Gator’s closes Petaluma restaurant, Wishbone for sale

I wish it weren’t so, but Wishbone announced that after seven years, the owners are looking to sell their business. In a message to their Facebook fans, the owners explained that it was time for them to move on to other projects.

Owner Josh Norwitt said he is not closing the restaurant anytime soon, and he hopes that the new owners continue Wishbone’s tradition of farm-to-table dining.

Wishbone has become a Petaluma staple, so local and fresh that even their supplying farmers and ranchers were often seen dining in their restaurant. We have had plenty of great meals there, including a lot of wonderful bacon cheeseburgers.

Speaking of burgers, Gator’s Rustic Burger has closed, albeit unexpectedly, last week. For Chef Gator, a big part of it was needing to spend more time with his family and making sure he keeps an eye on his health. Luckily, we just dined with him and so were lucky enough to get a last taste.

We are still craving so many of his great dishes so hopefully his cookbook, which is just one of many projects he is working on, will be out shortly. Gator has an enthusiasm for food so we are sure to see him doing plenty of other things, with some likely finding him returning to TV, where he has been on the Food Network several times. Good luck Gator. You and your food will be missed.

As restaurants close, new ones take their place. Street Social is the new restaurant that will be opening in the space recently vacated by Twisted 2. A farm-to-table venture with a pop-up dinner vibe, the owners reached out to me directly, showing that they get this community and want to join the fun.

Right now the owners are just going through inspections and getting everything ready, but the early plans are to offer an ala carte menu with prix fixe menus, like Twisted 2, on special occasions. Marjorie and husband Jevon, who has spent the last few years chefing at the much loved Glen Ellen Star, tell me the space is perfect because it reminds them of when they used to put on pop-up dinners.

If their food is even half as good as Marjorie and Jevon are warm and welcoming, I have high hopes for what they come up with for this intimate and historic space.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This section has been updated to reflect that Wishbone is up for sale but not closing.

Olive oil sale

McEvoy Ranch will hold a rare warehouse sale this Saturday, Nov. 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at their Red Hill Road ranch. Social Club Members get early access, beginning at 8:30 a.m. while the general public can enter after 9:30 a.m. They will have wine, food and 80 Acres beauty products on sale, just in time to start stocking up on local products as stocking-stuffers and party gifts.

On Sunday, Nov. 17, from 8 to 11 a.m., McEvoy Ranch will open up their olive mill for their once-yearly “Community Olive Milling Day.” The price is still only $1 per pound of olives submitted, with a share of the blended olive oil being divvied up in an amount proportional to what you contributed.

This is an exciting event where small growers from all over Northern California bring their freshly-picked fruit in order to contribute to what ends up being a truly regional blend of olive oil. Everyone’s olives are milled together to create a one-of-a-kind extra virgin olive oil unique to the season and the soil.

If they get enough, they will do two batches – one a Tuscan blend and the other a non-Tuscan, with oil pick-up available the week of Thanksgiving. You don’t even have to bring your own bottles, as McEvoy has plenty, but they do ask that you register ahead of time, in large part so they know how much coffee to brew. www.mcevoyranch.com

Scotch-pairing

When Amber Balshaw of Preferred Sonoma Caterers caters a booze-paired dinner, guest are going to be treated to a sensational experience. As has been the tradition for the past few years, Amber, in partnership with Wilibees Wines & Spirits, are back at the Petaluma Museum to put on this fall’s fundraiser, which has included scotch, bourbon, rum and tequila in the past.

This year is a Scotch-paired dinner. I also cannot speak highly enough of the wonderful atmosphere of the Petaluma Museum, a place I would dine at daily if given the option.

Guest will enjoy a professionally curated tour of single malt scotches, “accompanied with notes and anecdotes on the spirits’ related region and aging process. Each selected scotch will be accompanied by a plate specially prepared to complement that spirit.”

Amber actually tastes these scotches before even starting to think about what the food menu will look like. I have been in her shop before and witnessed first-hand the meticulous process she goes through to create a dinner like this.

The menu will start with Aberfeldy 12 with roasted quince with Matos St. George cheese out of Santa Rosa, followed by Auchentoshan 12 with roasted carrot pot au crème seared pork belly. The mains will be Aultmore 12 with sous vide duck breast, parsnip puree and fall pear relish and Craigelechie 13 with pork oso bucco, apricot barbecue sauce and roasted butternut squash. Dessert is Laphroig Triple Wood paired with spiced persimmon whoppie pies.

