Summer 2018 Publisher's Note
Lately, gratitude has been pouring into the small spaces of my day. While visiting Mendocino on business, I stole a moment to walk along the headlands and down to a cove where I could dip my toes in the icy water. An osprey cry drew my attention as it plunged into the surf, coming up with a fish in its talons. I have to pinch myself—I live here.
Winding along highway 128 through the deep end of Anderson Valley, the redwoods tower overhead casting the road in deep shade. A beam of sun spotlights a trillium growing in the duff. Once I see one, many more catch my eye. Yes, I live here, where trilliums bloom.
As we are pulled into the full swing of summer, my list of priorities includes being outside and eating ice cream (not necessarily in that order). The Blue Wing Saloon in Clearlake has a charming porch and patio where you can relax over their scrumptious brunch, and Frankie’s in Mendocino is the go-to place for a scoop of Cowlick’s ice cream, hand made in Fort Bragg. True to their love of community and fun, Frankie’s hosts a dance party for the whole community outside their pizza and ice cream parlor on July 4th. You will see all ages busting moves on their deck as we celebrate our nation’s birthday. Local secret: taste the candy-cap mushroom ice cream—so delicious.
I “never don’t stop” at the Peg House (page 39) to grab a burger and sip their weekly special hard cider on the patio. It takes me back to my youth, when I used to babysit the owners’children, Anna and Austin. Remembering those days fills me with nostalgic love, and I never visit the Peg House without grabbing one of Diana’s coveted chocolate brownies (last one subject to auction!).
As the temperature heats up, we should all take the opportunity to get outside and appreciate why we live here. Visitors from around the globe get a taste of what is so wonderful about Mendocino County, but those of us who call it home should never take it for granted. Clean air, cool water, fresh ice cream, a vast ocean, delicious food, and genuinely kind people are at our doorstep. This summer I hope you take a step back from the wonderful moments that fill your days and join me in thinking … I live here!
Yours in gratitude,
Holly Madrigal
Blueberries!
Summer Treasure at Velma’s Farmstand in Boonville
by Torrey Douglass
I’d never stopped to consider just how versatile the humble blueberry is, but the number of eating options for this little sister of the berry family is impressive. You can throw a handful in your pancake or muffin batter to add some fruity pop. You can toss some on your oatmeal or cereal, turn them into tarts and pies, or put up a batch of jelly. I like to throw some into a mixed green salad with feta and almonds with a fruity balsamic dressing. They really are the ultimate multi-tasker of berries. But of all the possibilities, eating them sun-warmed just off the bush needs to be pretty close to the top.
At least, that’s how it is in the home of Chris and Stephanie Tebbutt, owners of Filigreen Farm just outside of Boonville. “If they’re fresh, they’re gone,” laughs Stephanie, whose ripe blueberry season begins right around Fourth of July. She finds she has to hide a flat or two for freezing so she has them on hand in winter to add to smoothies. That’s the time when our bodies crave some summer sun (and the antioxidants blueberries offer).
Filigreen Farm has grown blueberries for thirteen years. They have six varieties that ripen at different times of the summer, keeping them bountiful from July through the end of August. Unlike apples, where different varieties are good for different uses, all blueberries are great for any type of eating, but Stephanie recommends enjoying the large and luscious ones out of your hand and saving the smaller ones for preserves and pies.
Blueberries aren’t hard to grow if you have the right dirt. They like acidic soil, so using wood chips and leaf mold as a heavy mulch is critical. There aren’t many diseases or pests that threaten them, but you do want to protect them from hard frosts when in bloom and heat over 90 degrees once they have fruit. They require regular irrigation, pruning every few years, and thinning if they have too many berries so the plant doesn’t stress. Keep an eye on them until they get established, and then you are on the fast track to blueberry heaven.
“Look at the huckleberries in Hendy Woods,” comments Stephanie, referring to how those relatives of the blueberry thrive in our local state park. “When you see how the huckleberries grow, you know Mendocino County is a good place for blueberries, given the right soil conditions.”
Be sure to get your hands on some of Filigreen Farm’s blueberries this summer at Velma’s, their farm stand on Anderson Valley Way in Boonville. You can also get them at Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op and as a fruit share for CSA members of Live Power Community Farm. Guaranteed to make your summer sweet!
Velma’s Farm Stand
11750 Anderson Valley Way, Boonville
Open Friday–Monday, 10am–4pm
Recipe: Blueberry Ginger Granita
In the heat of summer, this flavored crushed ice combines the sweet pop of blueberries with the zing of ginger. Stick your feet in a kiddie pool under a big umbrella and pass a tray around for a delicious afternoon cool-off.
- 2 Tbsp ginger, chopped and peeled
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, superfine
- 2-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tsp fresh lime juice
Grind the ginger and sugar in a food processor until well blended. Add the blueberries and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a sieve over a 8–9" pie pan, then force as much of the liquid through as you can. Stir in the lime juice and water, then freeze. Be sure to stir and crush any ice lumps every hour. Scrape it with a fork to give it a fluffier texture. It’s ready for serving after four hours but can also be frozen in a covered container for up to three days (you can rescrape with a fork if you need to). Serves four.
Inspired by a recipe in Gourmet magazine, May 2002.
Irene’s Garden
Farming with Flower Power in Laytonville
by Ree Slocum
It was a wet spring morning when I met Irene Engber, owner of Irene’s Garden, at her 10-acre, organic certified vegetable farm located at Black Oak Ranch outside of Laytonville. Just prior to our interview, she gave some last minute instructions to her employees. Beka was to work in the greenhouse planting 300 seeds of each basil variety, while Aaron was asked to deal with a pump that needed repairs. Sounded like a typical, busy farming morning.
Irene and I walked around the wet, muddy rows of garden blocks and, with twinkling brown eyes and hints of a delightful Irish brogue, she wove the story of her adventurous life and current worries with recent farming challenges. I asked her how she’d gotten into farming. “Where to start?” she responded. “Well, I was a secretary in Dublin and decided there was more to life than this,” she answered. It was the 1970s, and she had been about twenty-one and eager to travel. She needed money, so she ended up both traveling and earning money as a nanny, first in Greece and later in Toronto, Canada. Irene traveled with the Toronto family as they vacationed in Miami and used that opportunity to stay in the United States. She had vague plans to take a bus across the country to San Francisco and then fly back home to Dublin, but she was robbed on the bus, ended up broke, and met a man who told her about a place she could stay and work to earn enough money to get back to Ireland.
Young, shy Irene got off the bus at Desert Center, California. She was alone in the tiny settlement, walked a short distance through the brush, found the house she was looking for, and landed in the arms of some members of the Hog Farm collective. This branch of the legendary, communal hippie family was tending twenty-six acres of table grapes in the surrounding desert. Although Irene initially felt out of her element, she soon realized she’d found home. She was tutored about grape cultivation by long-bearded Evan, who later became her husband. “By the end of the day I was in love with it all! With the work, and to wake up every morning and know that the sun was gonna shine was huge for me since I grew up in Ireland. Lunch was brought out to us in the field. It was well organized and very friendly.” Irene cancelled her travel plans and continued farming in the desert for the next eight years. She and Evan eventually married and raised their children on the desert vineyard until they all moved to Mendocino County.
