Recently in American Category

Fremont Diner Sonoma: hidden away among Sonoma's vineyards and pastures, is the sort of place every traveler dreams about stumbling into, but rarely ever does. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, 7am to 4pm.

There's nothing like munching down on a half-pound patty picnic-style -- with napkins blowing, sun shining and bees a-buzzing. Petaluma's riverside burger best is Dempsey's, where you can snuggle up to a serious burger and local brew. Locals adore this...

Superbowl Eats 2010: Where to go, recipes and more

P30 is chic, cheap comfort food in Sebastopol with a familiar roadhouse vibe. Chicken and waffles? Please.

Stark's Steakhouse: New Menu

Jackson's Bar & Oven: Casual, family-friendly spot focused on dishes from the kitchen's wood-fired oven from Syrah's Josh Silvers. Late night/cocktails.

Soup doesn't need the spotlight. Instead it quietly bubbles away on the back burner, ready to warm hands on sooth a sore throat in a moment of need. The first line of defense against colds, flu and general malaise generations...

OPENING: Jackson's Bar and Oven on the way...

Viola Boutique and Cafe: With a menu and cozy cafe vibe as familiar as an old quilt, Viola Pastry Boutique and Cafe is That Place.

Taps: If for no other reason than the 30-plus beers on tap and their heart-stopping fried bacon dog (with mayo), this Petaluma newcomer gets a howl-out.

Charlie's Serious Chili Dogs: Charlie Timmsen and his dogs have found a new home in Santa Rosa. The doggery re-opened this week at the south end of Santa Rosa Avenue, giving the Friedmans-set a snappy new lunch spot

Jeffrey's Hillside Cafe: Though it may seem a strange sidestep to go from foie gras to Huevos Rancheros, the whole thing actually works in our favor: Rib-sticking comfort food with the know-how of a Wine Country chef. In late September, Madura quietly opened Jeffrey's Hillside Cafe (attached to the Hillside Inn on Route 12) for breakfast, lunch and brunch. And while many of the menu items sound familiar, you'll need to readjust your expectations when the plates hit the table.

Cafes in Sonoma County: Check out a few local cafes, coffee shops and wine bars -- most of which are open well into the evening -- offering a well-marked exit ramp from the rat race.

Tex Wasabi's closed for renovation

Boon Eat + Drink: Follow the apre-swim, kayak, festival-going and cruising crowd to boon eat + drink (in the former burger & boy). New to the oft-shifting main street lineup, what the dime-sized boon lacks in diameter, it makes up for in taste -- both in its pared-down decor and simply done menu of spot-on eats.

Stark's Steakhouse: $2 martinis

In-N-Out Burger in Santa Rosa? (Please!)

Diner/Coffeeshop opens

Napa and Sonoma County's Best BBQ

Best pies in Sonoma County

Rocker Oysterfeller's: Midway between Petaluma and Bodega Bay, Valley Ford is a blip on map that's suddenly been rediscovered. Bikers and day-trippers converge here for water, snacks, and on summer weekends barbequed oysters in front of the Valley Ford Hotel, where Campbell and her cooking partner, Brandon Guenther, have set up their country charm-meets urban chic restaurant, saloon and roadhouse

Underwood Bar & Bistro: A perennial favorite of night owls and winemakers, it's a meet and eat rendezvous in the tiny hamlet of Graton.

Zin Restaurant: Riffing on American regional favorites, (Chicken-N-Dumplings, spaghetti and meatballs, Mac-N-Cheese) Zin Chef Jeff Mall feeds the need for dishes just like mom used to make. Only a lot better. But that's just part of the story.

In search of great macaroni and cheese

Jack and Tony's Whiskey Bar opens

Bacon wrapped weenies

Restaurant at Bardessono

Barley and Hops is one of the few watering holes within a 20-mile radius between Sebastopol and Bodega Bay, making it about 85 percent locals on any given night - friends and neighbors catching up over a beer and wings at a quintessentially neighborhood bar. What makes it destination-worthy for the rest of us, however, is pretty much everything.

The hunt for fried chicken

I'm a sucker for good tag-lines. The turn of a few well-placed words turn a Volkswagon into an lucky opportunity (Drivers Wanted? Sign me up!). Just Do It became a personal mantra for several years (along with the purchase of several pairs of Nikes that still sit collecting dust). But one of my favorites has to be Applebee's "Eating Good in the Neighborhood". Personal flair and well-coordinated chotskies aside, it connotates belonging and familiarity. Until you try to choke down microwaved appetizers. Not eating good. Bruno's on Fourth is what Applebee's can only aspire to: Good eating in the neighborhood.

