Any suggestions for Restaurants in Santa Rosa or SF?

Jeff L. wrote:

> JennyJenks wrote:
>
> > Hi there.  I am moving to Sant Rosa in a month and I was wondering if any
> > of you knew of any good restaurants there.  I suppose ones in SF would be
> > okay but it is an hour away so anything in Santa Rosa would be good.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Jen Jenkins Marsh
>
> The absolute best Chinese restaurant in Santa Rosa is Royal China in the
> strip mall at Piner and Marlowe.
>
> The best restaurant in Santa Rosa is Mixx, down on Railroad Square.
>
> The Southside Bar and Grille in Healdsburg is also great;it is a place
> founded by Charles Saunders, who was a former excutive chef at the Sonoma
> Mission Inn.  The restaurant there is great too.
>
> Jeff

Let me add Lisa Hemenway's to the list.  Excellent, reasonably priced California cuisine.  Its in a shopping plaza on Farmer's Lane, but don't let that fool you.  If you ever need a picnic lunch, Lisa Hemenway's Tote Cuisine will prepare sandwiches and other goodies to take along.  Enjoy!! Jay

Jeff L. wrote:

>The absolute best Chinese restaurant in Santa Rosa is Royal China in the
>strip mall at Piner and Marlowe.

>The best restaurant in Santa Rosa is Mixx, down on Railroad Square.

>The Southside Bar and Grille in Healdsburg is also great;it is a place
>founded by Charles Saunders, who was a former excutive chef at the Sonoma
>Mission Inn.  The restaurant there is great too.

>Jeff

I'll enthusiastically second Mixx, I had a wonderful meal there a couple of months ago and was quite impressed with the dining experience. Mike - Griffin, GA [email removed]

   Michael E. wrote:
>Jeff L. wrote:
>
>>The absolute best Chinese restaurant in Santa Rosa is Royal China in the
>>strip mall at Piner and Marlowe.
>
>>The best restaurant in Santa Rosa is Mixx, down on Railroad Square.
>
>>The Southside Bar and Grille in Healdsburg is also great;it is a place
>>founded by Charles Saunders, who was a former excutive chef at the Sonoma
>>Mission Inn.  The restaurant there is great too.
>
>>Jeff
>
>I'll enthusiastically second Mixx, I had a wonderful meal there a
>couple of months ago and was quite impressed with the dining
>experience.
>Mike - Griffin, GA
>[email removed]
>
OK, on to Santa Rosa.  I now live in San Rafael, but I was raised in Sonoma Co. so maybe I can help you out.  As you can tell, I love brewpubs and never miss a one, so I will cover those first.  There is the Santa Rosa Brewing Co....458 B St. @ 7th St. in the Brickyard Center (707)544-4677 ("Downtown" exit off of Hwy. 101, make a right on 3rd St. and a left on B St.  You'll see the big Santa Rosa Plaza Shopping Center on your left.  Head all the way down to the end of the shopping center and you'll see an entrance to their parking garage.  It's free unlimited parking and you are now right across the street from the brewpub at B & 7th.) When you enter the place head for the seating that is to the right of the bar, it is quieter and has more atmosphere.  I would only recommend this place for lunch.  They have fish n chips, soup, salad, burgers, maybe pizza here.  All very adequate.  But the brew is what you come here for.  They also feature brews from other brew pubs in the San Francisco Bay area on tap. Unbelievable.

The Third Street Aleworks is located at 610 3rd St. @ Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, Calif.  707-523-3060 ("Downtown" exit off Hwy. 101, right on 3rd St.  There is a public parking garage right across the street from them.)  This is a new place so I haven't had a chance to get there yet, but I've never met a brewpub I didn't like, so.....Typical pub grub i.e. pizza,sandwiches,soup,salad so probably best for lunch.

An excellent place for breakfast and frequented by the locals, as they say, is The Omelette Express..112  4th St. btwn. Wilson & Davis Sts. right off Railroad Square (707)525-1690.("Downtown" exit off Hwy. 101, left on 4th St. Parking on the street or free parking at the foot of 4th St.)

If it's a gorgeous day and you want to spend some time outdoors, try going to Hemenway's Tote Cuisine to pick up picknick provisions...710 Village Court in the Montgomery Village Center (707)578-0898)  ("Hwy. 12 East/Fairgrounds" exit off Hwy. 101. Head east to your 1st stop light which is Farmer's Lane.  Turn left.  Take a right on Sonoma Ave. & a right on Hahman Dr.  Pull into the parking lot on your right just past the Post Office.  You'll see a pedestrian walkway to your right.  This is "Village Court".) I do believe this is the best place in town for take-out food.  You can then head for Spring Lake for the picnic tables.  (From where your parked get back on Hahman Dr. heading back in the direction you came.  When you get to Montgomery Dr. turn right. Stay on Montgomery for quite a ways down approx. 3 miles til you see a Channel Dr. on your right hand side.  Go up Channel just a very short distance and you will see the back side entrance to Spring Lake.)

