Think Pink

The Pink Party rides again!

Yes, it's not yet May and Healdsburg can already feel as crowded as Summer while round-about construction and lack of downtown parking (still) sucks, but damn. For bonhomie and style, not to mention a refreshingly up close and personal interaction with a merry and talented band of winemakers and vintners, the Pink Party rocks it. What makes our Northern California wine shed truly great isn't how many grapes we grow, but the personal stories and passions behind the wines we produce. It's something you just can't read off a label. And it was on full display this past Sunday. 

This is why we love the Pink Party: with the first hint of Spring, along with wildflowers and roses comes bud-break and a fresh desire to make wine tasting relevant to a 'local' crowd. The loose knit group who come together here in our gardens re-affirms that to love wine is to celebrate where and how it's grown. 

We have two more collaborative Wine Events in the same spirit as The Pink Party, both before harvest: Fête Blanc and Fête Rouge. Secure tickets before they too sell out! Barndiva also has two upcoming Sommtable spotlight series dinners early Summer, with Flowers Vineyards & Winery and Peay Vineyards. And, starting in May, every Wednesday we will host a different 'local' vintner we admire in the Gallery Gardens. How do we define local? Susie Selby is down the block from Barndiva. Alison Story and Eric Smith are down the road from Barndiva Farm. Barndiva is stretching its wine wings in new ways to connect our lives with what we continue to love about this community. For information on all upcoming wine related events check out barndiva.com/wine or sign up for Eat the View, our blog.

 Apologies to anyone we missed in this Pink Party 'who poured' album, and mea culpa to the two vintners left out of the group shot!  No worries identifying who is who if you didn't meet them: A complete list of vintners and wineries is listed below. 

A great big shout out to all our chefs - especially Andrew, Thomas, Deron and the gang in the Gallery kitchen. There was killer food and plenty of it (ok you had to be quick when those platters hit the orchard table). To DJ Jeremy and the beautiful Janine, and to Daniel Carlson for the incredible blooms - all from Barndiva Farm, we love you! And a special tip of the chapeau to our awesome wine director Alexis Iaconis who, along with Chef Ryan, Lukka, dear Natalie and Cathryn, pulled off another great annual Spring party. To all the beautiful ladies and gents who dressed in pink, thank you! 

Our raffle tickets this year were sold in support of Farm to Pantry. Heartfelt thanks to our friend Chris Paul from Copain, who kindly helped Alexis organize and sell the lots- three full cases of Rosé from generous wineries who attended the event. We were able to raise $1,800 for this very worthy organization. A community, like a country, is only as strong as it's weakest links. 

Divas Rising

The beauty of the "Extreme Sonoma Coast" overlooking Flowers Seaview Vineyards

Our definition of a diva is someone who strives to 'hit the high notes', who perfects their art, or indeed their craft, not giving up until they’ve nailed it.  At Barndiva’s opening 14 years ago our divas baked bread (Lou Preston), made exquisite vinegar (Karen Bates), award winning chocolate (John Scharffenberger and Michael Recchiuti) and handcrafted charcuterie (Paul Bertoli, pre-fra’ mani). 

It is hard to imagine, five decades ago, what Merry Edwards faced as a woman trying to gain entrance into the ego driven, wholly male dominated wine industry. Yet against great odds and challenges anyone but Merry would have called setbacks, she has lived a life filled with high notes, balancing soil and weather as if analogous to life and craft.

The inimitable Merry Edwards

In the course of her remarkable journey she steered an entire industry away from the dangers of lead capsules, and did pioneering work with clones that unarguably changed the history of California wine making. She won a James Beard award and was inducted into the Culinary Institute’s Vintners Hall of Fame. From early acclaim producing Pinot Noir for Mount Eden and Sauvignon Blancs for Matanzas Creek, hers is a passion for choosing small sites where the right rootstock, clone and farming techniques might produce exceptional grapes. It’s a lifelong curiosity about soil that extends to farming, food and flowers.

Merry didn’t do it alone, of course. And she is the first to acknowledge the importance of having great teachers who have your back. In her career this included Dr. Maynard Amerine, Dr. Harold Olmo, and Joe Swan; she and husband Ken Coopersmith have worked as a team for two decades making exceptional estate wines at Meredith and Coopersmith Vineyards, and most recently from their new home and vineyards in Sebastopol, planted with Merry’s Clone, UCD 37.

