Whether you’re ready to find some new and unfamiliar spots to share your celebration, or just revisiting an old haunt with a fresh perspective, here are some of our favorite local finds…

Celebrate Like A Kid
Universe Billiards: Let out your inner pool shark at this all-ages billiard hall. The recently renovated space near downtown Petaluma has more than 20(!) pool tables, plus foosball, pinball, darts, classic arcade games, big screen tvs and jukeboxes. A large bar area serves up microbrews to root beers, making it a great daytime space for hip teen and tween birthdays and an offbeat grown-up party spot after dark. Just try to get your guys out of this spot. 246 Petaluma Blvd. N, Petaluma, 707-762-8921

Kids Party Central: Grab your socks, because here everybody gets to play in the jumpy house. The only catch: You gotta come with a child. But hey, they’re easy enough to come by (offer to babysit for a neighbor if you must). Inside is an inflatable wonderland of giant slides, puffy obstacle courses and kid-tastic fun for all ages that will make you feel like you’re seven again. Until you wrench your knee and remember that you’re not. Plus, kids absolutely love it. Open play times on selected weekdays, otherwise, by appointment or private parties. 327 O’Hair Court, Santa Rosa, 575.KIDS

Sift: Silly rabbit, cupcakes aren’t just for kids.The new cupcakery in downtown Santa Rosa offers up a backroom party space where sweet tooths of all ages can stuff their faces while learning cupcake decorating secrets from the in-house bakery pros. 404 Mendocino, Suite A, Santa Rosa, 703-4228.

Warm Puppy Cafe: Sure, just about every kid who grew up in Santa Rosa has had a skating party at Snoopy’s Home Ice, but have you ever gone on a Tuesday afternoon? Remember what it felt like to squeal with delight over a hamburger served up in Snoopy’s dog dish, sitting by a crackling fire (cozy, even in the summer), sipping the world’s best hot chocolate and homemade chocolate chip cookies, and then getting a cool ride on the Zamboni. 1667 West Steele Lane
Santa Rosa, 546-7147.

Celebrate Dudes
Charlie’s at Windsor Golf Club: Public golf courses aren’t usually known for their cuisine — usually little more than microwaved hot dogs and chicken strips — but this quiet, lakeside dining spot is a hidden gem after a round of 18-holes. Lunchtime grub ranges from dudish pulled pork nachos, buffalo chicken pizza and steak to lighter Thai chicken salad, grilled ahi tuna and grilled chicken tacos. Plus dinner (chipotle honey orange baby back pork ribs) and weekend brunch. Open daily. 1340 19th Hole Drive, Windsor,838.8802.

Cattleman’s: Even though he’s the king of the Honey Do list, eats frisee with gusto and carries the diaper bag with style most days, sometimes dads need a little dude food — like a T-bone as big as your head. Cattleman’s is a crowd-pleaser with the carnivore-crowd, featuring big, juicy slabs of beef in all shapes and sizes in a standoff against loaded baked potatoes, warm bread, beans and piles of fried nibblies. No one leaves hungry. Or without a promise to start dieting tomorrow. Plus, there are usually some solid deals for kids and banquet seating if you’re bringing a crowd. 5012 Petaluma Blvd, N, Petaluma, 763-4114; 2400 Midway Drive, Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa, 546-1446.

Roy’s Chicago Doggery: Manly food by the foot. Chicago-style Vienna dogs with serious fixins, from kraut and mustard to the Windy City classic of peppers, onions, celery salt and relish, to chili dogs and, of course, the famous Home Wrecker, a 12-inch half-pounder loaded with toppings that dares you to even try.84 Corona Rd, Petaluma, 774-1574. Closed Sunday.

Celebrate Togetherness (Big Groups)
Pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns are universal crowd-pleasers, making breakfast one of the best bets for group eating. That, and everyone’s usually too tired to put up much of a fuss when the kids knock over the orange juice and throw Cheerios at the table. Grab ma, pa and the whole clan for a morning feast at Sam’s for Play (the only spot in town to get Hangtown Fry), where the casual diner atmosphere, phone book-length menu, large tables (including a private banquet room for 50) and walls of knick-knacks to gaze at while you wait make for relaxing family-friendly eats. Reasonable prices and weeknight specials (kids eat free on Tuesday nights) add to the value proposition. 2630 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa, 528-2929; 1024 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa, 528-0506.

