Sonoma County Food Blog by Tom Samarati

March 18, 2007

Sonoma County Food Scene, Past and Present


Sonoma County is a pivotal place in the northern California food scene. Here we grow, raise and produce highly touted organic fruits, vegetables, dairy products, lamb, beef, and make world class wine. Most of this food is exported to the gourmet buyers throughout the San Francisco bay area & the greater USA. Like any other food production region in the world, the current Sonoma food scene comes from many generations of tradition combined with recent innovation.
To know where we are today it helps to see where we came from Read more:

March 25, 2008: Wonderful Sonoma County Meats!

As I grow older, I've noticed that I'm eating less & less meat. Not really by conscious thought or planning. It's as though I just lost interest. The thought of having steak for dinner doesn't fill me with hungry anticipation, even when dining out in our Sonoma Valley restaurants Read more...

April 3, 2008: Sonoma County bakeries. A French bread taste test panel.

There are about 25 Sonoma County bakeries large & small that sell bread daily. Seven of my fellow foodies went out on a Tuesday morning to purchase loaves of fresh baked French style white bread. The game plan? We got together at 7:00pm that evening to conduct a French bread Taste Test judging panel. 14 different bread loaves were on the table. ... To read more click here:

April 7, 2008: Santa Rosa Pizza Makers

Over the past several weeks I've been scurrying around Santa Rosa to the pizza places that are NOT chain franchise operations. Keep in mind that Americans spend $10 Billion (yes Billion with a B) on pizza every year. The ubiquitous pizza chain franchises cover the retail strip malls. Pizza long ago replaced the hot dog as America's favorite snack food. Even in Santa Rosa there are neighborhoods where a pizza maker can be found on every city block. Read more here...

April 9, 2008: Sonoma Plaza Farmer's Market

Despite the calendar declaration that March 21 is the first day of spring, I don't buy into that notion. My Spring arrives on the first Tuesday in April. That's when the Sonoma Plaza Certified Farmer's Market re-opens after the winter hiatus. Read more here...

April 14, 2008:Fast food @ the Sonoma Plaza Farmer's Market

Can the fast food at the Sonoma farmer's market be good? Four of us arrived at 6:00pm to find out. We were hungry. We brought $20 each. We vowed to try all the hot fast food being sold. We were 80% successful with that goal. Here's what we ate: Read more here...

April 23, 2008:Petaluma's 150th Birthday - Come to the party!

Petaluma looks pretty good for a small town that has had its share of prosperous times and lean times over the past 150 years. This weekend, April 26 & 27, 2008 the festivities include the Butter & Eggs Parade and an Antique street fair.
Read more here...