Kathleen Hill: Garden Court sold, Grenache Day and the new owner of the Purple Onion

Food news from around the Valley.|

Personal note: This is my 500th column for the Sonoma Index-Tribune, which adds up to about one million words. Thanks for reading. Whew.

Garden Court Café sold

But don't panic.

Nothing is changing.

Longtime Sonoma residents Rosemarie and Nick Ramponi have sold their always packed Garden Court Café in Glen Ellen to 'longtime' employee Jazmin Vargas and Jazmin's mother, Olga Vargas.

But nothing has changed: The menu is the same, the prices are the same, they still make banana bread, and the food is still cooked by Chuy Martinez and crew. During a breakfast visit last Sunday a friend and I found an uptick in energy and young happy helpful servers who practically danced around the restaurant.

The Garden Court has been through an interesting history.

According to Bob Rice, 'When Patti and Chris Greene bought Mother Flugger's Old Same Place in the '70s they changed the name to Garden Court Café. Patti Greene just passed away last year. She was a real dear and the heart of that place.'

Pete and Kirsten Stewart bought the Garden Court Café next to Triangle Body Shop, on a wedge in the late David Pleydell-Bouveriie's property, now part of the Audubon Canyon Ranch Preserve across Highway 12 from Sonoma County Regional Park in Glen Ellen.

The Stewarts sold it to Peter and Lesley Fay and moved on to own the Bear Flag Café in the now neglected building across from Mary's Pizza Shack on Highway 12 in Boyes Hot Springs. Eventually the Stewarts started Deuce restaurant, named for their twin daughters, in the old Au Relais (now HopMonk) location on Broadway.

After they moved to New Mexico, Peter and Lesley Fay ran a couple of hot dog carts and a successful café in Taos for several years until it closed rather quickly and mysteriously one night. They are now in San Miguel de Allende where Lesley has a fabric and interior design business and shop.

The Fays sold the Garden Court to Rich and Stacey Tregila, Rich having a long country club cheffing background and Stacey running the front of the house, carrying on the restaurant's food traditions. Rosemarie and Nick Ramponi last owned the popular Glen Ellen center and, after many years of hard work, have passed it on to the Vargas family.

Longtime Sonoma residents might remember Nick's father, Louie Ramponi, who had a television and radio repair shop on Third Street West and built the light blue professional office building next door. Louie Ramponi also served as a member of the Sonoma City Council and Mayor of Sonoma.

According to Rosemarie Ramponi, 'Olga Vargas will be assisting the kitchen while Jazzy continues to work front of house, which she has managed for the last several years, and it's just a perfect fit. All our staff have been very supportive, and of course the menus, name and chefs will remain the same (as well as our longtime kitchen manager).

'We've decided to move to Washington state to be closer to some family. We are taking time off through the New Year, and are looking forward to spending time with our kids. As most people have asked, we will not be opening a restaurant here.

'We have had an amazing nine year super successful run, and are so thankful for all the amazing locals and regulars. We wouldn't have the many lasting friendships we've formed had we never taken over the Garden Court. It was our dream to make it the community spot in Glen Ellen. I definitely think it became that.

'Jazmin will be a familiar face, as well as Chuy and his team. I'm sure customers favor them from time to time instead of Nick and me. Nick will be in the restaurant for the next few weeks, facilitating the change of ownership, and then will join us in Washington. We are looking forward to more free time and some outdoor adventures there,' Rosemarie said in an email.

Grenache Days this weekend

Sam Coturri's Sixteen600 tasting room and Sondra Bernstein's Rhône Room will honor International Grenache Day this weekend.

Why Grenache Day and what is it?

The grenache grape originated in the Aragon region of northern Spain and spread to Sardinia, southern France, San Joaquin Valley and Australia. Grenache noir or red grenache is the best known, followed by grenache blanc, which is now reportedly the fourth most planted white wine grape in France.

Since Grenache Day is the third Friday in September, Sonoma's celebration starts today, Sept. 21 at the Rhône Room on Broadway, with tastings running from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday brings Peter Mathis' wines from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and Casey Graybehl's from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday offers Lightening Wines, 1 to 3 p.m., followed by delightful chocolate tastings from Volo of Healdsburg from 2 to 4 p.m. 20816 Broadway, Sonoma.

On Sunday, Sept. 23, taste the Coturris' fine wines along with what Sam Coturri refers to as the 'Queen of the Rhône Rangers' Sondra Bernstein's Fig Rig Tacos du Rhône such as duck confit tacos, jazz by Clifford Brown III, a DJ, and pours of their new Rhône releases including a 2017 Hommage Blanc and other library wines. $35 public, free to wine club members. 2 to 5 p.m. 589 First St. W., Sonoma. RSVP to 721-1805.

Winemaker Mark Lyon buys SF's Purple Onion

Whoa!

At a mutual friend's big birthday party, neighbor and winemaker Mark Lyon was telling me a long story about how millennials don't really understand wine or food, and several of us opined on our theories of why.

