New Petaluma bagel shop, foodie events, restaurant closures and more

I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of The Bagel Mill's chef and owner, Glenda Dougherty. The Bagel Mill is currently under construction in the space on Western Avenue right around the corner from Petaluma Market. Glenda lives in Petlauma and co-founded Red Dog Baking Co., which started selling at farmers markets back in 2017, as well as selling bagels at the Shed and making desserts for the Shuckery. She mills her own flour and plans to make authentic New York City-style bagels, which means they are boiled and then baked, which is what makes NYC bagels so chewy and delicious. Construction has been a little slower than planned, but Glenda hopes to be serving Petaluma fresh bagels, among other things, in about eight weeks. I was encouraged to hear that Glenda is being mentored through the process of opening her place by none other than Jaz from the Shuckery and Andrea from Stockhome. Glenda could not be in better hands as both those restaurateurs seem to know what they are doing and what Petalumans want. Stay tuned for more as I have been invited to visit them during construction. In the meantime, you can follow them on their Facebook page.

Sol Food does not appear to be making the jump to Petaluma, at least not at present. Although their name was listed on a permit filed with the city to split up the old Chicken Pharm property, they seem to have passed on the deal.

Foodie events

Tonight is Brewsters' fifth Makers Series Dinner, featuring Sonoma Springs Brewing Co. Seating is quite limited but there still may be a few seats available, so call now. We attended last month's dinner and it was worth every penny of the $65 admission price. The menu includes a 'welcome beer' while meeting the other attendees, before guests will enjoy a little gem salad paired with a Kolsch, followed by Nashville hot chicken legs with Wagging the Dog IPA, then pork tenderloin with Captain Save A'mo Imperial IPA, and finishing out with warmed Nicasio Square dessert with a barrel-aged Imperial Stout. brewstersbeergarden.com

Rosen's 256 North will host Brett Rollag's sprint car racing kick-off party on Saturday, April 6, with live music, happy hour prices on food and cocktails from 2-5 p.m., raffle prizes and a photo op with Brett's #27 car before it gets all muddied up during the upcoming dirt track season at the Petaluma Speedway, which was supposed to start last weekend, but was rained out. If the weather permits, racing will start back up this Saturday. If you have never been to the track, I highly recommend at least one visit. The races are a classic part of Petaluma and may not be around forever. And trust me, watching the races in person is much better than just listening from a distance to the cars racing around each Saturday night. petaluma-speedway.com

The Petaluma Woman's Club's Sips and Bites event is this Sunday, April 7, at their clubhouse on B Street. Tickets are still available, with two different two hour serving times. One is from 2 to 4 p.m. while the other is from 4 to 6 p.m. There are too many participates to mention, but some highlights will be Chili Joe's, Petaluma Pie, Quinua, Sonoma Coast Spirits and Stockhome. Tickets are $25 and available at pwc-sips-and-bites.eventbrite.com or by calling 799-0315. Proceeds go to support Mentor Me, as well as renovation for the PWC's 106 year-old historic clubhouse. A limited number of tickets will be sold at the door.

Speaking of Mentor Me, it will hold its annual Tomato Plant Sale at the Cavanagh Recreation Center on Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sponsors include the Dranits, Hillside Landscaping and Design, Landscapes Unlimited, Hydrofarm, Wild Boar Farms, Petaluma Seed Bank and La Tercera School. All seedlings are, 'grown with organic seeds, volunteer power, community support and love.' All proceeds benefit Mentor Me.

Wind & Rye in Penngrove has three classes schedule for April including 'Nourishing the Family' (April 11), 'Spring Ferments and Pickles' (April 14), and 'Date Night! A Cooking Class for Two' (April 17.) Visit windandrye.com for more info.

Ethic Ciders, which will participate in the Petaluma Drinks weekend of June 15 and 16, reminded me that the sixth annual Cider Summit – S.F. is Saturday, April 13, at the Presidio. This event will feature over 150 ciders, cider cocktails and apple spirits, including a special spring release from Ethic Cider. VIP admission starts at noon with general admission to follow at 1 p.m., with festivities wrapping up at 5 p.m. Cost and the number of tastings depends on which admission you purchase, with VIP tickets only offered online. Designated driver tickets are available for $5. Visit ethicciders.com for more details on purchasing tickets for both events.

The Petaluma Woman's Club will host the Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma's Passover Seder on Friday, April 19, starting at 7 p.m. 'Relive the exodus, discover the relevance of Passover today, and enjoy a community Seder complete with hand-baked Shmurah Matzah, wine and a wonderful dinner spiced with unique traditional customs,' the event promises. We have now attended two of the Chabad's dinners and both have been inclusive, educational and, best of all, delish, thanks to the cooking of the Rabbi's wife, Devorah. Visit jewishpetaluma.com for tickets, which are $36 for adults and $18 for children.