Twenty-nine years have passed since Irene first started farming on a half acre at Black Oak Ranch. She produces food for the Hog Farm families and has gradually expanded the farming to ten acres, which includes an acre of fruit trees. Irene and crew now produce up to 10,000 pounds each of onions, cabbage, carrots, cantaloupes, and more for the Mendo Lake Food Hub, various businesses, and local Farmers Markets.
Currently, the veteran farmer is witnessing the climate changing more drastically, which is creating new challenges for her and other farmers. The farmers network and share ideas and solutions with one another beyond the usual rusted nut on the disc or gophers snacking in the carrot patch.
The day before our interview, Irene had found aphids on some of the overwintering fava cover crop, planted in the soil where cabbage and broccoli had been lost to aphids the prior year. The infestation had gone too deeply into the plants, and they had to be destroyed. Irene lost thousands of dollars in the process. As she looked at the favas the day of our meeting, she mused, “Hmmm … the aphids aren’t like they were yesterday. It must be the ladybugs doing their job.” But it was scary to see the destroyers of a huge crop reappear. “I never used to worry about aphids, but last year they were the worst I’ve ever seen. I consulted my advisor, “Amigo Bob.” He suggested I use an organic insecticidal soap and plant flowers everywhere— and every ten feet in the cabbage rows—to attract beneficial insects.” The plan includes planting nasturtiums far away from the brassicas to attract the aphids away from the food crops. She’ll then use the soap to kill them, protecting the beneficial insects in her brassicas. It takes lots of work “ … and monitoring, monitoring, monitoring!” she adds.
In the past few years, Irene has been tested in many ways. Her 2016 over-wintering onion crop rotted in the ground because of unseasonal, early, and persistent rain in October. This was a first for the veteran farmer. Her solution? “For this year’s starts, I bought a bunch of baby swimming pools on sale last fall, punched holes in the bottom, filled them with soil, planted the onion seed, and covered everything with a large plastic hoop house so I could control the temperature. They’re doing great! I’ve never had such huge onion starts,” she exclaimed. Soon the baby onions will be transplanted in rows of richly composted soil and, when ready, about 10,000 pounds will be harvested.
As I walked away from Irene’s Garden, I felt a surge of renewed commitment to support local farmers like Irene. I know so many. They work and play hard and are committed and earnest about sustainably producing healthy food for their Mendocino County communities and beyond.
Irene sells her produce through the Mendo Lake Food Hub. Her produce is also available at Geiger’s in Laytonville, Mariposa Market in Willits, the Ukiah Coop, and Farmers Markets. One of Irene’s steadfast helpers, Ariel Hanson, is now managing flower production. Pick some up at the farm to brighten your summer table. Flowers are food for the soul!
Photos by Ree Slocum, courtesy of Mendo Lake Food Hub.
Ree Slocum is a fine art freelance photographer and writer who loves simple, creatively delicious, locally sourced food and beverages and revels in being distracted by the natural world when working in her deck “office.”
Frankie’s
Pizza, Love and Happiness on the Mendocino Coast
by Esther Liner
Owners S.A. Ephraim and Ruth Rosenbaum bought Frankie’s Ice Cream Parlor in 2007, when their son Yoel was still a toddler. Deeply passionate about community activism, sustainability, and great food, the couple established their business practices based on the kind of world they want everyone’s children to inherit. They live by this ethical truth: What is best for the Earth is what’s best for us all.
The family of humankind is diverse, but if there is one nearly universal truth people can agree on, it’s that pizza and ice cream are friggin’ delicious. While these staples are a hit with kids of all ages, Frankie’s caters to everyone in the family— carnivores, vegans, the gluten free, the gluten forward, dairy lovers, lactose intolerant, diabetics. There is something for everyone on their menu that is fresh, delicious, ethically sourced and predominantly organic. Their beer and wine list showcases brews and wines local to Mendocino County, like Anderson Valley Brewing Company and McFadden Winery. Whenever possible, they source ingredients locally. They worked with Cowlick’s, a local Ice Creamery, to get high fructose corn syrup out of their recipes. While organic can sometimes be synonymous with added expense, a family of four can have salad, share a large pizza, and get ice cream for dessert for around $12 a head, making Frankie’s one of the most affordable places to eat in the Village of Mendocino.
Operating Frankie’s at zero waste, their compost feeds the Mendocino Community Garden. They have trained both their staff and customers to be eagle-eyed about proper recycling practices and thoughtful about when their eco friendly to-go ware is really necessary, or if a cone or just sitting down for a minute to eat will do. If you’re eating in, you’re eating off ceramic dishes with metal flatware. Even in peak season, with lines out the door, Frankie’s still averages approximately 220 gallons of water use a day. Compare that to the statewide average for California single family households, which some studies estimate as high as 360 gallons.
In the time that Yoel has grown into a young man, generations of local families and return visitors have had Frankie’s as a home base in the Mendocino Village. Ruth says, “We absolutely believe it takes a village to raise a child. Kids we’ve known who were just babies, playing around upstairs when we first started, now come in on their lunch break from High School or come down from the Middle School to hang out after school. We love it. They also know we know their parents, so everyone’s pretty much on their best behavior.”
Set in the beautifully renovated, Victorian era Jacob Stauer House, Frankie’s is a parlor in the truest sense of the term—a place for people to gather, relax, eat, visit with each other, and let their children play. With a dazzling patio view of the Mendocino Bay, upbeat world music drifting through the speakers, indoor dining spaces with community and individual tables, toys and books for kids to engage with, all are welcome here. You feel it from the moment you walk in and are greeted by the friendly staff, hear it in the loving and respectful way with which they speak to each other and customers.
On the menu you will find pizzas named for favorite local surf spots, like Big River (pepperoni and mozzarella) and Whiskey Shoals (goat cheese, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, jalapeños). Frankie’s features sixteen flavors from Cowlick’s, keeping the holy trinity for classicists (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry) while offering seasonal treats for the more adventurous, like Candy Cap, made with the wild foraged mushrooms indigenous to Mendocino, that taste stunningly of maple. Kulfi, a frozen delight with cardamom and pistachios, sings the song of Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisine and is the perfect follow up to their Falafel Platter, which is a romantic nod to S.A. and Ruth’s courtship. In 1994 the two met while visiting Israel and working on community service projects. Together they set out to find the best falafel in the region, nerding out over texture, seasoning, quality of ingredients, and falling in love in the process.
For several years now the block of Ukiah Street where Frankie’s is located has become the de facto town square in Mendocino Village during the town’s two biggest holidays: The Fourth of July and Halloween. During these celebrations, Frankie’s hosts a block party, with other local vendors and artists, where people can convene, dance to music played by local DJs, watch aerial displays by Circus Mecca, have a snack, and be united with friends old and new.
If pizza is the medium, then love is the message. In fact it’s written right there on co-owner S.A. Ephraim’s t-shirt, “I Heart Pizza,” as he tosses dough in the back kitchen; on the back is Frankie’s Motto, “Nourishing Community.”
Says S.A., “I wear this shirt, or one just like it, everyday. It’s true, after all of these years I still love pizza. I love the way it brings people together, the look of relaxation and pleasure on the faces of road weary families when they bite into a slice.”
