February events, Mariposa ice cream sale and more Petaluma food news

I mistakenly gave away all my Mariposa Ice Cream at the beginning of the year in the hopes it would help me lose weight. But I’d like to point out, ice cream is filling and not nearly as high in calories as one might think. After the weight loss I saw immediately after a dinner of ice cream and pint of Manzanita (Fort Point Brewery) at Butcher Crown last week, I realize I need to give the ice cream diet some serious thought. Thankfully, Mariposa is holding a warehouse sale this Friday, Feb. 7 (5 to 8 p.m.) and Saturday, Feb. 8 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at 431 Payran St. Check out the left side of its Facebook page for the full menu and an order sheet. You do not have to order in advance, but if you have attended one of these sales in the past, you know they sell out quickly. The cutoff for pre-orders is today, Thursday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m., however, I’ll bet owner Pilar “the ice cream lady” would bend the rules for you if you told her you read about her in the newspaper. And don’t even bother with that whole, “but it’s winter” nonsense. First off, this is California; we don’t even know what a real winter is. Second, I’d eat ice cream in a blizzard if I was out and stumbled across an open shop.

As of this writing, there were still two tickets for the pretzel-making class at Artisan Baking Center on Friday, ?Feb. 7, for those looking to learn about pretzel making alongside yours truly. Running from 1 to 4 p.m., make your reservations at centralmilling.com.

Another fun and tasty event happening tomorrow is Shabbat 100, put on by the Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma. Hosted at the Petaluma Hotel, Shabbat 100 is a gourmet meal, present by Rabbi Dovid and Devorah Bush. If you haven’t had Devorah’s food, you have been missing out. The event is meant to further strengthen both our Jewish and gentile communities. We attended last year and had a great time. Tickets are very affordable at just $18 for adults and $10 for kids. jewishpetaluma.com

Clucktown Collective will cross the road from its normal Seed Bank location to the ballroom at Hotel Petaluma on Sunday, Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. to ?6 p.m. for a special pre-Valentine vendor showcase. Buddy’s Farm will be in attendance, offering up its popular sampler honey gift packs, with or without a Valentine, as well as pints and quarts. They also sell beeswax and propolis tincture, which is supposed to be helpful to those with spring allergies. Buddy’s now accepts credit cards, although due to high fees, I still recommend paying in cash. Coinciding with this vendor showcase will be three “Valentine’s Succulent Heart Workshops,” at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The $55 ticket price includes materials and champagne. Visit clucktowncollective.com for all the details.

Keller Estate will hold its first release party of 2020 on Saturday, Feb. 15, from noon to 3 p.m. Along with the new releases, Keller will also crack open some “cellar treasures.” (In modern German, “Keller” means cellar but historically, it was reserved to designate those who made wine. If I recall correctly, the Kellers came to Petaluma from Switzerland, with a couple of generation stop-over in Mexico. The co-founders of the Petaluma River Park Foundation will be on hand to educate guests on its efforts. Club members receive two free tickets. We were recently at a dinner with a club member who showed up with a bottle of Keller red and it was definitely the hit of the party. kellerestate.com

This weekend’s only crab feed is the Sons and Daughters of Italy, held this Saturday at Lucchesi Center from 5 to 9 p.m. Call or email Ernie Giono for ticket info at 585-2928 or erng1624@aol.com.

Next weekend has a few crab feeds, so hopefully there are still a few tickets available. If not, do not despair. Get on the waiting list as feeds often have last minute cancelations. The Petaluma Holy Ghost Society has two seatings at Portuguese Hall on Saturday, Feb. 15 – one at 4 p.m. and one at 7 p.m., followed by music and dancing at 8:30 p.m. Call Mary Machado for tickets at 762-4995. Also on that Saturday, Shoreline Acres Preschool/Tomales Elementary PTA will have two seatings at Tomales Town Hall (27150 Maine St., Tomales), one at 4:30 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m. They will also have a drive-thru for take-home crab dinners. Purchase tickets at shorelineacrespreschool@gmail.com or 878-9442. Last but not least, the Penngrove Social Firemen will open the doors at 5:45 p.m. for a 7 p.m. crab feed dinner at Penngrove Community Clubhouse. I believe this one may be sold out, but it never hurts to double check at JavAmore Café to see if they have any extra tickets. Visit Petaluma360.com for the full 2020 Crab Feed Season Guide.

Restaurant bites

The Tea Room announced recently that it now accepts credit cards. Now, this is actually big news because the only complaint I’ve ever seen about the Tea Room is that they don’t take credit cards. That said, I recently learned just how much credit cards take from vendors – often in the 2-3% range, which is a huge portion of their already tight profit margins. Additionally, if you use cards with special deals, like the Costco Citi card, which gives great restaurant and travel rebates, you are costing retailers even more as those bonuses have to come from somewhere. Personally, I always have cash on me, but prefer to use my card for accounting purposes. But I am trying hard to pay cash more often.

While on the topic of restaurant struggles, the City of Petaluma has launched “Fair Wage February” to help educate local diners as well as ask for a bit of support and patience for our restaurants as they navigate the adjustments that the new minimum wage law has brought. Visit cityofpetaluma.org/fairwage for more info.

I recently learned that Captain Trevor Michel is offering locally canned fresh albacore and salmon from his Fishing Vessel Roma. Tuna flavors include salted, unsalted, smoked, olive oil, garlic-pesto, peppercorn and jalapeno garlic, as well as Chinook salmon. This fish is canned within three days of being caught and according to Trevor, is never frozen. “Each can is hand-packed at a local microcannery,” he says. Cans are 8-ounces and are sold as a 24-can case, with USPS shipping available. Case prices range from $180 to $250 and I believe can be mixed and matched. What a cool local snack or edition to a gift pack for someone. Trevor can be reached at 845-6884.

Sweet stories

The turnout for Kathleen Weber’s celebration of life, held at her Della Fattoria two Sunday’s ago, was nothing if not a tribute to just how much she touched our community. Unfortunately, we were out of town but the photos and description for friends and readers showed a huge crowd, spilling out of all three Della buildings. I have met a lot of famous movie stars and sports figures in my day, but when it comes to name dropping, it’s people like Kathleen that immediately come to mind because she was a real person, who did real things, touching so many lives in a positive way, and who will be remembered throughout our community for a long time to come. To know Kathleen was to love her and Petaluma will not be quite the same without her. We were lucky to have gotten to eat, drink and laugh with her for as long as we did.

Mark your calendar

Petaluma Restaurant Week runs from Friday, Feb. 21 to Sunday, March 1, with a whole slew of restaurants offering special lunch and dinner menus with prix fixe pricing. Well, okay, it’s technically called Sonoma County Restaurant Week, but let’s be honest, do you really want to leave town when you’ll be able to find special deals from places like Butcher Crown Roadhouse, Pearl, Stockhome and Rosen’s 256 North? Anyone else think we should plan our own version of this, just for Petaluma, but with a bit more creativity? To plan your strategy of delicious consumption, visit sonomacounty.com/restaurant-week for the full list of participating restaurants.

Petaluma Woman’s Club will host Cowgirl Creamery founders Sue Conley and Peggy Smith on Tuesday, May 26, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. as part of their Speaker Series, which is open to both members and the general public. Even if you have heard them speak before, it is always a joy to be in the same room as Sue and Peggy and I always learn something new. petalumawomansclub.com.