Sarah's Eats and Sweets is offering special pick-up menus for both Easter and Passover. Orders should be placed at least 48 hours before pick-up. Passover's pick-up dates are April 19 to 27, with a menu of matzo ball soup, brisket with caramelized onion jus, potato kugel and honey glazed carrots and chocolate-almond-toffee matzo. Easters pick-up is April 20 and is still in the works but will include assorted quiches, asparagus and cherry tomato salad, potato gratin plus cinnamon buns. sarahseatsandsweets.com

Now closed

Juice Shack, in the Kohl's shopping center has closed, as has Topsy's on Kentucky Street across from Copperfield's Books. Topsy's provided its customers with advance notice posted on the doors, which cited the owners' decision to close the doors after five years in business to focus on other projects. Juice Shack had a more unceremonious exit, simply locking the doors and posting a sign that read, 'Unfortunately, this location is closed permanently. We know this is last minute and apologize Out lease is up. This location is for sale.' We'll be watching what comes in to both of those locations.

Menu news

Taylor Lane Coffee, located next to Whole Foods is upping the food game, adding salads from Lunchette to its menu, which is a great start. Other specialties include avocado toast with house made scallion oil and micro greens, and almond butter with banana. They will also offer fresh cold-pressed juices and smoothies from The Nectory, as well as other grab-and-go items. Their nitro coffee will also be making a return to the café. Visit on Wednesday, April 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for free samples, as well as live music.

Simply Strudels has added yet another delicious item to their weekend menu – the BECy bacon egg and cheddar on the 'house everything' bagels. Along with all the great strudels and coffee, Simply Strudel is a relaxing spot to wind down and enjoy a lazy morning.

Miscellaneous

Stemple Creek Ranch is currently taking orders for everything from spring lamb boxes to half and whole 100 percent grass fed and finished lambs, just in time for Easter. We had their lamb at their recent ranch dinner and it was the best I have ever tasted. In fact, it was so good that I asked for seconds, and thankfully they had some extra on hand. It helped that I was sitting across from co-owner Loren Poncia, who also wanted a second helping. Check the Stemple Creek website for a great coffee-braised lamb shank recipe that is sure to impress any Easter guest. stemplecreek.com

Advance preview

Early birds Stockhome and Rosen's 256 North have both announced Easter brunch menus. If you know of any more special Easter menus, please pass them along so I can include them in our upcoming Easter brunch and dinner special.

Both restaurants will offer a buffet on Easter Sunday (April 21). Stockhome will have seatings at noon, 3 and 6 p.m. Highlights will include fresh baked breads, assorted herring, vasterbotten cheese pie, smoked salmon, pickled apple and brown butter, country pate and, yes, Swedish meatballs. Dessert is lingonberry cheesecake and elderberry key lime pie. Tickets will be available at stockhomerestaurant.com.

Rosen's 256 North will have an egg station, prime rib and ham carving, eggs benedict, bacon, chicken and apple sausage, potatoes, fresh fruit, granola, yogurt, bagels, lox and cream cheese plus much more. Also available will be bottomless mimosas, bloody Mary's, fizzes, as well as drinks from the full bar. Advance reservations are recommended. 256north.com

Stockhome is also planning a prix-fixe dinner paired with HenHouse Brewing's saisons, which are refreshing, moderately-bitter, pale Belgian ales. They are typically highly carbonated and have complex fruity and spicy flavors. HenHouse was one of the first breweries in the area to offer a saison and it has been a local favorite ever since. This dinner, set for May 7, will highlight other saisons as well.

And if Stockhome wasn't busy enough, planning is in the works for them to pair up with Jamison's Roaring Donkey to offer food delivery. If all goes as well, guest at the Donkey will be able to order and pay directly from an iPad on the bar and their food will be hand-delivered.

The Petaluma GAP has secured dates for its 2020 Danube River cruise. The cruise is currently taking advance reservations, which are discounted until May 31. The cruise will start on April 6, 2020 in Budapest and will spend the next week exploring the beautiful Danube River, visiting ports in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. Cruise hosts include a variety of winemakers and proprietors from Petaluma GAP's Cline Cellars, Trombetta Family Wines and Thirty-Seven Wines. Guests will be treated to winemaker dinners featuring Petaluma GAP wines with award-winning cuisine, educational wine seminars led by the hosts, a grand tasting of Petaluma GAP wines, and special tours and tastings at local wineries and private cellars. petalumagap.com

Barber Lee Spirits will be Petaluma's first downtown distillery and tasting room and should be open in short order. In the old Mike's Glass location, next door to their Barber Cellars tasting room, Petaluma's first downtown winery tasting room, according to the website, the current selection includes a single malt rye and absinthe blanche, with moonshine and an heirloom corn bourbon coming soon. The first batch of single malt rye sold out within days so if that is something you are interested in, you will want to grab a bottle or two of 'Batch 2' as soon as possible. We had the opportunity to taste it this weekend at Stemple Creek's ranch dinner and found it every bit as good as the first batch.