Regular tickets are $75 per person, with members receiving a $15 discount. Visit www.petalumamuseum.com for more info.

Ice cream sale

The next Mariposa Ice Creamery sale is Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday Nov. 23. You can stock up for the Thanksgiving weekend and have no worries about running out by Christmas because their next sale after that will be the weekend before Christmas. And because they sold out of their dipped peppermint bars so quickly last year, this year they are taking pre-orders for six and 12-packs through their Facebook page.

If you want to try something really special, head out to the Napa Valley Film Festival this weekend, through Nov. 17, sure for the films, but more importantly to try a brand new bar that Mariposa developed, which is vanilla ice cream with a brandy caramel center.

Food fair

The 2019 Petaluma Holiday Food & Fun Fair returns to the beautiful ballroom and lobby of the Hotel Petaluma on Monday, Nov. 25, from 5 to 8 p.m., just in time to help with some Thanksgiving holiday dinner ideas as well as stock up on great local holiday gifts. Vendors include Simply Strudels, Wine by the Slice, Miyoko’s, Golden State Pickleworks, Awesome Bars and Bert’s Desserts. For a full list of vendors, visit www.holidayfoodfair.com.

This has become one of my favorite community food events of the year. The event is organized by Lorraine and Mike Barber of Barber Cellars and Barber Lee Spirits and was born out of the 2017 wildfires that devastated Sonoma County.

Much like then, this year the fires and power outages have already started to drive some local food purveyors out of business. So, Lorraine and Mike are back once again to do what they can to help give a much needed financial boost to local food producers.

Sweet stories

Butcher Crown Roadhouse reported another instance of a customer covering the bill for another. A gentleman wanted to remain anonymous but paid for a family’s meal at Butcher Crown last week. We’ll never know why, but the act of kindness is what counts and hopefully reverberates through the community.

Sax’s Joint and Rip City Riders have been helping families out during the holidays for years now and are currently accepting applications for their Adopt a Sonoma County Family for Christmas program. If you or a family you know is struggling this year and could use a bit of an uplift for your kids during the holidays, submit your story to saxsjoint@gmail.com.

Brasil BBQ was open on Veterans Day and offered a hearty 20% off to all active and retired service members.

The new Subway restaurant on 221 North McDowell Blvd. is pitching in to support our local first responders during and in the wake of the Kincade Fire. Petaluma Subways were offering first responders free meals. Additionally, for every meal sold between Nov. 3 and 10, participating Subway franchise owners in Petaluma donated a second meal to Sonoma Family Meals, up to 10,000 meals.

The Subway franchise at 221 North McDowell has rescheduled their grand opening to Nov. 23, where all promotional mailers/coupons aimed at the original grand opening will be fully honored.

Mark your calendar

The Latke Master Chef & Adult Social is back for its second year after a successfully inaugural run last year. Held on Sunday, Dec. 8, starting at 6:30 p.m., at the Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma, 205 Keller Street #101, guests get to enjoy appetizers, including several homemade soups, while the competitors prepare their take on potato latke, which are traditional to Eastern European and Jewish cultures.

All guests get to sample each latke creation and judge for themselves, while the official judging panel of restaurateurs, chefs and industry types picks the winners and awards trophies. Tickets are $18 for one or $30 for two and when you register at www.jewishpetaluma.com you can request to help with or even lead a team, which is a great way to participate.

All the ingredients and tools are included so all you need to do is show up with your imagination. I was a judge last year and will be in attendance this year because this is a great pre-holiday community event where you get to mingle with new and old friends alike and taste some excellent food.

Stockhome’s Julbord sold out almost immediately last year, in large part because Julbord is one of the largest Swedish celebrations in Sonoma County. At last year’s event, we met a whole slew of Swedish expats as well as plenty of second and third generation local Swedes and people who love Swedish food.

This year’s Julbord is Saturday, Dec. 14. The menu will be announced soon, although it tends to be fairly standard, and excellent, but tickets are currently available through their website (www.stockhomerestaurant.com) and will surely sell out soon.