If your in the downtown area and need to stop for lunch I would recommend Mac's Deli....630   4th St. btwn. Mendocino & Humboldt (707)545-3785  (Again, the "Downtown" exit off Hwy. 101, right on 3rd St., left on Humboldt St..  Just after you cross 4th St. you will see the entrance to public parking on the right hand side. This is the closest parking to Mac's.  After parking head down 4th St. to your right and across the street will be Mac's)  This place is super clean and has terrifc food.  They serve breakfast all day and offer over 40 different kinds of sandwiches!!  Mon.-sat. 7-4:30, closed sun.  Try to get seating at the back of the restaurant here.  When it gets busy the people waiting form a line towards the front of this place and have nothing better to do than watch you eat!!  But that goes on only during the lunch hour.

Now, on to cocktails/dinner :}  If you are cruising around and don't want to stop for an official sit down lunch or early dinner I'll tell you where my favorite place for that is.  The Hungry Hunter...3785 Cleveland Ave. (707)542-5705   (Bicentennial Exit off Hwy. 101 and head west across the freeway.  Take a right onto Cleveland Ave. You'll go through I believe two stop lights, the second being at Industrial Dr. and just past Industrial on the left hand side you'll see an adorable yellow gingerbread house.  That's the Hungry Hunter)  I know, I know it's a chain restaurant, but this particular Hungry Hunter is quite special.  Great atmosphere, cozy/fireplace bar area.  They have 3 items on their bar appetizer menu that I just love.  Plump Buffalo Chicken Wings, a whole Portobello mushroom stuffed with a shrimp/spinach mixture topped with cheese (practically a whole meal in itself) and lastly they have the most divine lamb chops that they grill and serve with some sort of ranch-style dipping sauce.  And the best part is that mon. thru fri. from 3:30-6 p.m. they offer these appetizers ½ price which comes out to about $3. a piece.  Bargain prices in a lovely setting.  Also, if you are hankerin' for prime rib for dinner you couldn't find a better place in Santa Rosa.  And here another bargain they offer: $20.00 for a dinner for 2 ....this is offered sun. 4-4:30 pm and mon. thru fri. 5-5:30 pm.  I gotta tell you, be there or be square!!

Now the next two places I can recommend are within spitting distance of each other.  The Harvest Grill is in the Doubletree Hotel...3555 Round Barn Blvd. (707)523-7555  (Bicentennical Exit off Hwy. 101 heading east.  Left onto Mendocino Ave., right onto Fountain Grove Pkwy., left onto Round Barn Blvd.)  This restaurant/lounge has been newly renovated and it is beautiful.  I would highly recommend stopping by for a drink in their lounge.  There is an outdoor terrace attached to the lounge area with an incredible panoramic view of Santa Rosa so you would probably want to go here during the daylight/warmer hours.  Check out the menu.

Now retrace your steps to the corner of Mendocino Ave. and Fountain Grove Pkwy. and you'll see right on the corner Equus at the Fountain Grove Inn.....101 Fountain Grove Pkwy. (707)578-0149    This is an exquisite little jewel of a place with the friendliest people you'll ever find.  Be sure to wander around the lobby of the hotel.  They have reknown food here and serve lunch and dinner daily, as well as sunday brunch from 10-2:30.  A very elegant little lounge attached.  I've stayed in the rooms at both the Doubletree and here and they are really quite nice.  (NOTE: a lot of these places are upscale and casually elegant, but casual is the key word here.  There isn't a place that I know of in Sonoma Count that requires a coat & tie for the gentlemen.  As long as you are decently dressed and don't look like a bum they welcome you with open arms.  Before the Doubletree Hotel changed hands they had a restaurant there in which one of the hostesses refused to seat Charles Schultz of Peanuts fame because he didn't have a coat and tie.  That was the end of here job there and the restaurant faded out of sight, too).

Now, last but not least, Hotel La Rose.  One of my favorite haunts of all time.  Hotel La Rose is located at 308 Wilson St. @ 5th St. right on Railroad Square (707)579-3200  ("Downtown"exit off Hwy. 101, left on 4th St.  There is parking at the foot of 4th St. Right across the street is Hotel La Rose)  I would recommend dinner here because of the atmosphere.  Wonderful food and romance just might linger over the dinner table in this place.  Nice little bar attached with a few beers on tap.  Please check for days and times they are open for dinner if you plan on going here.  I don't believe they are open for dinner until 5:30, but I'm not sure about that.  If you can stay in one of  their room for the night it will be a real treat.  If you have ever seen the Hitchcock film Shadow of a Doubt it is based in Santa Rosa and there is a scene where they are getting off the train right here in Railroad Square and you can see Hotel La Rose in the distance!

Well, that just about does it.  I really do hope this rundown helps you out a bit.

Happy motoring!
PaulaJo