Bright Bear Bakery officially closes, for now

Sadly, Bright Bear Bakery has plated its last croissant and brewed its final cup of coffee. The Lakeville Highway bakery opened in mid-2016 to rave reviews and we were semi-regulars ever since. Due to some lease issues, Bright Bear (named after the owners’ lovable, but not so bright pooch Bear) initially announced that they would close at the end of February. However, plans changed and the closing date was moved up to Feb. 6 with speculation that supplies were exhausted by all the folks who wanted to get in their last bites and sips.

Bright Bear’s very last customer, Ariana Balakrishnan, posted to social media, “…my breakfast was fantastic as usual. They said maybe in a month they hope to find another location. I hope they do! Best of luck. Thanks for all the yummy goodness!”

In further conversation with Balakrishnan, she shared her love of Bright Bear. “Their food was always baked to perfection. It was such a treat every time I went there, not just because the food was amazing, but the owners were so kind, friendly and caring. I will miss them greatly. I wish them the best and sincerely hope to see them come back one day. I’m already missing their bread and muffins!”

Another long-time fan, Roberta Mar Lew, posted a photo of the line going down the block on Bright Bear’s last day open and shared her thoughts with me. “About five years ago we were so happy to know there was a new bakery opening up near our home called Bright Bear. Little did I know it would become a biweekly habit for years to come. The love and expertise that went into creating each bite of pastry was just magical to me. And the staff and owners are so gracious it was easy to feel like family.”

We certainly hope to see Bright Bear Bakery find a new location because they were a great addition to our town, especially since Bovine Bakery shut down a few years back. In the meantime, we give our thanks to Bright Bear’s owners and staff for all the wonderful food and drink over the years.

Back open

On a positive note, Thistle Meats announced its reopening this week.

“Super excited to announce that we'll be back open next Wednesday, Feb. 10. Our business hours will continue to be Wednesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our online ordering will also be available next week on our website. See you all soon.”

Central Market announced that they will reopen “mid-February.” “We will be offering retail and takeout with a true market style menu chef Tony Najiola has enjoyed curating. Follow us to keep up with the latest. Once all restrictions are lifted we will fully reopen.”

The rumor has it that owners of the former Osteria Stellina of Point Reyes Station are behind the new project at the old Bovine Bakery on Kentucky Street. However, as of now, we have received no further details.

Valentine’s Day

With unpredictability in the weather and the current dining rules, restaurants are cautious about planning ahead so we have a few late comers to the Valentine’s Day dining list.

Estero Café posted that they will be offering a special brunch for two that will only be available for take-out and must be pre-ordered. And although their food supply chain is about as short as any around (they source ultra-local), get your order in ASAP so they can fit you in. Pick up will be from 8 to 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14. You can also add anything from the regular menu, including drinks and pastries. Visit their social media pages or call them for more info (876-3333).

Owner Samantha Ramey, who took over the café back in the early 20-teens, let me know that along with the Valentine’s Day brunch, they will definitely be bringing back the eggs Benedict specials this weekend. Our favorite is the crab Benedict. She also posted a nice message to her customers after the café’s first weekend back from the most recent shelter in place order. “Awesome weekend at the café! It felt like 75% of the customers were regulars and many of whom were ‘back’ for the first time in a while. Our regulars have been supporting us nonstop this whole year but this weekend felt like a culmination. Then at the end of the day I got to do a three month check up on this leg of @stemplecreek house made prosciutto followed by a sweet staff after-shift hang. No matter how hard times are we’re so blessed and grateful. Now for Valentine’s Day weekend.” [sic]

If you think that as an individual you don’t make a difference, as you can see from Samantha’s post, you do. Even just stopping in to to your favorite cafe for a sandwich or cup of coffee means so much more to these struggling restaurants owners than the dollars alone.

Da Vinci's Coffee Company is offering coffee-grams for Valentine’s Day, delivering a pound of coffee, stainless steel clip/scoop and a gift tag, delivered free to anywhere in Sonoma County or Novato.

On the sweets side, Mariposa Ice Creamery is holding a warehouse sale on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., its first since the pandemic started last March. (Mask and social distancing required.) “Some special treats for your Valentine - berry cheesecake ice cream bars.... gluten-free red velvet and cheesecake ice cream sandwich and our new and very popular lavender lemon ice cream sandwich.” Mariposa’s warehouse is located at 431 Payran St. Pull into the parking lot and you’ll immediately see the line.

Place your orders early

A couple of shops with earlier Valentine’s Day ordering deadlines include Pearl (by Wednesday, Feb. 10, 559-5187), JavAmore Café in Penngrove (by Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m., 794-1516) and Out to Lunch catering (by Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 9 a.m., otlfinecatering.com).

