Unique Eats and Eateries Of Sonoma County -The People and Stories Behind the Food
Travel writer Yvonne Michie Horn is a third-generation Sonoma County resident who makes her home in Jack London’s famed Valley of the Moon. Her love of her home region flows out from every page of her Unique Eats and Eateries of Sonoma County—The People and Stories Behind the Food, published in 2022. Following the publication of her 100 Things to Do in Sonoma County in 2021, Horn’s latest book is not intended as a guidebook to the latest and greatest places to eat and drink in the county (there are plenty of those), but stays true to its title to bring readers a collection of truly unique spots, many of which we had never heard of.
The Warm Puppy Cafe at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, dedicated to the memory of Peanuts cartoon creator Charles Schulz, who played ice hockey at the arena until his death at the age of 77—who knew? Glad we do now! The book also celebrates iconic Sonoma County agricultural products like the Crane melon and Gravenstein apple.
Horn also notes in the book the food trends that she saw emerging through her research including more plant-based menu items, casual dining and hyper-ethnic restaurants. She also found an increased interest in the source of ingredients—our kind of trend!
From a stagecoach roadhouse that has never stopped welcoming passersby, to empanadas cooked at a gas station kitchen, to a bar with a no-cellphone rule, Unique Eats and Eateries of Sonoma County’s 81 road-trip-worthy destinations will keep you cruising the backroads of gorgeous Sonoma County for a good, long time.
Excerpt from Unique Eats and Eateries of Sonoma County —The People and Stories Behind the Food
By Yvonne Michie Horn (Reedy Press, 2022)
Woodstock playing defense against Snoopy in a frozen birdbath; Woodstock driving a Zamboni. And then there’s Charles Schulz, creator of the entire Peanuts gang, wearing his Diamond Icers jersey #2. Schulz’s love affair with zooming about the ice began as a kid skating Minnesota’s frozen ponds and continued unabated through the years.
In 1969, he built the Swiss Alpine– inspired Redwood Empire Ice Arena, known as Snoopy’s Home Ice, to house his passion; he skated there with his Diamond Icers team until his death in 2000 at age 77. In 1975, he initiated the arena’s yearly Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament. The Diamond Icers were among the competitors, of course. What began with a dozen teams has become the largest senior hockey tournament in the world, with as many as 1,100 skaters, many ex-NHL players, coming from all over the globe—the oldest 91. Good grief!
Snoopy’s Home Ice is an everyday busy place with classes for all ages, public skating hours, figure skating, and junior hockey. Grab a table at the Warm Puppy Cafe; viewing of the goings-on can be had through wide windows alongside the rink. Be sure to order a Peppermint Patty hot chocolate. As Lucy said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” With his studio just steps away, Schulz was a cafe regular, showing up daily for breakfast (English muffin with grape jelly) and lunch (tuna salad sandwich), frequently bringing a visiting cartoonist with him to discuss cartooning over lunch. A table remains reserved in his honor.