The two other woman winemakers in our spring SommTable Spotlight Series, though still early in their careers, share in their own way the diva drive and focus. Both work within strong namesake and family partnerships - Chantal Forthun with Walt and Joan Flowers, Vanessa Wong with Nick and Andy Peay. Both have something else in common - making wine with fruit grown in one of the most thrilling but risky regions of the world - the "Extreme Sonoma Coast."

Chantal Forthun

Flowers Vineyard

When Walt and Joan Flowers purchased 321 acres of ridge top land only 2 miles from the Pacific in 1991 and planted grapes, they were the definition of outliers. Their belief was that the dramatic variables in weather in this rugged coastline, if farmed the right way, could be harnessed to produce uniquely remarkable cool climate varietals. If the idea seemed crazy at the time, they soon put paid to naysayers.

Chantal arrived in 2012, two years into the Flowers' adoption of organic farming practices and native fermentation for 100% of their winemaking. Born and raised in the Central Valley, she had studied botany at Chico State and become an enologist before moving, fortuitously as it turned out, to Bonny Doon in 2008. A mentorship with Randall Grahm impressed upon her the importance of biodynamic farming, winemaking using native yeast, the practice of gravity flow. It was working as an associate winemaker with Randall that Chantal adopted his mantra, which she defines as "a dedication to transparency in an industry filled with smoke and mirrors." In 2011 she returned to the Santa Cruz mountains to make wine for acclaimed Pinot producer Rhys Vineyards, which brought two great loves into her life: the man who would become her husband, and small batch Pinot Noirs made in the Burgundian style. 

Chantal produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the two organic, bio-dynamically farmed Flowers estates - Camp Meeting Ridge Vineyard and Sea View Ridge Vineyard. Great care is given to every stage of winemaking, starting with hand harvesting grapes in the early morning. Pinot grapes have long cold soaks before wild yeast fermentation, the better to showcase the terroir; they are left in contact with the skins, which brings out resplendent color and flavor. Chardonnay grapes go directly to the press and are allowed to settle before going into French Oak barrels for 100% barrel fermentation. Every step Chantal takes strives to enhance the breezy, foggy and intermittently hot coastal climate.

Andy, Vanessa, and Nick

Peay Vineyards

Vanessa Wong has been working her mountain top vineyards since 2001, five years after the grapes were planted by brothers Andy and Nick Peay, who had scraped together the money and purchased and planted these remote vineyards in 1996. A Davis alum, Vanessa worked in California at Peter Michael Winery and Hirsch Vineyard, spending crucial years in France at Château Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac, Domaine Jean Gros in Vosne-romanée, with course studies at  l’Institut d’Œnologie in Bordeaux. One of those people who know what they want to do from an early age - Vanessa has worked with wine and food since she was 14 - the blogs she writes from her aerie above the Pacific are full of wine musings and great meals with this incredibly close winemaking family (Vanessa is married to Nick Peay, who manages the vineyards, while brother Andy is Peay's conduit to the world.)

Vanessa's practices are minimally manipulative following the belief that when great care is given to soil health and drainage, mindful cultivation that results in low yields will produce the rich, concentrated flavors she is after. Working with ancient maritime soils and sea-bed fossils she uses Peay’s slow growing season to produce vintages, especially their Scallop Shelf Pinots, which have remarkable depth, justly lauded as “judicious and elegant.”

Both Chantal and Vanessa, though distinctly different winemakers, capitalize on the cool weather of their unique locations for a slower ripening season, which allows for delicate aromatics in the skin. Both young women, dedicated to sustainable farming practices, craft earth-driven wines of elegance and complexity.

But more to the heart of what motivates our wonderful Spring Spotlight Series of remarkable women, as Merry Edwards discovered many years ago facing manmade boundaries she longed to cross, when you know what you love and work very hard to become good at it, no borders can stop you from the promised land.  

