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Ledson Hotel’s Harmony Restaurant to close on Jan. 1
Kathleen Hill Special to the Sun
Sonoma Sun reader John Hardman points out that the Krug Brut Champagne 1995 that got a 98 rating ($224) in the current Wine Spectator’s 2006 Top 100 wines, is not from Napa Valley. Further research shows that the esteemed French house of Krug, founded in 1843 by Johann-Joseph Krug and run by Rémi Krug and his nephew, Olivier, is located near Reims, not St. Helena. Krug of Reims is now part of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey conglomerate. Thanks, John, for your eagle eye.
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Michelle and Steve Ledson are closing their Harmony Restaurant, a.k.a. Harmony Club, in the Ledson Hotel on First Street East as of Jan. 1. Harmony’s food was always excellent, if a little pricey, for some locals’ tastes, and the restaurant seemed to count on tourists for its elegant existence, reminiscent of an older restaurant in Paris or London.
Following the devastating fire that burned what was Mission Hardware, Brundage’s and the next door building that housed a barber shop and T-shirt shop and was owned by Pat and Ken McTaggart (Ken’s mother was Sabina Sebastiani McTaggart, sister of the late August Sebastiani), the McTaggarts sold the property to the Ledsons, who then took their time to build the European-style destination we see today.
The restaurant part of the building will become a tasting room for Ledson Winery’s wines, with the occasional dessert available. We so hope the Ledsons keep the piano accompaniment – a gentle and calming touch in an otherwise rushing world.
Meanwhile, the Ledson Hotel is doing exceedingly well and welcomes locals with potential visitors to come visit the second-floor rooms overlooking Sonoma Plaza.
We have always said that in towns like Sonoma where tourist traffic is an important source of income, businesses need to sustain themselves with locals and think of tourist customers as icing on the cake, gravy, or whatever culinary euphemism comes to mind.
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New Year’s Eve food and wine events:
Many of us celebrate New Year’s royally at home, but if you want to go out for a special evening, all local restaurants will be open and ready to rock and roll. Most eateries will offer their regular menus, and here are some restaurants’ special New Year’s efforts to consider, listed alphabetically following the celebration at Gloria Ferrer. If you are not interested in drooling over what Sonoma’s culinary stars will be serving on Dec. 31, fast forward down a few paragraphs to the rest of Epicurious.
Saturday afternoon, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves, which is a Catalan (or even Spanish) enterprise, will celebrate with Three Kings Day, or El Dia de los Reyes Magos at 4 p.m. The festival celebrates the arrival of the Three Kings or Magi in Spain. Parades and treats prevail, and New Year’s Eve kids put their shoes out to be filled with presents and treats while they sleep. Many families leave out three dishes of food and three glasses of champagne for the Kings, while children leave straw, barley and carrots for the royal camels and donkeys.
At Gloria Ferrer, Sheila Fulfer directs her women’s choir in celebratory song, and guests get to enjoy hot chocolate and roscon, a traditional Kings Day treat, with little gifts for children given by the “Three Kings.” Call 707.933.1931 for more info.
Breakaway Café: Creamy onion soup with Parmesan croutons; bacon-wrapped filet mignon with roasted potatoes and winter chard or lobster ravioli with grilled gulf prawns and lemon cream; and eggnog gelato parfait with Kahlua, whipped cream and Piroline cookies. $24. 19101 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma. 707.996.5949.
Depot Hotel Restaurant: Crab and corn bisque; winter greens salad; choice of slow-roasted prime rib, grilled salmon filet, free-range veal sautéed with lemon, white wine and capers, sautéed fresh eastern scallops and rock shrimp with mushrooms and baked in a scallop shell, or round pasta pillows stuffed with portobello mushrooms; followed by dessert choices of tiramisu, cheesecake with cherries, chocolate Valentino with zabaione sauce, or torta Gianduia. $50 adults, $25 children 5-12 years. 241 First Street West, Sonoma. 707.938.2980.
