Kathleen Hill: Flea market, historic cars and more

Food and wine news from around the Valley.|

French Flea Market this weekend

Many of us used to wander through Sarah Anderson's French Flea Market when her Chateau Sonoma was on West Napa Street, and she has moved her fun French import shop and design center to Cornerstone. French Country Style Magazine has named this the 'Best French Flea Market in America.'

The Saturday and Sunday French Flea will be at Cornerstone May 27 and 28, with more than 20 vendors selling imports – from tiny milk bottles to furniture. It's free and always fun to explore, whether you purchase anything or not.

This year's food menu will expand, thanks to Andrew and Susie Pryfogle's Tri-Tip Trolley ('Le'Trolley') which has a new chef, Thaddeus Palmese. He is already chef at their Trolley outpost in Kenwood where they will soon open an actual restaurant. Hailing from New Orleans, Chef Thaddeus cooks lots of cuisines and is happy to create a French-inspired menu just for the French Flea.

Andrew and Susie Pryfogle have their own secret sausage recipe that they will be cooking on the big Sunset Outdoor Test Kitchen grills and serving them on French rolls from Costeaux French Bakery in Healdsburg. They will also offer both the traditional ham and butter sandwich and a special ham, creamy cheese and apple sandwich.

Chef Thaddeus will create a savory hand-held 'French mini pot pie' with garden vegetables, as well as a vegetarian grilled garden veggie bowl and a 'Market Corn Bowl.'

Ramekins will serve chilled rosé and other wines, lavender lemonade and bottled water. Irresistible Sweet Scoops will be next to Chateau Sonoma all weekend, too. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Beltane sauvignon blanc party

If you love the beauty of Sonoma Valley at its most gorgeous, along with organic foods and select wines, be sure to sign up for Beltane Ranch's eighth annual Sauvignon Blanc Release Party on Saturday, June 3.

The party will introduce Beltane's 2016 Drummond Block Estate Sauvignon Blanc made by winemaker Kevin Holt.

Chef Lauren Kershner will bring together harvests from the Beltane garden and orchard to pair with wine from their vineyards to greet guests with ranch-grown appetizers including pork and cabbage wontons with scallions and sesame vinaigrette, shrimp ceviche tostada with garden radish, cilantro, and lime, goat cheese crostini with balsamic-glazed carrot compote, and baby garden vegetables with green goddess dip.

Also try raw and barbecued oysters, live music by the Americans, and wood-fired pizzas. Chef Lauren's pizzas will include one with purple kale pesto, smoked Gouda, duck confit and caramelized spring onions. Another will be topped with squash blossoms and housemade ricotta Quattro formaggio, and the third with an artichoke-garlic cream sauce, mozzarella, shrimp, and arugula. Free to wine club members, $55 general. 4 to 8 p.m. to enjoy music and the sunset. Reserve at beltaneranch.com.

Historic cars, historic eats...

Sonoma Raceway's 25th Anniversary Historic Race Car Festival rolls from the raceway into Sonoma Plaza on Saturday, June 3, after the vintage car 'racing' on the hillside track to benefit the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation and Speedway Children's Charities.

At least 30 historic racecars will parade from the raceway and then be on display, including several owned by locals.

Enjoy interesting people, tastings of food from Basque Boulangerie, Della Santina's, Maya, the Red Grape, Mary's Pizza Shack offering pasta, Jolly Pig BBQ, Ramekins, La Casa, Bert's Desserts' cookies and chocolate, and the Reel Fish Shop and Grill's clam chowder.

Cline, Eric Ross, Foyt (as in champion IndyCar driver A.J. Foyt), Highway 12, Jacuzzi, Carneros Brewing and Napa Smith Brewery will all serve their wines and brews. Tickets to food and wine area $30 advance, $35 at festival. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Call 800-870-7223 for more info and tickets. SonomaRaceway.com/SCC.

Lake Sonoma Winery adds cheese

Lake Sonoma, the tasting room just off the Plaza behind Sign of the Bear, has launched a wine and cheese program. The program pairs the wine and cheese of various women, including their winemaker Kat Doescher, cheesemakers Sue Conley and Peggy Smith of Cowgirl Creamery and former Chèvre producer Laura Chenel.

Nibs & Sips:

La Hacienda Taqueria & Grill opened its new patio on Cinco de Mayo… Several restaurants in the area are for sale or lease, partially due to skyrocketing rents and slow business. I have personally been the only customer in two restaurants since I got back from England 10 days ago… Denny Lane of Maya Restaurant is moving to Thailand to be with his daughter, but will commute to Sonoma as co-owner of Maya… Lovin' Oven at the Teen Center did a fabulous job of making cherry hand pies, their version of Gov. Ann Richards' favorite cherry pie at Sonoma Arts Live's recent production of 'Ann.'

Summer nights at Viansa

Beginning this month at Viansa Sonoma, guests can enjoy Suite D chef John Toulze's dinners paired with Viansa wines at the hilltop winery on June 8, June 29 and July 27.

The June 8 menu will include passed hors d'oeuvres, wood roasted baby squash with smoked goat cheese, oak-smoked pork loin with caramelized stone fruit, the chef's selection of cheese, and a mini dessert station. $75 public, $60 Suite D members and Viansa Sonoma wine club members. 6 to 8 p.m. 25200 Arnold Drive. viansawineclub@viansa.com.

Sean Paxton's mole-beer hot sauce

Sonoma beer-barbecue master Sean Paxton released his long-anticipated hot sauce at the Anderson Valley Boonville Beer Festival Saturday, April 29.

Called Nor-Cal Mole, the sauce is part of Humboldt Hotsauce's 'Eat Beer' line of sauces, using Anderson Valley Brewing Company's Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout and Carolina Reaper peppers. Other ingredients include habaneros, roasted poblanos and toasted ancho peppers, blood oranges, sweet limes, black garlic, cocoa nibs, yellow onions, cumin, coriander, more mole spices and a few other ingredients; cooked, puréed and packaged.

Find a bottle of his sauce here: https://chefs-table.homebrewchef.com/product/nor-cal-mole.

Jack London Taproom coming to Cornerstone

Jack London memorabilia collector Darius Anderson is planning a taproom to serve fine Northern California craft beer as 'an homage to the legendary author and the time he spent in Sonoma County.' To help finance this taproom, Anderson is offering Founders Club memberships with pledge levels ranging from $5 to $10,000, with appropriate prorated perks, as well as a Kickstarter campaign. Should be a fun place with great ambiance.

A postcard handout quotes London: 'Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.'

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