Frankie’s, 44951 Ukiah St, Mendocino
(707) 937-2436
www.frankiesmendocino.com
Open 11am–8pm Sun, Tue–Thu
Open 11am–9pm Fri & Sat
Esther Liner is a freelance writer and photographer who splits her time between the Mendocino Coast and the East Bay. She writes about: slow food, fast times, rad art, and the Captains who make it happen. Instagram: greetingsfromnorthwestnowhere. Inquiries: estherlinerwriter@gmail.com
The Scoop Scoop
More hot spots for cool treats in Mendocino County
Paysanne / Boonville Full of “real sweet things,” Paysanne serves up a delicious selection of Three Twins organic ice cream (made right down the road in Petaluma). Favorite flavors include Dad’s Cardamom, Chocolate Orange, and Lemon Cookie. Also on offer: espresso drinks, fancy confections, and yummy baked goods. 14111 Highway 128 • sweetpaysanne.com
Cowlick’s Ice Cream Café / Fort Bragg Scrumptious Mendocino-made artisan ice cream, concocted by hand in small batches using premium ingredients, scooped up at their home base Fort Bragg Café, Frankie’s, J.D. Redhouse, and other locations. 250 N Main St • cowlicksicecream.com
Pazzo Marco Creamery / Gualala Luscious made-from-scratch gelato with local milk from what must be some very zen cows. Available both inside Surf Market in the freezer section and outside on select dates from their mobile gelato cart. Did you get that? MOBILE GELATO CART. Like it will come to your house. ‘nuf said. pazzomarco.com
Steep / Hopland While coffee is their main jam, Steep also scoops up delectable ice creams from Noble Folk in Healdsburg. Maybe combine the two and get an affogato, perfect for a summer day when you want a spark in your step! 13275 Highway 101, Suite 7 • Instagram: @steephopland
La Buena Michoacana / Ukiah Stop by this home-grown Paleterías (popsicle shop) for some fruity fresh delights. Now serving 48 flavors of popsicles and ice cream including pineapple, mango with chili, papaya, watermelon, and cinnamon, the flavor that kicked off the popsicle craze 70 years ago in Mexico. 1252 Airport Rd
J.D. Redhouse / Willits When you’re done browsing the apparel and farm supplies, head over to the old fashioned ice cream parlor to get your fix of Cowlick’s ice cream. A Willits institution. 212 S Main St • jdredhouse.com
Traveller’s Fare
How to eat like a lucky local in Provence
story & photos by François de Mélogue
We arrived in Haut Cagnes Sur Mer dog-tired. At first the old fortified town seemed to repel our advance—there was no straightforward way to our rental by car, and the extremely narrow streets were a complicated maze of one-way signs, do-not-enters, and oh-my-god-we-can’t-possibly-fit-there’s. We circled town a few times trying to find parking before ditching the car and making our way by foot.
I cursed and mumbled as we trudged up the hill, dripping profusely with sweat, laden like an ox carrying a full load, accompanied by a mule of a child who brayed in protest with every step. I had considered selling my soul to the devil in exchange for a quiet pastis in peace, but instead marched forward inch by inch, hoping we’d find our house before morning.
As we neared the 14th century Grimaldi Castle at the top, we could hear loud drunken cheers and smell beautiful wisteria commingled with the licorice scent of pastis, a favorite local aperitif, flowing far too freely. It felt as though my wish had come true—had I entered Provencal heaven?
I love Provence in all her gaiety. We arrived on the night of the annual Championnat du Monde de Boules Carrées, the world’s only square boule (lawn bowling) Championship. The ingenious locals adapted the national pastime of boules to accommodate the town’s steep streets with brightly painted square ‘balls’ and a matching cochonnet that wouldn’t roll several kilometers away when tossed. The narrow streets teemed with crowds heartily drinking and cheering on the three hundred players on, all culminating in a huge party in the town square. It was hard not to join in the revelry, but we still had to find our house.
We finally arrived at our rental, La Maison Cuisinier, and met most of our friends staying with us. Each couple looked slightly shell-shocked, as they’d each experienced their own hellish adventure to get there. We opened several bottles of celebratory rosé wine and sat under the old olive tree on the terrace. A wave of relaxation washed over my body, and the hassles of travelling faded like the last flickers of light from the ochre and lavender colored sky.
The next morning after croissant, sheep milk’s yogurt and a few café au lait, we travelled to nearby vieux Nice (the old town) to walk the narrow cobblestone streets and visit the famous old town fish market. Our rental had a fully functional wood burning oven which we were determined to put to good use. We strolled the pastel colored streets, passing socca stands and food landmarks like Charcuterie Ghibaudo, (founded in 1877 and serving traditional porchetta), Maison Auer (founded in 1820 and specializing in chocolates and candied fruits), and Oliviera (an olive oil store with tastings). We stopped a local to ask where the fish market was and were told to follow the seagulls.
Even when I travel, I prefer to cook at home rather than eating out. I often end up in overpriced tourist traps suffering through mediocre food rather than finding a local gem whose cuisine reflects the region. When I do the cooking myself, I get to interact with locals shopping at the same markets while we all peruse the just-caught fish and fresh vegetables. They are friendly and happy to share recipes, proudly offering tips that help me truly learn their food.
I’d visited Burgundy the week before, where I stopped at a small butcher shop to buy local Charolais beef. The butcher asked what I was cooking so he could better guide me to the best choice. I ended up with the perfect cut of beef and his personal recipe for beef Bourguignonne. It was a wonderful experience that made my trip richer and more meaningful.
It’s interesting to compare shopping in North America and France. For example, when I bought a Bresse chicken at the local Grand Frais supermarket in Beaune, the kid behind the meat counter first asked if I wanted the chicken gutted or whole and then how I was going to prepare it. The question wasn’t intended as small talk like you might find in America, but rather to help the clerk prep the chicken correctly so I wouldn’t have to.
At the Nice fish market, I found beautiful red rouget just caught that morning. The fisherman asked how I was planning to cook them, and when I told him grilled, he quickly gutted the fish leaving the scales on. When grilling, the scales stick to the grill so the fish itself doesn’t. I ended up buying a few wild loup de mer, the freshest calamari I had ever seen, and a couple kilos of local shrimp to eat with aioli as a precursor to lunch.
Next to the fish market was Boucherie St. Francois, an outstanding meat market founded in 1959 by Francois Gasiglia. I picked up a few racks of red labelled Sisteron lamb for grilling. These special Provencal lambs live their short lives on verdant pastures from La Crau to the summits in the Alps, feeding mostly on wild thyme, rosemary and grass. The meat is light pink and very tender, unlike any other lamb you may have eaten. The red label indicates strict standards were followed and full traceability occurred along all the points in the lamb’s life, from pasture to your table. The lambs are milk fed for a minimum of 60 days then left to graze for a brief time longer until reaching the ideal weight of 30 pounds. The label says where the lamb grew up and who its parents were. Sisteron lamb must come from one of three breeds, or a combination thereof: Mérinos d’Arles, Préalpes du Sud and Mourérous.
In the middle of the Cours Saleya outdoor market is Chez Theresa. A Nice tradition since the 1920’s, the café serve socca, freshly made chickpea crepes cooked over a wood fire until crispy which I nibble on while shopping for fresh vegetables and fruits on the way back to our car. I picked up a perfectly ripe and fragrant Charentais melon, a tub of olive and fig tapenade to eat with our lamb, an assortment of fresh farmhouse goat cheeses and the most alluring, deep purple figs I had ever seen. Lunch would be brilliant.
We arrived back in Cagnes Sur Mer completely overloaded with food and ready to cook. After a quick pastis, we fired up the wood burning oven and started to prep lunch. I decided on wood roasted figs wrapped in Iberico ham and kataifi with fresh goat cheese; rouget and ratatouille stuffed in zucchini blossoms; Sisteron lamb roasted with fragrant herbs and drizzled with a fruity olive oil from Vallée de Baux, a region where olives have been growing since 600 BC. While the food cooked, we enjoyed the chilled shrimp dipped in aioli and a glass of rosé.
