Kathleen Hill: Happy Dog, Animo and more food news

To close or not to close — again the question

Here we are in another COVID winter, with people who like to dine out are wondering if they should, and the people who own, manage and staff restaurants wondering if they should – should they close or not to protect their staff and keep customers safe from the various variants.

Besides, business is slow in Sonoma in the winter and several restaurants close annually in January to spiff up. This year may be a little slower than other due to the pandemic and some people’s hesitancy to circulate.

After receiving an email from John Toulze, president of the Girl & the Fig, I sent queries to several restauranteurs and received some very thoughtful and honest responses. I hope you will read them.

Others seemed hesitant to say they might close out of COVID caution and insisted that if they closed at all, it would only be for planned improvements. Some will simply stay open, and others didn’t respond by deadline.

The Girl & the Fig

From their P.R. firm: “Out of an abundance of safety precautions for our staff and guests due to the current surge in COVID-19 cases, we’re altering the dates of our planned renovation-related closures.

Usually the Girl & the fig on Sonoma Plaza and the Fig Café in Glen Ellen take turns closing for renovations and spiff ups.

But “Both the Girl & the Fig and the Fig Café will be closed for the next two weeks, reopening the week of Jan. 17.

“We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back soon – stay tuned for more!”

John Toulze added to me – “With everything going on, I decided to just close both concurrently.”

Swiss Hotel

The Swiss Hotel will remain open for dinner, including takeout, throughout the winter and will skip its usual winter spiff-up.

Glen Ellen Star

From chef/co-owner Ari Weisswasser: “We are closing from Jan. 10 to 25 for maintenance repairs, cosmetic upgrades and a well needed break.

“We will be open Wednesday, Jan. 26, and maintain our seven days dinner-only schedule.

“Our entire staff is fully vaccinated we will do everything in our power to remain open and serve our community through this time.”

Delicious Dish

From Lauren Cotner: “We are open and are still only doing patio-service and to-go. Dinner pick-ups are still at the window only so we're feeling pretty safe.

“I COVID tested 10 times over our break and stayed pretty sheltered as I slept most of the time!

“Truthfully, we're not that busy anyway. The month after Christmas is a deadly month for restaurants customer-wise because everyone is fat and broke.

“I watch the restaurant market from San Francisco to Sonoma to check for COVID info (what people are doing if there is an outbreak, what pay and benefits they offer if they need to close, etc.) I'm seeing restaurants close, not just because of protection from an outbreak, but because no one is coming and it's cheaper to stay shut than try to run at such a great loss.

“I'm really worried about this industry. There are many restaurants that are closing seasonally and/or permanently. They're just not busy enough because people are being rightfully cautious due to COVID and they're keeping their dollars close because maybe their work situation has changed.

“The world is different in how it runs right now and there is no more aid coming. I read that many restaurants that got a lot of aid, or restaurants like ours who will do much of the work as owners and do many kinds of jobs, have made it this far and have saved some aid but it will run out by spring.

“Charles and I have a couple of game plans to shift our business to stay in business. We will do our best to be good employers and still involved in the community.

“The Microsoft donation program has come to a close, though we are still employed by them, and would not still be in business without them.”

Reel & Brand

Kevin Kress said: “The hard part is these shut downs hurt the people in their wallets. We of course want to protect our employees and customers in every way possible.

“It hurts employees to not make money to support families, and it hurts small businesses trying to stay open.”

Note: No one has ordered any current shutdowns, but some restaurants throughout the Bay Area are choosing to close temporarily.

Il Fuoco

While other restaurants contemplate shutting down temporarily, Rob Larman is opening wider to six days a week of loaded pizza made in his wood-fired oven. Call 522-7778 to order and pick up your pizza or sous vide beef brisket. Now open daily except Tuesday, 4 to 9 p.m.

Tips Roadside

Susie Pryfogle said: “We believe we have a moral responsibility to provide a safe environment for our staff and guests. We also believe we have a moral responsibility to provide employment to our team members who rely on these jobs to provide for their families. With strict vaccination, masking and cleaning protocols, we can accomplish both. We will be closed until Jan. 11 for winter break with normal operating hours starting Jan. 12.

“We are spiffing up our courtyard area for a more pleasurable outdoor dining experience, rolling out new menu items and cocktails over the coming weeks, and the mercantile will be refreshed with new merchandise. We will also continue to support live music on the weekends.”

The Red Grape

Sam Morphy: “We are continuing to operate as usual following all COVID-19 protocols. We are keeping close tabs on all of our employees to make sure we are safe as possible. With our updated ventilation we feel the restaurant is as safe an environment as we can make it. We are also seating as many tables in our breezeway and on the patio, weather permitting. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Epicurean Connection

Sheana Davis was closed through this week, reopening on Jan. 7, and is now also open on Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For her winter menu, you might try the Ross Cannard Cream of Potato Soup with toasted Jalapenos, Rancho Gordo 2022 Black Eyed Peas (something she makes from her New Orleans days), Winter Smoked Brisket & Chico Rice Bowl, Little Paradise Salad, Ross Cannard Vegetable Salad, and K & M Chocolate & Chef-Made Crème Fraiche Fondue.

