New Petaluma farmer’s market at The Block

The Block - Petaluma will host a Monday Farmers Market, starting July 16, and continuing through the summer and fall.|

The Block — Petaluma will host a Monday Farmers Market, starting July 16, and continuing through the summer and fall. Visit their website or Facebook page for a complete line-up of live music, great food, craft vendors, and of course, their excellent selection of beer. The fun starts at 5 p.m.

Mariposa Ice Creamery will be serving some of their incredible juice bars at Rivertown Revival, this Saturday, July 14. Because Three Twins is one of the main sponsors, Mariposa will only have their juice bars on hand, but even those are incredible. If you can't make the event, or want to also enjoy their great ice cream, Penngrove Market is the only retailer that carries their stuff, so head out to Penngrove to check them, and plenty of other local food purveyors out.

Speaking of sorbet and juice bars, I recently saw some internet click-bait stating, '8 watermelon recipes to have on hand.' That seriously cracked me up, because it's watermelon folks. You slice it up and you eat it. Can you add it to tons of other things? Sure. Can you shape it to look like a shark, hollow it out, and refill it with a variety of other balled melons? Sure. But come on, it's watermelon. We don't need to have 8 recipes on hand in order to deal with watermelon. What we need on hand is a garden hose in order to wash our faces after this warm-weather afternoon snack.

Back to Mariposa's juice bars, owner Pilar McGoldrick-Bernard showed her true fruity colors when she recently helped out a Petaluma Foodie group member who was in desperate need of sorbet for the 4th of July. Although not regularly open to the public, Pilar saw the woman's post on Facebook, and reached out to let her know she had some on hand. Pilar made special arrangements with her staff to open her commercial kitchen for pick-up and even followed up afterwards to make sure everything turned out okay, which it did. You gotta love our Petaluma food community.

101 North helps local animals

We stopped by the Petaluma Animal Shelter last weekend to drop off some donations and learned that the public can sponsor an animal's adoption fees. This makes it that much easier for adopters to give these furry friends a home because they can save the extra cash for food, beds and other things to help make their new pet more at home.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that 101 North Brewing Co. is currently sponsoring several of the dogs at PAS. It was heartwarming to see this small business going above and beyond to support our local community in this way.

Although we did not come home with a new pet, we were particularly affected by a big sweetheart of an American Bulldog mix named Rosco, whose adoption fees are being sponsored by someone named Sarah. While many of the other pups were barking away, Rosco just wanted to love, rubbing up against his fence so we could scratch him, and was showing so much personality that if our yard were one square foot bigger, we would have brought him home.

The shelter also offers what they call 'field trip foster,' which allows you to take a pup out for a walk or two, as well as 'overnight foster,' which gives you an opportunity to take a pup for a true test drive to see if they will fit in with your space and your family.

Back to 101 North Brewing, they are currently the 'beer of the month' on the SMART train, so whether during your ride home from Santa Rosa or San Rafael, or while out enjoying one of the many bars and restaurants that carry 101's beer, please help them support our community's soon-to-be-adopted animals by ordering up a frosty mug or two.

Adobe Road Winery

I had the pleasure of meeting Adobe Road Winery owner, and legendary race car driver and team owner, Kevin Buckler, this past weekend while I was doing my yearly bartender duties at the Petaluma Yacht Club. I'm rarely in awe of even the most famous people I meet, but having Kevin and his Adobe Road Winery, and the accompanying race car museum as a new neighbor on our Petaluma waterfront is a real treat to this racing fan.

I grew up loving Porsches and Aston Martins, both of which Kevin has raced extensively, but to me, what puts Kevin in a whole other league is that he has not only raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest endurance sports car race and arguably the most prestigious race on the planet, but earned a 1st place finish the first time he competed.

That all being said, back to the Adobe Road Winery facility, Kevin disclosed some interesting news regarding their upcoming plans, which including a banquet hall, with catering kitchen and a 'chef's table' demonstration kitchen. Having received final approval from the city for their waterfront facility at the base of C Street, you can expect more exciting upcoming news.

Taquizas

A few months ago, we stopped in to the Mail Depot at 4th and C St., not only to ship some packages, but also to grab some great coffee and pastries at Milt's Coffee. As luck would have it, there was some sort of animal adoption event going on in the parking lot, along with a great little taco operation.

Because I can't pass up on street food, we tried a taco in each flavor and they were all great. In fact, before leaving the festivities, and with a few extra bucks in my wallet, we ordered a couple more for the road. There was a bit of a language barrier when I inquired about if they offered catering, so I was given a small flier, but it was in Spanish.

Because these folks were so nice and their food was so good, I did what I could, with the help of Google Translate, to learn that they have been catering taquizas (taco parties) for 15 years now. From weddings to baptisms to birthdays, they can cater for anywhere from five to 150 people.

Of course I had to chuckle at Google's translation — 'for the good palate, do not stay with the craving, call us,' not just because it sounds silly, but because it's so true. You don't have to live with the craving for great fresh-made tacos, if you simply call them to cater your next event.

I have not yet called the numbers but would suggest you have a Spanish speaker with you when you call, just in case. But rest assured, the extra effort will be worth it. The flier lists two names and three numbers — Oscar, Roberto, and family can be reached at 228-0854, 304-6588, and/or 393-7920.

Advance preview

'Wine, Please!'

'Check, Please! Bay Area' host, award-winning author, speaker, food and drink judge and consultant, and Petaluma resident Leslie Sbrocco just announced the release of her first wine collaboration. A dry rosè from the south of France, the wine is called Three Hearts, in honor of the relationship between Leslie, her mother, and her daughter. I will taste it shortly and report back, although with Leslie's expertise in wine, I imagine it will surpass the expectations of my pedestrian wine palette.

In case you missed it

Thistle Meats celebrates the return of their Sunday Supper series this weekend, July 15, with owner/butcher/chef Travis Day hosting friends and guest chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow, from Flour + Water restaurant in San Francisco. Dinner is $105 for this six-course prix fix dinner, with the addition of wine pairing from Alma de Cattleya of Sonoma for $45.

Bibiana Gonzalez Rave of Alma was awarded Winemaker of the Year in 2015 by the San Francisco Chronicle, which pretty much says it all, but we confirmed their selection when we discovered Bibiana's wine while at Twisted Two last year, although at the time we didn't know she had claimed this distinction. There are a few tickets left for this once-in-a-lifetime wine-paired dinner, so visit thistlemeats.com for more info.

Cheesemaker gala

Barber Cellars will hold their last Cheesemaker Gala of 2018 on Friday, July 20, from 6-9 p.m. at their Hotel Petaluma tasting room. More than just a cheese tasting, the cheesemakers will actually be on hand to talk about their cheeses and will be available for questions, which our Petaluma crowds always seems to have plenty of.

The cheesemakers will include Nicasio, with their legendary aged and creamy cow cheeses, Achadinha, the Petaluma juggernaut with their incredible extra aged goat cheeses, and Moonside, a newer creamery, introducing their creamy soft ripened European style cheeses for the first time.

Guests can also meet and talk with Leslie Goodrich of LaLa's Urban Farmstand about her incredible jams, which pair perfectly with the sampling of Barber's wines and local breads and salumi. For dessert, Farm Chocolates of Sebastopol will offer artisan chocolate truffles.

Ticket holders enjoy 20 percent discounts on wine purchases for the evening, and wine club members receive a discount on the event, so contact Barber if you didn't receive that email. This is a pre-sold event, so you must get your tickets in advance at www.barbercellars.com or julycheesemaker2018.eventbrite.com.

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