We ate contentedly for several hours in the warm afternoon sun, each bite a testament to the quality of lamb, seafood and vegetables that can be found in Provence. The counterplay between the salty, aged Spanish ham and the sweet, jammy figs with the textual crunch of kataifi (shredded filo dough) was out of this world. The little tiny rouget stuffed into a zucchini blossom with a spoonful of ratatouille and baked, then just dressed with olive oil was a lesson in refined simplicity. Perfectly roasted lamb chops seasoned with sprigs of rosemary and thyme just picked from the terrace garden and served with a confit of ripe cherry tomatoes, paired with an older Bandol we found in a local wine shop, was superlative. After a simple green salad, we finished with a ripe Banon goat cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves and a few variations of Epoisses (a cheese from Burgundy) left over from the first half of our vacation. It’s gastronomic moments like this that I want never to end.
The sun began to set as we lingered over our last sips of wine before embarking on a leisurely stroll through the quiet streets of Cagnes Sur Mer to the castle. It was lovely to walk past homes with their windows and doors flung wide open, allowing exotic smells and sounds of laughter to escape into the night.
Recipe: Baked Figs with Prosciutto, Kataifi & Lavender Honey
This is the ultimate do-ahead appetizer. Wrap figs the day before your party and bake at the last minute. Making Labne at home is incredibly easy and so much better than the stuff grocery stores sell. To make a two-cup batch, add 1 teaspoon of sea salt to 1000 grams of plain Greek yogurt. Spoon into cheesecloth and hang in your refrigerator for three or four days. Be sure to put a tray underneath to collect the whey that drips off. The yogurt turns into a cream cheese-like texture and tastes great!
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 7 mins
Total time: 22 mins
Serves: 4
- 8 fresh, ripe figs
- 8 slices prosciutto, speck or serrano ham
- ½ box kataifi, shredded filo dough
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup labne, house made yogurt cheese
- 4 Tbsp lavender honey
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
Trim the stems off all the figs and cut a cross into the top using a small paring knife. Wrap the base of each fig with a slice of ham. Mix the melted butter with thawed kataifi and wrap around each fig leaving the top third uncovered. Bake at 450 degrees for seven minutes or until golden brown. Arrange on serving plate, pipe labne onto hot fig, drizzle with melted lavender honey and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
Find this recipe and more at PistouAndPastis.com.
A former resident of Anderson Valley and Ukiah, Chef François resides in Vancouver, Washington with his wife Lisa and seven-year-old son Beaumont, who has proclaimed himself the family saucier. He has written his first cookbook about Provence, Cuisine of the Sun, and conducts highly personalized, insider culinary adventures of Burgundy/ Lyon, Provence and the Pacific Northwest.
How to Grow Happy Roses
A few tips from Sugar Hill Farm
story & photos by Torrey Douglass
Rosemary Roberts moved to Anderson Valley 15 years ago after living in Hawaii for more than two decades. “I could only grow ginger and orchids there, so when I came here I had a lot of pent up energy,” says Rosemary. The result of that unleashed energy is truly astounding. Over 500 rose plants of more than 100 varieties grace the gardens of Sugar Hill Farm, Rosemary’s hilltop property just outside of Philo, named for its elevated location and her childhood nickname, Sugar.
“I’m a farmer at heart. I love watching things grow,” Rosemary comments as we sit on her patio on a sunny spring day. Though she’s run out of room for planting her own, she continues to buy roses, giving them as gifts for whatever occasion presents itself. She loves to pore over the rose catalog every spring, and her personal favorite is the Sally Holmes, a “rambler” that can stretch to 15’ if you let it climb but will also grow as a standalone shrub. It boasts clusters of white blooms all over which open up to reveal apricot colored centers. A prolific bloomer year-round, it doesn’t need dead-heading, sharing copious beauty in exchange for minimal maintenance.
Rosemary has passed on her gardening talents to her son Jim, who owns and operates The Madrones just south of Philo. Besides tasting rooms, guest quarters, and a spa, The Madrones has its own gorgeous gardens, resplendent with over 200 rose bushes. Lucky guests get to pass through the profusion of color on brick paths when approaching the accomodations at the back of the property. Fresh arrangements beautify all the rooms, and rose petals are integrated into spa treatments offered at the spa and salon, Santé.
As someone whose thumb is less than green, I’m always open to pro-tips from the many gifted gardeners in our area, and when it comes to roses, it’s clear this pair knows a thing or two about cultivating the sweet-scented beauties. Follow their recommendations to bring a burst of color to your summer garden and raise some happy roses.
PLANTING
Protect: Gophers are the bane of many a gardener’s existence. Get ahead of the potential destruction caused by these varmints by surrounding the root ball in a cage of wire before putting the roses in the ground.
Prepare: Roses love acid soil. Add some fine redwood bark to your regular planting mix to give them the boost they crave.
CARE
Prune: In late winter (February or March), cut back roses to 14"-18" high. Blooms grow on new wood, so it helps if you cut them back to the main stems.
Fertilize: At the same time as pruning, add amendments to the soil. Jim recommends manure and a balanced fertilizer but skips the rose food. He also adds a handful of epsom salts at the base of each bush. The magnesium it provides helps the plant absorb nutrients. Spring rains that follow carry the amendments down to the roses’s roots.
Water: A once or twice weekly deep watering during the dry months can keep your roses radiant. Drip irrigation is best, as overhead watering can encourage diseases that thrive in the damp—rust, powder mildew, and black spot. Rosemary likes to turn on the water Sunday night and turn it off Monday morning. The tiny emitters of her drip irrigation slow down the spray to prevent run-off and allow for deep absorption into the soil.
Dead-head: If you don’t remove dried up blooms the plant will think flowering season is over, but if you cut them away you can get repeated blooming throughout the summer. Jim finds that cutting three or four leaflets down from the flower will inspire more growth. Dead-heading takes time, but if you are faithful about it your roses may reward you with joyous color and fragrance into the fall.
Food on Wheels
Edible options on the go in and around Mendocino County
Tow-ster Bar – There’s nothing cooler than a lovingly restored and retrofitted airstream trailer given a new lease on life as a traveling bar. Renters get the bar towed to their event site and then stock it themselves—the Tow-ster does not sell or provide the alcohol. Named for its tow-ability and the kitchen appliance it looks like, this mobile speakeasy will give your al fresco event some swank. thetowsterbar@gmail.com
Sho ‘nuff dem Biscuits is the work of an Atlanta area gent and St. Louis lady who thought that Northern California could use some southern home cooking, and I think they are right! As the name suggests, they knock biscuits out of the park with the fried chicken biscuit or Covelo Beef biscuit sandwiches, but be sure to save room for fried pickle spears or spud puppies. Facebook/shonuffdembiscuits / (707) 357-5243
Pilón Kitchen – Venezuelan food made with love. Arepas, tequeños, empanadas and even tres leches cake, cooked to perfection. Need I say more? Available at farmers markets and by appointment. Check their Facebook page for locations near you. Facebook.com/pilonkitchenvf / @pilonkitchenvf / (707) 513-9883
Flying Saucy – The only thing better than pizza is woodfire oven-baked pizza, and now it comes to you and your guests via the Flying Saucy. Available exclusively for catering gigs, this mobile pizza oven will wow your guests as well as feed and water them, serving up fresh made mozzarella, appetizers, antipasta, and salads. Includes a mobile tap beer, wine, and fermentation bar. theflyingsaucy.com
Taquería Ramirez – This “taco truck” can most often be found on Blosser Lane in Willits near the entrance to the transfer station. Don’t be put off by the location, just listen to their fans: “Best burrito, hands down,” “their chile verde is HOT,” and “their chile verde is super addicting.” Come 4th of July you may find the Ramirez family feeding cowboys and civilians at the Willits Frontier Days Rodeo. On Facebook / (707) 367-7232
Pacific Quench has opened in Laytonville, where Laselle and Austin Spence are slinging some sweet, healthy beverages, real organic fruit smoothies and yumminess. Parked in the lot at Albert’s, right near the location of the Laytonville Farmers Market. 44851 Highway 101 / Facebook/pacificquench
Bee Hunter Wine
The Sweet Honey of Life
Grandma always says, “Life is all about choices.” The longer we live, the more we understand this wisdom. One rarely knows how a single moment in time might change your life forever.