For months now, BiteClubbers have been lauding the breakfast-time merits of Carlos Country Kitchen, the red-checkered diner off College Avenue. Bordered by a gas station, botanica and car-repair shops just past the 101 overpass, the neighborhood isn't the most charming. There were some health inspection issues that were corrected. But hey, it keeps out the dilettantes and dabblers--though certainly not fans who pack the parking lot to overflow capacity

If you've been around town for more than five minutes, at some point you've probably stumbled into Mendocino Avenue's Tipsy Triangle anchored on three corners by the Belvedere, the 440 Club (props!) and the Round Robin. Despite looking more like a bed and breakfast than a bar, the low-ceilinged downstairs rooms are usually packed with JC students, chain-smoking patio-goers and low-brow affectionados come Friday and Saturday night. And although just about anyone on the street can point you to 727 Mendo, you'll get a confused look if you ask for the restaurant. "They serve food?" In fact, they do.

Hot Dogs: Though Wine Country doesn't even register among the top hot dog consuming spots (New York is, not surprisingly number 1 with LA coming in second) a handful of doggeries have opened in recent months to rave reviews. Uh, especially among local chefs who among their most rabid fans.

Couple opens homestyle eatery in Penngrove attached to the popular Black Cat Bar

It's hardly news to the carnivorous-set that Mike's at the Crossroads is probably the best place to dive into a nice half-pounder in the North Bay. Count me among the converted, having recently refreshed my tastebuds with a classic...

Willi's Wine Bar: But day after day, season after season, year after year, the cozy Santa Rosa bistro just keeps on cranking out sure-fire crowd pleasers that feel so-worth it. And for a jaded foodie, that's about the highest praise a restaurant can get. Especially after dropping 90 bills for-um-lunch.

Time to tighten the money belt and suss out lunches with a slimmer economic profile. But hey, let's not get crazy. They've still got to taste, well, reasonably good.

After weeks of waiting (and trust me, a whole lot of you have been asking), the Cheese Steak Shop is finally open just off Stony Point Road. Some of you are rabid fans who've sampled the goods elsewhere. Others are just jonesing for a taste of Philly. Neither will be disappointed

Cafe Saint Rose: Mark's already proven himself to locals--from his years of service as winery chef and caterer to his ever-intruiging menus at the old Saint Rose. We get it. But the new spot reflects more of his comfort with comfort foods. Easy-going preparations of farm-fresh ingredients that feel so very right in Sebastopol.

Just a couple weeks into its new ownership, The Healdsburg Bar and Grill is noticeably changed under the watch of Cyrus' Nick Peyton and chef Douglas Keane. Though the look and feel is still very much the same as the old HBG--casual inside tables, t-shirted waitrons and kids running around the bocce ball court outside--the menu has been elevated to haute burger status

Bluegrass Bar and Grill's menu has some very solid contenders for the restaurant's assertion of "Best BBQ in Sonoma", namely the St. Louis Ribs ($16.99 half). These are a smoked and rubbed version, so the gloopy, gloppy is at a minimum, though sauce is served on the side. They're tender, fall-off-the-bone tasty with just enough spice to be noticed

Hopmonk needs work

Though the restaurant was only supposed to be a temporary experiment, Thomas Keller's home-style prix-fix diner has settled in for the long haul after enthusiastic eaters practically mobbed the place. Unlike other chef-lebrities who've lowered standards to accommodate eager fans,

Enter Big Boy's Buns and Burgers. Around since 1963, it's got a local following that borders on rabid. Larkfield locals frequently line up at the walk-up windows, waiting patiently for their half-pound Big Boys and beer-battered onion rings for as long as it takes.

Mel's Fish and Chips: Little more than a hole-in-the-wall spot off Hopper Ave., the walk-up counter has been turning out all manner of fried and battered seafood since 1988.

Stark's Steakhouse: Organic, dry aged, corn and grass-fed cuts of beef hand-picked by the city's favorite chef.

Santa Rosa's airport restaurant isn't quite ready for takeoff

Redemption at BarBersQ comes in the form of cornbread squares that are firm and sweet with (could it be?) a hint of smoky bacon--oh please, let it be bacon--and honey butter. Rancho Gordo baked beans are also on the menu, along with collard greens, veggies, cole slaw and potato salad. At between $3.75 and $5.75, you can easily rack up a pretty serious bill just on sides, however. Skip the BarBersQ fries entirely. I was misdirected to this side which is a boggling $5.75 and were actually less impressive and less seasoned that the frozen fries I force my kids to eat. For me, that's an unforgivable misstep by someone as experienced as Barber. Dude, get the fries right.

Johnny Garlic's: Has Fieri left the building?