Hamburger Ranch and Pasta Farm in Cloverdale

Life’s other universally-loved food: barbecue. If you’re on the road heading northward with a crowd, make a point of pulling over at the World Famous Hamburger Ranch and Pasta Farm. Because if the name doesn’t draw you in, the scent of smoked meats will. Inside the shack are walls filled with fans’ postcards, sent from ’round the world. At the table are rock-solid burgers, and daily ‘cue specials like pulled pork, chicken, brisket and ribs.On Friday, Saturday and Sundays, the patio grill fires up for steak, salmon and more. 31195 N Redwood Highway, Cloverdale, (866) 462-7421.

Estate: A bit more upscale is Estate, one of Wine Country’s most charming addresses. Inside the renovated butter-yellow Victorian, is Sondra Bernstein’s regional Italian eatery, featuring top-notch cocktails, wines and of course fresh made pastas, breads, wood-fired pizzas and hearty seasonal entrees (flat-iron steak, roasted chicken, and oh, the pork) served family-style. Room to Rent: The cozy wine room seats up to 22 and during warmer months, the arbor-covered west patio (up to 72) is perfect for cocktails and apps. 400 W. Spain St., Sonoma, 933-3663.

Celebrate Her
Okay, so maybe its a little sexist to think that the ladies love our greens, but in the immortal words of Seinfeld’s Elaine, sometimes a girl just wants a big salad. And maybe a nice glass of rose, a shared plate of fries and of course some cheesecake or something wonderfully chocolate. I mean, we can’t live on iceberg alone. So for showers of all types, ladies luncheons or just celebrating your fabulous self, some chic-olicious spots on my list: SolBar (because they totally get that sometimes you feel like a big old plate of pork and sometimes you’re more grilled salmon), 755 Silverado Trail, Calistoga, 866-942 7442; Barndiva (because their cocktails are so worth the splurge, house frites are always available and butter salad goes haute with drizzles of vinaigrette and local citrus) 231 Center St., Healdsburg, 431-0100; and the newly opened Santi, partially because there’s a gal at the helm (Chef Liz Hinman) and partly because Fountaingrove has never tasted so good (2097 Stagecoach Rd., Santa Rosa, 528-1549).

He, of course, hated it. Let’s be honest, we both knew he would have been much happier digging into a store-bought cake with fluorescent green frosting an a plastic Mutant Turtle on top.

Such is the fate of parenthood. Homemade cakes give way to semi-homemade cakes, which give way to store-bought monstrosities so laden with shortening and sugar that the actual cake seems an afterthought. Maybe it’s just hiding in shame.

But there is salvation to be found, and it’s name is tres leches. Well-known to the fiesta-set, this creamy, dreamy, milk-laden cake is a homemade(ish) antidote to industrialized desserts.

The recipe goes like this–a pan of sponge cake gets jabbed and poked within an inch of its life, then doused with a mixture of evaporated and condensed milk, along with heavy cream (three milks=tres leches). Let soak, then cloak the whole thing in a n inch of whipped cream. Purists prefer their cake unadorned, though I think adding a layer of fruit makes for a better party.

The cakes ends up a bit like a thoroughly soused rum cake, minus the rum: Sweet, spongy and insanely moist–sometimes almost wet. The whipped cream frosting is rich, but goes down a lot better than heavy buttercream or (shudder) shortening-based frosting. !Ole!

No one’s quite sure where this confectionery marvel got its start, although popular belief places its origins in Central America. More specifically, it’s thought to have come from a recipe on the side of a sweetened or condensed milk can somewhere in Nicaragua–not such a wild theory due in part to the prevalence of canned milk in hot climates (where the fresh stuff doesn’t last long).

The recipe remains popular in Latin American countries and, like flan and dulce de leche, has kindly infiltrated US food culture. You’ll find it everywhere from local Mexican bakeries to the dessert menus of upscale restaurants (Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena frequently has it on the menu.)

Don’t expect to walk up and get a slice, however. Cakes usually need to be ordered in advance from local Mexican bakeries (as BiteClub found out the hard way), but high-traffic spots like Lola’s Market and (BiteClub’s fave) Pasteles Fiesta usually have a selection on hand for walk-ins. Pasteles also has slices available with or without fruit for dabblers and lunch-breakers.

And yes, you can even get them decorated with green frosting, pink flowers and nifty toys. Making everyone happy.

Where is your favorite tres leches?