Front Room at John Ash and Co

Sonoma Bento: In our current budget crisis, and by 'our' I mean MINE, it makes sense to make your dollar stretch. So Coco and I decided to hit up a happy hour or two to see if it is worth your while. Our first happy hour is John Ash and Co's Front Room. We went on a Thursday, but apparently Wednesdays they have free appetizers for one hour. Our server said it's a mad house on Wednesdays, and it was pretty sparsely attended the day we went.

Coco Carina: Even with the lack of people there, the service was kind of slow. The waitresses were nice enough, but sometimes it seemed like we were a bother to them, and that they would rather be serving the people with actual money who dressed nicer than us.

Sonoma Bento: The Front Room is a really nicely furnished room which reminds me a bit of Morrocco, with blue stuccoed walls and cool stained glass lamps. We sat next to a window partition overlooking another room of the restaurant and the beautiful gardens and vineyards next to the property.

Coco Carina: I did like the overall look and feel of the Front Room, there was lots of light and the decor was inviting. I did not like the fact that we had to ask our waitress to clean up the smudgy stuff that was on our table when we arrived. It was like a big glob of wax or something.

Sonoma Bento: They had drink specials during happy hour and I tried this yummy citrus drop drink, made with vodka, citrus juices, and cranberry juice. I think there might have been some triple sec in there too. It was not too sweet, and very refreshing.

Coco Carina: I ordered a pinot noir, and was able to try a sample of one pinot, which I ended up not liking, then got another glass of pinot. We thought the wine was discounted during happy hour, but our bill did not reflect that. I enjoyed my wine, but after tasting Sonoma Bento's citrus drop, I wish I had ordered that.

Sonoma Bento: We decided to order just a few items, instead of enough for a full meal for each of us, because this is a test of happy hours, not a substitute for dinner. We got the fries with cranberry ketchup, veggie spring rolls, and pork belly lollipops. I like skinny cut fries, so this was fun to share. And the cranberry ketchup was good, but I didn't realize that it tasted a bit different until like the fourth fry. The sauces for the spring rolls were good, but the spring rolls themselves were rather bland. I loved the pork belly lollipops! Delicious chunks of pork belly on a stick, who doesn't love that??

Coco Carina:  Feeling questionable about the pork belly lollipops, but I like pork so I decided what the hell, go ahead and try it, and they were delicious. I enjoyed the tamarind sauce over the other two sauces... a peanut sauce and a plum sauce. At two bucks each, they were a little pricy. Fries are pretty hard to screw up in my book, these were fresh, crispy and good, but nothing extraordinary. I agree with Sonoma Bento, the spring rolls definitely needed sauce to deal with their lack of flavor.

Sonoma Bento: Overall, we each paid 15 dollars (including tip) for a drink per person and three shared appetizers. It was ok, but I think there may be better deals out there for happy hour, and we are bound and determined to find them!

The Front Room at John Ash & Co.

4350 Barnes Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
707.575.7350

Rustic at Francis Ford Coppola

Sonoma Bento: We headed to Geyserville to try out Francis Ford Coppola's Rustic, which is located in the Francis Ford Coppola Sonoma County winery. Our waiters were very attentive and explained any things we were curious about on the menu. We had two complimentary appetizers. One was called Aunt Christine's Pettole (Zeppole) which was a knot of fried bread. It arrived in a white paper bag, and was nice and warm. I like the presentation, but the bread was not spectacular. You can buy more of the bread for $3, but it is not worth buying more of them. The second appetizer (more of an amuse bouche) was a small crostini with a white bean puree on top, drizzled with olive oil and aged balsami vinegar. It also had a few scattered herbs. It was fun to eat, and nice to have little bites to try before our meal came.

Coco Carina: The aesthetics of FFC are very appealing. As you walk in, you find yourself immersed in the director's movie memoribilia. Inside the restaurant is a pizza oven which was cool to see the chefs prepare hot pieces of pie. It felt cozy even though the room has really high ceilings. I agree with Sonoma Bento that the bread was good, but not something I would order more of, though it was a nice treat to have the two mini appetizers delivered. It was a very welcoming touch.

Sonoma Bento: We really scored on the wine! The wine list contained more than just the wines from Francis Ford Coppola Winery. I got a glass of Sophia blanc de blancs sparkling wine for 5 dollars (it was kind of minerally, and I was not really thrilled with it-I've had it in the past and enjoyed it more), and then we decided to have the Francis Coppola "Rosso" wine to share. A bottle was just 12 dollars! It was a good value for the price. You can pay 12 bucks for a GLASS of wine at some places.

