Cuts N Cabs, Halloween fun, new tasting room, soil talk

Dried out yet?

Probably not, but hopefully that’s okay.

We need the water, but not in people’s homes and businesses.

A quick tour of plaza parklets early Sunday evening looked pretty dismal with saggy canvas umbrellas and covers except for the happy white lights in Della Santina’s transparent parklet tent. One brave couple determined to enjoy their adventure seemed to be having a good time. Tents and heaters are again on order and expensive. We wish the best to all of our businesses and individuals who have been seriously affected by our recent “Bomb Cyclone” that shed around 10 inches of water according to home rain gauges in some neighborhoods.

Three Fat Guys big weekend

Tony Moll and his Fat Guy friends kick off the Halloween Weekend with a Cuts N Cab Dinner tonight, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m. with grilled New York steak and rosemary frites from Chef Erik Lowe of Belfare ($60, $50 club members) and a glass of their 2019 Rutherford Cabernet with appetizers for purchase.

Next up is their Hallo-Wine on Saturday, Oct. 30, for a wine and candy paired tasting, costume contest, Halloween music and family photo “Selfie Stations” featuring the same wine. 20816 Broadway, Sonoma. 938-7211 or threefatguyswines.com.

Reel & Brand updates

Reel & Brand bar, music hall, and restaurant has “temporarily suspended breakfast service.”

Managing partner Kevin Kress says, “We simply do not have the staff to keep breakfast going at the moment. Some of our amazing workers have now left the area, leaving us like most of the restaurants in the industry shorthanded.”

On the happy side of the news, Kress continues, “We have redone the happy hour menu.” Happy hour is from 3 to 5 p.m. daily. The regular menu is available noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday with live music or open mic most nights.

Happy hour frequenters will celebrate the return of Reel & Brand’s $5 burger, except this year it costs $6. Still a deal. It comes with lettuce and cheddar cheese and you can add bacon for $2. The happy hour menu also includes chicken wings, grilled fish tacos, plain fries, chili cheese fries, chowder fries or chicken strips ($4 to $10).

House wines, margaritas, well cocktails, and draft beer are all $5. Happy hour wines are made by Vista Point, and Reel & Brand label wines are made by La Prenda. 401 Grove, Sonoma. 938-7204.

Benziger host huge Friends & Family wine sale

Everyone interested qualifies as friends and family on Thursday, Nov. 4, with pickup on Nov. 5 through 7. Best of all? Proceeds support the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation.

Both Benziger and Imagery brands are now owned by the huge Wine Group of Livermore that also owns Franzia, Almaden and Concannan along with nearly 30 other labels, large and small.

Of Benziger wines, those at 60% to 75% discount include the reserve chardonnay, Winemakers Claret, Etta’s Blend and Solstice. Among Imagery wines, you can snag the petite sirah and port, with everything else of both labels discounted at 50%. A great chance for some bargains.

You can taste and purchase the wines at the Benziger tasting room from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4, or call 935-4046 to reserve your bottles or cases. Pick up at Benziger 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5 through 7. See the full sale list at Benziger.com/friends-fall. 1883 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen.

La Prenda tasting room opens downtown

Vintner and winemaker Ned Hill has announced the opening of his La Prenda tasting room just across the breezeway from the Red Grape on First Street West.

As well, his Director of Operations Kayla Berthoud will manage the tasting room where guests can learn winemaking and tasting from either Berthoud or Berthoud and Hill at the same time.

The family-owned venture features wines such as Fifth Hill, La Prenda, Happy Wife, Quarantine Wife and 95476. Locals know that 95476 is the Sonoma zip code.

Both Hill and Berthoud grew up in Sonoma working in vineyard dirt with and learning from their fathers. Hill graduated in wine-related sciences from Cal Poly and Berthoud from U.C. Davis, as did their winemaker Mike Cox. Hill jokes about a two-to-one gang up on him, but actually we all benefit from their combined expertise from two of the best wine schools in the country.

In the past, Kayla worked at Mayo Family Winery, Three Sticks, Larson Family Winery and Richard Arrowood’s Amapola Creek, which he sold to B. Wise Vineyard. She continued with both wineries until moving on to join the Hills and Cox at La Prenda.

Founded in 2008 by Ned and Erika Hill, and named for the street Ned's father grew up on, La Prenda Vineyards Management farms for wineries such as Schug, Roche Family, Bartholomew Estate, Bennett Valley Cellars, Parmelee-Hill and about 20 other vineyards, plus their own labels.

In 2013 they launched their “Sonoma Collection” with the help of their award-winning winemaker Mike Cox.

One of the few tasting rooms that announces what you will get before you arrive, La Prenda offers five-wine tasting flights that start at $20 per person called the Sonoma Valley Tasting that includes sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and malbec; $25 for the Signature Tasting of brut rosê, pinot grigio, rosê of pinot noir, pinot noir and Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon; and the $35 tasting for the Reserve and Library Tasting of Carneros Pêtillant-Naturel “Cadillac,” Sonoma coast malbec, and two Sonoma Mountain Pickberry vintages. 535 First St. W., Sonoma. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. by appointment only Sunday through Tuesday. Call ahead for groups of six or more. 938-7228.

All you can eat sushi at Roche

Well, actually it’s all you can eat for $68 that is. Plus you have to buy a bottle of Roche wine per party on Friday, Nov. 12. Remember that fresh, wild fish is truly expensive.

