t crashed the party yet. Not that I care too much about that, it’s one of the things that makes Healdsburg’s nightlife fun. But sometimes you just want to grab a beer in a quiet, not so uppity or not too loud, not too divey type of place and Flo might just be that place.
I had passed by this place a bunch of times, but today I finally decided today to try it for lunch. It doesn’t look like a fancy restaurant, but like I’ve learned from traveling all over, looks are deceiving when it comes to food. And like Latin food the heart beats strong in this place. It’s family run and the siblings that helped me out were super nice. I order the Little Havana sandwich (mojo roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickle, and garlic aioli), served with plantain chips it was perfect size… delicious! The citrus dipping sauce and marinade was something they should bottle. It should have a holiday named after it, it’s that good.
Maybe one day they’ll open a rum bar in there, but for now it’s got three taps with Lagunitas, Blue Moon, and Pacifica. I will be taking my tours there!
I tried desperately to spend some time in Japan on the tail end of my 4 months abroad in Asia, pretty much just to eat a ton a ramen. Not the $0.30 cent packet variety, well, kinda not. I was after the authentic noodle soup original. While I only spent 16 hours on a layover in Tokyo — where I ate 4 full sized meals, just because, hey Tokyo — I managed to find Ramen in a little whole in the wall and do my Ramen research.
So ramen changes depending on where you’re at in Japan. In the North it’s a miso base broth. And in the South the noodle changes as well as the broth. But I’m pretty sure that’s a horrible description of the way ramen can change. But like in wine, the best way to experience ramen is to try different types.
I came here for the second time on a whim. Well it wasn’t a huge whim, the first time was magical, haha. Totally satisfying. They’re only open Wednesday to Sunday (as of now), so for the first month or so they opened, I always seemed to catch them at the wrong time. And unless you have their address, then you may not find them. They’re in the old Forchetta restaurant building, conveniently located a few doors down from Screaming Mimi’s.
I’d share more about the menu, but honestly we got there late tonight and ate in a haste as to not be assholes. But the vegetarian broth with pork belly…and the special wings. Just awesome. There’s plenty to check out and the staff were great. This is a great addition to a funk Sebastopol and if your looking for a cool restaurant to eat at in Sebastopol, well you just found it.
6948 Sebastopol Ave
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-827-3609
ramengaijin.com
facebook.com/RamenGaijin
You can wander around the winery when you’re there and check out the numerous awards and memorabilia from Francis Ford Coppola’s movies, but when I was there I just laid by the pool and took in the 95 degree heat. They played a good mix of mellow music while I laid under the shade of a nearby tree reading (Outliers: The Story of Success
by Gladwell, and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Vaynerchuk
).
Highly recommended after a busy weekend of work! Of course the place is packed on the weekend, so good luck. Your best bet is to book ahead which you can do on their website. Oh and and did I mention poolside service and a full bar? Enjoy!
Facebook.com/CoppolaWine |
Tripadvisor |
Francisfordcoppolawinery.com
So I love to backpack foreign places and experience foreign cultures, food, and traditions — like a lot of people do — but I’ve noticed that when I return home, I forget a lot of the amazingness that lies in our backyard. Particularly where I live in Northern California, in the heart of wine country and close to the hotbed of great food, cultural diversity, and nature.
I wrote pretty extensively about the travels of my five months abroad in Central America (NoSpanishNoPlanNoProblema.tumblr.com) and most recently Southeast Asia (OffToSEA.tumblr.com). I want to do that where I live by sharing unique places to check out in the North Bay (Marin County, Sonoma County) and the occasional San Francisco — hence OutsideSF.
Oh, and I’m actually also a wine tour guide and spend a lot of my time bringing people from all over the world to taste and experience Northern California by giving them historical insight and pointing out unique fact about the Bay Area. So my intent is to provide that same insight on a broader scale to locals and tourists.