Meredith Estate: Merry Edwards Winery

We are honored to have all three of these powerhouse women winemakers join us at The Somm’s Table this Spring and early Summer. Merry Edwards on Friday, March 2; Chantal Forthun on May 25; Vanessa Wong with Nick and Andy Peay on June 15.

Ryan cannot wait to cook for them, and Alexis will join us to host.

The stories continue, the wine will flow.

Click Here to Reserve Your Spot at the Table

Ending the Year in Style

Cold smoked sturgeon, chive tater tot, caviar, chervil

To the extent the term ‘god is in the details’ can be applied to food, specifically to the food created in both Barndiva kitchens, the prix fixe dinners we served NYE were not exclusive. Incredibly delicious, check. A joy to behold, see for yourself. But on par they followed an arc well established by Ryan Fancher. To cook with layered complexity ‘à la minute’ you need to master split second timing and coordinate multiple stages of a dish. His belief in an uncompromising mastery of prep starts long before a single dish reaches the table. From the moment raw product arrives at our kitchen door, through chopping, slicing, mincing, shredding, carving, poaching, sautéing, frying, rolling, baking, braising, simmering, steaming, whipping, (I could go on, it is seriously insane) a plethora of ingredients must be nurtured to a point of suspension and held at the ready, before the final act begins. In those last moments everything has to come together - perfect temperature, brightness of flavor, presentation - or that satisfactory moment of ‘à la minute’ loses its hot little heart of pleasure.

The A Team:  Deron, CJ, Thomas, Ryan, Andrew, Abel. 

This is a crazy business when you are dedicated to capturing and extending what I’d call original flavor. But each and every day I've spent documenting (and eating) the food that comes out of our kitchens what I experience is a consistent, ego-less respect for what happens when rigorous labor and great ingredients meet. This is where the true alchemy of ‘fine’ dining begins. Ryan is the inspiration and always at the helm, but he’d be the first to issue deference to teamwork. His ability to teach and uphold standards of perfection is what makes him a great chef.

Roasted king quail, mushroom ragout, bacon, frisée

New Year's Eve we had two menus: they were not in competition, and there was nothing experimental about them - that wasn’t the intent. Below the different streams of energy and design we’ve created in the Barn and the Bistro, which flow from a desire to perfect and deliver nuanced approaches to different styles of dining,  our course  is to consistently re-create and extend classic flavor profiles we are wired to love. If that seems simple, well, it’s not. You are the judge of any success we enjoy. Looking around both dining rooms on NYE it was clear we ended the year on a high.

Chilled lobster salad, BD farm pea shoots, fingerling potato chips

Pastry chef Scott Noll's chocolate butter pecan 'bomb'bon

As our staff takes up their positions in the kitchens and the dining rooms after a much needed week off, we look forward to welcoming you in 2018 with continued enthusiasm for our mission. Because we understand, like never before, the importance of joyful dining in troubling times.

Babies & Wine & an Antidote to Angst

For many in Sonoma and Mendocino, and around the world,  2017 will not be remembered with much joy, but if you go with the premise that it's important in life to take the good as an antidote to the bad, we were gratified that along with the challenges Barndiva's year has also been filled with exciting new collaborations with people we admire and projects that pique our curiosity (and hopefully yours).

The drive for our positivism as we look toward 2018 comes from the year just past, which saw the arrival of LouLou, Enzo, Lucie, Birdie and last, but certainly not least, Remy Fancher, the third utterly captivating daughter of Bekah and Chef Ryan. Despite the frustrations of making sustainably farmed food viable in a commercial arena, the arrival of these new little members of our community is inspiring. Their future depends upon healthy food, water and air. Everyone has a role to play, especially as consumers. For your continued support of all things Barndiva this past year, we thank you.  

the somm's table

Without a doubt the thing that obsessed us the most this year, tailgating the extraordinary food coming out of our kitchens, has been wine. It was our second year earning two glasses from Wine Spectator which we are quite chuffed about, as the list is gorgeous and getting better all the time. But we've long believed that the conversations we could be having around the crop that grows as far as the eye can see in every direction should be about more than points, price, and an often silly nomenclature that keen winedrinkers view with more skepticism than delight. The winemakers we've had the pleasure of befriending over the last decade are super smart and passionate. They are scientists and weathermen, farmers and artists. To dumb down the complexity of what they create from soil to bottle isn't just an insult, it's a lost opportunity. A chance to connect to the landscape which surrounds us, to learn a language that is scent, taste and memory driven. And crucially, to accumulate knowledge about what you personally enjoy most when you lift a glass of wine and sink into its essence. 

