Petaluma’s newest restaurant, Easy Rider, offers Low Country - elevated

Easy Rider’s packed dining room was a welcome sight when I arrived at the former Whisper Sisters space at the corner of Washington and Kentucky streets. And its refined menu gives Petaluma diners something they have been requesting for years – Southern cuisine, but stepped up a notch or two.

We were joined during our recent dinner at Easy Rider by a neighbor couple, as well as Lance and Roberta Lew, who are well known locally for their culinary prowess, and whose Chinese New Year’s dinner we wrote about recently. Both had visited Easy Rider prior and so were already confident we, too, would enjoy the experience.

In speaking with co-owners Dustin Sullivan and chef Jared Rogers, we learned that, in fact, there is more to the menu than meets the eye.

“We like giving people an experience,” says Sullivan. “We want our menu to be approachable, so have recognizable menu items, however there are always little surprises, in large part, thanks to Jared’s culinary innovations and attention to detail.”

This is exactly what we experienced. We saw dishes such as fried chicken, hushpuppies, and collard greens, but everything seemed to be slightly different, and most definitely elevated, from similar dishes we have had in the south.

The attention to detail does come at a cost. Sourcing quality ingredients means the prices at Easy Rider are not what you would find at a diner in the Bayou, but were well worth the experience we enjoyed and are on par with what other restaurants of the same quality are charging.

Chef Jared Rogers was born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia, which is nestled in Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The Blue Ridge Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world and were already formed when North America and Europe collided, prior to retreating to their current location. Although not often thought of as the “South” by geographically challenged Californians such as myself, Virginia is considered part of the “south,” and shares many culinary similarities with its more southern neighbors. If there was any doubt, the politeness of Rogers’ “sir” when speaking to me confirmed his polite southern heritage.

Rogers started his culinary career with an apprenticeship at Chateau Morrisette in the Blue Ridge Mountains at age 15 under Chef Richard Perry. After high school he moved to California because of the “amazing food scene.” He attended the California Culinary Academy, and he interned at several San Francisco restaurants, including the famed Aqua, before opening Picco Restaurant in Larkspur with Chef Bruce Hill. He would stay there as Executive Chef and partner for 10 years, winning a couple of “rising star” awards and similar recognition from the likes of Zagat. As part of a culinary tour and stage program, Rogers has also toured Europe, even spending time at the famed Arzak in the Basque Country.

After 10 years with Picco, Rogers felt the pull to cook the southern food of his roots and so moved back to Charleston, South Carolina, where he helped to open and run several “Low Country” restaurants. This is where Rogers really developed his passion for Low Country cuisine, which is what dominates Easy Rider’s menu, with the addition of local seasonal ingredients.

“Low Country” is a swath of land, much of it below sea level, running up the Georgia and Carolina coastline. The associated cuisine has a mix of international elements, like most southern cuisine, but has heavier African and Caribbean influences and due to the diversity of its coastal waters, features seafood prominently.

“Low country is the flavors and techniques I learned in the Appalachian Mountains and coastal areas of the Carolinas,” Rogers said. “Whether its biscuits or shrimp and grits, this is how I learned to make these dishes on that side of the continent.”

After reconnecting with his love for Low Country cooking, Rogers returned to California and ended up partnering with Sullivan to open Marin’s Guesthouse.

Sullivan was born in Mill Valley and has lived in Marin his entire life.

“I started waiting tables at the Cheesecake factory in my early 20s, and fell in love with the pace of a busy restaurant,” Sullivan said. “I moved behind the bar shortly thereafter and bartended for many years at various places until I started getting into operations positions.”

With both bar and restaurant management under his belt, he and Rogers opened Guesthouse Marin in Kentfield in fall 2018.

“Guesthouse has a classic American feel, so that menu seemed to fit,” Sullivan said. “However, with Easy Rider’s space, with exposed brick, concrete and steel, a Southern menu seemed more appropriate. Additionally, living in Marin and spending a lot of time in Petaluma, I know there is a great mix of demographics here and the populace really appreciates food.”

The space itself is clean and modern and is broken up in a way that offers a lot of different seating options, depending on one’s mood. However, the restaurant does not feel chaotic, claustrophobic or contrived.

Service was excellent both at the table and from the kitchen. Where possible, the kitchen split our dishes for sharing, which was a nice touch. And if a server could not answer a question, they sought help from a manager, which says a lot about the restaurant’s training and the staffs’ desire to get things right.