Coco Carina: I've had FFC Rosso wine before and thought it was good. It's not the best wine out there, but for the price, it definitely gets the job done. It paired decently with the meal, though I prefer more fruit-forward, less tannic wines.

Sonoma Bento: CocoCarina really wanted to try the Chicken Mattone, which is chicken under a brick. The cooking method makes the skin really crispy and doesn't dry out the chicken. We shared this entree so that we could try more things on the menu, like the Pizza Sophia - a pizza with arugula, prosciutto, and shaved parmigiano cheese. The pizza was $16 and the chicken was $22, so it wasn't bad when we split the bill.

Coco Carina: I've heard many good things about the Chicken Mattone, and I thought it was very good. But I must say, I've had better chicken under a brick. The ambiance is so cool, and the food is good, but the main thing you take away is the experience of being at this really cool winery. The service was great, the food was good, the atmosphere was very welcoming. I will definitely be going back again.

Sonoma Bento: Dessert was a cup of chocolate mousse al 'Francis Francis' in a coffee cup. Again, really nice presentation, and the dessert itself was really rich. It was more than enough to share.

Coco Carina: I did find the dessert to be quite delectable. I will probably be ordering this again on my next visit.

Sonoma Bento: While you are there, make sure to take some time to peruse the awesome film memorabilia at Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The Godfather desk is there, the Tucker Car, a boat from Marie Antoinette, Apocolypse Now items, and these creepy yet cool costumes from Dracula.

I would definitely go back for dinner at Rustic. Our service was wonderful, prices were reasonable, the food was good, and the wine was very reasonable. On Tuesdays they have a special dinner/theater kind of event which I would love to try out.

Coco Carina: Ditto to what Sonoma Bento said! Not to mention, there is a full bar right outside of the Rustic restaurant, so if wine and beer is not your thing, you can get something delicious from the bar.

Rustic at Francis Ford Coppola Winery

300 Via Archimedes
Geyserville, CA 95441
(707) 857-1485

Munch Monday

There is a new celebration of food in downtown Santa Rosa every Monday from 11:30am to 2pm called Munch Monday! A collection of food trucks gather in the parking lot between the main library and the down town post office.

Sonoma Bento:
This review is based on our second visit to Munch Monday. It started on January 10th, and we headed out on January 24th with some coworkers to enjoy a sunny afternoon and to stuff our faces. There are 4 or 5 trucks each week, and this week here are the suspects:

Fork Catering
Street-Eatz Flavors of the World
Matchbox Diner
Chicago Style Hot Dogs
La Texanita Truck
Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar

The rotation can change week to week.

CocoCarina: Well first off... so sorry it has taken us so long to update this page!  Sonoma Bento and I decided to take a little break after the holidays but we're back to eating!  Well, eating out together for our awesome little blog here.  This month we decided to hit up Munch Monday!  Munch Monday is a collective of food trucks in Sonoma County who get together on Monday's in downtown Santa Rosa to provide a fun and different type of eating experience.  They do this kind of thing in SF and I'm glad Sonoma County is finally doing it too!  It really brings together the community... kind of like a massive food court at the mall but with better food... and outside, which can be great on a beautiful sunny day!

Sonoma Bento:

I decided to try out Chicago Style Hot Dogs this week. And you gotta try their signature dish, right? So I got the smorgasbord that is a Chicago Dog.

Sonoma Bento:

Chicago Style Hot Dogs has a nice selection of hot dogs from simple to elaborate, with really delicious hot dogs. They have a nice snap and zesty flavor. The buns are super soft but stand up to the many toppings and do not fall apart.

Sonoma Bento:

I got the meal deal with a Chicago Dog, chips, and soda for $6. What a deal! Plus the line at Chicago Style Hot Dogs is very short, and the meal is assembled quickly. I was just about finished with my meal by the time my coworkers got their lunches.

Sonoma Bento:

The Chicago Dog has a hot dog on a poppy seed bun with neon relish, mustard, tomato, chopped onions, sport peppers, celery salt, and a pickle spear. It's a meal, for sure! The flavors were all fantastic, and went well together. The sport peppers had a bit of a kick, but I liked it.

CocoCarina: I decided to have the Agadashi Tofu from the Street Eatz truck... deeeeelicious!  I got the large portion because it came with broccoli - yum!  The small portion was $5 and the large portion was $8.  It comes in a to-go chinese food box which I always love eating out of so... bonus points there! 

