A month of Petaluma holiday food events

The Seed Bank Speakers Series continues Dec. 1 with “All About Mason Bees: Bee Smart, Bee Dazzled,” by Janet Calhoon, who will explain the link between bees and a healthy, thriving garden, and teach guests how to create and care for native bee houses. As with most Seed Bank events, this is free to the public, and is a great time to check out all the great holiday ideas for the green thumbs in your family.

Local holiday food fairs

Small, local foodie holiday fairs seem to pop up regularly around this time of year, with the next one being held at the Petaluma Fairgrounds on Saturday, Dec. 3. These are a great way to not only buy stocking stuffers and holiday house warming gifts, but also give consumers the opportunity to meet the small local business owners who rely on our support.

In attendance next Saturday will be F.A. Nino’s, the Godfather of sauces, Iniguez Granola and Cookies, LALA’s Jams and Local Honey, Mariposa Ice Creamery and two gluten free vendors - Pizzio’s Gluten Free Bakery and KaDea’s Gluten Free Pastas and Pizza Dough.

I am a huge fan of F.A. Nino’s and give them regularly as holiday gifts. Although I’ve only had them once, way back when Fourchette was still open, Mariposa Ice Cream is excellent and I look forward to trying their new offerings of Pilar Bernard’s Christmas bars and Salted Caramel Sauce.

Holy Ghost crab feed

Petaluma Holy Ghost Society kicks off the Petaluma crab feed season this Saturday, Dec. 3, with great food, free table wine and punch, and dancing after dinner. This group serves a unique dessert of “Filos,” which are Portuguese donuts, only without the hole. Selling for $5 for a half-dozen, I’d suggest slapping down a $20 and treating your whole table. The event is at Petaluma Holy Ghost/Portuguese Hall, and costs $50. Call 762-4995 for more info.

Brenda Maher benefit

Sauced BBQ will host a benefit for Brenda Maher on Monday, Dec. 5. From 4 p.m. to closing, Sauced will donate 10 percent of sales to Maher’s Go Fund Me account.

The owner of award winning antique shop “French Hen Antiques” and wife of John Maher, also known as Petaluma Pete, she is fighting stage four cancer and could our help. For those not able to attend, I’d encourage you to join me in donating directly through www.gofundme.com/2f4cgr7g.

Truck & Barter

Barber Cellars and Truck & Barter will team up on Tuesday, Dec. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. to offer wine, live music and shopping for the prefect holiday gifts from both stores. On-site gift wrapping and gift baskets available. Truck & Barter offers a unique selection of high quality, mostly American made, kitchen and home items.

Mead tasting

Heidrun Meadery will host an open house on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity to taste their newest varietals, while picking up great holiday gifts, or maybe just a bottle or two to impress your holiday dinner guests. Each year Heidrun releases a very small batch of their most special mead varietal, produced entirely from honey harvested from their own property.

This year’s Point Reyes Wildflower mead is a true expression of flower to flute. So limited, this is the only day Heidrun will pour samples in their tasting room. The always delicious Sonoma Coast Shuckers will also be on hand selling raw and grilled oysters.

Cinnabar crab feed

Cinnabar Theater will hold their annual crustacean fundraiser on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at Lagunitas Brewing Company, for $55. This one is still my favorite because it’s all about the crab, with no pasta filler distractions, although there is bread and slaw. Although melted butter and fresh lemon wedges will adorn the tables, this crab is so fresh, having been caught just the day before the event, that I enjoy its fresh sweet flavor straight up.

After this one, the crab feed calendar goes dark for the holidays, before starting back up on Saturday, Jan. 14, with the Senhor Santo Cristo Society’s Portuguese Crab Feed at Petaluma’s Holy Ghost/Portuguese Hall.

‘Fog Valley’ reading

As mentioned in the last column, Francis Rivetti has recently released “Fog Valley Winter,” which is the companion book to her wildly popular “Fog Valley Crush.” Both books are about our local food growers, with “Fog Valley Winter” highlighting the heritage of our local holiday food traditions. No holiday gift list is complete without a few signed copies for friends and family.

Francis made the decision to delay Fog Valley Winter’s Amazon release until after the holidays in an effort to help support of our small, local businesses.

Currently available at Free Range, Moj San Gift and Garden Gallery, B Street Mercantile, Copperfield’s, Petaluma Home & Garden, Petaluma Visitor’s Center, Velvet Ice Boutique and online at www.fogvalleypress.info, my favorite way to buy the Fog Valley collection for gifts is to attend one of Francis’s local readings.

Francis will be reading and signing her books next on Dec. 14 at Second Street Flowers. Store owner Tali Bouskila and floral designer Tamara Apple are passionate about seasonal arrangements, so while visiting Francis, you can also buy fresh cut flowers, local evergreens and handcrafted wreathes and mistletoe.