Our wine director Alexis Iaconis is a remarkable young woman. In addition to guiding our growing wine programs, she moonlights at Meadowood (though I'm sure they think it's the other way around), is studying to take her Master Sommelier exam, and is a partner to husband Matt's exciting brick &  mortar label. All of that is driven and no doubt sustained by being a great mom. Yet she still managed to find time to help us start The Somm's Table this year. Together we hosted group wine fêtes (all sold out, now annual events) and singular winemaker spotlight dinners. We published wine set notes every month and inaugurated 'Trace' - an interactive scent based wine identification system, er, art piece. The Somm's Table approach to wine is agricultural, sense & scent driven and idiosyncratic - i.e. very Barndiva. Along with a changing wine literacy window and its 'location' in Studio Barndiva, which still displays and sells the work of local artists, the art aspect is not a misnomer. 

For all the work that went into The Somm's Table, the biggest wine news was delivered by our stealthiest player, Lukka Feldman. Under his direction we now have six Barndiva label wines that will be poured in both restaurants in the new year and shortly thereafter sold on a new website, Shopbarndiva. Stay tuned. 

We'd like to use this last post of the year to give heartfelt thanks to all who helped us launch The Somm's Table this year. To Small Vines, Alysian, Leo Steen, DuMol, brick & mortar, Littorai, Black Kite, Radio Coteau and especially to Roederer and Domaine Anderson, who supported our fire relief efforts by turning their spotlight dinner into a fundraiser. Along with the money we raised tableside, by New Year's Eve we will have donated over $20,000 to RCU and Undocufund. Thank you to winemakers Dan Fitzgerald, Eric Sussman and Kai Kliegl for helping us expand the Barndiva label. 

Finally,  we'd be remiss to end the year without thanking our incredible FOH staff, starting with Cathryn, our restaurant manager, who keeps us all marching in the right direction and Paula, Ryan B, Isabel, and Lalo for keeping food, cocktail and wine service humming. Without them we could not concentrate on new projects like The Somm's Table. To Barndiva's Farm Manager Daniel Carlson and sculptor Jordy Morgan for help with Trace. To Bob Signs for help designing our Center Street Somm's Table windows. To Campbell Hay for our incredibly elegant wine labels. Last, but never least, my assistant K2, without whom I could not keep the ideas, images and words flowing in the right direction. 

We have our doubts about our voice on social media platforms, namely how to be heard and still be true to our mission without adding to the cacophony of self aggrandizement which seems to be swallowing the culture whole. But in the new year we hope to make more videos @barndivahealdsburg, so stay in touch. We love to hear from you. 

Happy New Year!

Jil, Geoffrey, Ryan and Lukka.

*Barndiva and The Gallery Bar + bistro will be on hiatus from January 1-7. We look forward to cooking for you and filling your glass when we re-open (invigorated!) on Wednesday, January 10. 

Ten "Best" Dishes of the Year

Top Ten lists tend to wax toward the superlatives, but there is a fine but distinct line between 'best' and 'favorite,' especially when it comes to food. We try to make every dish we serve as beautiful, seasonal and delicious as we can, but every year there are a few that linger for us as truly memorable, and often it's for reasons even we can’t always define. They aren't our most complex creations, and it isn’t necessarily their wow factor, though we love delivering that.  A dish that is classic Barndiva is a nuanced dance across the plate. It's fueled by eat the view ingredients, their essence unobscured, and masterful technique.  Every step that lands on the plate needs to connect, and resonate. 

Food is political, yes. But like the political, it starts out as personal, a subterranean urge to recreate (on our part) and rediscover (on yours) a taste or smell which once upon a time gave immense pleasure. 

Here then, is a very personal shortlist of dishes we loved sourcing, fabricating and serving to you this past year. 

