From cooking on Mount Everest to Petaluma’s Everest Restaurant

Despite its somewhat compact size, the kitchen at Everest Restaurant is much bigger, and a whole lot warmer, than the conditions to which head chef Pasang Sherpa is accustomed. He’s used to cooking in one of the harshest, most unforgiving environments on earth - the windswept, snowy peaks of Mount Everest.

“My brother used to be a cook on treks,” said Pemba Sherpa, who runs Everest Restaurant with his brother, Pasang. “He cooked for the people who are climbing.”

The family comes from Thame, a tiny town perched 12,000 feet high in the Khumbu region of Nepal. There, relatives have operated a tea shop for decades, while other family members like Pasang made a living by assisting climbers who come from across the globe to ascend the world’s highest peak.

“The best climbers, they come from Thame,” Pemba said, adding that his cousin, Kami Rita Sherpa, just set a new world record on May 15 for climbing to the summit of Everest 23 times, more than anyone else in history.

The family’s deep-rooted connection to the mountain was the reason why the brothers decided not to fully change the business name when they took over Everest Indian late last year in the Golden Eagle Shopping Center on Washington Street.

“We needed to keep Everest because we are Sherpas, and Everest and Sherpas are correlated,” Pemba explained.

They did drop the word “Indian” from the name, favoring Everest Restaurant instead, because they have transitioned the menu from Indian food to Nepalese cuisine. Pemba said the dishes are similar to what diners would expect to find at a local Indian restaurant, including crispy fried samosas ($5.75), rich chicken tikka masala ($14.50) and tangy lamb vinadaloo ($14).

“We use the same spices [as Indian recipes], but how much we use is more or less,” Pemba said.

Both Indian and Nepalese cuisine pack a punch of flavor with heavy use of cumin, cinnamon, ginger and garlic. However, Indian cooking tends to rank slightly higher on the Scoville scale, while Nepalese food has more restraint, giving the dishes a warm flavor that doesn’t burn the tongue.

“It’s not spicy hot, we only make it spicy by request,” Pemba said, adding the diners are always asked their preference on the level of heat. “All of our spices we buy whole and ground in house. We make our own spice blends for everything.”

The deft use of spices are what makes Everest Restaurant worth a visit. From the smoky blend on the sizzling tandoori ($15-$24), to the unexpectedly bright taste of the apricot curries ($13-$16) to the creaminess of the kormas ($15), each dish is a culinary adventure. Do not shy away from the sauces. The addition of bright mango chutney, spiced mint sauce or cooling yogurt raita can dramatically change the taste of each dish.

Nepalese also differs from Indian cuisine in its Chinese influences. Seafood is more commonly used, and Everest now offers dishes like macha ra banta, a salmon cooked with eggplant in a garlic-ginger curry sauce ($15). Momos are a steamed dumpling that can be filled with lamb, chicken or vegetables ($6-$14.50). Chewy on the outside, but overflowing with flavors inside, these Nepalese staples are somewhat like a Chinese pot sticker.

As is common with Indian food, each entree comes with a choice of basmati rice or hot, buttery naan, a flatbread that is made daily from scratch. In addition to plain naan, try the zippy garlic naan or the zesty basil-garlic naan ($2.95). The drink menu has the usual sodas and iced tea, along with velvety lassis ($3.50), spicy house-made masala chai ($3) and a specialty Everest ice tea ($3.50) made from mint, ginger, lemongrass, honey and lemon. The beer and wine selection includes many Sonoma County labels alongside some lesser known but aptly named brands, like Everest wines.

Once the sun starts shining consistently, the brothers plan to use the attached patio space for outdoor dining, which is also licensed for liquor sales.

Nepalese food is renowned for its vegetarian options, with curries that feature potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, eggplant, mushrooms, paneer cheese and peas ($11.50-$14.50). Since everything is made to order at Everest, those dishes can easily be made vegan by replacing dairy with coconut milk.

The Sherpa family is no stranger to the Wine Country restaurant scene. The family owns Yak and Yeti, a Nepalese restaurant in Napa, along with the long-standing Mexican eatery, La Casa, in Sonoma. Each restaurant has a dedicated family member assigned to oversee operations, Pemba said, explaining that an active owner is needed at each site for quality control.

“We saw an opportunity in Petaluma because there was no Indian or Nepalese food here,” Pemba said.

Namaste Kitchen and Everest Indian both closed in 2018, creating an opening in Petaluma’s otherwise crowded restaurant scene. While the menu at Everest Restaurant may appear similar to its predecessor, the quality of the food is vastly improved.

The small kitchen doesn’t allow the Sherpas to keep many ingredients from day to day. Instead, the brothers wake up early and head to the market every day, making sure everything from seafood to produce is as fresh as possible.