Deaf Happy Hour returns to Petaluma Pie Company

Petaluma Pie Company’s Deaf Pie Happy Hour is back, starting Aug. 6 and continuing the first Thursday of every month for the foreseeable future. The hours are 1 to 4 p.m. with 15% off any orders placed using American Sign Language (ASL). With the support of owners Lina and Angelo, pie-maker Alivia Alberigi-Speicher introduced the first Deaf Pie Happy Hour last year (read the origin story here). The revived happy hour will be hosted by fellow pie-maker Mijail Baiz, who communicates using ASL and applied to the shop after learning about its events for the deaf community. Co-owner Lina also told me, “We are fortunate. The Petaluma community has been very supportive and our staff have been amazing. We are thankful to be able to continue baking pies.” Visit petalumapie.com for more info, menus, and to place orders.

New restaurant

A new Mexican place has opened next door to Papa Murphy’s in the “new” Lucky’s shopping center at the junction of Lakeville, Payran and Caufield. Called Los Reyes Taqueria, their website announces, “We specialize in showcasing the finest foods of Mexico. Our family recipes were handed down over generations and include select cuts of meats, and choice seafood alongside season fresh vegetables. Our chefs prepare our dishes to render traditional tastes, with fresh flavors in every bite. …the Magaña Brothers are out to set a new standard for family owned restaurants.”

Many of its newly found fans have taken to social media posting photos and raving about the great food. Marianne Felder said, “We just had amazing beef tacos that you dip in a beef broth (kinda like a French dip). So cheesy and super tasty, tender beef. Three big tacos and a Corona for $15. Can’t beat that.” losreyespetaluma.com

Back in business

Two Petaluma favorites have reopened post-COVID scare. Rosen’s 256 North has not only re-opened, but has a new outdoor eating option. Hats off to the City of Petaluma for approving a barricade-protected “parklet” in record time so that the restaurant could supplement take-out orders with some outdoor dining.

On the southside of town, Pub Republic reopened this past week, also with additional outdoor seating under several large tents. In the interim, owner Jory Bergman was involved in an interesting discussion on social media regarding inconsiderate customers. The original poster had visited a local restaurant when two customers who were already seated asked if they could move to a four-top. Not only were there other diners waiting in line but the very next guests were a group of four diners, who ended up leaving when they saw that they were going to have to wait additional time because there were now no tables for them. Unanimously, commenters found the couple’s action to be contrary to the community spirit. Jory spoke up to explain that she would absolutely re-seat that person in her restaurant because customer service is her primary consideration, even if it means losing the next customer in line. Glen Thompson, former owner of Gator’s, echoed those sentiments. It was not only educational to get a restaurateur’s perspective, but it was heartwarming to see an owner remain so dedicated to her craft, even with all that is going on around us.

Free treats to try

Lynne Gordon Moquete’s Una-Vida food pantry and delivery is holding a special Torn Ranch Take-Away. Originally set for this Friday, the event had to be postponed. It will now take place Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10-11:30 a.m. at Hillside Church of the Nazarene (2689 Old Adobe Road). All ages are welcome, with masks and social distancing required. With hotels and cruise ships limited due to COVID, much of Torn Ranch’s business has been curtailed. One of Lynne’s former students at Casa Grande now works for Torn Ranch and is passionate about food waste, which how Una-Vida came into a 4,000-pound donation of high-end candies, nuts, chips, cookies and other confections. So, if you are looking for a special treat for the family, this is a great opportunity to taste what Torn Ranch has to offer, for free.