In 1st Place The Ratatouille Board was hands down the dish that just made us grin from ear to ear every day it appeared on the menu. Tommy's 'wheel,' the tempura squash blossoms, cherry toms, pearls of fresh green peas, baby vegetables grown by Daniel at the farm, the flowers from the beds here at the Barn. Every vegetable on the plate sang of summer.  

#2 Heirloom Tomato Soup. Truth be told, Ryan's favorite. Just, well, because.

#3 Kale Cesar is a favorite of the Barndiva lunch crowd, with a mast of white anchovy and pale wilted onions, grated pecorino and enough minuscule chives to set sail. Every time we think we're over kale, it pulls us back in.

#4. Chestnut Flour Frangipane Apple Tart, the best use ever of chestnuts from our very old orchards on the ridge. Served with the last of the summer apples (not a bumper year, which only made us appreciate our dry farmed beauties all the more).

#5 Tuna Niçoise (sort of). We don't use the word deconstructed around here anymore, but damn if this dish wasn't a Proustian homage to a South of France summer. Why it tasted so good: runny egg, check, flash grilled fresh tuna, check, charred cherry toms, check. There were perfect haricot vert, and the dressing was a bright tapenade in which olives were only part of the charm. Split second timing and consistency are hallmarks of Ryan's cooking. As for freshness, all this dish didn't do was swim.

#6 Osso Bucco, another bistro star. With roasted root vegetables, and a three day, marrow rich reduction, the definition of cyrenaicism. Look it up.

#7.  Barndiva Farm Figs, lightly poached, then set to rest in a flaky Custard Tart. The finished dessert came with a scoop of balsamic sherbet and dried fig chips. For a brief two weeks in August our heirloom figs flood the kitchen. We serve them fresh, we make compote for charcuterie and cheese platters, we work them into savory dishes. And our wonderful pastry chef Scott Noll bakes. Boy, does he bake. 

#8: Wild Salmon. Strawberries, kumquats, red and gold beets. Shaved burgundy carrots. Pansies and nasturtiums and pea shoots from the gardens. A plate of beauty and nourishment that just made you glad to be alive.

#9: Short Rib Wellington, which we also offered as a vegetarian entree. At one point in the season I counted 10 different vegetables, all cooked à la minute or lightly pickled. 

#10: Scotty's play on S'mores for the Barn dinner menu, mid summer: triple layer devil's food cake w/ graham ganache, honey ice cream, campfire 'mallows.'

Team Barndiva! They worked (and rode) together through the year like champs. And this was some year for us: bad (the fires of October) and very good (the births of Remy & LouLou and the launch of Somm's Table). Barndiva thanks each and every member of our incredible kitchen brigade for putting heartfelt effort into a year unlike any other. For all the trials and tribulations here in Sonoma County, and across the country, and around the world, we continue to gather over food and drink and that, dear friend, is a good thing. Onward!

Holiday Fêtes!

Natural and human-made catastrophes have made us all a bit slaphappy this year, but as our rooms of drinkers and diners fill up again we are seeing a bracing new awareness of what constitutes joy. It feels good to sit in well lighted rooms with other people, listening to music and the sound of our voices raised in story, with cures for what ails us - though they may run the St. Vincent gamut from voodoo to zen. When beautiful plates of food arrive, an easy gratitude descends. Whatever is coming next we would all do well to try and find common ground, to face the future together. To be well fed and lubricated is not amiss, but the season offers many opportunities to give something of ourselves as well.

NOVEMBER 24

THE STUDIO BARNDIVA OPEN HOUSE kicks off our season.  One of our town's best traditions is to 'make the rounds' as dusk descends just after Healdsburg's traditional Tree Lighting Ceremony in the Plaza. This year Chef Wycoff will be sizzling up hundreds of our infamous quail egg BLT's, Isabel will keep the crystal punch bowl topped up with a spirited "Why Bears Do It," and the consummate musicians that comprise the John Youngblood Quartet will glide through a remarkable mix of blues, bluegrass and New Orleans jazz. Swing by. Help us start the season off right.

December 3

Tickets are now on sale for the fire relief and recovery fundraiser RISE UP SONOMA, an incredible collaboration of chefs and restaurants, winemakers and purveyors from across the North Bay. Six charities vital to recovery will benefit. Barndiva is proud to be participating.