Deuce: Amuse bouche; starter choices of sweetbreads, poached Maine lobster, oysters on the half-shell, oxtail ravioli, torchon of foie gras, roulade of house smoked salmon, or grilled asparagus with soft Sonoma Jack cheese. Second course is either simple greens or lobster bisque, followed by main course selections of braised Bodega Bay lamb shank, gratin of Dungeness crab, orange glazed duck, prime rib, striped bass, grilled jumbo prawns with saffron risotto, or truffled wild mushroom stew with baby root vegetables. Desserts include crème brulee, chocolate and caramel torte, tangerine parfait or two sorbets. $55. 691 Broadway, Sonoma. 707.933.3823.
the girl & the fig: Everyone gets a torchon of foie gras with viognier jelly and toasted brioche, served with Roederer NV Brut Sparkling, followed by a choice of cauliflower and lobster bisque or endive and apple salad with Miner Family 2005 California Viognier. Main course choices include pan-seared dayboat scallops and butternut squash purée and walnut truffle oil with Tablas Creek 2004 Côtes de Tablas Rhone blend or fig-braised short ribs with roasted garlic and celery root purée and crisp leeks with Spencer Roloson 2001 Lodi Syrah. Final course selections wander between artisan cheeses with pickled figs and pomegranate molasses and a Chateau Reynella Tawny Port or a trio of chocolates that includes g&f’s signature hazelnut torte, chocolate pot de crème, and chocolate truffles served with a Core 2004 Late Harvest Grenâche. $60 for four courses without wines. $90 with paired wines. 110 West Spain Street, Sonoma. 707.938.3634.
Sonoma Meritâge Martini Oyster Bar & Grille: Herbivore or carnivore tasting menus include one glass of champagne, with DJ Byron Borges spinning tunes starting at 10:30 p.m. Hog Island oysters with champagne mignonette or arugula, fennel and citrus salad with Laura Chenel goat cheese; grilled tiger prawns with avocado chive citrus sauce or crisp polenta with wild mushrooms and gorgonzola sauce; Maine lobster ravioli in saffron-tomato broth or butternut squash tortellini with sage almond sauce; entrée choices of herb crusted filet mignon, portobello and roasted vegetable terrine, or potato-encrusted sea bass over roasted shrimp zucchini ragout. All this is followed by either warm chocolate torte with homemade gelato or a Meyer lemon meringue Napoleon with marinated berries. $65 carnivore, $50 herbivore. 165 West Napa Street, Sonoma. 707.938.9430.
Saddles Steakhouse: Will serve the same abbreviated version of its regular menu as they did Christmas Eve, ranging from its famous cornmeal haystack onion rings with blue cheese aioli, crab cakes, salads, roasted half chicken, salmon, prime rib, and steaks and chops in the $34 to $53 range, toppings and sides such as baked potato and creamed spinach extra. You can also order just sides, which many of us have done with great gustatory joy. 29 East MacArthur Street, Sonoma. 707.933.3191.
Wolf House Restaurant in Glen Ellen: Dungeness crab Napoleon, Sugar Pie Pumpkin soup or juniper antelope carpaccio; sashimi grade Ahi tuna, butter poached Maine lobster with asparagus, or squab à l’orange; petite filet mignon, pan roasted day boat scallops, seared venison loin, or pan-seared striped bass; followed by either dark chocolate cake with a waffle cone and passion fruit mousse or raspberry pot de crème with vanilla meringue and white chocolate “cigarette.” $100. 13740 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 707.996.4401.
Santé at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn is sold out for New Year’s Eve at $225 per person. Oh well!
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A few fun food- and drink-related events are on the local agenda for January. The Sonoma Valley Olive Festival continues at some wineries and restaurants (www.olivefestival.com). VJB Vineyards & Cellars in Kenwood features more than twenty original artworks featuring olives by Sharon Daverio and Soo Noga. During January El Dorado Kitchen at First Street West and West Spain Street will feature its “O-live in the Moment” martini.
Olive guy Don Landis will present an Olive Curing Seminar on Jan. 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cline Cellars, which is free to the public and includes a history of olive growing in California and a demonstration of Landis’s “Greek style no lye” method of curing olives, all followed by olive and Cline wine tasting. 24737 Sonoma Highway (121). Call Landis at 707.823.5097 or email him at olivedon@hotmail.com for more info.
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Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves will pair its wines with Shiso sushi restaurant’s creative Japanese food in an unusual winemaker dinner on Jan. 9.
For those squeamish about raw fish, chefs Ed Metcalfe and Tony Ghilarducci have designed a fabulous sounding menu without any. Guests may expect mixed greens with hirame and green apples; curried soft shell crab with fresh coriander and mango confetti; roasted wild mushrooms with micro greens, Togarashi and Mirin-soy butter; miso-glazed butterfish with Chinese long beans and miso emulsion; sake-braised pork belly with Kabocha squash purée and chard; and pineapple tataki with house-made caramel ice cream; each course served with Gloria Ferrer still and sparkling wines. $65 for six-course dinner without wines; $85 with wine pairing from Gloria Ferrer. 6:30 p.m. 522 Broadway, Sonoma. 707.933.9331.
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Martini Madness at The Lodge at Sonoma comes up again already on Jan. 12 featuring Sonoma Valley’s best bartenders contending for best martini. Entries are expected this year at least from Carneros Bistro, El Dorado Kitchen, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, the girl & the fig, Mary’s Pizza Shack, Maya, Sonoma Meritâge Martini & Oyster Bar and Grille, and Saddles. 1325 Broadway, Sonoma. Tickets $25 at the door. Call 707.996.1090 for more info.
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The Sonoma Community Center and Shiso sushi restaurant will combine efforts to present the Community Center’s first ever “Sonoma Winter Ball & Sushi Extravaganza” on Jan. 13. Dance instructor Steve Luther will kick off the evening with a one-hour dance lesson covering swing, ballroom, Latin and “nightclub” dancing, to be followed by dancing and a no-host sushi bar along with wine available for purchase. $15 per person for dance, sushi and wine extra. 7:30-11 p.m. 276 East Napa Street, Sonoma. Call 707.938.4626 or visit sonomacommunitycenter.org for more info.
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Cline Cellars will host a sumptuous three-course olive-inspired dinner on Jan. 13, with a reception in Cline’s “Mission Museum,” followed by dinner in the adobe mission replica, all in conjunction with the Sonoma Valley Olive Festival. $130. Space is limited to 30 guests, so reserve now if you are interested. 24737 Highway 121, Sonoma. Call 707.940.4025 for more info.
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Ramekins Sonoma Valley Culinary School will host the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau’s “Feast of the Olive Dinner” on Jan. 20, featuring famous olive growers, olive oil producers and wine country chefs to celebrate Sonoma Valley’s olive season. Last year this dinner was a really interesting experience tasting all the wildly creative dishes the chefs thought up and created. Eight courses, $175. Call 707.996.1090, Ext. 108 for reservations.
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Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers wants local wineries to participate in a huge wine tasting in the Temecula Valley on March 24. Wines from Baja to British Columbia will be available for tasting, region by region for comparison tasting. Anyone who wants to offer their wines should contact Maureen Lamb at SVVGA via Maureen@sonomavalleywine.com or call her at 707.935.0803.
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Mary’s Pizza Shack has substituted french fries to accompany its sandwiches, from hamburgers to chicken breast and tuna melts. Servers report that Mary’s family and staff worked hard to get as close to McDonald’s fries as possible and cooks them in canola oil. If you want the salad or cup of soup you were used to, it’s two dollars extra, although the basic sandwich price has been lowered.
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In case you haven’t heard, the Taco Bell E. coli threat is off. Apparently it is now known that northeastern United States customers got sick from lettuce, instead of green onions or scallions, and those Taco Bells have changed suppliers.
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“Menu creep”: Have you noticed our annual “new menu” arrivals in local restaurants, especially the lower priced ones? “New menus” usually mean higher prices, along with a few item subtractions or additions. Split-able salads are shrinking while their costs rise, and coffee prices are creeping up, but then so are wholesale coffee prices, as we see at grocery stores.
Enjoy everyone!
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