Four decades ago, a happy, hard-working couple moved to Signal Ridge in Philo and gave birth to an exceptional son, Andre “Andy” DuVigneaud, in a surplus army tent surrounded by a fairy ring circle of redwoods. Both had moved around a lot as a result of family military careers and were delighted to find refuge in such a charmingly peaceful, natural environment. Over the next five years, they built a beautifully detailed wooden home—without using any power tools, had two more children, and settled full time on the Ridge, where they continue to share their creative spirits and talents with the local community to this day.
Thirty-five years ago, a brave, hopelessly romantic young woman from rural Illinois travelled to St. Petersburg, Russia during the Cold War to study literature. Contrary to the college’s rules, she went off campus to take private piano lessons and fell in love with a handsome aspiring dentist who lived next door. They married and came to America, carrying the first of their three children, Alisa “Ali” Nemo. In the summer of 2012, Ali, who inherited their spirit of adventure, chose to drive across the country from Sarasota, Florida to Anderson Valley, California, to work harvest season at Handley Cellars. Little did she know that this decision would change her life forever.
When Ali crashed a dinner party that Andy was attending at Stone & Embers, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. After sending back corked wine, finding delicious solutions to dietary restrictions, and planning another meet up the following week for birthday celebrations, Andy was already hoping that maybe Ali could one day be ridgy, a Boontling term for someone who lives on a remote ridge top. Andy soon invited Ali up to the Ridge for a gourmet meal of venison roadkill, cooked in the ground overnight, and it was the most tender and delicious meat imaginable. This was the first of many delectable meals they shared.
About this time, Andy’s college buddy asked him to assist with his winemaking project in Sonoma County. Andy had ten years’ experience working at Navarro Vineyards and had innate gifts when it came to sense of smell and on-the-spot decision making skills. They agreed to share the winery space and made wine together, with the help of Ali and one other diligent cellar worker.
When Andy outgrew the Sonoma winery, he decided to come back home to work in the valley. He had long standing connections with stellar grape farmers and soon purchased a few tons from each of them, starting down the path of the boutique winemaker. When it came time to bottle and label the wines, Ali assisted by offering up a name she’d found in a Boontling dictionary—Bee Hunter, a Boontling term for someone who enjoys the sweet honey of life but is able to avoid the stings that life can present.
By following the bees to some of the best vineyards in Northern California, we’re honored to share the magic of our neighbors and friends with wine lovers around the country. Half of our vineyards are certified organic and many are sustainable, dry farmed, biodynamic and family owned. Together with Ali’s brother, a graphic designer, and a fantastic local artist, the label was created, and the first dozen Bee Hunter wines were released in January 2018.
The Bee Hunter mission is to make connections that educate and inspire, support neighbors, participate in charity events, and have a great time along the way. Recently asked “What is your favorite marketing style?” Ali answered, “by word of mouth,” and Andy said, “by being persuaded with delicious food and wine.” This pretty much sums up the way Bee Hunter Wine chooses to operate. Brand champions pass along the Bee Huntin’ spirit, and each perfect pairing leads to another great experience. When Bee Hunter Wine entered into the American Fine Wine Competition this year, all twelve wines won awards, with the Rose of Pinot Noir almost winning best of show.
So it is that Andy and Ali choose to buzz around, sharing the good flavors of Mendocino wine country from coast to coast. With the goals of environmental awareness, supporting local economies, being responsibly playful, and experiential education at the core of their company, Bee Hunters Andy and Ali are inspired to share the history, biology, chemistry, gastronomy, ecology, and ideology of their surrounding area.
By choosing to showcase high quality products from special, hidden vineyards in Mendocino, they, like the bees, collect the sweet fruit of the vine and turn it into award winning wine for all to enjoy. Always bee huntin’ for the best things in life!
Be sure to check out www.beehunterwine.com for the full list so you can taste their expression of the vines.
All Hail Queenie’s
And the reign of casual perfectionism
story & photos by Torrey Douglass
“I like eggs. Eggs are my thing,” says Lynn Derrick, owner and chef of Elk’s beloved breakfast and lunch restaurant, Queenie’s. And she’s right. No matter what form they come in, Queenie’s eggs are a thing of beauty. Personally I’d venture through hellfire in flip flops for her Eggs Benedict—perfectly cooked eggs with gooey centers dripping over a smoky slab of ham or a bed of spinach, dressed in hollandaise with just the right amount of tang. It’s a masterpiece of Sunday morning satiation. My daughter is loyal to the fluffy scramble with gently spiced country potatoes and a side of meaty bacon. And once I had an omelet filled with a heap of spinach the size of my fist that tasted positively indulgent. Spinach! Indulgent! This woman knows how to cook.
The dining room at Queenie’s enjoys generous natural light thanks to the large windows looking out across Highway One to the Pacific beyond. Warm wood finishes, formica tables, and red walls give the space a warm and easy feel, like you’re stepping into the home of a friend. Above the wainscoting the walls display painted wooden signs with cheeky queen references—“Viva Viva Regina,” “Queen Parking Only,” and “Queen of Frickin’ Everything,” to name a few. The rumble of laughter and relaxed expectancy of deliciousness-to-come create a casual atmosphere of warmth and welcome.
Lynn has now run her own show for 17 years, keeping butts in seats and bellies happy with an approach that is uniquely her own. It is equal parts vigilant attention to detail, insistence on ultra fresh ingredients, and egalitarianism. To be a good cook, she says, “the most important thing is you need to care.” Any cook that just goes through the motions with a “they’ll eat it anyway” attitude won’t last long in her kitchen.
Likewise, quality, fresh ingredients are essential. As food costs rise, Lynn has noticed other restaurants respond by replacing fresh ingredients with canned or processed alternatives to eke out a better profit margin. Not at Queenie’s. She’s a regular at Wednesday’s farmers market in Fort Bragg and takes advantage of the fresh produce from Albion’s L&R Farms when it’s in season. Prep chefs are kept busy as every dish is made to order, so customers taste these choice foods at their best.
To complement their exacting standards for ingredients and cooking skills, the kitchen maintains a heartfelt respect for every worker. “You can’t do anything if everyone isn’t doing their job. We need clean plates as much as we need the food that goes on them,” Lynn comments. This egalitarianism extends to the customers. Anyone is welcome to walk back into the kitchen to say hi, and you can make any kind of request you want without fear of an eye-roll from your server.
