With downtown favorites like Hallie’s Diner and Sax’s Joint packed with weekend brunch crowds, it was great to receive word that Stockhome now offers an innovative brunch menu on Sundays, starting at 10 a.m.
Chef Roberth Sundell along with his wife Andrea, also own and operate sister-Swede spot Plaj in San Francisco. He is committed to fresh and interesting menu choices, and so he will change up the brunch menu weekly.
On our recent Sunday visit to Stockhome we found some Swedish classics while enjoy steaming cups of coffee and a strawberry, mint and Laurens Brut mimosa, or three. With three of us and three main dishes, we order the whole menu, which was raggmunk, pyttipanna and shrimp cocktail, all of which were as beautiful to behold as they were delicious to devour.
Raggmunk is a potato pancake, beautifully topped with bacon and lingonberry jam. This recipe actually includes some pancake batter, which gives it a much smoother texture and heartier feel than a normal potato pancake.
Pyttipanna is Swedish hash and as with many Swedish dishes, is long on rich root veggies, including pickled beets, and comes with a kind of Swedish pita bread. These are mixed with beef, sausage and onions, and topped with two eggs, cooked any way you want them. Some variation of shrimp is usually available on Stockhome’s menu and brunch was no exception with the appearance of shrimp cocktail, infused with citrus, scallion, chili, peas and cocktail aioli, all to be scooped up with crispy house-made chips.
We ordered without a second look at pricing because Stockhome is one of the many Petaluma restaurants that constantly outperform expense expectations, plus the food already served to other patrons looked so scrumptious. The bill was a pleasant surprise with these three dishes ranging from $8 to $12.
Moreover, before you start thinking there is nothing on the menu for kids, the vibrant colors alone seemed to have every kid in the restaurant thrilled with their choices. Stockhome also has a kid’s menu, but we have found over many visits that kids seem to be much more open to the Swedish food adventure than one might think. Since the Sundells have four children of their own, it makes sense that they would create a space and a menu that appeals to the whole family.
It has taken me a while to get over the disappointment of establishing favorite menu items at a given restaurant, only to find them constantly rotating off, but Stockhome has certainly helped alleviate those anxieties. Restaurants like this, where I find everything on the menu to be a feast for the senses, have taught me that it really is the chef, and not any given day’s menu, that gives a restaurant its soul.
Chef Roberth’s promise to mix it up each week means Petaluma’s enticing education into Swedish favorites will continue, driven by the weather, the local wealth of ingredients and the whims of Petaluma’s very own lovable Swedish Chef.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: