Tip of my tongue: Petaluma gearing up for a host of holiday fun

Tip of my Tongue: Houston Porter’s regular roundup of the tastiest news in town.|

Winter Winemaker Dinner

Street Social and Barber Cellars are teaming up for a winter winemaker dinner Saturday, Dec. 18, from 6-8 p.m. Tickets are $140 per person and quite limited as their space is fairly small. Tickets can be purchased through the events page at streetsocial.social. Without a doubt, Street Social’s food is incredible, and this menu is paired with some of our favorite wines. This four-course, Italian-inspired dinner will include pork belly terrine and cranberry mostarda with Barber’s 2019 Sangiovese, Dungeness crab conserva with Barber’s 2019 Barbera, oxtail sugo sweet potato gnocchi with Barber’s 2019 Zinfandel Reserve and finishing out with lemon verbena panna cotta. We are club members at Barber Cellars because we love their wines but have to give a special nod to their Barbera.

Dating to the 1200s, Barbera is the third most popular red grape in Italy. It was the second most popular until a 1960s scandal where 30 people were killed and many more lost their eyesight due to the illegal addition of methanol. In California, it was mostly grown out in the valley and used for jug wines, but more recently, has garnered the attention of quality wine makers, such as Mike Barber. We received a bottle in our last club allocation and took it for an out of town tasting with friends. Barber’s Barbera was definitely the big winner, with everyone asking us to pick them up a couple of bottles for our next visit. Go to barbercellars.com to view all of the wines or for information on visiting the winery’s downtown Petaluma tasting room.

New Year’s Eve Champagne Dinner

Although details have not yet been announced, Street Social has announced the return of its New Year’s Eve champagne dinner, featuring Lelarge-Pugeot. Ticket sales began online at streetsocial.social on Wednesday.

Latke’s & Lattes

The Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma will host “Latkes & Lattes on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m., at its center at 205 Keller St., Unit 101. The center recently hosted a drone gelt drop to celebrate the start of Hanukkah (Nov. 28 – Dec. 6). We always find these events inviting and educational, whether we are just meeting new people or are learning about unfamiliar traditions and practices. Tickets are $10 for one, $18 for two, and $25 for three guests and even if you cannot attend, sponsorships are always welcome. Reservations can be made through the Chanukah 2021 link in the Holidays tab at jewishpetaluma.com. Additionally, the center’s Chanukah Shoppe is currently open for anyone in need of Menorahs, dreidels, candles, decorations and other Hanukkah gifts.

Dine & Donate for McKinley

Barber Cellars, 112 Washington St., and Barber Lee Spirits (across the alley at 120 Washington St.), will host a dine and donate on Sunday, Dec. 5 from 1-6 p.m. Mention McKinley school and both Barbers will donate 20% of proceeds to the school. This would make a great time to pick up holiday gifts, including Barber Lee’s holiday stocking stuffer of six 50-millileter bottles of their select spirits, including their sold-out bourbon, plus a cocktail glass. For those asking for a great Petaluma holiday gift, this is it, and 20% of the proceeds will go to a good cause.

As an added bonus, DirtClay Sonoma will showcase its ceramic wares, from mugs to bowls to vases to ornaments. “We offer small batch pottery, created out of a love for the process,” says owner and Petaluman Danny Gasparini. “With that in mind, you won't find uniformity. Every piece is uniquely its own. Our wares are thrown, glazed, and fired during a yearly cycle, therefore pieces are limited. Our hope is that you find joy in something that was joyfully made.”

Season of Cocktails

Barber Lee Spirits has just added 10 more tickets to its Season of Cocktails event at the distillery on Thursday, Dec. 9, from 7-9 p.m. Your $55 admission includes “food, live music, six samples of different cocktails, and a large cocktail of your choice.”

Grand Central Lighted Boat Parade

Well okay, it’s actually the Petaluma Lighted Boat Parade, but Grand Central Petaluma (226 Weller St.) will host its Festival of Lights on Dec. 11, from 4- 8 pm. in conjunction with the Lighted Boat Parade. The outdoor market will be a great opportunity to find holiday gifts from local makers from Petaluma Toffee Company to LaLa’s Jams to MariaPilar’s chocolate peppermint ice cream bars. Food will be available from Stockhome, which will be cooking up gyros and serving glug, a traditional Swedish hot spiced wine. And get this – they will have an ice-skating show courtesy of Redwood Theater Company! For those looking for the best seat in town, front row VIP seats will be available for purchase along the riverbank through Grand Central Petaluma’s Instagram account or directly in the shop. I recommend going into the shop so that you can also enjoy a couple of their empanadas, a hot cup of coffee and some excellent chocolates.

Another McKinley dine & donate

Brewsters Beer Garden will also host a McKinley dine and donate on Tuesday, Dec. 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Guests should print out the flyer from ptamckinley.org and show it at Brewsters to ensure 10% of their bill is donated to the school. For those who have not experienced the lights and decorations of the Miracle Bar, this is your chance to see Brewsters in all its holiday glory. It really is something spectacular that appeals to both adults and kids.

Scowley’s

Scowley’s Burgers, 229 N. McDowell Blvd., in the Plaza North shopping center, has made two announcements which could be combined into one delicious event. First, the business has introduced a Stemple Creek Ranch barbecue, bacon, cheddar cheeseburger, along with a grilled chicken alternative. The reviews have been excellent for both since their introduction about a week ago. If you want to order take-out or delivery (through Petaluma Food Taxi), Scowley’s “Order Online” tab on its website makes it nice and easy. scowleys.com.

Additionally, Scowley’s announced that “If you buy a Christmas tree from the Plaza North shopping center parking lot, from Boy Scout Troop 2, and get it delivered, you’ll get a coupon for Scowley’s Burgers for $10 off any purchase above $20.” This seems like as good a reason to decide on Boy Scout Troop 2’s trees as any.

New pizza joint in the works

It seems that Petalumans have a never-ending hunger for pizza (and Mexican restaurants). This is what made it a bit of a surprise when Rafy’s Pizzeria closed earlier this year, after moving from its OSH shopping center location to the Whole Foods shopping center a few years ago. We simply don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but a new pizza venture has plans to repopulate Rafy’s old location at 615 E. Washington St., Suite B, between Bistro 201 Thai and Pink Owl Coffee. The venture is called Stonework Pizza & Tap and according to whatnowsf.com, owners Pat and Laura Townsley plan to open in spring 2022. Pat also owns Creekside Pizza & Taproom in San Anselmo. Pizza will be gourmet New York style pizza, served on pizza stones, which is where the name “Stonework” comes from. The “Tap” part of the name is also exciting, as I assume they will be offering a nice selection of local beers.

Making Lemonade out of Lemons – April Pantry

Although April Pantry had quite the debacle with their Thanksgiving meal deliveries/pick-ups, for the second year in a row, there were a few positive highlights that came out of all this.

April Pantry owes our first shining star a huge debt of gratitude because even though she too was stuck in line for three hours waiting for her family’s meal, instead of getting negative about it, Amy Malaise simply tried to keep everyone apprised of the situation through informative updates on social media. (She is my fellow admin on Petaluma Foodies and was the only one of us three online or aware of the issue at the time). When many were becoming irate at the wait (some did not end up getting their food at all), Amy kept everyone informed of the happenings at the restaurant, in an attempt to help others salvage their holiday. She even refused a refund from the restaurant, because she hoped that will help make sure the hardworking employees all got paid. This is the kind of positivity that helps set the tone of the Petaluma food community.

Another angel in all this holiday mayhem was the owner of Spoonful of Sugar, one of Petaluma’s favorite sources of sweets, from cakes to cookies to all the pastries in between. My understanding is that Shinaide V-diaz has no connection to April Pantry whatsoever but when she saw another business owner in trouble, she stepped into the kitchen and volunteered her Thanksgiving afternoon away from her own family to try to make sure other Thanksgiving guests could enjoy theirs. And although her baked goods speak for themselves, evidenced by all the rave reviews, I would highly encourage anyone who is thinking about holiday treats to check out Spoonful of Sugar’s website at spoonfulofsugarpetaluma.com. The sweets are great, but supporting a local business owner with not just the heart to care, but also the spirit to act makes supporting this business a no brainer in my book.

Finally, there is Rene Foppe, who I know both personally and professionally, and is a thoughtful contributor to local foodie social media. Although she made no mention of April Pantry failing her family’s dinner plans on Thanksgiving, the fact that she was posting at 8 p.m. that evening about an often-forgotten local restaurant always coming through tells me they likely had. Instead of letting a negative situation get even worse, and let it “ruin” her family’s holiday, she kept things positive by posting, “Lumberjacks doesn't get much mention on the foodies page, but we are always happy with our food and service there.” We too have always been happy with Lumberjacks, on the rare occasions we have dine there, and are always happy that they have broader hours than other restaurants, and always seem to open when we are in a bind for a place to eat, like holidays.

Each individual can forgive/forget the April Pantry debacle as they see fit, but when it comes to how to deal with a tough situation, in the moment, I am with these three shining examples in that I won’t let something like a missed meal, no matter how far in advance it was ordered, ruin my favorite holiday. We all have so much, that we should try not to let a missed meal, no matter how important, trump the importance of this holiday, which is all about family and thankfulness.

I am sure that none of these three incredibly individuals were looking for recognition when they did what they did, but that is precisely why they deserve mention. They exemplify what a real community looks like, but more importantly, how a real community acts, and few do this as well as the Petaluma food community.

None of this is written to minimize April Pantry’s responsibility for having Thanksgiving issues two years in a row. For their part, they have posted a public apology and have informed me that they will be contacting everyone with an offer of a refund or a few Christmas meal. Personally, I would take the refund and if you can afford to, donate it to one of the local organizations that helps those with a food disadvantage, like Una-Vida does, but to each, their own.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.