BREAKFAST
Fresh-baked daily, Coffee Cake from Dennis Leary’s (of Canteen) sweet new countertop breakfast/lunch take-out spot, The Sentinel (37 New Montgomery at Stevenson; 415-284-9960)
Lavender Country Bread French Toast with bananas at Bar Tartine
“Take two” on French Toast (with homemade crème fraiche and fresh berries) at Sausalito’s new Le Garage
SAVORY
Texas Style (sliced) Brisket at brand new Bluegrass Bar & Grill in Glen Ellen (Sonoma)
Beer Braised Sausage Plate with cabbage, potatoes, onions in a piquant, creamy mustard sauce at Sebastopol’s new Beer Garden, Hopmonk Tavern
Roast Chicken Roulade stuffed with cornbread, pecans and caramelized onions… if that wasn’t tasty enough, it’s on top of creamy cheese grits (yes!) with cherry jus and mustard greens at Berkeley’s classic Rivoli
A perfectly executed traditional French classic, Coq Au Vin, at the Castro’s cozy corner bistro, L’Ardoise
SWEET
Sour Cherry Marshmallow “Popsicles” with black pepper, a playful Amuse Bouche at Orson
S’mores Nachos at Velvet Cantina: crispy, tortilla chips covered in cinnamon, sugar, Mexican chocolate drizzle, crushed graham crackers, and marshmallows which are lit flambé style until they reach an ideal brown
“The Elvis”, a peanut butter/banana/dark chocolate truffle from Sonoma’s fab Wine Country Chocolates
DRINK
Barbed Wire Fence, a new Summer cocktail at the mighty Alembic made of house rhubarb soda and house-infused graham cracker bourbon (!), skewered with a strawberry covered in brown sugar pop rocks… a delightful plaything of a drink!
Ever my favorite Italian wine bar, Bar Bambino, served a complex, 2005 Rose from Marche, Maria Pia Castelli Sant’ Isidoro
Sydney Sunrise at South, a sparkling Shiraz mixed with fresh passion fruit for a zingy Summer cocktail
CHEESE
Moliterno, an incredible sheep’s cheese from Puglia, Italy (try it at Uva Enoteca)