December 8

This is a chance to spend time with an extraordinary winemaker, innovative and caring land and vineyard manager, video producer and supporter of the arts. In an era of 'look at me vintners', Eric Sussman is the real deal. The Somm's Table is thrilled to have him here for the last of our inaugural vintner spotlight dinner of the year. Ryan is a big fan and has created an extraordinary menu for the wines Eric will bring.    Book Online or call 707 431 7404

DECEMBER 24: We are open.

DECEMBER 25: Happily closed for Christmas Day.

DECEMBER 31

Ryan has not finalized our New Year's Menu yet, but tantalizing details are starting to emerge: in the Barn we are hearing it will be elegant and very classic, six courses, prix fixe. Think house smoked salmon and caviar bellinis, cold poached lobster salad with wild greens, velvet cauliflower soup, roasted quail, prime sirloin with black truffle mac & cheese. Scotty has promised dark chocolate butter pecan bonbons. Over in the Gallery Chefs Fancher and Wycoff are conspiring to craft something more casual, but no less delicious, with interactive pieces as befits NYE. We will publish both full menus, with two Alexis Iaconis wine pairings, next week. A very special guest DJ will join us around midnight. Let's dance!

Throughout the holidays we invite you to explore our new, 70+ champagne list, lovingly compiled by Alexis and Cathryn, with a gleeful assist by Lukka. We trust there is something here for just about every palate and budget.

One bottle you will not find is handcrafted from 1000 vines grown on a south facing hillside in the Axe Valley, in West Sommerset, England. We met Rob Corbett, the winemaker & dairyman of Castlewood Vineyard and Farm for one windy, sun splashed afternoon last May. That's him in the image at the top of this page. Works hard and plays hard, which is our mantra this Holiday Season. Rob has a prominent place in our next blog, "Barndiva Approves of this Message," wherein we will endeavor to tip our hats to some of the most extraordinary people we've met during the year that is ending - fellow travelers in the food and wine, farming and floral worlds who bolstered us up in a year we sorely needed it.  Stay tuned. 

OUR CHAMPAGNES

 

Who We Are Now

We feel damn lucky the fires didn't reach Healdsburg but hearing the words ‘we were blessed’ the other day, though well intended, was disconcerting. There is no blessing, that I can see now, for Sonoma County, where everything good is interconnected. The food and wine we produce, and the communities and economic networks that form around them fuel our lives and our projects. Many friendships have grown out of these connections, which also extend to Mendocino and Napa Counties.

Another word I am prickly upon hearing is 'entitled', which before the fires you would still hear all the time in conjunction with the words 'lifestyle' and 'wine country'. When you work at our end of hospitality where what is grown outside our windows takes long careful hours to prepare, cook and present to the world, you may feel grateful, but never entitled. The thing about exquisite plates of food is that they disappear in minutes, and you need to start gathering and making them again. It's humbling, which it turns out is a good thing. 

The generosity we’ve watched spread across the county since October 9th may not be endemic to human nature, much as we’d like to hope, but it clearly resides at the heart of our North Bay culture. If the fire is ever to be remembered someday as having an upside, this will be it. We have been reminded, in these times of great distrust, that we are indeed a generous community, one with shared goals we want to protect, others we are proud to nurture.

Every little bit will help in the months ahead. We are pleased to contribute over $10,000 from our Somm's Table fundraiser this weekend, but it's just the beginning. We hope to work next with Wells Guthrie (of Copain) and the ever stronger worker-focused network of CorizonHealdsburg. In early December we will join other chefs, restaurants, and wineries for a Rise Up Sonoma group fundraiser. Stay tuned.

But back to Saturday Night. It was a joy to be able to welcome Arnaud Weyrich of Roederer Estate and Darrin Low of Domaine Anderson after weeks of missed calls and frenetic half conversations as we expanded what had been scheduled as an intimate Somm's Table spotlight series dinner into a larger North Bay Fire Relief Fundraiser. It was harvest - and we were all still reeling from the fires - but both wineries were on board, donating all the sparkling and wine. The menu subtly referenced Roederer and Domaine wines - rehydrating dried fruits for the marmalade, poaching the quince - in classic Fancher style. For a complete list of purveyors who donated 100% to the dinner, please see below. The Gallery Bar kitchen team, guided by sous chef Andrew Wycoff, has been incredible these past few weeks, keeping the doors open while helping Chef coordinate feeding those in need who were temporarily re-located to Healdsburg from their lost homes and schools. The extraordinary spirit of our staff is not a surprise, but we want to say grace.  