Pearl is offering a Valentine’s dinner box for two, including dried apricot wheatberry soup (with thyme, basil and crumbled feta), followed by your choice of one of the three entrees: braised duck leg coq au vin (mushrooms, bacon, red wine broth, saffron rice), roast leg o’ lamb (mint and pomegranate rub, yellow split pea hummus, za’atar pita) or parchment baked true cod (caramelized potatoes, beet and preserved lemon beurre ‘rouge’). Dessert is baharat spiced chocolate torte (olive oil ice cream, blood orange glaze) and a mazel tov cocktail (bourbon, muddled mint and orange, cardamom rose tea) can be added for an additional fee. As always, we had such a hard time choosing just one of the entrees on a Pearl special menu that we opted for two.

If you are looking for something fun for the kids, look no further than JavAmore Café’s “Valentine’s kids board” with PB&J, cookies and candy for just $10. This is a fun way to include the kids on all the love and good food.

Out to Lunch catering has a special menu, with a few kids’ items by special request. The prix fixe dinner for two includes crab cakes (with saffron aioli), morel mushroom and fennel-crusted filet mignon (with a zinfandel jus), twice-baked red potatoes, roasted asparagus (with pistachio and lemon gremolata), butterleaf salad (with granny smith apples, shaved sharp white cheddar, candied pecans and white balsamic dressing), and ends with heart-shaped chocolate decadence cakes topped with chocolate mousse and covered in chocolate ganache with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. The kids’ menu offers cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders all with a fruit cup and potato wedges. Deliveries to your front door are between 2 and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14. We enjoyed a special dinner from Out to Lunch for Christmas Eve so can personally attest to the high quality, generous portion sizes and excellent flavor of their food.

More crab feeds to-go

A few drive-thru crab feeds are still popping up, which makes sense as January and February are usually the prime Petaluma crab feed months.

JavAmore Café will hold a drive-thru crab feed on Saturday, Feb. 20, with pick up times from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Penngrove location at the corner of Old Redwood Highway and Main Street in Grove Plaza. Orders much be placed by Tuesday, Feb. 16, by calling 794-1516. Dinner is $60 per person and includes fresh crab, pasta, salad with dressing, bread, lemons and dessert. Add a bottle of Simi cabernet sauvignon or Ferrari-Carano chard for just $20.

The Petaluma Elks Lodge #901 is offering theirs on Saturday, Feb. 27, with pick-up from 3 to 5 p.m. Dinner is $55 per person and includes two crabs (roughly 4-pounds), clam chowder, salad, sourdough roll and cookies. Orders must be placed by Feb. 22 at elks901.org.

Crab delivered

We wrote about local Bodega fisherman Jonathan Jackson, ship-owner/operator at Pacific Native Fisheries, at the end of last year’s crab season, when he was steaming up to the Mendocino Coast in order to help keep our crab season alive. He was also offering salmon delivery direct to Petaluma. Jonathan and his crew are back and again offering fresh coastal crab delivered direct to Petaluma. A search of his name on the Petaluma Foodies page on Facebook will return a post with an online order form.

Pop-ups

Stormy's Spirits & Supper of Bloomfield, a far-west “suburb” of Petaluma, announced a few weeks ago that they would be popping up at Cotati’s 8 Ball bar for some chowder, bread bowls and other pub grub. Pop-up they did and after a successful weekend, will be putting on a repeat performance this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13, from 2 to 6 p.m. If you are looking for a nice short getaway, this is a perfect excuse to hop in the car while still supporting one of our local restaurants.

Dino’s Greek food truck (dinosgreekfood.com) updated its schedule this week with the surprise announcement that they would become a stationary server at the Block Petaluma for at least the next few months. Their hours are Thursday and Friday from 4 to 9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Although I haven’t checked, I hear that since Yia Yia’s closing in Penngrove, Dino’s is the only place in Sonoma County where one can get Greek food, and from what we hear, it’s great Greek food at that. We will be trying them in the next few weeks in the hopes of bringing you more details.

Furthermore, from the looks of owner Dino Moniodis’ post seeking “passionate pizza cooks to work a wood-fired pizza oven” at the Block, Dino is taking over the pizza making too. He added, “…please send resume to pizzazimi@gmail.com. Everything we serve is locally sourced in our community. We are very excited to bring #petaluma another great food option.”

Coming up

I haven’t yet to see any special menus, however, Chinese food fans may want to keep an eye out because this Friday, Feb. 12, is Chinese New Year.

Also on the horizon is the Penngrove Community Church’s Aebleskiver Breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 9 a.m. to noon, which we will go into more detail on as we get closer. However, you may want to mark your calendar now because this is a fun and unique breakfast offering.

Although still a week out, it is never too early to start perusing the menus of this year’s Petaluma offerings for Sonoma County Restaurant Week, which runs from Feb. 19 to the 28th. Even if visiting an old favorite, participating restaurants usually put together something special for Restaurant Week, making them worth a revisit, especially because the special menus are price fixed.