So Lyon built his story to a crescendo where he said 'It is time that we take Sonoma wines to millennial central – San Francisco. Great idea, Mark. How are you planning to do that?

'Well, I bought a building off Broadway where Phyllis Diller used to perform.' I shrieked, 'Not the Purple Onion?'

And, yes, Mark Lyon has purchased the historic and iconic building where Phyllis Diller, Bob Newhart, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Maya Angelou, the Kingston Trio, Jim Nabors, Robin Williams, Margaret Cho and the Smothers Brothers got their starts.

Mark Lyon served as winemaker for Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery for nearly 40 years. He left to focus on his Alexander Valley Eco Terreno Vineyards' conversion to biodynamic farming methods and took care of his father, Rusty Lyon, who suffered from Alzheimer's.

Mark Lyon received a B.S. of Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis in 1978. The next year he was hired by Sebastiani Vineyards to assist with production. In 1985 he was put in charge of harvest at the winery and rose to head winemaker.

Mark Lyon's Eco Terreno wines were the 'house wines' for this eastside party and, after he sampled a little more of his own wine, Lyon informed Julie and Tom Atwood and me that he buys tons of what he calls 'organic bull s--t,' aka cow poop or manure, all to rebuild the soil in his old vine vineyards to maintain them as biodynamic and organic.

Brilliant moves, Mark Lyon. Congratulations.

Fremont Dinner – Box Car Fried Chicken & Biscuits

After closing suddenly in June, Erika and Chad Harris reopened last Wednesday at the same location, featuring their fried chicken at a newly painted all-white Box Car Fried Chicken & Biscuits.

Try the deviled eggs with pickled mustard seeds, fried oysters, a pimento cheese plate with sharp and mild cheddars and pimentos, hush puppies, platters of fried chicken now in four levels of heat, including plain, salt & pepper, heat, and more heat.

I chose the salt and pepper version, thinking about my mother's technique of mixing salt, pepper and white wheat flour in a paper bag and shaking each piece of chicken in the bag to coat the skin evenly. Then she fried it in Crisco, which we all believed at the time imparted no extra fat to anything cooked in it. Now owned by J.M. Smucker, 'Crisco – the All Vegetable Shortening' contains soybean oil, hydrogenated palm oil, palm oil, mono and dyglycerides, TBHQ and citric acids.

But instead of my mother's fried chicken, I received five generous pieces of thick-crusted chicken coated with an outer layer of good salt and pepper – a waker-upper for sure.

You will also find Zante grape with Pt. Reyes blue cheese or Indian summer salad, and sandwiches with fried chicken, fried oysters, or pimento and tomato. Lots of sides like their popular collard greens, dill coleslaw, French fries, baked beans and potato salad. Same fried pies, shakes, floats, brews, sodas and good wines, and $5 Straus soft-serve cones. Open Monday through Friday, 11 a. m. to 3 p.m. until they can hire more staff to extend hours. 2698 Fremont Drive, Sonoma. 938-7370.

Paella cook-off Oct. 7

Chef Gerard Nebesky of Gerard's Paella restaurant in Santa Rosa will launch a Paella Festival and Cook-off on Sunday, Oct. 7, as part of the Sonoma Vita weekend with Levi's GrandFondo cycling race in downtown Santa Rosa.

Chef Gerard, whose paella you can enjoy at our Tuesday night farmers market, beat Bobby Flay in a Food Network 'Paella Throwdown.'

Round up a paella team of five members max, polish and show off your paella-making skills, and share recipes in a friendly live cook-off. Gerard and his team of judges and festival attendees will vote best paellas from traditional or 'heavily experimental.' Lots of prizes for paella podium finishers.

Tented cooking areas include a 52-inch paella pan, and propane cooking set up with cooking tools and ingredients. Submit recipes and you can register your group or individual effort up to Oct. 7. $250 registration fee. If you just want to go and taste paella, tasting passes are $20 or $25 on-site. Unlimited beer $35 to $45, unlimited wine $40 to $45, Saturday After Party at La Rosa $125. Paella cook-off 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa.

Nibs & Sips

Ravenswood and Buena Vista are the only Sonoma Valley wineries ranked in Wine & Spirits magazine's Top 100 Wineries of 2018.

West Hamburgers in the Springs is looking more likely to open, meaning plywood has been removed as window covering. Hopefully they will be able to finish after two recent huge successes from their secret-location pop-up dinners where guests bring their own dinnerware, food and wine and wear white.

August Sebastiani's 3 Badge Beverage Corporation's 3 Badge Mixology division just started to sell La Pivón Rojo and La Pivón Bianco premium vermouths from Spain, great for aperitifs on the rocks or mixed into a cocktail. 3 Badge partnered with the only vermouth producer in Madrid to make La Pivón vermouths from Spanish airén and malvar wine grapes. According to their press release, La Pivón is a Spanish slang term meaning 'a very attractive person.' ($29 retail.)

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