Here is the Roederer/Domaine menu.  We resume the spotlight series December 8, with Eric Sussman of Radio Coteau. Join Us!

Barndiva's Chef Ryan Fancher with our Sommelier Alexis Iaconis; Winemakers Arnaud Weyrich and Darrin Low of Roederer Estate & Domaine Anderson.

All of us at Barndiva wish to thank:
Adrian Hoffman at 4 Star Seafood
Kim Huynh at Hobbs Applewood Smoked Meats
Sheila Angerer at Angerer Farms
Issac Cermak at Red Bird Bakery
Bonnie Z at Dragonfly Floral
Encore Event Rentals  

And a special shout out to Katrina at Abstract Loren for the powerful artwork (weheartsonomacounty, top image) she has donated to the City of Healdsburg,

...and to everyone who supports #sonomastrong. 

Chef takes a bow.

Zeni soil from Roederer's Philo Vineyard is part of on ongoing and interactive display in The Somm's Table in Studio Barndiva.

The 2003 L'ermitage was an unexpected gift- Merci Arnaud! 

Dia de los Muertos, Plaza de Healdsburg

It was a wonderful day on Sunday as we celebrated the living by honoring the dead. Live music, Baile Folklorico, pozole, traditional alters. Drums and dress up, kids and dogs. 

Many Healdsburg restaurants and businesses participated in the Dia de los Muertos celebrations this year. All proceeds from food and drink went in support of The Healdsburg/Windsor Fire Departments/Cal Fire First Responders and CorizonHealdsburg. Corizon is a vital bilingual community support organization which Ari and Dawnelise Rosen, of Campo Fina, were instrumental in starting through their non-profit, Scopa Has A Dream, two years ago. To find out how you can get involved contact Leticia@corazonhealdsburg.org.

Eat, Drink, Gather now!

Mats Andersson:  Prayer

Seeing the sun rise in a clear sky over Healdsburg Wednesday morning, two feelings prevailed. The first was immense relief that we were safe. The second was sorrow, knowing what so many of our friends - neighbors and patrons - must be going through.

Over a decade ago we lost all our family possessions when our beloved farmhouse on the Greenwood Ridge in Philo burnt to the ground. We were never in physical danger and we had a place to shelter, an empty flat with a few beds on the second floor of a barn on Center Street we were in the final stages of building. We were devastated, but not in the way so many across Sonoma, Mendocino and Napa Counties are now, some having lost whole communities, and in the most tragic circumstances, family members.

We never intended to open a restaurant in the barn when we lost our home on the ridge. The journey toward what our life has become today was born from the impulse to just keep moving. 'Barndiva' came at a moment in our lives when all we really wanted to do was dive headlong under a bed of grief. But we threw ourselves into creating a life and a business in Healdsburg which slowly came into shape. It didn’t come swiftly; there was a period of stunned disbelief, then a very dark time. It was the indelible beauty of this landscape and the kindness of strangers who seemed open to all our crazy ideas that slowly dragged us back into the light. We could never replace what we lost, but the people and community Barndiva brought into our lives saved us. 

From the beginning, because it was the local community which welcomed and bolstered us, it was the local community we were primarily focused on serving. To be sure, we have embraced and been sustained by tourism - but the focus has never been about fostering a line between neighbor and stranger. A truly viable notion of sustainability is one which supports local farms and purveyors, invests heavily in a local work force that prepares and serves food and drink to our tables. But it offers the same dining experience to anyone who passes through our doors. So many of the calls of concern we received the past week have been from couples who were married on our property who hold Healdsburg and Sonoma County close to their hearts. Its health is important to them too. Sonoma County doesn’t just rely upon hospitality as an industry, it thrives because being hospitable is character, and (in the best instances) passion driven. 

