Barley and Hops is one of the few watering holes within a 20-mile radius between Sebastopol and Bodega Bay, making it about 85 percent locals on any given night - friends and neighbors catching up over a beer and wings at a quintessentially neighborhood bar. What makes it destination-worthy for the rest of us, however, is pretty much everything.
Pine Cone Restauraunt reopens
I'm a sucker for good tag-lines. The turn of a few well-placed words turn a Volkswagon into an lucky opportunity (Drivers Wanted? Sign me up!). Just Do It became a personal mantra for several years (along with the purchase of several pairs of Nikes that still sit collecting dust). But one of my favorites has to be Applebee's "Eating Good in the Neighborhood". Personal flair and well-coordinated chotskies aside, it connotates belonging and familiarity. Until you try to choke down microwaved appetizers. Not eating good. Bruno's on Fourth is what Applebee's can only aspire to: Good eating in the neighborhood.
If you've been around town for more than five minutes, at some point you've probably stumbled into Mendocino Avenue's Tipsy Triangle anchored on three corners by the Belvedere, the 440 Club (props!) and the Round Robin. Despite looking more like a bed and breakfast than a bar, the low-ceilinged downstairs rooms are usually packed with JC students, chain-smoking patio-goers and low-brow affectionados come Friday and Saturday night. And although just about anyone on the street can point you to 727 Mendo, you'll get a confused look if you ask for the restaurant. "They serve food?" In fact, they do.
Posh burgers can be a bit like a beautiful woman -- each delightful in their own way, but with certain charms only appreciated by the beholder. Thin or thick around the middle; dressed impeccably or bare; with pickles or without.I'm...
Luxe hamburgers are my official food of The Economic Downturn. Straddling the increasingly disparate worlds of white tablecloths versus paper plates, they're comfort food with class. A little bit PBR, a little bit Grey Goose.Gobbling upscale hamburgers made with pedigreed...
It's hardly news to the carnivorous-set that Mike's at the Crossroads is probably the best place to dive into a nice half-pounder in the North Bay. Count me among the converted, having recently refreshed my tastebuds with a classic...
Time to tighten the money belt and suss out lunches with a slimmer economic profile. But hey, let's not get crazy. They've still got to taste, well, reasonably good.
Let me first say that Hank's is never going to be included in the annals of haute cuisine. It's diner food. Good diner food for the most part. But diner food. It's fluffy pancakes as big as your head, sausage, eggs and Huevos Rancheros. But what sets Hank's apart from, say, Denny's or IHop is the local cred and homemade touch. Biscuits are made from scratch, eggs are fresh and the cottage fries are, Oh My God good
Just a couple weeks into its new ownership, The Healdsburg Bar and Grill is noticeably changed under the watch of Cyrus' Nick Peyton and chef Douglas Keane. Though the look and feel is still very much the same as the old HBG--casual inside tables, t-shirted waitrons and kids running around the bocce ball court outside--the menu has been elevated to haute burger status
Enter Big Boy's Buns and Burgers.
Around since 1963, it's got a local following that borders on rabid. Larkfield locals frequently line up at the walk-up windows, waiting patiently for their half-pound Big Boys and beer-battered onion rings for as long as it takes.
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