On the Hunt for Zuzu's Petals

November 26, 2014

Holiday madness is almost upon us so this week's Eat the View is all about keeping one’s gaze focused on spending delicious, meaningful time with loved ones. Though we will be closed for Thanksgiving so our staff can celebrate at home, where they hopefully get to step away from the stove, Black Friday we open our doors (and our arms) wide for a holiday season we’re really looking forward to....with a few well chosen festivities we think are gonna rock it. Here are some unique treats and dates to get on your calendar.

First up is Healdsburg’s Downtown Holiday Party, this Friday from 4-8. We love this evening when the whole community is engaged with strolling around, catching up with old friends, sipping, nibbling and checking out all the beautifully decorated shops around the Plaza. We do our bit: the Studio will be glittering with charming Christmas ornaments, soaring porcelain vases for your holiday table, and unique arts and crafts from down the road and around the world - all one of a kind gifts - all here for your ogling enjoyment. Until Christmas Barndiva Gift Certificates for over $100 will include a bottle of Preston/Barndiva proprietary red or white. We've never met a person who didn't love getting one of our gift certificates - good for anything we do in either the barn or the gallery - cocktails, food, wine, art. The perfect gift when you don't know what to give, and most especially when you do.

There will of course (it's Barndiva) be a special spirited libation Friday night and Octavio has promised a towering Croquembouche with plenty of bite sized versions of this classic French Christmas treat to pass around. It will also be the first time the town gets a glimpse of what all the banging has been about in the studio lately - come take a look! Our lips are sealed what will happen in the space come January, but hints abound...

On Friday we will publish the NYE menu, elegant, three-course, classic Ryan (with a few surprises) for $85, with an extraordinary wine pairing by Alexis if you so choose for $55. There will be a full bar in both the barn and the studio and we’ll be pouring magnums. This year you can reserve from five o'clock on - so even if you choose to dine earlier in the evening and go visit friends, you are invited back at midnight to dance and raise high the roof beams as we ring in 2015. We will accept large parties this year, but feel free to come a deux and make new friends.

And don't forget: Barndiva will be participating in Strolling Dine Around on December 3rd, 4th, 10th & 11th, and we are proud to once again be contributing to Dine Around for Life, which is December 4th.

All in all, it's shaping up to be a great season. We invite you to escape into the barn for a drink after shopping or a quiet dinner with friends before the whole family descends. Whether you join us for a little moment this season or the last blowout of the year, we look forward to seeing you and raising a glass.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Wednesday at the Barn Says Adieu As It Welcomes in 2013

January 2, 2013

Hello, Goodbye

It would be boorish indeed to post images of our guests wearing silly hats they've donned after imbibing copious amount of drink, but when it comes to our staff all bets are off. Chef may have slipped out the back door with Bekah and the baby just after midnight, but the rest of us partied on to a playlist of Prince, MJ, Barry and an extended homage to Donna (RIP, girl).

NYE is a great night around here syncopated as it is to base notes of bleating horns and the clarion call of champagne corks popping, but for the staff it also serves a higher salutatory purpose. By the time the room emptied and the balloons had begun their inexorable drift into the new year, cliff or no cliff we were ready to say goodbye to 2012, happily done and dusted.

Incredibly, this is our 200th blog as Eat the View. Next week we will post one more time (wild sea bass) before taking an extended travel break. We hope to return ~ invigoration is an art around here ~ but you'll have to stay tuned to see in what form. New Year's may be over, but metaphorically (and, no doubt edibly) speaking, the night is still young.

All text Jil Hales. All photos Jil Hales.

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Wednesday at the Barn ~ 2012 ~ A Look Back in Pictures

December 31, 2012

And a Very Happy New Year to You!

All year the blog strives to present delectable images of food, but at the end of the day (end of the year), there would be no blog without the people who contribute to it in every way ~ from the farmer in the field through the chefs in the kitchen to the waitstaff at your table. Because we are passionate about what we do, we are fully cognizant that we would not be here without you ~ our friends, guests, supporters of the Barn and the Studio. We want to take this opportunity to thank you for making this our most successful year, and allowing us to continue doing what we love.

So it is with a full heart that the entire Barndiva family wishes you a 2013 full of joy and meaningful endeavors. We hope it includes some time spent at our table.

Salute!