New dinner options open in Petaluma with Spring Thai

Spring Thai will open its doors as planned on Friday, July 19 at the corner of Casa Grande and South McDowell Boulevard, in the space recently vacated by Sarah’s Eats & Sweets. Joshua and Mary Saing Gillean also own Spring Thai in Cotati. Mary is the chef and it is her father who is Thai and brought the family to America by way of Cambodia. They started in the restaurant business over 15 years ago and opened Spring Thai in Cotati after the fires, in November 2017.

“We have both authentic Thai and Americanized Thai to be friendly to all taste palettes,” Joshua told me via email. Not surprisingly, I was informed that pad thai is their most ordered dish, however, their pork ribs with fried rice and avocado salmon curry are popular too. The golden spring rolls are a popular appetizer item and for both vegetarians and meat eaters alike, their vegetarian imposter wings, made from cauliflower, are always a big hit. “My wife and I are super excited about opening a second restaurant in Petaluma.” Spring Thai’s menu can be found at springthai.net and orders can be placed by calling 774-6246.

New Mexican menu offered

After a member of Petaluma Foodies requested suggestions for nearby restaurants that might offer New Mexican cuisine, Stockhome co-owner Andrea Sundell stepped forward suggesting that it might be possible for her husband, Chef Roberth Sundell, to come up with something. A native of Arizona, Andrea is familiar with, and a fan of, New Mexican cuisine and confirmed Stockhome will host a New Mexican menu on Thursday, July 30. Although not yet finalized, we hope to announce the menu here in next week’s column. Although I have experienced bits and pieces of New Mexican cuisine during my travels throughout the Southwest, I had to turn to the internet to find a good definition. The style is a mixture of Native American, Spanish and Mexican cuisine, along with some additional influences from European, Mediterranean and even American chuck wagon cuisines. Unlike other similar cuisines, New Mexican relies on spices and herbs from the region, including red and green New Mexico chile peppers, pine nuts and anise. It is also heavily influenced by traditional Native American foods such as sopapillas, as well other New Mexico originated foods such as breakfast burritos, green chile stews, carne adovada, posole, calabacitas and green chile burgers.

Rolling through Tomales

With a family cottage available to us on the coast, we spent the past weekend enjoying the sunny skies and cool breezes out near Tomales Bay. Even with our favorites currently closed for indoor dining, we were still able to enjoy a couple of unexpected treats. The first was one of the best meatball subs we have ever had, courtesy of K&A Take-Away in the tiny hamlet of Tomales. Open during the busy beach-going hours on Friday through Sunday, K&A’s doorway kiosk is actually on the Dillon Beach Road side of the sea-blue building (on the northwest corner of Dillon Beach Road and Highway 1). We usually stop in to K&A’s for one of its homemade sausage sandwiches but got there too late on Friday and all that was left was the lamb and beef meatball sando with tahini yogurt and zhoug (spicy cilantro sauce), and boy did it end up being excellent. The pine nuts in the meatballs were a particularly nice touch, both for flavor and texture. We also had a serving of the herb potato salad, which was a crowd pleaser.

While chatting with co-owner Trevor Brand, we discovered that they are now getting the bread fresh each day from the new Tomales Bakery, or whatever its new name is. K&A always sources local, but getting their bread from less than a block away takes “locally sourced” to a whole other level. I had heard that Larry Peters of the Petaluma Creamery, who also owns the Tomales Deli, had taken over the bakery but was corrected that Shannon Gregory and the gang from the Marshall Store had recently taken charge and were doing great work.

While waiting for our order, we wandered across the highway to the bakery and could not help but order a “slice” of salami and cheese pizza and some sort of chocolate-filled pastry. The pastry was as good as ever but it was the pizza that really surprised us. The size of a small laptop, it was more like a focaccia pizza, which normally would not be my thing. However, the salami was incredible and the whole combo was mouthwatering enough that we could not wait for dinner to devour it, even though it was supposed to go straight into the fridge while we enjoyed our meatball sandwich and potato salad for lunch.

Latest closures

For those who have been playing it safe and not dining out, you may have been on to something there. After a spike in reported cases of COVID, the state and county are forcing some Sonoma County businesses to take a step back, including restaurants that only offer indoor dining. As of this writing, restaurants and wineries that have outdoor seating can stay open, while those that do not can only offer take-out or delivery. For bars, if they serve food and have outdoor seating, they can also stay open, otherwise they are to remain closed to the public through the beginning of August. However, with ever-changing conditions, you are encouraged to check restrictions for yourself, preferably from the actual source at the county and state level, as opposed to asking Facebook friends, most of whom are not experts on the topic.

The Aquarium was the first I saw to announce to social media that, “Due to the health order issued in Sonoma County yesterday, July 12, we are closed until further notice. We will keep you updated.” Several patrons gave their condolences about the announcement on Facebook. “I would sit in my car in back just to have a patty melt and potato salad,” wrote James Huff. It was followed by “So glad I was able to get in for shrimp salad before I left to come back to Oregon. Thank you for the best food around,” from Denise Amburn McManus.

The Petaluma community has been universally supportive of the transparency and caution that local restaurants have shown for the sake of both their own staffs and their customers. The overwhelming response when a restaurant has shut down following a COVID scare has been a promise to show these restaurants support. Now, we get the chance to put our money where our mouth is by supporting some restaurants that recently reopened.

Like Sugo Trattoria, which reopened last weekend with an incredible farmer's market peach salad with honey mascarpone, almonds, prosciutto chips, balsamic reduction and dressed arugula. Pub Republic and La Dolce Vita both reopened this past Wednesday, July 15. McNear’s Saloon reopened earlier this month as did Ray’s Deli, which I believe had the first COVID closure before reopening back in June. All of these restaurants acted swiftly in addressing concerns after their employees reported coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus. All of these same employees tested negative, as did the rest of the staffs at these restaurants.

The reality is that if you are concerned about COVID, you need to either dine at restaurants you trust are taking the proper precautionary steps or you need to simply sit this one out and wait for the COVID numbers to drop to a level that no longer concerns you to be in public.

The most recent COVID scare popped up at Brewsters Beer Garden, but instead of following the rumors and innuendo, which are often overblown and can cause undue damage to a business, I reached out directly to the restaurant to find out the real story. I spoke with owner Michael Goebel who confirmed that one of his kitchen staff had notified Brewsters’ management that the employee had been exposed to someone, possibly a relative, who tested positive for COVID. The employee was told to stay home, but six days later he notified Brewsters that his test came back positive. All staff that had been in contact with that particular employee were notified and encouraged to get tested themselves. I was informed that the restaurant cannot force their staff to get tested, however all have, and all have returned with negative test results. According to Goebel, since reopening in late May, Brewsters has hired a professional crew to deep clean the kitchen and restaurant every evening, and has been strictly following health guidelines regarding masks and social distancing. Goebel and I spoke extensively but in conclusion, he says they conferred with both the health department and their legal counsel in coming to their decision on how to handle this situation. Brewsters plans to remain open and offers more outdoor seating and spacing than most other restaurants in the area.