Kathleen Hill: Hungarian grub, Wolfert book and low-cal ice cream...
Salt & Stone opens for lunch
Salt & Stone, Kenwood's newest restaurant, started serving lunch last Thursday, hopefully spreading the wealth so more people can enjoy its food and ambiance. Many fans can hardly wait for the weather to warm up so we can sit outside and inhale the view, which includes Kunde vineyards and a few charred hills at this point.
So now S&S has a lunch menu, a bar menu, a happy hour menu, and a dinner menu, I am only going to give you hints of the highlights. Most of their menus offer oysters raw or cooked various ways, crispy curry calamari, cast-iron roasted mussels, although the happy hour menu includes a half pound of Prince Edward Island mussels, marinated octopus, fish tacos, crab cocktails, charcuterie and cheese boards, salads including a duck confit Cobb salad, crab or prawn Louie, lamb burgers, a variety of Caesar salads, a Dungeness crab melt sandwich with salad or fries, and half-pound burgers or crispy skin salmon. Lunch served 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., happy hour 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., and dinner from then on. Bar menu is available throughout. 9900 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood. Reservations recommended. 833-6326.
Paula Wolfert book wins IACP Award
Emily Kaiser Thelin, author of “Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert's Renegade Life,” just won the International Association of Culinary Professionals top award for Literary Food Writing in the Cookbook category. A few months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing both Thelin and Wolfert before more than 100 Wolfert fans at Readers' Books.
The book includes Wolfert's early life in Brooklyn, through her culinary escapades through Europe and northern Africa, up to her current journey through Alzheimer's Disease here in Sonoma.
Thelin was Wolfert's last editor at Food & Wine magazine and has written eloquently for the Washington Post and other publications. “Unforgettable” is available at Readers' Books.
Also at the IACP Awards, Kathleen Squires and Beth Federici, who appeared at last year's Sonoma International Film Festival with their “James Beard: America's First Foodie,” won in the Single Food Focused Video or Feature Film category.
Squires also won as co-author with Jenn Louis of “The Book of Greens: A Cook's Compendium of 40 Varieties, from Arugula to Watercress, with More than 175 Recipes.”
Congratulations to all.
Sonoma-Tokaj Sister Cities dinner
Curious what all the talk is about Hungarian food? Here is your chance to sample a whole dinner of it.
The Sonoma-Tokaj Sister Cities Committee will host a whole evening of Hungarian food and culture on Saturday, March 10 at Burlingame Hall. Enjoy chicken paprikash, vegetarian mushroom stew, handmade pastries and many other tasty goodies with wines from both Sonoma and Tokaj, Hungary. Wines will come from Blue Danube Wine Co., Buena Vista Winery, En Garde Winery, Kohler & Frohling Wines, Obsidian Wine Co., and Treasure Island Wines.
The First California Hussar regiment will play music and there will be Corvinius Chorus Folk Dancing, a live auction, and great raffle prizes. If there are any survivors of the old Little Switzerland weekend polka dancing, this is for you. It benefits educational and intern programs of the Sonoma-Tokaj Sister Cities Committee. $60 inclusive. 6 to 9 p.m. 252 W. Spain St., Sonoma. Tickets and more info at 938-0224 or sonomatokajsistercities@gmail.com.
Glen Ellen-Kenwood Rotary Crab Feed
Don't miss this crab feed in Deerfield Ranch Winery's cave to help the Glen Ellen-Kenwood Rotary Club's fire relief program, the Dunbar School garden, and other Sonoma Valley and community projects including clean water, sanitation and educational programs.
The dinner includes Dungeness crab, pasta and green salads, French bread, and dessert, with Deerfield wines and beer available for purchase, along with live and silent auctions. $75 includes one glass of wine. 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets at Kenwood Press office in Kenwood Shopping Center or crabinthecave.bpt.me. 833-5155.
Waikiki semifinalist for Beard Award
Sonoma's Karen Taylor Waikiki, owner of El Molino Central, has made the semifinals in the category of Best Chef: West in the coveted James Beard Awards. Karen's version of Mexican food attracts fans from the neighborhood as well as rock stars who drive miles for take-out.
She also owns Primavera Tamales, organic and handmade in Agua Caliente and sold in many Whole Foods and other grocery stores and at the Ferry Plaza Market in San Francisco.
Other North Bay semifinalists include Christopher Rostow, both as Outstanding Chef at Meadowood in St. Helena and with co-chef Nathanial Dorn for Charter Oak as Best New Restaurant.
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