Mid-August and while we are well aware the living ain’t always easy for much of the world, truth be told our cocktails, salads, cold soups and fruity desserts are exploding with summer’s juices and gorgeous life affirming color in our little corner of the world. Dining in the gardens is always wonderful to see - especially for families with children and couples with dogs.
Early in the evening more than half our guests still opt for Studio dining - cool tunes, air con, flooded with farm florals - but as the sun drops the best place in Barndivaland for a drink and a shared snack is on one of of the couches in the garden next to the edible flower beds we grow for the bar program, for scent, and guest delight.
We are a casual fine dining restaurant with the emphasis on fine dining. This means we truly prefer guests reserve for dinner so we come to every service on point. We welcome walk-ins for dinner - you just risk a wait without a reservation. The bar fills up nightly - and have also designated two Jordy Morgan sculptural hi-tops for drinkers. Even when the dining room is rocking we can manage shared plates - Our house made white bean hummus with garden crudites and a fresh green herby citrus oil, mounds of onion baji crunchy with salt and served with a coriander and mint chutney, and our notorious goat cheese croquettes- a barndiva favorite since the day we opened can always be ordered alongside a cocktail or a glass of wine.
The whole point of our move back to the Studio was to be able to accommodate this style of dining, inside and out; being able to offer dinner parties to larger groups; playing our B&W silent films on the barn wall, sharing our playlists, lighting the candles. Celebrating every season in our inimitable style and- for you as well as for us - just having a bit of fun enjoying a night out in Healdsburg.
By the time you read this the farm figs served the past few weeks on the heirloom tomato salad will be gone -they are fragile, and their season short. But tomatoes this year? Not to be believed. And Erik’s and David’s whipped mozzarella salad with fresh basil and crunchy croutons is the perfect carrier for all that summer tomato goodness. Barndiva farm fruits up next: comice and asian pears.
Brief too will be the fresh corn season and we celebrate it with a wonderful Erik Anderson chilled golden corn soup. The bowl arrives with a dollop of glorious Jimmy Nardello pepper jam made with a hint of sherry vinegar. The soup is poured table-side, and you just give it a stir -the better to re-discover the piquant ‘jam’ with every velvety spoonful. This is a dish that truly resonates with the season. It is topped with a tangle of crisped corn silk and a few petals of sweet garden thyme.
As for sweet endings: we’ve known Simon Mendoza since he was a boy. His father, Abel is one of Barndiva’s most valued chefs who has been with us for many years. Abel (and for a time his talented wife) have navigated every stage of our journey, while the kid, it turns out, was watching and if not taking notes, taking note of the parts that intrigued him. Turns out he has the talent and the chops for pastry. Simon is now turning out some of the best sorbets and ice creams in town - which I know is saying a lot. He’s baking as well: we were dreaming of a galette this summer and Voila, Simon has delivered. It’s a peach galette for now, soon to shift into pears and apples as they ripen here at the farm. His sorbets this week: raspberry, mandarin, mango. Ice Cream flavors will come and go with the season, except for vanilla which is sublime. Leave room for desert and celebrate young talent! Eat the view!
