Bistro 100: The journey of 100 miles starts with one bite

Tucked into the heart of the Theatre District of Petaluma, Bistro 100 recently opened to rave reviews. By sourcing hyper-local ingredients, Chef Garrett Adair creates innovative American cuisine with a French twist. Coupling his background in restaurant management and private catering with a desire to work and play with the area’s freshest ingredients, Chef Adair has created a potent combination of fancy and flavorful without pretense.

The “100” in the name pays homage to the vibrant and diverse farms, dairies, and ranches within 100 miles of Petaluma. However, the Chef warns that the moniker is not meant as a challenge, but a goal. Certain items, like spices, simply can’t be sourced from within 100 miles. So don’t take the bait when you see “Fort Bragg Black Cod” on the menu. Sure, your smart phone will tell you that Fort Bragg is roughly 104 miles from Petaluma, as the crow flies. But, Black Cod (also known as Sablefish or Butterfish) is a nomadic species caught in deep waters. This means that fish are just as likely to be caught in the first deep waters off our Sonoma County coastline as they are further out to sea. In the big picture though, for a non-farmed ocean fish this is about as local as it gets, while still adhering to the idea of sustainability. The Black Cod fishery is intensively managed and their populations are extremely healthy … and from what I learned at Bistro 100 are one darn tasty fish. “We make every effort we can to source locally and where some items may come from a bit further than 100 miles, most come from a lot closer, which more than makes up for the difference.” says Chef Adair.

Like other local cutting edge restaurants, Bistro 100 continues the trend of moving beyond “organic” labeling and instead concentrates on “going local.” Chef Adair buys from a who’s-who of regional farmers, including, but not limited to, Liberty Duck, Green String Farms, Stemple Creek, First Light Farms, DG Langley, Bellwether Farms, and Feed Sonoma. This makes the restaurant more like “Bistro 20” than “100.” And these farmers aren’t popular just for their locale, they are turning out such high quality meats, cheeses, and veggies that they are sought out by the likes of San Francisco and East Bay favorites Zuni Café, Abbots Cellar, Bar Tartine, Boulette’s Larder, Millennium, and Chez Panisse, as well as Santa Rosa’s John Ash & Co. and Petaluma’s renowned Preferred Sonoma Caterers, to name a few.

As an interesting aside, Petaluma’s own Heritage Salvage, well respected for repurposing regional building materials for restaurant use, handled Bistro 100’s remodel. As coincidence would have it, this was Heritage Salvage’s 100th restaurant/bar remodel - befitting a restaurant with “100” in the name.

French-American inspired but with the fun and casualness more familiar to a boot-strap chef raised in Sonoma County, it’s no surprise that Chef Adair’s former clients describe his food service as “better than Cyrus and twice as fun.” “I was taking the stuffiness out of the wine country, one CEO at a time,” says Chef Adair of his private chef services.

This attitude translates well into Bistro 100, where the Chef takes a hands-on approach to the food prep. “I love working the line. I love being close to the food. Besides, it’s a mental exercise, and the busier it gets, the move fun I have,” he says. “I came to Petaluma because of the bounty right outside our front door, but I can’t be creative by simply looking at an invoice of ingredients; I need to get my hands dirty.” It isn’t hard to see why Chef Adair was so popular in the private chef arena. He is personable and genuinely cares about the dining experience. Where some chefs are hidden in the “back of house,” Chef Adair is front and center, in the trenches with the rest of his staff.

Chef Adair specialized in culinary hospitality and restaurant management while at Le Cordon Blue, not the typical culinary arts. This managerial background surfaces with atmosphere of class and poise in this bustling downtown bistro. The Chef’s prowess in the kitchen comes by way of sweating it out as a boot-strap chef in some of the best kitchens in Sonoma County. He was tutored at the likes of Forestville’s Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant and Sebastopol’s 101 Main Bistro & Wine Bar.

But moving from a model of one meal at a time to a brick-and-mortar location with a seasonally static menu has presented some challenges. “We are still learning,” he says. “We are still getting to know our farms and learning where the gaps are between produce seasons.” Sourcing hyper-local produce means Chef Adair is at the whim of micro climates as well as cold spells and major storms. But this gives the chef room for creativity which he hopes to transfer into daily “Chef Tastings”, which will highlight fresh ingredients that may not be available in the quantity required for a regular menu item.

Even fresh cheese has its idiosyncrasies. The weather and the animals dictate when certain cheeses are available, meaning that the Chef has to constantly adjust his offerings so they pair properly. Chef Adair has to call some of his cheese makers individually in order to find out if it will make it onto his cheese plate. This added care pays off. A fellow diner, Petaluma bar owner and foodie in his own right said it best: “The cheese plate actually has creativity to it, which most places lack these days.” The Bellwether Farms Carmody, French-style goat Bucheret, and blended goat & cow milk cheese would have stood up on their own, but when combined with pickled onions and topped on a lightly seasoned crostini, it reveals itself as so much more than just a cheese “plate.”