But – the sushi is made by Ed Metcalfe and his Sushimotos and has been a big hit before at Roche’s tasting garden on West Spain Street.

Metcalfe will make the sushi for two seatings, and each group gets one hour to taste and enjoy all of their food and a bottle of Roche wine.

The menu will include miso soup, edamame, chilled Asian noodles, seasonal vegetables, plus a Nigiri selection of tuna, salmon, albacore, eel and inari.

Rolls will be a spicy tuna, arugula and avocado; a Sushimoto Roll of citrus shrimp, cucumber topped with smoked salmon, avocado and lemon; a Carneros Roll of spicy shrimp, cucumbers topped with spicy tuna, avocado, jalapeno and spicy aioli; a vegi Futo Maki; California and Oregon rolls; and his Slammin Salmon with cucumber, avocado, garlic and shrimp topped with seared salmon and garlic aioli. $68 plus wine. Seatings at 6 to 7 p.m. and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. 122 W. Spain St., Sonoma. Tickets at eventbrite.com/e/194967040667?

Garden Club meets on organic soil

Actually, the Valley of the Moon Garden Club will meet on Thursday, Nov. 4, at Burlingame Hall of the First Congregational Church, not outside in the dirt.

If you have any interest in growing more of your own food, which might be a good idea, this event will be very informative and helpful.

The guest speaker will be organic gardener and nurseryman Paul Martinez, owner of Sonoma Valley Wholesale Nursery on Arnold Drive, across from Brocco’s.

Martinez will talk about “Organic Soils and Plants for the Garden and Landscaping,” which could be very interesting for those of us thinking about guaranteeing the purity of what we eat and want to eat only what we grow.

According to club member Bonnie Brown, “Since the ‘70s, Paul has championed these practices. His passion for growing plants was sparked by his mother at a very early age and his love for horticulture is grounded by a deep respect and amazement for the environment and its potential to adapt.”

Martinez founded PDM Landscape in the 1980s, which was an ornamental landscape installation, maintenance, and construction company. The lack of reasonably priced, locally sourced landscape plants grown organically inspired him to start Sonoma Valley Wholesale Nursery in 2009. He also sells retail to the public. 7 p.m. 252 W, Spain St, Sonoma. Free to club members, $5 others. Masks required, and one is provided if forgotten. Chairs are spaced and a plant raffle follows the meeting. For more info call 935-8986.

Halloween with Nibbles and Sips

Halloween as we know if seems to have morphed from the original Pagan and Celtic ritual of Samhain to a marketing exploit of increasingly expensive costumes, if you buy them, to wrapped candies sold in big bags at big box stores.

The Popcorn Board suggests all sorts of popcorn recipes including one where you mix Candy Corn with popcorn. Speaking of marketing.

My mother used to talk me into helping her pop corn, put it in little baggies and tie with black and orange floral ribbon to pass out to Trick or Treaters. We can’t do that anymore because of stories of sickos who have put razors in apples, to say nothing of COVID precautions.

Here are some fun things to do that include Nibbles and Sips.

Springs Community Garden

Assuming the puddles are down by Saturday, Oct. 30, the Halloween and Dia de los Muertos celebration at Larson Park should be loads of fun for all ages at the Springs Community Garden along Sonoma Creek.

Expect a pumpkin patch, bilingual activities designed by Art Escape, Dia de los Muertos altar building, snacks from El Molino Central, and pumpkin carving. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Larson Park via Dechane Avenue in the Springs.

Don’t forget that it takes a lot of water to grow pumpkins, so make the most of them by either cooking or composting them.

Larson Family Winery

Larson Family Winery sent out photos of their Millerick Road location saying “Up a Creek” when its next door neighbor, Sonoma Creek, definitely was up and overflowing after our bomb cyclone last weekend.

Through all of this adventure, don’t forget your dog this weekend.

Larson Family Winery and their Wine Dogs invite everyone who has a dog to dress it up for Halloween and come on down to the winery for Larson’s annual Canine Costume Contest.

Last year some of the dressed up dogs’ people also costumed up to go with the dogs’ outfits, and the first place winning family and dog dressed as Ghostbusters.

The Dog Parade starts right at noon on Halloween, and the Larsons suggest adult guests make a tasting reservation in the morning to enhance their parade watching experience.

First-, second-, and third-place Pups will all take home a prize provided by Larson Family Winery.

The contest is free to enter, with forms at larsonfamilywinery.com/canine-costume-contest/

Marketplace shopping center

A great safe place to take kids to Trick-or-Treat (hold the tricks) where merchants offer Halloween treats and Tim Cain will offer a fun children’s singalong in the gazebo, conveniently close to Darling, Sweet Scoops’ new ice cream shop. 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31. Bring a bag, pillowcase or whatever to collect your treats, all before it gets dark and you start to hit the neighborhoods.

Epicurean Connection news

Sheana Davis and Ben Sessions say they will be making 5-10 gallons of soup a week with produce from Little Paradise Farm and will donate the proceeds to Farm to Pantry.

In addition they will make mac and cheese for fall and winter featuring duck confit or traditional mac and cheese with cheese from Valley Ford Cheese Company and Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, some regional favorites.

Davis has added Thomas Keller Chocolates and Hurley Farms jams to her stock of Serres Ranch Blueberry jam, Big Bottom Market Biscuit Mix, Rancho Gordo beans and popcorn, Nancy Lilly’s Tallgrass Ranch olive oil, and Fatted Calf charcuterie. Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays. 19670 Eighth St. E., Sonoma. 235-9530.