For those not familiar with this Petaluma business, “For over 40 years, Torn Ranch has focused on using natural, sustainable and organic ingredients from local farmers and combining them with innovative packaging that includes eco-friendly options that result in an elegant presentation that is at once tasteful and tasty.” From corporate packages to custom gifts, Torn Ranch is a great local option. tornranch.com

JavAmore outdoors

Penngrove’s JavAmore Cafe is now offering patio dining every Friday and Saturday night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Small plates include a charcuterie board, lamb meatballs, lemon-rosemary chicken wings with tzatziki sauce and a side of cucumber-tomato salad, peach and brie quesadilla and pulled pork tacos with slaw. Large plates include a Full Circle Bakery wrapped burger, gourmet grilled cheese, pesto and tomato sandwich, Yanni’s beer brat or Loukaniko sausage sandwich topped with peppers and onions or go vegetarian with grilled eggplant and zucchini. JavAmore is also offering a rotating entrée, beginning with luau apricot-pineapple chicken thighs with udon noodle salad. They also offer a kids menu with mini burgers, grilled cheese sandos, pulled pork tacos and quesadillas with or without chicken. And perfect for these warmer summer nights, JavAmore offers beer and wine. JavAmore will ask guests to follow all mandated guidelines, which means “masks must be worn by all customer while inside ordering, or inside using the restroom. While dining outside mask will be required when waitstaff approaches to deliver food or drinks.” javamorecafe.com

20 years of Blue Cheese

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese celebrated 20 years since the introduction of its first vat of Original Blue cheese on Aug. 1, 2000. I was never a fan of blue cheese until one day, years ago at one of my favorite East Bay restaurants (the now-closed Café Rouge), I bit into a friend’s burger only to find it was covered with Point Reyes’ Original Blue. Still to this day I, I avoid blue cheese, unless I see “Point Reyes” is specifically listed on the menu.

Our local cheesemakers make what they are passionate about, not what either tradition or a ruling consortium dictates. This is unlike other parts of the world where regions are regulated into a singular style, usually based on what was made there historically. But here in Northern California, our cheesemakers make what they want, with award-winning results. Twenty years ago Point Reyes Farmstead decided to try something different and are still wowing cheese lovers to this day.

Normally they would have a big party to celebrate, but due to COVID, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese is instead offering its biggest discount ever, 20% off the Original Blue. Visit pointreyescheese.com for more info and to place your orders. Check social media for additional upcoming surprises planned in celebration of 20 years of cheese.

While talking about great coastal producers, I have to mention that after all the Liberty Ducks talk on social media recently, I visited the website to place an order myself. More of an eater than a cooker, I usually leave the complicated dishes to the pros. However, it appears that maybe cooking duck is not quite as daunting as I first thought. CEO Jennifer Reichardt announced that they had built a new website for Liberty Duck and sure enough, it is a breeze to use. Lucky for me, one of the first things I came across was duck sausage, which seemed like a great way to put my toe into the duck pond water. The sausages were delivered the very next day. So popular, in fact, their sausages sold out almost immediately, again and again. We have yet to try ours but are looking forward to it, as we have been big Liberty Duck fans since the first time we tried it at Twisted 2. libertyducks.com

It should be noted that Jennifer Reichardt is also the owner/winemaker of Raft Wines (raftwines.com), a locally produced line of excellent and affordable every-day-drinkers, spanning from syrah and sangiovese to grenache, counoise and viognier, depending on what Jennifer is blending for the season.

Permanently closed

Although slightly stale news at this point, it was brought to my attention that Sift Dessert Bar has closed both its Petaluma and Cotati locations permanently. Their Santa Rosa, Napa and San Francisco shops will remain open but check the website as hours are limited. For local cupcakes, the last-minute pick-up options appear to be limited however with just a little bit of advanced notice, D&S Sweet Creations (find it on Facebook), Scone Rollin (sconerollin.com) and Sax’s Joint (saxsjoint.com) can cover your cupcake needs.

Another victim of COVID is Denny’s at Petaluma Boulevard North at Highway 101. With each location independently owned, I cannot speak to the other locations but the Petaluma Denny’s appears to have shuttered, with even their iconic sign having been removed in recent weeks. Some may weep based on nostalgia but as someone so aptly put it, “You don’t so much ‘go to’ Denny's as you ‘end up at Denny's” because they’re the only place open.

