You can get a head start on your foodie tour by waking up at the in Sonoma.
The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn offers not only beautiful luxurious rooms, but also a culinary hotspot at its on-site restaurant,Santé. In the morning, enjoylemon pancakes, farmer’s omelets, or Dungeness crab Benedict. A great start to your day is complemented at the end of your day whenyou can drop into the lobby to taste local wines.
On the more casual side, a stay at the Sonoma Creek Inn is a cozy, budget-friendly way to wake up in the heart of Sonoma County Wine Country.Right next door you’ll find the Creekside Café, a local favorite for home-style meals for breakfast and lunch.
And if you’re lucky enough to be in town on a Sunday morning, make your way over to for brunch.A favorite of glossy food mags for its “country food with French passion,” this restaurant’s brunch menu is a hit with locals for plates like baked eggs provençal and breakfast tartine.
Any day of the week is a perfect time for a breakfast of waffles, yogurt parfaits, espresso, and pain au chocolat over at the Sunflower Caffé. And for sweet, flaky breakfasts on the run, you can’t go wrong with a pastry from Basque Boulangerie Café.
Back to the Land
From Sonoma, follow Highway 12 East and then Highway 116 West to Petaluma. Petaluma has become the epitome of country chic, with a boutique-laden downtown district and a cluster of hip restaurants that contrasts its agricultural roots that once earned it the nickname “egg capital of the world.” The seamless marriage of farms and frills means that today, Petaluma’s the perfect place for a unique food adventure.
Tara Firma Farms produces grass-fed beef and pastured poultry and pork, and offers free visitor tours on Saturdays and Sundays.You’ll witness a “fully operational example of what sustainable farming looks like.”Its farm store is open daily.
Green String Farmhas long been an influential player in sustainable farming, focusing on assisting natural processes that help grow healthy fruits and vegetables. The farm store is open daily, year-round; in addition to whatever delicious fruits and vegetables are in season (they post alist online), Green String Farm always offers fresh eggs (you can walk over and see the chickens who laid them), preserves, organic honey, and Red Bluff beef and pork.
From about Easter through Halloween, you can take a farm tour (reservations required) of McClelland’s Dairy, known for its artisan butter and its seasonal pumpkin patch. Watch cows being milked in the parlor and milk a cow by hand on the traditional farm tour.
TheAchadinha Cheese Co. offers farm tours and cheese making classes. Achadinha is a family-operated ranch where they milk their cows and goats and then make their own farmstead cheeses, along with raising beef cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and chickens.
If your ideal end-of-tour treat is a little more adult in nature, opt to explore Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewery, which offers free tours every day of the week. The brewery’s IPAs, pale ales, pilsners, and a dozen other year-round and seasonal beers have put Petaluma on the map with beer aficionados.
California Meets Italy
In downtown Petaluma, think Italian for lunch. You can’t go wrong at Risibisi or Sugo Trattoria, both elegant-rustic establishments with authentic paninis, pastas, and salads on the menu.
Feeling more casual? Even the pizza here in Sonoma County inspires fanatical followings. For classic deep-dish at its best, don’t miss Old Chicago Pizza.
Made With Love
There’s a new destination for all things food over in Sebastopol, about 25 miles west of Petaluma on Highway 116. The Barlow is a culinary hub with a mission ofconnecting visitors to not only quality products, but with the people who make them as well.
Drop bySpirit Works Distilleryfor a tour showing how their handcrafted gin and whiskey goes “from grain to glass.”If wine’s more your taste, check out thePax Winestasting roomat the Barlow, or for beer lovers, visitWoodfour Brewing, Crooked Goat Brewing, and Seismic Brewing Company.
Farm to Fork
Brace yourself for dinner: The Barlow’s got plenty on offer. Don’t let the name of the Woodfour Brewing Companyfool you; this placegives brewpub fare an up-market twist with items like roasted beets, crudo of California king salmon, and braised oxtail on the menu.Folks come here to enjoy coffee porter or sour farmhouse ale alongside pork belly with sunchokes and Asian pears.
Elsewhere at The Barlow,Barrio Fresca Cocina Mexicana offers mouthwatering Mexican-style street food crafted with organic seasonal ingredients and a gourmet edge, served in a relaxed, paper plate kind of setting.
Sweet Dreams
If you’ve managed to leave room for dessert, walk over to Screamin’ Mimi’s, a western Sonoma County mainstay that makes fresh ice cream daily. Mimi’s has 300 recipes in its canon, but we recommend you end your night on a chocolaty note with a scoop of their legendary Deep Dark Secret.
Before you drift off into your inevitable food coma, make your way to one of the area’scharming B&Bs and inns. Enjoy timeless serenity and views of the garden, pond, and scenic vineyard at thePearlessence Vineyard Inn.A 20-minute drive west will take you to Occidental, where the Inn at Occidental specializes in luxurious rooms with whimsical touches. Food fanatics should ask for the “Kitchen Cupboard” room, decorated with antique cooking utensils.