This unusual degree of accommodation is based in Lynn’s genuine affection for people. After a rush, she will often come out of the kitchen to visit and joke with the customers. She muses,“I like breakfast and lunch. I prefer the atmosphere and the people. This is what I enjoy. Being with the people. Being myself and feeling the love that comes back.”
* * *
Queenie’s location in cool and foggy Elk reminds Lynn of San Francisco, where she grew up. “I love being across from the ocean. It helps me feel calm and connected,” she says. A devotee of Julia Child’s cooking show by age six, at age nine Lynn began slipping extra spices into her mother’s food behind her back. Exasperated, her mother invited her to try and do better, so Lynn jumped into home cooking and had some respectable chops by the time she graduated high school.
Her first job waitressing at a coffee house in Culver City brought Lynn face to face with some unpleasant realities of the time. She’d hoped to work her way into a cooking position, but when an opening in the kitchen came up, her application was ignored. She applied repeatedly, as time after time, kitchen jobs became available and were filled by men. She finally complained to the union, but it was 1976, a time when it was legal not just to deny her the job based on her sex, but even to bar women from the kitchen entirely. She was fired for the double sins of speaking up and being a lesbian. Apparently the 70’s were not as groovy as the polaroids lead us to believe.
Not to be deterred, she applied for the woman-owned Lou’s in Concord, where the owner sussed out pretty quickly that Lynn had not been entirely on the level about possessing previous cooking experience. “I don’t think you’ve done this before, but it looks like you have what it takes,” she said after observing Lynn’s first day. It worked out okay for both of them—Lynn worked at Lou’s for five years, eventually becoming its manager.
Then in 1982, Lynn came to Mendocino to visit a friend. The coast had a different food scene then, more greasy spoons than anything else, but that didn’t stop Lynn from falling in love with the area and relocating to Albion. Unfortunately she again encountered discrimination. She managed a local diner for a few years before getting fired for being a lesbian. When she worked in the kitchen of a high end restaurant on the coast, their fancy head chef from San Francisco insisted on calling her by a man’s name despite her repeated requests that he use her real one. He was also known to comment that she was “good enough to be the man in the morning”— both a jab at her orientation and a reference to the myth that all professional cooks worth their salt were men.
Complaining to management about his disrespect got her no more than a “that’s the way it is” shrug, so she left to make breakfast for B&B guests down at The Harbor House in Elk. The toxic-free work environment was a welcome change, but Lynn wanted to stretch her wings a little wider than the daily breakfast-for-20 routine, so when the restaurant attached to the mechanic’s garage became available in 2001, she signed on the line and Queenie’s was born.
* * *
Queenie’s gets its name from Lynn’s nickname, bestowed upon her by roommates who teased her for being the last to get up, first calling her “Queen” and then “Queenie.” Other friends picked up the habit and it spread. A close friend suggested it was the perfect name for her new café, and after some thought, Lynn agreed.
The establishment brings all sorts of people through its doors. Weekly regulars come from up and down the coast, and Elk’s cool summer attracts folks from Ukiah and Santa Rosa, who come for a good meal and a day out of the heat. One fellow from Petaluma treks up once a year for the wild rice toasted pecan waffles. Over the course of the day he’ll order it four times before heading home.
One couple from Australia were so impressed with Queenie’s online reviews they built their itinerary around a stop there. (Now those are some travelers with the right priorities.) Other visitors come in when they see the rainbow flag hanging out front, even if they’re not looking for food. For people from one marginalized group or another, traveling in a remote, unfamiliar area can be unnerving. “Customers often thank me for that. They see the flag and know it’s a safe place,” says Lynn.
This open-hearted attitude is part and parcel of Elk’s spirited and involved community. Lynn shares a local joke: “When Noah’s ark passed by, it dropped off three of everything, and we all manage to get along.” The community center a few doors down brings people together for fundraisers, community dinners, and the annual Great Day in Elk. Lynn has served on a number of its boards, believing that “giving back to community sets a standard that you aren’t just here to make a living.”
And she’s true to her word. The civic club uses the cafe for their meetings. She’s watched kids grow up over the years, first feeding them and later employing them. She and the staff circle around to assist them with homework if low grades threaten their work permit, and they’ve held fundraisers for college money to see them off on their next adventure. She’s sold t-shirts to raise money for the local volunteer fire department since the day she opened, and last October she joined with the Jewish Justice League to raise money to help DACA applicants—each application requires a $750 fee. The fundraiser attracted 225 people, resulting in 17 scholarships. “It helps me feel less helpless in the current political climate,” she says.
This generous spirit came back around when Lynn was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2013. She faced a year of treatment and recovery and wasn’t sure how she was going to keep the restaurant going. She remembers, “It was astounding how it all came together. The amazing people of Mendocino County came out in support, raised over $30,000—longtime customers from out of the area, people I didn’t even know . . . “ The money allowed her to pay her bills and keep Queenie’s open while she got better.
Lynn has been cooking in restaurant kitchens since she was 19 and will turn 60 this year. She stays in touch with eating trends and will adjust the menu accordingly (example: the Eggs Benedict has a gluten free option that replaces the english muffin with a potato patty). To satisfy health conscious diners, she cooks with minimal oil and gently steams all the vegetables to vibrant tenderness. While the menu and cooking methods shift with the times, her dedication to serving fresh, homemade breakfast and lunch never does. For her, it’s all part of Right Livelihood, doing work she loves, and having pride in it. When asked about her favorite aspect, she doesn’t hesitate—“Seeing folks like my food. I never get tired of a compliment.”
Queenie’s Roadhouse Cafe
6061 South Highway 1, Elk
QueeniesRoadhouseCafe.com • (707) 877-3285
Open every day except Tues & Wed, 8am – 3pm
Torrey Douglass is a web and graphic designer living in Boonville with her husband, two children, and a constantly revolving population of pets and farm animals.
Nocino: A Sip from Mendocino’s Past
by Heidi Cusick Dickerson
June 24th is the Feast Day of San Giovanni (St. John the Baptist), the patron saint of Florence, and traditionally it’s also the day when unripe green walnuts (noci) are gathered to make Nocino. Do your future self a favor and start this liqueur to make the perfect winter gift. Nocino was a popular digestif originally brought over by immigrant families from the Emilia- Romano region of Italy. Sipping this after dinner tipple can transport you to 1920’s Mendocino County, where Italian American wine-makers were struggling to survive prohibition. You too can visit this fascinating era while supporting a good cause at the Leadership Mendocino Festa at Testa! Celebrating the end of Prohibition 85 years ago, join this “grown-up treasure hunt” for food and fun at one of the authentic prohibition farmhouse cellars. Friday June 15th. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3423588.
Recipe: Green Walnut Liqueur (Nocino)
- Pick 2 cups of green walnuts. Rinse and chop these immature walnuts into quarters (the young shells can still be tough so use caution). Put them in a big glass jar with a fifth of Everclear—has to be 100% alcohol.
- Put it on the deck outside or on a windowsill in the sun for 40 days. If the temperature reaches 95 or more, move it to partial sun.
- On the 40th day, strain the liquid, which will be dark brown. Toss the walnuts in the compost. Add sugar to the liquid—at least a cup, but more will give it extra viscosity and cut the bitterness.
- You can also add lemon peel, yellow part only, and cinnamon stick to taste.
