1. Barndiva
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 431-0100
Address: 231 Center Street
Description: It’s sort of barnlike, but way cooler. On one side is a hip cocktail bar, and the rest of the room is for dining. Nearly everything served here comes from sources nearby, from the cheese to the produce to the fresh duck. You can select from light items such as a Dungeness crab tian, or something spicy like pork spring rolls. The comfort-food list might include chicken potpie. Barndiva serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday, and lunch Friday through Sunday.
2. Bistro Ralph
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 433-1380
Address: 109 Plaza Street
Description: Bistro Ralph offers a somewhat formal but unstuffy atmosphere, featuring American country French cuisine. The white-linen-covered tables lined up along one wall are reminiscent of earlier San Francisco Italian restaurants. The food is prepared with an imaginative touch and fresh ingredients. Chef-owner Ralph Tingle can be seen at the farmers’ market Saturday mornings, selecting from the seasonal bounty of vegetables that will be on his menu that night. The smoked salmon starter with an unusual focaccia pastry is a good choice. Enjoy a bottle of local wine or beer with your meal or the specialty of the house: a dry martini. Bistro Ralph is open for lunch and dinner six days a week (closed Sunday).
3. Bovolo
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 431-2962
Address: 106 Matheson Street (in Copperfield’s Bo
Description: I would eat breakfast here every day of the week if I could. In particular I’d devour the farfalline pasta carbonara, made with the chef’s own Black Pig label bacon. Bovolo (it means “snail shell” in Italian) opens for the morning meal at 9:00 a.m. (enter through the back door), or wait for lunch or dinner and get a delicious pizza, a Bovolo burger (with house-made Italian sausage), or a salad from the large selection. (The aforementioned pasta is also available for lunch and dinner.) Chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart also own Zazu Restaurant in Santa Rosa (see listing in this chapter). You can make one of their pasta carbonara recipes for yourself (see the close-up in this chapter).
4. Cyrus
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 433-3311
Address: 29 North Street
Description: If Sonoma County can lay claim to its own French Laundry, Cyrus is the likely candidate. From the day it opened in 2005, Cyrus began collecting high praise and eventually Michelin stars. The restaurant aims to make your meal an elegant experience. The menu is fixed price, ranging from $70 to more than $100 per person, with nine categories. Diners may choose a three-, four-, or five-course meal from such delectable delights as chestnut soup with sherry and duck confit, bacon-wrapped pork with braised cabbage, roasted porcini with arugula and crisp polenta, or quail. A jacket for the gent is a good idea, as the atmosphere is generally more formal than at most Wine Country restaurants. Cyrus is at the Les Mars Hotel, a block north of the town plaza.
5. Dry Creek General Store
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 433-4171
Address: 3495 Dry Creek Road
Description: It’s an old-time grocery store that looks as if it’s been there forever. But if you’ve been cruising the Dry Creek vineyards for hours and your tummy says it’s picnic time, you’ll love the simple, delicious homemade sandwiches and salads, the wine selection, and the gourmet food section. Take your purchases to any one of the many wineries in the area, buy yourself a bottle of their best, and settle in for a beautiful picnic. The store is open Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 317 Healdsburg Avenue
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 245 Healdsburg Avenue
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1001 Westside Road
9. Manzanita
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 433-8111
Address: 336 Healdsburg Avenue
Description: Manzanita has been around for several years serving standard Wine Country menu selections such as cassoulet and roast sea bass—California cuisine with European influences. The restaurant offers food with flair, combined with terrific service in comfortable surroundings. The first-course options are exceptional—butternut squash bisque or roasted organic beets with fennel—and the entrees might include grilled white sea bass or wood oven–roasted duck breast. The pizza is also great. There’s a small wine bar, and the wine list is impressive. Lunch and dinner are served Tuesday through Saturday.
10. Palette Art Cafe
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 433-2788
Address: 235 Healdsburg Avenue, Suite 105
Description: Is it a restaurant or an art gallery? It’s both, dubbed by the owners as “a visual and culinary gallery.” The art is for sale here, which is not uncommon in restaurants, but it’s been elevated to greater importance, with frequent artists’ receptions accompanied by light live jazz or acoustic soul. So it’s a bona fide art gallery made more fun with food. There are no big surprises on the menu—count on soups, sandwiches, salads, a charcuterie platter, and an artisan cheese platter to go with the small wine list. Or skip right to the fondues, both sweet and savory (including a s’mores fondue—melted chocolate and marshmallow with graham crackers). Palette Art Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
11. Ravenous
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 431-1302
Address: 420 Center Street
Description: Once a tiny restaurant next to the Raven Film Center, with just a few tables and many people milling about outside waiting for those coveted tables, Ravenous has moved up in the world. It’s now a full-size restaurant not far from the old place, and the food is better than ever. The generous portions of amazing cuisine defy categorizing. A typical menu selection might be Liberty duck legs steamed and roasted, presented atop noodles, and accompanied by grilled white and black eggplant; or choose the beef brisket braised in red wine. It comes with potato fritters and tasty vegetables too. Lunch and dinner are served Wednesday through Sunday.
12. Zin
City: Healdsburg, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 473-0946
Address: 344 Center Street
Description: Why name a restaurant after a wine varietal? Because Zin delivers great food and offers lots of great Zinfandels too. Much of the cuisine is created to be enjoyed with Zinfandel and features an all-American accent. You might find St. Louis–style ribs one night and roasted chicken with polenta on another night. Chefs Jeff Mall and Scott Silva call their cuisine “New American”—updating classic American dishes with more interesting flavors and imagination. The dining room is simple, with big bouquets of flowers and soothing paintings. You can get dinner here every night but Tuesday and lunch on weekdays (except Tuesday).