El Dorado Kitchen

From EDK manager Joel Hoachuck: “We will just close Feb. 21 to Feb. 27, reopening on the 28th.

“We do not plan to close due to omicron. We are very cautious and a sneeze from our staff qualifies them for a five-day vacation. We do not take any chances, 98% of our staff is vaxxed and almost 60% boosted.”

Taub Family Outpost

Martin Gobbée, general manager of Taub Family Outpost, says “The Outpost is closed this week, re-opening on Wednesday, Jan. 12. This had been planned for some time, for rest and tackling maintenance and organizational projects. It has nothing to do with COVID. We will continue to practice our safety protocols when we re-open, as we have done for the past two years.”

New chef at Delicious Dish

Lauren Cotner is excited to announce that Delicious Dish has an “amazing female chef” named Cynthia Maciel who she says is “a shining star in this town.” According to Cotner, “She's under 30, comes out of Sunflower Caffé and Hopmonk, is the cheeriest person and is on fire cranking out our restaurant meals.” Check out this week’s takeout menu at deliciousdishsf.com.

Cotner continued, “This makes four out of our six chefs in our kitchen are female. Maybe women are the only ones who still have the stamina and patience.”

In case you missed the biggest food news of the week:

Basque-Korean food coming to Sonoma

All in one weekend, 2022 kicked off with two potential new restaurants: the Happy Dog building was sold and the building two doors south acquired a new restaurant.

First the little building with palm trees, a small wall, and a mostly protected patio next to Mcdonald’s.

According to Realtor Ryan Snow, Chef Josh Smookler and his wife Heidi Hu have leased the property. In a phone call Monday afternoon, Smookler told the Index-Tribune that he and his family moved here in December, 2021 and have enrolled their kids in local schools.

As many longtime residents know, this spot was a former location of Moosetta’s Piroshky, a Chinese cafeteria, and a series of Mexican restaurants, the last of which was Las Diablitas.

Chef Smookler is Korean and was adopted by a New York Jewish family and raised on Long Island. Somehow his multi-cultural background first led him to Japanese food and ramen, although he had to teach himself to make ramen.

Having first sold ramen out of a bagel shop, Smookler opened Mu Ramen in Long Island City, New York in 2014 after a stint in Los Angeles where he sampled lots of Japanese raw foods and ramen.

New York Times critic Pete Wells wrote that Smookler’s Mu Ramen was worth a trip outside New York City, perhaps because Smookler also served foie gras-stuffed wings and oxtail and bone marrow ramen.

Smookler told me a sweet story about how he happened to name his ramen house Mu Ramen. Mu is his wife Heidi’s real name in Chinese. When she came to the U.S. she chose the name Heidi. He promised her when they started life together that he would name his first restaurant for her, which he did. Hence, Mu Ramen.

A former wine director, Smookler told Luckyrice.com that “I started in the wine business because, when I was a teenager, I thought wine was for affluent, educated, and sophisticated people. I wanted to impress women. It felt like it had more cache. Silly, right?” And he noted that the pay was better than cooking and subjecting oneself to the environmental and emotional abuse of some temperamental chefs.

In 2020 Smookler closed his ramen restaurant in New York due to the government-ordered pandemic shutdown, and never reopened it.

Many Sonomans fondly remember Sondra Bernstein’s Ramen Wednesdays at Suite D and her take-out ramen at the Girl and the Fig, as well as her ramen pop-ups in the Springs where Sonoma Eats is currently located.

Now Smookler is breaking out of the ramen bowl with his new venture here in Sonoma.

He says he has always told people to do what they love, and now he is going to follow his own advice and do what he loves – Basque-inspired fish, pork, and beef. He expects to feature four or five fish dishes, three special cuts of Iberico pork, and five cuts of beef, all while sneaking in some Korean flavors along with the Basque.

The location next to Mcdonald’s on Highway 12 just north of Verano Avenue needs lots of work to fix a leaky roof, replace equipment, and clean out the sources of rat leavings. Both Joshua and Heidi have been working very hard to make all of the necessary improvements to pass inspections.

Smookler also believers he will get all inspections done and passed in a few days and open very soon. I tried to explain it could take longer here, as many food business owners have experienced. Hopefully I will be wrong.

Sonoma will welcome Josh and Heidi Smookler and look forward to their interesting and high-quality cross-cultural food.

Their future restaurant will be called Animo, and they will also feature vegetarian and vegan specialties.

Happy Dog update

As anyone who drives through the intersection of Highway 12 and Verano Avenue knows, Happy Dog has been closed for quite a while. A second generation of owners basically gave up on it and said repeatedly that they were working on reopening.

Several personal visits to the former restaurant showed the same beer bottle and rag on a table and revealed no visible cleaning or activity going on inside.

On Monday Realtor Daniel Rogers said he represented both seller and buyer and would not answer questions of what would be going in the building, and wouldn’t even say if it would be a restaurant, reportedly at the request of the purchasers.

Rogers said repeatedly that they “are very nice people” and “very good people” who have other businesses in Sonoma County and will make a great contribution to the community. He said it was not purchased by the Mattsons.

Both locations, separated by an auto shop, have limited parking, which could create problems.