WINING & DINING IN SONOMA
Part 1 - Twist Eatery
Part 1 - Twist Eatery
Road trip!!! It's been a few years since my brother Bob and his wife Nguyen invited us to share a condo in Sonoma County (Sonoma for short) -- (we've been on other joyful and adventurous trips with them since then, all of which are chronicled on this blog), so when they asked if we wanted to spend Easter week with them at their WorldMark time share in Windsor, we jumped at the chance. Nothing was happening at the Ojai Art Center Theater where Richard's the artistic director that needed his immediate attention and I had no writing deadlines, so we packed our bags and meds (we're at the age) and hit the road.
We left Ojai around 8:30-9:00 am, and virtually flew up the 101 til we got to the 680 where traffic literally came to a standstill. In life, if you can avoid the 405 in Los Angeles and the 680 in Northern California leading the way into Sonoma, your driving experience will be better for it. We couldn't... so, a drive that should have taken 6 1/2 - 7 hours, took 8, but we arrived just in time for the cocktail hour and plopped ourselves down on the condo's terrace, sipped some wine and enjoyed looking over the grounds of the complex.
One of the joys of traveling is finding a local gem... in this case a tiny restaurant in Forestville. After having a fabulous lunch experience in that town on our last visit to Sonoma, we decided to go back and revisit the place for lunch. It was a half hour or so away, so we called first, only to discover that that cafe/deli had closed, but we were encouraged to try the restaurant that replaced it.
Toni Young, the owner of Twist Eatery with her husband and chef, Jeff, greeted us warmly and sat us down at an exterior table. Warm and friendly, she told us that Twist had been open for a few years and was proud of the reputation the restaurant had for putting a new and fresh twist on standard fare.
After going over the menu and listening to her recommendations, we placed our order. While waiting, I decided to explore the small space to see what changes the Youngs had made. First off, the deli was gone and more counter space was added.
Not only did the Youngs add the exterior platformed table we were seated at, but also seating outside under a trellis...
Soon, our lunch arrived... Nguyen had the chicken fried chicken... a spicy fried boneless thigh on penne with local chard and garlic in a light cream sauce. I had to taste, of course, and it was a scrumptious taste treat.
Richard and Bob had a pork tenderloin salad with blue cheese dressing, red potatoes, green beans, bacon AND crumbled blue cheese. Bacon, pork, blue cheese - be still my heart.
I'm a sandwich girl, so I chose the chicken salad sandwich and the cup of mushroom soup that "came with." The mushroom soup was probably the best mushroom soup I've ever had - rich and so creamy. The sandwich made with free range roasted chicken, house made mayo, cashews, celery, cilantro and Serrano peppers on a toasted rosemary focaccia roll with red onions and local greens was deliciously perfect!!!
The next time you're in Sonoma, you must take a detour to the little town of Forestville and have a meal at this little twist of a gem.
PS - The eatery also has a nice selection of local wines, beers and soft drink.
Twist Eatery
6536 Front Street
Forestville, CA 95436
707-820-8443
www.twisteatery.com
1 comment:
Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Taking a few minutes and
actual effort to make a good article... but what can I say...
I put things off a lot and don't seem to get anything done.
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