This kind of care resonates throughout Bistro 100. The beer selection is provincial and spans a respectable variety of styles and brands. The wine list runs the gambit, both in regional diversity and price range. With wines from Carneros, out to the Sonoma Coast, and up to Dry Creek and Anderson Valley, you can choose anything from an affordable chardonnay on tap to a ravishing Cabernet out of Knight’s Valley produced by Thumbprint. Other wines include Preston, Barnett, Vin Nostro, Dry Creek, Talisman, and Pedroncelli, and Iron Horse. Additionally, there is more than one choice of bubbly, as well as dessert wine, a hard cider, and locally produced juices for the kids.

With excellently gleaned and hand produced foods comes a price. Some may have sticker shock when they visit a truly “local” Petaluma restaurant. But it shouldn’t be hard to swallow the idea that we need to put our money where our mouths are if we want our local farmers to earn a living wage. Their hard work is what brings all this delicious and healthy food to our tables. “I opened in Petaluma to be near the farms,” says the Chef. “This is where I come to eat, where my kids go to school, and where my personality fits best.” Plus, Petaluma is the true epicenter of the North Bay’s wine and farm culture and where the tourist should be heading if they want the best of the best.

But unlike many recently shuttered restaurants around Sonoma County, Chef Adair isn’t naïve to the importance of community. He isn’t making the mistake of relying on tourism at the expense of his local, loyal followers. This reverence played out each of the three nights I visited Bistro 100 during their opening week. “I’m not here to make foams, crisps, and powders out of crap from tortured pigs,” jokes Chef Adair. He opened Bistro 100 because he wants to provide a four-season menu that mirrors the Petaluma farmlands and appeals to locals and tourists alike.

Chef Adair is confident and boisterous, not an uncommon trait in his chosen field. But unusual for someone of his abilities is a humility that softens the edges. He listens and adapts, never putting his creative ego ahead of the will of the people. A hold-over from his private chef days, when his clients sat front and center while he cooked, Chef Adair has the air of an appreciative host. “In the middle of the first dinner rush I openly apologized to any restaurant that I have ever complained about,” he says while shaking his head. “Trying to get everything perfect for so many guests at a brand new restaurant is no small feat. It really made me appreciate all the support I’m receiving from the community while we are working the kinks out.”

I had the pleasure of dining at Bistro 100 on their opening night, and returned twice more within the week with the Petaluma Supper Club, a semi-exclusive group of local food connoisseurs. Members include writers, restaurateurs, chefs, and community heavyweights who simply enjoy sharing Petaluma food experiences. Surprisingly, the restaurateurs and chefs are more understanding and less critical then those of us that simply eat out, as most have been in the Chef’s shoes before. And true to our small town character, many of the restaurateurs and chefs not only knew Chef Adair but were willing to give him honest feedback. This is something that makes Petaluma so unique. Our restaurant professionals don’t see each other as competition. They understand that as long as a chef “gets” our town, new restaurants actually add to our town’s reputation and will bring in more visitors for the variety of cuisine. Fitting in perfectly, Chef Adair was all ears. And he isn’t just interested in the experts’ opinions. Each table’s comment card receives his serious consideration.

Listening to the local customer base is the key to success in Petaluma as word of mouth is golden in this close-knit community. Chef Adair adapts to customer comments and professionals’ advice at a blistering pace, the food and service never falter. It was fascinating to watch him adjust the menu, fine tune portion sizes, and tweak pricing after considering the nightly feedback.

Of course one of the major struggles with any restaurant striving to provide healthy meals with local ingredients is price. Good, hyper-local food doesn’t come cheap. Paying farmers (many of whom hail from long lines of local farm families) a living wage while keeping restaurant menu costs reasonable is a real challenge. In an area where land is virtually priceless, it is no surprise that farm-to-fork food costs can gobble up a significant portion of our disposable income.

With farm roots reaching back into the 1800s, it is no surprise that Petaluma has always been willing buck regional and national trends when it comes to doing what is best for our community. The national standard of “Certified Organic” has lost much of its appeal because ethical farmers and ranchers are often too small to afford the cost of certification. Instead, local farmers and chefs develop personal relationship, which adds a level of accountability while helping to keep costs down.

I have never tried a new restaurant more than once in the first week so the experience at Bistro 100 was eye opening, and exquisite, on so many levels. With three meals under my belt I can report that just about everything on the menu is bold, well executed, and delicious. Stand outs include, Cabernet Braised Beef Brisket Sliders, Anchor Steam Beer Battered Onion Rings, Bistro Burger, Cast Iron Liberty Duck Cassoulet, and Fort Bragg Black Cod (one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever tasted.) Usually I find one item at a new restaurant that is so good that it burns into my memory and becomes a “must order” item on future visits. The Duck Confit Rillettes takes this prize, hands down. …then again, I can’t see myself skipping the Cheese Plate on future visits either. Both offer complex and hearty flavors while being quite affordable. Another dish that shouldn’t be missed, although currently off the menu due to lack of availability, is the Celery Root Puree. Last, but not least, is the budget buster - the Lavender Crème Brulee. A bit pricey for a dessert, the fired lavender seeds atop the candied crust made this the perfect ending to each of my three meals. Life is too short to miss out on flavors like these.

When you realize the attention and care Chef Adair gives his ingredients and culinary choices it comes as no surprise that dining at Bistro 100 feels more like dining as a guest in his personal kitchen than just eating at some random restaurant.

(Contact Houston Porter at argus@arguscourier.com)