- Cover and store in a cool place for 40 days. Then strain it and let it sit until the holidays.
Serve in tiny liqueur glasses for an after dinner digestif. Salute!
Tequio Farm
Growing Strong with Community
by Holly Madrigal
photos by Ree Slocum
Ridgewood Ranch is nestled in a verdant valley just south of Willits. As you wind down the slope towards Tequio Farm, you might pass a herd of white deer (a gift to the previous owners from William Randolph Hearst), or the happy cows of the Church of the Golden Rule, or Seabiscuit’s historic stud barn. This is an idyllic place a stone’s throw from Highway 101, but it feels a world away.
According to Isa Quiroz, tequio means “collective work for shared benefit.” And the couple that founded Tequio Farm has cultivated and come to rely on that here. Hunter Flynn and Isabel Quiroz came together from very different backgrounds. Hunter’s family was severely impacted by the great recession of 2008, and his younger brother began cooking primarily plant-based meals to save money. A student of economics and business, Hunter began to recognize that the business practices being taught had brought on the financial crisis. An encounter with a garden manager in the Bay Area introduced him to the non-profit Ecology Action, initially at their garden in Palo Alto and then with an internship at the research mini-farm on Pine Mountain in Willits, and he felt drawn to this way of life.
Isa’s hometown is Aguas Calientes in Mexico. As she studied environmental science, she became interested in social justice as it related to access to land, farming, water rights. She did not have access to farmland, so she founded a company, with friends Augustine and Marisol, which brings biointensive farming methods to troubled neighborhoods. Although the company does non-profit work, forming it as a for-profit was easier to get off the ground.
Isa explains that when you are working in gang-ridden, low employment areas, you want people to get involved. You want everyone to participate, to get digging. “With the Biointensive method, you also see results very quickly, which is satisfying,” she adds. Augustine and Marisol encouraged Isa to travel to the US to take the biointensive internship in Willits. She and Hunter met in the library at Ecology Action. “She gave me purple glittery sunscreen to wear and didn’t tell me that I sparkled! It was my first day in class!” Hunter complains. “Everyone loved it!” Isa laughs, their love for each other clearly visible in their smiling faces.
Tequio was originally going to be in Mexico. Isa’s job was going well. She was saving some money that they could use to buy some land, but the work was really stressful. Hunter would come to visit for a bit and see Isa working morning until night in very dangerous neighborhoods where murders were common. So when Ellen at the Golden Rule Garden at Ridgewood Ranch suggested they lease a section of land there, it made their start easier. The Golden Rule Garden had fencing, water and some infrastructure in place, and Isa and Hunter knew a number of the interns and had friends who lived there. Hunter had completed his work at Ecology Action and was studying John Martin Fortier and Curtis Stone’s work on small-scale, financially sustainable farms. “We couldn’t have a farm if it could not sustain us,” Hunter adds.
They began Tequio Farm in 2015 and haven’t looked back. And it has been hard, really hard. “The last few years have been some of the most challenging years of my life, I can say. Last year was this nice transition where we went from 100% survival mode to 50% survival mode and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Hunter adds. And “We have tools!” adds Isa, which they both are willing to try if it will save them time and money. “It’s because we were desperate!” Isa laughs. “Last year they had to wheel me into the ER because I couldn’t walk after planting all of our strawberries! They are so hard on the body.”
The couple reached a financial goal they had set for themselves, but they were aware that they were sacrificing in other areas of their lives to make it all happen. “I thought, yes, we met this target but at what cost?” mentions Hunter. “We’re so exhausted, and we don’t have any friends, we’re grumpy with each other. It was hard.” They traveled to Mexico in the off season and evaluated things. They decided that they had to find a balance between making a living and living their lives. Using a fair amount of their savings, they bought some key infrastructure to help on the farm, and they turned to the community to help finance other needs.
They were the first farm to get a loan from the Ukiah Co-Op, which they used to buy a small, walk-behind BCS Tractor. “That piece of equipment has been a game changer,” Hunter explains. “As we try to move toward a no-till process, this machine stirs just the top 1½ inches, preparing a nice smooth bed for planting.” The Co-op has been incredible, really, really important for us. And we bought a Japanese Paper-Pot Transplanter,” Hunter explains, which “allows us to start seeds in an efficient manner, but it also allows us to transplant 256 plants per minute without me having to bend over. It has saved my back this year.” The Good Farm Fund has helped them with a couple of grants over the years, most recently used to build a propagation greenhouse. And a local group, the Grateful Gleaners, has partnered with them to build a produce cleaning shed.
Being in this place has provided connections, and the community of Willits and Ridgewood Ranch has embraced them. A couple years ago a sudden, fierce rainstorm destroyed their greenhouse along with countless plants. “We were going to quit at that point,” Isa remembers, “and the community was like, no, we need you.” So the community created a fundraising account to build them another greenhouse. “The ecosystem of this ranch is really special and unique,” Hunter adds. There are four or five other farm enterprises happening here at Ridgewood Ranch. The space allows for collaboration. And the internet, Instagram and YouTube have been unexpected lifelines, allowing Hunter and Isa to reach across geography and form friendships and mentorships across the globe.
When reflecting on the future, Hunter says, “I feel like we’re moving in a really cool direction. I feel like we could make more money, not work as much, and have better quality produce.” The farm is bursting with Purple Tomatoes, Triple Crown black berries, and peppers. They sell strawberries and raspberries and a huge selection of produce. “When we started, we were really inexperienced at being a production farm. So for the first years, for me, it was just so hard. Plus moving to a new country, learning the language and all of that, I didn’t see the end of the tunnel.” Isa would ask herself, “Am I never going to have an income? Am I going to live in poverty forever? Will I not be able to have a house or family or retirement? This year has shown me that there is another way.” Hunter chimes in, “If we are happier and healthier, our garden is reflecting that. We have been able to make life enjoyable again.”
The Ukiah Co-Op, Harvest Market, the Mendo Lake Food Hub, The Brewing Company, and Crush are the biggest buyers of Tequio Farm’s produce. Hunter and Isa have gone into Crush and peeked at the surrounding tables, giddy because people are eating their Tequio Farm salad. You can find Tequio regularly at Farmers Markets in Ukiah and Fort Bragg.
The Peg House in Leggett Has It All
Eat, Buy, Connect, and Listen
by Esther Liner
While travelling, it’s best to remain open to signs. Remember, the journey is the destination. Speed limits or skittish looking deer about to cross the road may actually be fate’s way of telling you to slow your roll and take a break. If, while traversing the redwood corridor on the 101 just north of Leggett, you read a sign that says “The Peg House,” whose motto is “Never Don’t Stop,” you best never not stop (the phrase was coined by current owners Diana Ballard-Doll and Gary Ballard). As teens in the late 60s they worked at the Northspur concession stand, located at the halfway point on the Skunk Train line between Willits and Fort Bragg. When the stand lost its land rights in 2001, the couple went on a soul searching road trip to see what was next for their family. That’s when they saw a For Sale sign in the Peg House window. Had they been speeding, they’d have rolled right past it. It took a major leap of faith and a tremendous amount of ongoing hard work to make the purchase, but the business and the couple look all the better for it. They radiate an openness and vivaciousness indicative of two people who clearly love each other and their work.
Located across the street from Standish Hickey State Park, there’s been a concession here since the 1920s. In 1961 a Danish road engineer by the name of Hans Hauer completed the Peg House, so named for the mortis and tenon (or peg and hole) style of joinery that was used to construct it. “Not a single nail was used to build this store,” says Gary.
