Petaluma restaurants: A year in review

In our first and hopefully last full year of COVID-19 restrictions, restaurants and food purveyors were as busy as ever, but it seems to be the little things that had the most significant impact on Petaluma diners. The discovery of a new dish, the benefits of delivery and the kindness of others, even in highly stressful situations, is what seems to have stuck in most people's minds as we close out 2021 and welcome in the New Year.

Openings & Closings

Although labor shortages and supply chain woes have been a serious challenge to our local restaurants, 2021 saw just as many restaurant openings as ever. On the flip side, there were a few closings too, but in a much smaller number than one might expect during a pandemic.

January: Barely into the New Year, Tortilla Real opened next to Sugo Trattoria to rave reviews, which was not a surprise once we found out that owner Luis Flores has quite a pedigree, having opened and run quite a few well-known restaurants throughout the Bay Area. Luis is also media savvy and immediately invited us in to try his food, but we always like to give it an anonymous try on our own first. With some advice, we ordered up a few dishes to-go on a Friday evening. Within minutes of tasting the items in our order, we were emailing Luis to set up a meeting for that Sunday so that I could write an article in that week's newspaper. Hailing from the Mexican state of Cotija, Luis's food pays homage to his roots, which means you will find different dishes than at most of our local Mexican places. His attention to detail, such as sourcing fresh ingredients and preparing everything fresh to order, no matter how much I eat at Tortilla Real, I never fall into a food coma or end up with a food hangover the next morning.

February: Eggspresso opened its doors in the Trader Joe's shopping center and quickly became a breakfast favorite. We have yet to visit because, on the rare occasion that we dine out for breakfast, we usually do not make it past Halie's, the Tea Room or Sax's Joint. Still, they are definitely on our radar for the New Year as their customers' photos on social media leave our mouths watering every time.

Soon after, Santa Rosa's Starting from Scratch Café set up shop at Rooster Run Golf Course. Later, during a golf outing this fall, I discovered they no longer offer food service other than catering. There is no word on when they plan to reopen for full service for breakfast and lunch, which was their original plan.

April: Grand Central Petaluma started offering limited events, such as pop-up food-centric markets and riverside special lunches and dinners at their 226 Weller Street location. Since that time, the coffee and chocolate purveyor has added regular housemade empanadas to their menu. They have become one of our special midday treats, especially when we want a nice outdoor setting with a postcard view of downtown from across the Turning Basin.

May: Marin-based Pink Owl Coffee opened their second location here in Petaluma, in the shop location directly next to Whole Foods, in the same parking lot. Although one might have thought Petaluma did not need another coffee shop, Pink Owl has proven to be a viable coffee and pastry source in the short time since its opening. We visited them for the first time recently and had excellent coffee and tea drinks.

In other coffee news, Acre Coffee split off their pizza division this past year, renaming themselves Avid Coffee, while the pizza chain will retain the Acre name.

June: Urban Deli opened at 151 Petaluma Blvd. S. (the former Subway) and brought Petaluma a whole new breakfast, lunch and dinner experience. Owner Sam Qudsieh brings his Middle Eastern background to the menu, melding it with his wife's Mexican culinary roots. Urban Deli has become one of our regular lunch spots, and their dinner menu is just as good, offering some of the best shawarmas, kabobs, kafta and gyros around, along with excellent soups, salads and sandwiches.

Although Petaluma has no shortage of Thai restaurants, OSHA Thai BBQ quickly garnered attention as locals recognized the name from the family's San Francisco restaurants. However, Chalida O'Ranratana, owner, chef and founder of the original OSHA (which means tasty/wonderful food/experiences), took a long look at the Petaluma at decided to go with something slightly different from her other restaurants, feeling that we local might like the flavors of her native land's BBQ. As diners, we have been flocking to OSHA Thai BBQ ever since they opened. They also offer catering, which has not gone unnoticed by those locals looking to offer something unique and delicious to their party guests.

July: Stellina Pronto opened to immediate lines in July at their 23 Kentucky Street location due to the stellar reputation of co-owners (and husband/wife team) Christian Caiazzo and Katrina Fried. Although they moved to Petaluma years ago, the couple is best known for their Point Reyes businesses, Toby's Coffee Bar and Osteria Stellina (now closed. Everything on their menu, from their Italian-inspired sweets to savory sandwiches and coffee offerings, seems to be a home run. Our favorite item changes every time we taste something new, and we look forward to when they have their wood-fired pizza oven up and running. When it comes to customer service and a real connection to the community, just stand in line once, and it is clear that Christian and Katrina belong in Petaluma.

Who would have that when Quinua Cocina Peruana opened back in 2014 that Petaluma would become a Peruvian food mecca? But it sure seems to have, with our third Peruvian restaurant opening this past July in the Whole Foods shopping center. Bistro 201 is owned and operated by a well-respected Peruvian chef out of San Francisco. From the posts on social media, the food certainly looks as beautiful as customers say it is delicious.

August: Café Mimosa snuck their doors open after many months of anticipation and speculation. Not to be confused with Café Bellini down McDowell Blvd, just past Washington, Café Mimosa is located in the Deer Creek Shopping Center, also known as the Friedman's shopping center to many. (Although quite similar, the difference between the two is that a mimosa is usually a mix of orange juice and Champagne, whereas a Bellini is usually prosecco and peach purée.) They have similar restaurants in Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa, and the owners come from a large restaurant family, so it is no surprise that they had things dialed in right off the bat. Favorites seem to be their Benedict, salsa Verde and prime rib sandwich.