CocoCarina: The Agadashi Tofu is pure japanese-crunchy tofu pieces in seasoned broth with fresh ginger, green onions, rice and broccoli.  I think the small version comes without the rice or broccoli.  Love it!  Especially on a day that's a bit brisk or if you're feeling a bit of a cold coming on (which I was)... it was perfect!  Then I went and got a sift cupcake!  Double yum!  Except that they didn't have my absolute favorite cupcake, the Limonatta, at their truck so I settled for the Snickerdoodle.  Either way... I didn't walk away hungry!

Sonoma Bento: Our coworkers went with us and tried other yummy dishes from Street-Eatz, like coconut curry and New Orleans Pasta.

Sonoma Bento: We couldn't pass up the opportunity for some delicious dessert, and luckily the Sift Cupcake truck was there to satisfy our sweet tooth!

CocoCarina: Munch Monday is just about done... just one more week left. :(  I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it!  A little recommendation though... if you're gonna go to Munch Monday you're gonna have to sit on the ground to eat... so 1. don't wear a dress, you don't wanna show off your girly bits... 2. if you're wear pants make sure your shirt is long enough to cover your bum... 3. it may behoove you to bring a chair of some sort.

CocoCarina: Munch Monday is a lot of fun!  You go to one spot and have a slew of delicious items of food to choose from, for pretty decent prices.  There's a bunch of people there so you'll probably see someone you know or you might make some new friends.  The only downfall is the lines... sometimes it takes a long time to get your food.  One friend will go to one cart and get their food pretty quickly and you go to another cart but you're still waiting for your food to come out.  So, that's my only complaint really.  Plan ahead for a successful Munch Monday excursion!

Sonoma Bento: Munch Monday was planned to run through the end of February, so February 28th will be the last day. However, it may continue in a new location. We'll let you know if we find out where!

Pupuseria Salvadorena

SonomaBento:
It was a dark and stormy night.... no really, it was awful out. Sheets of rain, dark, and windy. Luckily for CocoCarina and I, it was the perfect night to try Santa Rosa's Pupuseria Salvadorena. Located in a tiny strip mall next to a 7-11, it's not necessarily the first place you would go for delicious food, but that's just what we found.

We decided to try Pupuseria Salvadorena because 1) it's the holiday season (post-xmas) and we are both super poor, and 2) it has had lots of recommendations on Yelp and in local news papers. I forgot that we were going to go there to review it, and ended up visiting the restaurant a few days prior to our visit. Both times I showed up in my full body rain suit, because our NorCal weather has been pretty damp for scooter riding, and neither time did it really bother anyone at the restaurant. YAY!

CocoCarina: Yes the weather that day was HORRIBLE... a torrential DOWN POUR! I don't know how Sonoma Bento braved the weather on her scoot scoot. Either way... we had something delicious to look forward to and the rain wasn't going to get in our way! I had been to the Pupuseria once before and was happy with my meal so I was pretty excited to go back. Especially because as Sonoma Bento said, it was the holiday season and we were both low on cash.

Sonoma Bento:

There are tons of different items to choose from on the menu, the most expensive is 12 dollars and the least is 50 cents. We ordered from the Antojitos Salvadorenos menu, which has items ranging from $1.75 to $7.00, most items at $2 each. A pupusa is like a stuffed tortilla. They hand make each pupusa to order here, so it is definitely not a fast food place. We waited about 15 minutes after our orders were placed for our food to arrive. It wasn't a bad wait since we were chatting, but keep that in mind if you are super hungry or show up on a busy weekend. Our server said that we can call in orders ahead next time, even if we plan on eating in the restaurant, to shorten the wait time. Good idea!

CocoCarina: As we glanced over the menu I was SHOCKED by the prices. I couldn't believe how affordable everything was, I was giddy! I like to order a few different items when I eat out because I like to try a bit of everything... Pupuseria Salvadorena was perfect for this... everything was so affordable I could get as many things as I wanted! Well just about!

Sonoma Bento:

I ordered the Horchata ($1.75), a sweetly spiced drink that was quite flavorful here at Pupuseria Salvadorena. The cinnamon flavor was very pronounced and it had a bit of a chalky texture, but was really quite good. It was sweeter than other Horchata I've tried, but the sweetness was great with the spicy food. They do not serve alcohol here.

Sonoma Bento:

CocoCarina and I both wanted to order the Tamal de Elote con Crema ($1.75), so to make sure we tried more things, she ordered it and I got something else. Good choice, Coco!

CocoCarina: Thanks Sonoma Bento! I was QUITE happy with my Tamal de Elote con Crema! It was sooo delicious I wanted to order it as an appetizer AND for dessert! Sooo yummy!