The bar menu

Easy Rider has a full bar, as well as in impressive wine list, and with staff that knows how to pair them. The restaurant also has half a dozen beers on tap from all over the North Bay, as well as a dozen bottles and cans from farther out, and even offer some non-alcoholic options. Easy Rider also has a respectable port selection, all of which went smoothly, both with the mains and the desserts.

Starters and snacks

We ordered all five of the starters, starting off with bacon and cheddar hushpuppies, with strawberry and jalapeno jam and found them to have a great consistency and flavor, and went perfectly with the jam. Next were the pork belly biscuits, with bourbon glaze and a trinity of pickles. Everything was excellent and the biscuits themselves were light, but firm and crispy. The Low Country crab cakes are made with pepper coulis, old bay, and remoulade, and uses blue crab, which I am told was the original crab used in crab cakes. Personally, nothing tastes better to me than locally caught Dungeness Crab, however, due to its delicate flavor, other than freshly made at home, it usually does not work well for a restaurant crab cake. These cakes were outstanding. There should be no mystery to making good fries anymore, and Easy Rider easily proves that with its hand cut kennebec truffle fries, with garlic aioli and pistachio romesco. Even though the fries were a bigger cut than I normally like, they were crisped perfectly, and the three sauces made this simple dish quite fun. Finally, we enjoyed the crispy Brussels sprouts, served with Carolina farro, roasted peanuts, balsamic and truffle.

Light Bites

From the “A Bit Lighter” menu we ordered the sunchoke and leek bisque, with salsa verde and crispy capers, and were quite pleased that they split up our order into shots so that we could all share without having to dip six spoons into one bowl. This was one of the best bisques we have ever had, in large part to the crispy capers, which was one of many whimsical and distinctive touches we saw come across the table throughout the evening. The kale salad was made with baby kale, which kept the normal kale bitterness to a minimum and along with sliced crudité, shallots and grana, also had crispy chickpeas, which were another delightful, yet unexpected touch.

Sandwiches

We ordered the shrimp po’boy, with remoulade, lettuce, tomato, slaw and pickles, as well as the Easy Rider burger, topped with house-made smoked pimento cheese (cheddar is also available and bacon, avocado and egg can be added too). Both sandwiches were excellent, with the po’boy being a nice addition to the Petaluma food scene.

Large plates

The southern fried chicken dinner was so perfectly cooked, with the white and dark meat both tender and moist, that we thought it must have been sous vided, but learned it was not. The chef simply knows how to cook chicken perfectly. It came with bacon truffle gravy and Calabrian chili honey and sides of collard greens and mac n’ cheese. Next up was the sweet potato gnocchi, with chard, wild mushrooms, parmesan, gremolata and truffle, shrimp n’ grits, with andouille sausage, sauce creole, trinity pickles and asparagus, and finally, braised short rib, with potato puree, turnips, mushrooms and horseradish cream. Each one was a standout, with each person around the table having their favorites but everyone enjoying all the dishes thoroughly.

Specials

From the “Nightly Additions” special menu we added the stuffed Wolfe Ranch quail and peppercorn crusted ahi steak. Stuffed with chard, leeks, sourdough and gouda, the quail was excellent, and ended up being a much bigger bird than one might expect, while being served with creamy grits and collard greens. The ahi steak was actually diced but was as beautiful as it was delicious.

Dessert

We opted for everything on the dessert menu, because along with the chocolate cake, buttermilk panna cotta and sticky toffee cake, we could not resist trying Rogers’ beignets, with caramel, berry and crème dipping sauces, and his house-made duo of sorbet. All were exquisite, but the sorbet was the winner for me, even though I usually find sorbet disappointing compared to ice cream.

For Rogers, much of the menu can be boiled down to doing what he loves.

“I took my favorite dishes and recipes I have been collecting since childhood and put them on the menu,” adds Rogers. “It seems to be working really well and as long as our guests are happy, I am happy. The one thing I really missed during the pandemic was getting to see people happy. Seeing them enjoy a good meal, with friends and family, is therapeutic.”

Rogers, inserting “yes, sir” and “thank you, sir” throughout the conversation, like a true Southern gentleman, explained his admiration of Petaluma’s culinary scene with the same passion he speaks of his menu and ingredients, including vendors such as Mary’s Chicken and Anson Mills of Columbia, South Carolina, renowned for their heirloom grains.

“Seeing the amazing foodie culture of Petaluma,” he said. “This town is amazing and has the best diners I have ever cooked for in my career. They seem to have a real passion and connection to local food.”

The menu is no gimmick.

“One big advantage we have is that we are both truly passionate about southern flavors,” Sullivan said. “And we want to do what makes our guests happy.”

This is evident in both the execution and presentation of Easy Rider’s dishes.