Part gas station, gift shop, deli, and general store, with a gorgeous back patio canopied by a parachute and a grill turning out delicious fare, if the Peg House doesn’t have it, then you probably don’t need it. Want a Yerba Maté or espresso for the long drive ahead? Need a First-Aid Kit? Perhaps a souvenir Abalone Spoon Chime made by a local artisan? They’ve got you. What about a White Swan and a Black Swan floatie each, to reenact a ballet on the Eel River across the way with your screwball friends? Or a sixer of local brews, books on Northern California’s history, or citronella candles for your campsite? Come on in. Tents, home made Rice Krispy Treats the size of bricks, bundles of firewood—you name it, it’s in here somewhere.
Standish Hickey State Park is located directly across the road. There is nothing quite so rewarding after a hot summer day spent swimming in the Eel River as traversing the steep series of switchbacks up to the top (hint: wear sandals with grip, not flip flops) and across the road to place your order in the caring hands of co-owner Diana Ballard on the back patio grill. While you wait, sip a shandy (Half Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Half Local Brew) in the shade of the parachute until you hear your name called. Here you can dig into Humboldt Bay Oysters grilled with garlic butter, grass-fed burgers with the works (named the best in the west by Sunset Magazine), organic vegan and vegetarian sandwiches, ice cold potato salad, and for dessert a sundae bursting with local sun ripened wild blackberries. On holiday weekends like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day, you can catch live music on their patio stage. For the past several years, they’ve hosted Hickeyfest each June, a small psych-folk festival featuring many Bay Area artists and psychedelic light shows.
In the ten years this writer’s been making the pilgrimage here to warm her bones from the coastal summer fog, friendly conversations with strangers have led to lasting friendships. “Never Don’t Stop” is a call to listen to one’s intuition, to take the time to look around, and pay attention to the signs.
The Peg House
69501 US 101, Leggett, CA 95585
(707) 925-6444
www.ThePegHouse.com
Open 7:30am – 8:00pm daily
The Tallman Hotel & Blue Wing Saloon
Where Past and Present Meet
by Anna Levy
If you didn’t know where you were headed, it would be easy to miss small-town Upper Lake. Tucked on a side street off of Highway 20—that is, in fact, Main Street—this downtown is just a few blocks long, and yet it is sprinkled with shops and restaurants that so clearly speak of a particular era that it is possible to imagine going back in time itself.
Near the end of this stretch of businesses sits the Blue Wing Saloon and its parent inn, the Tallman Hotel, both lovingly restored as proud stewards of the town. A marker placed by the California Register of Historical Resources is slightly hidden beneath the branches of a tree in front of the courtyard connecting the two main buildings. It gives a hint at the past, briefly mentioning the hotel’s founding “sometime before 1874,” the destruction of the Blue Wing Saloon during prohibition, and the times the hotel found other roles, as a boardinghouse, for instance.
By the early 1960s, though, the business was empty. It stayed that way for decades, until 2003, when Lynne and Bernie Butcher purchased the property. With an eye on the past and an appreciation of modern demands, they reopened the Blue Wing Saloon in 2005 and the hotel itself a year later.
The updates stand as a testament to the beauty of marrying the past to the present. The Blue Wing, for example, is a cozy space, warmed by the wood of the tables, bar, and ceiling. It’s dotted with hints of the past, including the hotel’s original 1902 upright piano and the redwood wainscoting repurposed from the original inn. The bar is wide and stately, backed by a mirror that could just as easily reflect pre-prohibition patrons as it does the everyday visitors of our time.
The dining area—with tables built out of a black walnut tree from the property—extends to an outdoor space complete with a porch outfitted with both heaters and fans, as well as a pebbled courtyard. The live music often featured inside is even piped to the veranda for diners outside to enjoy.
It is evident that details matter here, and that attention extends to the food. With a clear focus on fresh and local options—the restaurant features only Lake County wines and relies on nearby J-S Ranch for its bison— there are standouts throughout the menu. Take, for example, the Italian Doughnut Holes, offered at brunch and served with a thick fruit compote. They are light and flavorful, rolled in cinnamon sugar and reminiscent of an incredibly elegant, deconstructed jelly doughnut. The Huevos Rancheros, meanwhile, are a carefully built concoction of smoky black beans, crispy tortillas, and expertly-poached eggs, touched off with a slight saltiness by the cotija sprinkled throughout.
Like brunch, lunch and dinner offerings change seasonally and offer a range of possibilities for both vegetarians and omnivores. The burgers appear on each menu, with a choice of beef, bison, or a house-made veggie patty anchoring the meal. Garlic or sweet potato fries, bacon-wrapped meat loaf or baked Dungeness mac n’ cheese, cioppino or a rotating cast of soups, a sophisticated grilled cheese sandwich or a beet salad brightened by fennel—the options highlight modern, simple California cuisine at its most appealing.
Desserts, too, are worth noting. All are made in-house and again feature what is seasonally available. A strawberry- rhubarb tart with vanilla ice cream, its crust light and extremely flaky, begs to be finished, while a brownie sundae reinvents itself as an ice cream sandwich speckled with chocolate chips and served with a sauce made from cherries. It’s a difficult, tantalizing choice. Bourbon butterscotch pudding and a dark chocolate torte are tempting, as are the specials from the full bar and even the coffee, sourced from Ukiah’s Black Oak Coffee Roasters.
Throughout the meal, images of how the past dances with the present again come into focus. It’s hard to imagine cocktails like a Ruby Red Paloma or a Redwood Valley Manhattan on the menu of the original Blue Wing Saloon, for example. Yet it’s entirely possible that the innkeepers of days gone by sometimes offered homemade vanilla ice cream or a seasonal crisp to their guests on a similarly warm evening that invited lingering, music, and laughter.
It is this balance, offered in a beautifully- restored spot, that is perhaps the most appealing part of the revitalization here—a whisper of how things might have been, a taste of what they’ve become, and a hint to how they might continue to grow, on this small street, in this small town, just off of Highway 20.
The Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon
9550 Main Street, Upper Lake
Blue Wing hours: Brunch on Sundays 10:30am–3:00pm
Lunch & dinner seven days a week until 9pm
www.tallmanhotel.com
Rothko Summer by Patrona
Sweet, Acidic, and Aromatic
by Bridget Harrington
At Patrona, we do many riffs on the combination of sweet fruit, acidic citrus and aromatic herbs. This drink is one of those, with the addition of spicy ginger from the Russell Henry Hawaiian White Ginger Gin made in Redwood Valley by our friends, Jack Crispen and Tamar Kaye. When they come in, we devour the Triple Crown Blackberries grown in Talmage by Grilli’s (they also make a fantastic jam that we use in the winter when the berries are no longer available). All together, this makes for a complex and refreshing summer cocktail. Make a pitcher of them for your summer party. They’re a total crowd pleaser.
Recipe: Rothko Summer
- 1 1/2 oz Russell Henry Hawaiian White Ginger Gin
- 1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 oz Simple Syrup
- 3 Basil Leaves, torn
- 6-7 Blackberries
- Soda Water
Muddle Basil and Blackberries in a shaker glass. Add Gin,mLemon Juice and Simple Syrup. Fill shaker half way with ice and shake well. Pour into a Collins glass and top with Soda. Garnish with Basil and Blackberries.