BiteClub Eats

Lake County hit and run to blame

Lying around in full couch tuber regalia, following the heartbreakingly tantalizing 49er game, I had the misfortune to channel-surf through the treacherous waters of Monday Night Television, only to find my mental Minnow festooned around the awful coral head of Adam Richman’s Man v. Food. As if driving past an overturned car in a highway [...]

You’re coming, right? BiteClub goes to town at the Handcar Regatta 2010

Whole foods opens this week

We’ve talked about Costco before, a conversation in which I argued that monolithic, small-business-destroying category killers still have a place in the kitchen, even proximal kitchens, if for no other reason than because saving money on staples allows us to allocate a larger share of our budget to the locally produced goods of premium quality (and, let’s be honest, at a premium price), that we like to cook with. But what about buying locally produced goods at the Big C?

I may live in the Russian River Valley – indisputably, home court to any number of world-class Chardonnay winemakers – but I’m here to tell you that, if well-made, sexpot Chards are your thing, then you need to get your Chard-guzzling booty over to the Alexander Valley, and stat. You won’t find nearly the selection [...]

Google “ABC Anything But Chardonnay” and you’ll get something on the order of 19,000 hits in the first few tenths of a second. The oldest reference I could be bothered to find dates to 1995 in a column by Frank Prial for the NY Times, but as recently as 2008, someone actually took the time to write a book with the same dated and misguided tag line, so

Food winners announced

Where should I go?

I’m not sure if you read the New York Times’ 36 Hours in Sonoma County published over the weekend. But take a second…with an open mind…and tell me if this person actually ever spent any time here. No offense to the folks mentioned, but the article seems to not only be clueless on the geography [...]

The runt of the Epic Sandwich oeuvre

Wondering when the new Whole Foods in Coddingtown will open its doors? There’s been plenty of action happening, and the new date that BiteClub’s gotten wind of…September 22, 2010. Stay tuned.

Syrah refocuses on dinner menu

Sometimes I miss stuff. And you tell me about it.

Cyrus working on a steakhouse concept

Win a spot at the BiteClub Sonoma County Fair Food Scramble table

Camp food again? Biteclub’s best bets for dining around Monte Rio during the Bohemian Grove

Where do you get great fresh tortillas in Sonoma County (and beyond?). BiteClub’s on the hunt for soft, pillowy flour tortillas and great corn tortillas. Tell me your faves!!

From the PR folks….(as I board the plane for muggy Nashville…send me any food suggestions…) “Today we have the pleasure of announcing the newest project from North Bay restaurateur and chef Munther Massarweh: Branches Wood Fired Chop House, a spectacular, 10,500-square-foot restaurant, bakery, butcher shop and pub set to open in Ukiah this summer. Built from the [...]

Fair Food: Sonoma-Marin Fair 2010 and previews to the Sonoma County Fair and California State Fair

Carmen’s Burger Bar is expanding

Okay, shout out… Which local chefs’/cooks’ recipes will you kill to have? Remember that amazing meal you had at last year and the crabcakes you just can’t get out of your mind? How about that freshly baked bread from the little steakhouse around the corner? Or even a cocktail you wish you could recreate at [...]

from Serves 6  1 pound Brussels Sprouts, ends trimmed and split in half6 ea sage leaves3 tbsp butter1 ea granny smith apple, unpeeled, cut in ½ inch dice1 ea Andouille Sausage about 4 oz. cut into ½ inch dice½ cup pearl onions blanched and peeled (may substitute frozen pearl onions)1 tbsp dried black currants2 ounce crumbled [...]

Recipe: This isn’t just good caramel corn. This is caramel corn that will make you weep. The absolute best recipe EVER!