Sonoma Bento:

The Tamal de Elote con Crema ($1.75) was delicious! Moist, very fresh, great corn flavor, and sweet. You could totally order this for dessert.

Sonoma Bento:

I ordered the Empanada de Plantano con Frijol ($1.75) on the suggestion of the waitress. She said she liked the combination of the sweet plantain mash with the savory beans inside. I agree, this was really a winner. The Empanada was fried crisp on the outside, turning the plantain mash into almost a donut kind of crust, then the soft and fragrant plantain mash gave way to a smooth bean paste interior. Comfort food for sure!

CocoCarina: Sonoma Bento gave me a taste of her Empanada de Plantano con Frijol which was yummy but I'm still working on my liking for beans so this wouldn't be my first choice. But, having said that it was still pretty good... though not as good as my Tamal de Elote con Crema!

Sonoma Bento:

We ordered Pasteles de Pollo con Papa ($5) to share. These were like little chicken pot pies, but surrounded by corn meal dough instead of pastry dough. Inside was a mixture of chicken, green peppers, mashed potato, and a bit of tomato. These were great and they are also really good as leftovers!

CocoCarina: I actually really enjoyed these. They were a perfect compliment to my Pupusa de Queso. They tasted like chicken soup without the whole soupy part... pretty good and hearty!

Sonoma Bento:

We had to order Pupusas, of course! I had already tried the Pupusa de Chicharron, Queso y Frijol (tortilla stuffed with pork, cheese and beans, $2.50) on my previous visit, so this time I ordered the Pupusa de Queso con Loroco ($2.25). Loroco is a flower bud that is used in Salvadoran cooking. I thought it might be similar to a caper, as they are both immature flower buds, but its flavor was very mild, similar to cooked zucchini. I loved the melted cheese inside and ate it with generous splashes of green tomatillo salsa, which was provided in big jugs on our table. They also had a red salsa available.

This is CocoCarina's Pupusa de Queso ($2.00).

Sonoma Bento:

This is Curtido ($1.00), a slightly fermented spicy cabage slaw. You are supposed to eat the Curtido along with the Pupusas, so that the bright flavors of the slaw balance out the fatty flavors of the stuffed tortilla. It's a great combo!

CocoCarina: I really enjoyed adding the Curtido to pretty much everything I was eating... it went so well with everything! I agree with Sonoma Bento... a great combo indeed!

Sonoma Bento:

Check out the bits of cheese and loroco flower that oozed out of my pupusa! They got all crispy on the grill, yum! I really enjoyed both visits to Pupuseria Salvadorena.

Overall: The food quality is great, the prices are unbelievable, service was really friendly without being overbearing, they don't mind if I show up in a rain suit, and you get full after about 4 dollars worth of food. I'll definitely go back, even if my bank account is not hurting.

Ambiance: Yeah, they don't spend a lot on decor, but who cares? Our meals were delicious and dirt cheap. And the music is pretty bad. At one point CocoCarina said "This sounds like a male Cher." LOL

Parking: I parked my scooter up against the wall so it didn't get rained on, but the parking lot is not big, and it's pretty busy, what with being right next to a 7-11.

Price for two meals, plus one drink (CocoCarina had water): about $16.90. And we had leftovers. AMAZING!

Pupuseria Salvadorena

1403 Maple Avenue

Santa Rosa, CA 95404

(707) 544-3141

Open Daily from 9am to 9pm

Sushi To Dai For

119 4th Street Santa Rosa, CA

707.576.9309

First impression / Atmosphere:

CocoCarina: I have walked by Sushi To Dai For many many times but had yet to actually go there to eat. But today I finally got to try it! When you walk in you can either sit at the sushi bar and watch the sushi chefs at work in the kitchen or you can sit at one of their tables which are situated alongside the wall so one person gets a bench seat and another sits in a seat. We opted to sit at the sushi bar to watch the sushi chefs do what they do best! Plus I think Sonoma Bento was eying their techniques so she an tackle sushi making next!

Sonoma Bento: I've never been to Sushi To Dai For, but I've walked past the location many times. I liked the blue walls in the interior, and I loved the fact that they had lots of Japanese dishes besides just sushi. We decided to sit at the sushi bar and it was fun to see the action in the open kitchen.

Appetizer:

CocoCarina: This was probably the 5th time I've ever tried sushi in my life but after venturing into this world of delectable raw fish I'm getting more adventurous and am enjoying every bite... well most bites! Many people had told me about Sushi To Dai For and one lady told me that I must try the Candy Apple appetizer (imitation crab, with bits of tempura wrapped in tuna with teriyaki sauce dribbled on top). My mouth had been watering for weeks to try this so it was the first thing we ordered.

