Small Bites: What's on the Menu This Season
VALLEY SWIM CLUB
On the western edge of Sonoma Valley, circled by fields of golden fescue and rye, a culinary swim club has recently surfaced, and—if a packed parking lot is a reliable tell—the eatery’s eager new customers are ready to dive in. They queue at the counter and take food to-go; they linger on the back patio savoring good eats with a pastoral view. Conceptualized as a more casual iteration of its sister restaurant downtown—the much-lauded Valley Bar & Bottle—Valley Swim Club offers a clever and delicious take on the kitchen life aquatic, situated though it is on high and dry ground: pescadillas to make a fish taco jealous, shrimp aguachile served with a pile of pale pink shrimp chips, trout a la plancha paired with kimchi and ssamjang, an oyster roll flexing on every lobster roll ever met. If the patrons can’t swim, their lunch recently has. It’s a swim club with no swimming, a roadhouse dressed as a clam shack, a fast-casual eatery that’s unapologetically—and approachably—gourmet.
18709 Arnold Dr., Sonoma; Tuesday–Saturday 11am–8pm; $6-$26; valleyswim.club
NICK’ S COVE
Celebrity chef Chris Cosentino knew what he was doing when he took the helm of the menu update at Nick’s Cove late last summer. The iconic Tomales Bay restaurant already had a ready fan base and easy access to the enviable aquatic and agricultural spoils of West Marin. Cosentino, the winner of Top Chef Masters and an Iron Chef alum, understood that restraint was key to a menu refresh. The revamped set of offerings continues to pay homage to the rich seaside history of Nick’s Cove while kicking in Cosentino’s culinary creativity combined with his Rhode Island shore kid East Coast roots. With Fern Bar’s Sam Levy on drinks and French Laundry’s former garden manager, Aaron Keefer, managing cultivation of their hillside plot, we’re looking forward to plenty of Nick’s bayside meals ahead. - Lisa Atwood
23240 Highway 1, Marshall. Daily 11am – 7pm $9–$32. relax@nickscove.com
MARIN COUNTRY MART
A trifecta of good eats has joined the various delights at Marin Country Mart, the eclectic collection of food, shopping and service vendors at Larkspur Landing. Buvette de Marais, Souvla and Loveski are all now players on the Mart’s culinary team, providing guests three new—and decidedly different—gustatory experiences from which to choose. Buvette de Marais serves French bistro dining so authentic you’ll be forgiven for exclaiming oooh-la-la! when your meal is delivered. And Souvla, the iconic Greek restaurant with a cult following in the City, is finally delivering its seasoned spit-roasted meats, fluffy pitas and fresh salads to North Bay gourmands. Loveski Deli, with an original shop situated in Napa’s Oxbow Market, offers slow- cooked brisket that just might give you religion alongside a host of other savory “Jew-ish” treats, including bagels and spreads worth torpedoing your diet for. It’s a culinary world tour on the tines of a fork, and the easiest—and tastiest—way to travel.
2257 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur. Check the website for hours and menus: marincountrymart.com
MONDAY BAKERY
For those of us in the working world, Mondays are kryptonite. But the inspired bakers at Monday Bakery have upended Monday’s zeitgeist. Armed with nothing stronger than warm dough and hot coffee, they are flipping the script. Into the hard, cold light of the week’s early grind (and the Thursdays through Sundays that follow), Monday Bakery is delivering trays of golden, flaky, buttery croissants and an evolving array of delicious local treats: Morning buns, coffee cakes, seasonal scones. Toasted ham and jam sammys, avocado toast, packed frittatas. The little café with the cult following in Napa has crossed the Mayacamas to plant roots in Sonoma, and the locals lined up out the door appear ready. The music is upbeat, the decor bright and cheerful. Even their applicant pool has been duly warned: no grumps need apply. Mondays in Wine Country just got more delicious and may be forever transformed.
117 E. Napa St., Sonoma; Thursday–Monday, 7:30am–2:30pm; $4–$15; mondaybakery.com
STELLINA ALIMENTARI
Need a little more bella in your vita? Want to eat like the protagonist of a Federico Fellini film without leaving Cali? How about a rustic picnic from Petaluma’s Stellina Alimentari, the newest brainchild from the folks who brought you the much-loved Stellina Pronto just a few blocks away. Inspired by the small food and bottle shops that define an Italian grocery run, patrons will find a cross between a small store and a deli, filled chock-a-block with artisanal foods to take home and prepared offerings to devour then and there. Choose between a dozen deli sandwiches stacked onto Tuscan focaccia, with house-made porchetta and the very best cured meats for your base. Throw some Calabrian peppers or glistening anchovies in your basket; add a jagged chunk of pecorino cheese. Don’t miss the thoughtfully curated wine and beer section featuring Italian and California varietals, or the olive oils and grissini needed for dipping. You’ll find offerings from 20 celebrated Italian food-producing regions, and a wide selection of local goods, too. Pack your basket. Find someplace lovely to spread a blanket. Open the wine. Unwrap your sandwich. Mangiare.
160 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma; Monday–Saturday, 11am–7pm; $13–$19; www.stellinaalimentari.com, @stellinaalimentari