Thistle Meats is Good Food

No surprise to any of us who shop Thistle Meats regularly, their duck liver mousse is a finalist in this year’s Good Food Awards. The Good Food Awards celebrate food that is tasty, authentic and responsibly produced. The awards honor food producers who push their industries towards craftsmanship and sustainability while enhancing the agricultural landscape and building strong communities.

Food at 101 North Brewing

101 North Brewing continues its food service with Tuck Box from Friday through Sunday throughout the winter. Offering Northern Indian cuisine with all organic veggies and locally sourced meats, Tuck Box has quickly become a Sonoma County favorite. Food hours are?4-8 p.m. on Friday, 2-8 p.m. on Saturday and 2-6 p.m. on Sunday, with other pop-ups filling the gaps when Tuck Box isn’t present.

Simmer Vietnamese will return to 101 North Brewing on Saturday, Dec. 17, starting at 2 p.m. and going until they run out. An order of their excellent pho and a pint of 101 North beer is only $10.

Yanni’s December sandwich

In case you missed it on Facebook, our family indulged yet again on Yanni’s November special, the Thanksgiving in a Link sandwich for our own Thanksgiving dinner. With all the great flavors of Thanksgiving, but much easier prep and cleanup, it appears this has become a Porter family tradition.

After a well-deserved week off to celebrate the holiday with family, Francesca and Johnny are back at the grill in Penngrove, turning out great sausage sandwiches, Greek chili and the best Greek fries I’ve ever had.

The Decadent Christmas Sausage Sandwich is Yanni’s December sandwich of the month, making its debut on Thursday, Dec. 1. This sandwich starts with Yanni’s Garlic Sausage, served on sweet Italian bread from Full Circle Bakery, and is topped with grilled onions, caramel apples and a cheddar cream cheese spread. These sandwiches sell out quickly, so don’t wait until the end of the month with the hopes of sneaking in for a first taste.

New restaurants

SlamBurger will finally open their doors Friday, Dec. 2, for a grand opening. The first 100 guests will receive a free slam burger. You can see their full menu of locally sourced meats, as well as sign up for a free side order coupon at www.theslamburger.com.

Checking out their website, I’m excited to see a huge selection of patty options, including beef, buffalo, chicken, lamb, ahi tuna and veggie patties, with a ton of interesting toppings and tasty sides. Also, all burgers can be ordered as a lettuce wrap, or on a gluten-free bun for an additional $1.

Simply Strudel has revealed to me that they are planning a move into the historic Millie’s Chili Bar location at the corner of Petaluma Boulevard South and H Street. We have always loved tasting and buying their wide variety of strudels at local farmers markets so we look forward to having a brick and mortar location to order and pick up from.

Not to be confused with streussel, that crumbly topping baked onto muffins, cakes and breads, strudel is a type of sweetened filled layered pastry inherited from the Austrians, who are well-regarded for their dessert menus.

Although not open quite yet for the public, guests can order strudels for all their holiday events at www.SimplyStrudels.com or by calling them at 844-STRUDEL and then conveniently pick them up at Simply Strudels’ new Petaluma kitchen.

Faron is finally opening up his very own barbecue spot, after offering up great barbecue at Mario and John’s, Petaluma Hills Brewing Company and by phone orders. Faron will be taking over the spot where Secret Kitchen used to be, so you can expect a down-home outdoor country setting.

Located at the corner of Bodega Avenue, Skillman Lane and Eucalyptus Road, behind Aguis County Market, the five minute drive outside downtown Petaluma will be well worth it for Faron’s great New Orleans style cooking.

Drawing Board appears to be the new name of the restaurant moving in to Velasco’s old spot at the corner of Washington and Kentucky streets. For a while this location was rumored to be opening up as “True North,” so I am not sure if this is simply a name change or if the folks prepping for True North ended up selling to new people. Either way, it is nice to finally see some positive movement on that space.

Suzanne Alexandre of Free Range tells me there appears to be some construction going on at the old Jamba Juice space next to Whole Foods. If anyone has more info about what might be going in here, please let me know.

Tsudoi Corporation is the name listed on the new liquor license application hanging in the window of Hiro’s old spot at 107 Petaluma Blvd. North. I hope that they will balance price and quality better than Hiro’s did because the gap between affordable and high-end sushi seems to get smaller and smaller each day.

High quality fish is not as hard to come by as it once was. Hiro’s concentrated on high-end, expensive sushi, while three competitors, within a stone’s throw of this location, were offering customers nearly equal quality but at a more affordable price.

(Contact Houston Porter at houston@avant-larde.com.)