Sonoma Bento: I loved the Candy Apple appetizer! It was a fun mix of textures and flavors. We also tried a veggie gyoza that was made in a green wrapper. They were crispy fried and then steamed, really quite tasty. And their ponzu dipping sauce for the gyoza was amazing, super citrusy.

CocoCarina: We were really hungry after a long day at work so we decided to order the Veggie Gyoza as well.

CocoCarina: Both appetizers were quite delicious. I particularly enjoyed the Candy Apple appetizer... the crunchy tempura mixed with the crab and tuna with the salty sweetness of the teriyaki sauce was an excellent mixture of textures. The Veggie Gyoza were pretty good as well. These were the first Veggie Gyoza I've ever tried and I must say that I liked them much better than your typical Gyoza which usually have pork in them. They seemed lighter and not as filling making it the perfect appetizer!

Entree:

CocoCarina: Before dinner we ordered our drinks first. I wasn't in the mood for sake so I ordered the 2007 Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc. It was a nice refreshing wine to pair with the variety of sushi dishes we ordered.

Sonoma Bento: I decided on Onigoroshi sake, which is kind of my go to sake choice. I like it's smooth flavor and it's floral accents. My sake was $13, which is kind of steep for one glass, but oh so tasty.

CocoCarina: For dinner we decided to share two rolls: the Mojojojo (2 pieces of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, shiso topped with albacore tuna, tempura bit, tobiko, green onion, and teriyaki sauce) and the Mahalo (tuna, avocado, pine nuts, tempura whitefish, and cilantro with a japaleno sauce).

CocoCarina: I really enjoyed the Mojojojo. The display was aesthetically appealing and was super fun to dive into. I was a little hesitant to try the tobiko (fish eggs) but I went ahead and tried them with a roll and they were okay. They honestly didn't have much flavor, a bit of saltiness, but the pop in your mouth was kind of fun... kind of weird... but kind of fun. The Mahalo roll was pretty good too. I really liked the spicy mayo that came with the roll. It was just the right amount of spice to go with the rest of the sushi mixture. When I come back to Sushi To Dai For, because I will be coming back, I'll definitely order the Candy Apple and I'll probably order the Mojojojo - though this particular roll could do with out all of the tempura bits surrounding the rolls. It was a bit much and it was a little hard to find the roll underneath all of it. But it looked nice and tasted delish!

Sonoma Bento: The Mojojojo was more fun to say than to actually eat. The mound of tempura bits was really overkill, and it was hard to tell if there were any more sections of sushi roll under all the debris. They could have done about half or less of the tempura bits and it still would have been fun and tasty. The roll itself under all that tempura fluff was somewhat bland, and it was not easy to get the tobiko eggs onto each piece of roll. I prefered the Mahalo roll. The tempura whitefish was really good and I love the addition of the pine nuts.

Service:

CocoCarina: The service was pretty good at Sushi To Dai For, we were seated promptly and given the choice of where we would like to sit, the bar or a table. Once seated at the bar our waiter, was very friendly and attentive to us. Giving us more time when we needed it but not waiting too long to check on us either. The sushi chef behind the bar even tended to our needs and took our order when our server was too busy.

Sonoma Bento: We had a very attentive waiter and he made sure to check in with us often even though he appeared to be the only server for the whole restaurant. I thought perhaps that he had forgotten that I had also ordered unagi nigiri, but that showed up as well after we finished our rolls. And I am proud of CocoCarina for trying the unagi! She also tried tobiko for the first time! Way to go, Coco! :)

Overall:

Atmosphere: **** I liked the blueish decor when you walked in. The lighting was dim but not too dim where it made it difficult to read the menu. It was someone's birthday tonight and the turned the lights almost all the way down before presenting the birthday boy with his candlelit dessert. I thought that was pretty cool... way to make an entrance!

Food: **** All of the food I tried was really delightful. I was happy with the freshness and overall taste and textures of the rolls. I would definitely go back again.

Service: **** Friendly & prompt. The server even took a picture for us!

Price: *** I thought the price was pretty comparable the other two sushi restaurants I had been to before. The only thing I thought was a bit pricey was the sake... but then again I don't really order sake so I can't really compare. I did, however, like how you could order a small or regular sized sushi roll.

Parking: **** There are a lot of options for parking by Sushi To Dai For. There's metered parking on both sides of the street, and metered parking lots around the corder. Luckily we got there after 6pm so we didn't have to pay for the meter!

Overall cost of dinner for two with two appetizers and one glass of white wine and one sake was $73.

You know you want to try the unagi, CocoCarina! :)