October: Just up the block and across Washington, Zimi pizza took over the permanent kitchen at the Block — Petaluma this past October and offers both Greek and other unique pizza flavors, including a recent Cubano pizza we tried and loved. Affiliated with Dino's Greek Food truck, which has since left the Block, the menu continues to expand as Dino experiments with offering Greek dishes direct from Zimi's wood-fired pizza oven.

December: Although there have been some great openings this year, the one we were looking most forward to was that of Table Culture Provisions. They finally found a permanent location in the old Chili Joe's and Le Bistro location at 312 Petaluma Blvd S. and held their soft opening on December 15. Having tasted their food during pop-ups at Wishbone's site, at events they catered and both chefs' work at other local restaurants, we are confident TCP will make quite a splash and will surely rank in the top two or three of Petaluma bests restaurants. The fact that their six-course New Year's Eve dinner is already sold out is evidence that we are not alone in our love of what TCP is bringing to Petaluma.

Pop-ups

At least three new pop-ups popped up this year in Petaluma, and all have been big hits. The first is Carmela’s O.G. Cotija Salsa and Chips, which sells out of Jamison's Roaring Donkey about once a month on a preorder basis. (Orders can be placed through Carmela's Facebook page.) This is a very “Petaluma” story in that Carmela was convinced into bringing back some of the flavors of Petaluma's old Cotija restaurant when an upswell of interest surfaced in the Petaluma Foodies group on Facebook.

Next up was Boro Baba, which owner and Petaluma native Navid Manoochehri calls a modern take on Persian food. We were able to pick up from all three pop-ups this past year (two at La Dolce Vita and one at Lunchette) and loved the food every time. There are no current pop-ups planned, but I will share the next announcement.

Finally, Starlight Hot Dogs got their cart up and running with the help of donors through a Kickstarter campaign. We could not help but support them, as we are big fans of dogs and happily cashed in one of our donor rewards — a “test kitchen” tasting of a majority of their menu. We enjoyed all the unique dogs/toppings and giving Don Lewis feedback. Starlight has yet to find a semi-permanent location/schedule but has been popping up at more events. Keep an eye on their social media for their next pop-up.

New Winery Tasting Rooms

Petaluma doubled our number of downtown (ish) winery tasting rooms this past year from three (Adobe Road, Barber Cellars and Black Knight) to six with the addition of Brooks Note Winery's tasting room (426 Petaluma Blvd N.), Parum Leo (4415 Kastania Road) and Reis River Ranch Vineyards (4871 Petaluma Blvd S.). We visited and reported on Parum Leo midyear and hope to get out to Reis and over to Brooks Note soon as we have heard good things about both.

Restaurant Closings

Restaurants are notoriously tight-lipped regarding the reason(s) for closing, but Petaluma had very few this year, which comes as a surprise given all the current challenges. That said, whether these restaurants closed due to financial issues, staffing issues, or just the overwhelming challenges of the pandemic, we certainly wish the owners and staff all the best, whatever the future may bring for them.

Although we reported in late 2020 that Dempsey's was closing temporarily, with staff stating that they would return in Spring 2021, they did not and have closed permanently. A new business is rumored to have signed a lease for the space with plans to open in mid-2022.

A big surprise was the closing of Rafy's Pizzeria in March, both because Rafael made great pizza and because Petaluma seems to have an insatiable appetite for pizza. I cannot remember the last time a pizza joint closed in Petaluma. Still, then again, we saw our first Mexican restaurant cloture in a long time late last year (the short-lived Los Reyes Taqueria), which is another cuisine Petalumans devour with a passion. Just like Dempsey's space, it appears that there are already plans in the works for a new restaurant at Rafy's location. As we reported a couple of weeks ago, Stonework Pizza & Tap has signs in the window announcing their impending opening.

In June, we received the excellent news that Chili Joe's was reopening after a long hiatus. We were able to make it to one of their German-inspired meals before receiving the devastating (personally) news that the burger, dog and chili joint would be closing permanently in July. The owners were very open with us about the reason, which is that staffing is and has been a huge issue, but also, after being closed for so long during the pandemic, their reopening was like having to open the restaurant again from scratch. The only good news to come out of this was that, as mentioned above, Chili Joe's departure has made room for Table Culture Provisions to open a downtown space.

Finally, in November, we learned that Brasil BBQ would shut down, with a vegetarian-focused restaurant possibly taking its space next year. Brasil BBQ added a unique cuisine to Petaluma's dining scene and will be sorely missed. They did post a very sweet thank you note to Petaluma diners, showing genuine gratitude for the support they have received.

Ending on a high

Ending on a positive note, there are some exciting new prospects on the horizon for Petaluma's food scene. First, it appears that some of the food fundraisers which have been pickup only the past two years may start to try some indoor seating, with proof of vaccination, of course. Surely, they will cancel if COVID cases continue to spike, but I have seen at least one crab feed planned for in-person dining at the end of Jan. 2022, so hope that cases have slowed by then. So long as they are conducted safely, it would be nice to get back to more communal fundraising dining opportunities.

Finally, the new restaurant news includes the three mentioned above (new restaurants at the old locations of Dempsey's, Brasil BBQ and Rafy's Pizzeria), plus Crooked Goat Brewing coming to Western and Howard (with an Acre Pizza in the old Cotija location out front), Adobe Creek Brewing's new taproom across the way from La Dolce Vita and Sol Food, who just held a job fair and plans to open in another month or so in Theatre Square. And Easy Rider, the new restaurant at Whisper Sister's vacated space, tells me they are going to hold some soft openings for friends and family after Christmas with plans to open to the public early next month.