More free deliveries

Although I reported this week was the last of three weeks of free delivery options from Petaluma Food Taxi, they wanted to give more restaurants an opportunity to be highlighted. This week’s featured restaurants include The Shuckery (free delivery on Thursday, Aug. 6), a double-header of Quinua Cocina Peruana and Pub Republic (Friday, Aug. 7), Oyama Sushi (Saturday, Aug. 8), Brasil BBQ (Sunday, Aug. 9), Flowering Tea House (Monday, Aug. 10), Pongo’s (Tuesday, Aug. 11) and Trattoria Roma (Wednesday, Aug. 12).

Open Thursday through Monday from 5 to 8 p.m. for both take-out and outdoor dining, The Shuckery offers fresh raw oysters for $1.50 each on its weekday happy hour menu. Everything offered is sure to please, from the starters of summer plum salad and trout rillette (served with house-made pickles and warm brioche) to their incredible clam chowder and mains of mussels and clams, salmon burger, or seafood pasta.

Friday night will be a tough choice between Pub Republic and Quinua Cocina Peruana. Some of our favorites at Pub Republic include the charred roasted carrots (with creamy lemon chive goat cheese dressing), vodka-lemon-cured salmon crostini, the Wine Country Cowgirl Burger (Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam Triple Cream Cheese, roasted garlic, bacon-onion jam, arugula and a balsamic reduction), fish and chips, Guinness-braised beef shepherd’s pie. pubrepublic.com. We just ordered delivery from Quinua this past week, centered around our craving for the seafood fried rice. I snuck some from my young niece’s plate the last time we dined at Quinua in person. It was so good that is has joined about a dozen other dishes on the menu as our “favorites.” (They offer several fried rice options.) With Peru being at the cross-roads of many culinary cultures, Quinua’s menu is eclectic and delicious.

Saturday’s free delivery options is Oyama Sushi, one of Petaluma’s favorite sushi places. Popular for the sushi rolls, including super white tuna, golden bear and mamasita rolls. And their tuna tataki gets rave reviews. It does not appear that they have a website, instead relying on ordering websites, so Petaluma Food Taxi is likely your best bet for their current offerings.

Brasil BBQ is probably best known for the Rodizio, which is that classic all-you-can-eat meat dinner. Although more of a dine-in option, where you can choose to have any number of meats carved up for your pleasure, Brasil BBQ offers a lot of great take-out options, with free delivery available Sunday. Top sirloin, pork sausages and pork lion parmesan are a few of their ala carte options but they also specialize in chicken, from garlic chicken thighs to bacon-wrapped chicken to Brazilian chicken gumbo. Brasil BBQ’s website seems to be down currently, so I would again recommend Petaluma Food Taxi’s website to place orders.

Set for Monday, Flowering Tea House is a local favorite for Chinese cuisine, including dishes such as Mongolian beef, sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken and honey walnut prawns.

Pongo’s Kitchen and Tap offers a mixture of Thai and American food, with some great options in both cuisines. Dina Patocchi Solis declares, “I cannot give enough praise to Pongo's Kitchen & Tap for their ‘Pongo’s Special.’ If you’ve never tried it … it’s chicken, shrimp, a beautiful medley of veggies (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, bok choy, mushrooms, bell peppers and very few onions) cooked soft but firm perfection on a bed of perfectly cooked rice.” Get free delivery Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Wednesday (Aug. 12) get free delivery from Trattoria Roma, winner of at least one 2020 Petaluma People’s Choice Award. “We’ve been dying to try Trattoria Roma and finally had the chance last night,” Ria Pullin said. “We had the fettucine alfredo with chicken and the fettucine pesto with prawns. I’ve never tasted a more delicate pasta seasoned to perfection since we were in Italy! They were also super friendly, prompt and everyone in there wore masks!”