We have a long road ahead toward recovery of our emotional and economic equilibrium. Even as we welcome the world back, it's clear the immediate needs of this community are paramount - it will require all of us, using our best skills, to bring back what so many have lost. So we don’t lose them. 

We are a small family business that has, as its first responsibility, keeping our incredibly dedicated work force employed. We will be here, with all the love and talent Ryan Fancher puts into our food, cooking our hearts out. We look forward to welcoming you soon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Friday, October 13

We want to extend heartfelt and awe-struck gratitude to the many brave first responders who put their lives on the line in Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino. A special shout out to Supervisor James Gore and State Senator Mike McGuire for their immediate and laser focused help when and where it was needed most. To all our elected representatives across the North Bay who are stepping up, Thank You. 

Eat, Drink, Gather! 

 

Raising a Greenhouse

It was one of those days you want to hold on to forever - the smell of fresh soil, laughter, hammers ringing on steel. Ole, our builder of many years, stood off to one side with a shadow of a smile (the Milt Jackson version) that expressed how damn good it felt to see a greenhouse rising with strong, much younger backs carrying the weight, bringing with them a world of new ideas. And there was this: with all the anger and disillusionment free floating around right now, there is nothing so optimistic as tilling soil for seeds where food may grow that fills more than our bellies.   

We are doubling down on the ridge this year, intent on bringing more to our dining tables in the Barn and the Bistro than ever before. At the heart of all this new activity is Daniel, who has spent the winter pouring over seed catalogues, networking with neighbors and experts (usually one and the same). He has searched out the best techniques to feed the soil, sourced heirloom varieties of new fruit trees that may flourish in our remote dry farmed location, double dug beds and dealt with our sudden infestation of voles. (The gentlest of souls, Dan turns into a 'Taboo' Tom Hardy when it comes to voles.) We now have forty new plum and peach trees. Rows of berry vines. Spinach, arugula, baby radish, beets, and turnips, sweet peas, zinnias, snapdragons, scabiosa and cosmos all in the ground. Once the greenhouse is finished we will endeavor to grow a signature mesclun salad that Chef has longed for - an enticing blend of crisp, herbal, floral, with bright notes of hot and sweet. It will not be easy to produce enough to supply both kitchens that even now must serve hundreds of diners a day. There has hardly been any slow down in Healdsburg this winter - despite the torrential rain storms - a good thing- but an early indication it will be another wild west summer.

The build has been stop and start because of the storms, but we need more rain still. The tops of the redwoods are green again, the rivers, creeks, streams and ponds across Sonoma and Mendocino overflowing. I’d say our cup runneth over in Anderson Valley - verdant and lush, every hillside speckled with grazing animals - but ever mindful that most of the world is stepping gingerly through these perilous times, informed humility is what we are all feeling. That, and incredibly lucky. 

A heartfelt shout-out to Daniel, and to Chris, Mitchell, Jonathan, Antonio, Ole and Vidal, and of course Geoff and Lukka. Big love to Alexis, Olga and Alisa, who went shovel for shovel with the guys, and then some, before heading back to their lives set-designing, looming, and growing the best flowers on the East Coast. We were a gender, age and ethnically diverse group raising our greenhouse, and the better for it. Pass it on.

Cheers

5 reasons to love + the Barndiva Valentine Menu ♥

It has always bummed me out that we're forced into having such a fixed idea of how to celebrate Valentine's Day. Yes, yes, it's for lovers - and we plan to wine and dine lovers of all ages with a superb menu on February 14th  - but why waste an opportunity to spread the wealth a little?  As millions are gathering today to peacefully try and find common ground based on fairness,  it's a good time to remember that to celebrate love in all the many forms it comes to us... is to honor life.

Because there are so many kinds of love, other than romantic, that awe, confound, excite, and humanize us. That keep us going. The picture above of Lukka and his just born niece, Loulou, is that rare thing, love at first sight. I believe in love at first sight - my daughter Isabel was born on a Valentine's Day, fathered by a man I fell instantly in love with - a love that's still going strong 30 years on. It happens. But spontaneous love of any duration is the rarity.  Love can come in all shapes and sizes. Be for a person or a calling, someone or something we truly believe in. It takes patience, and respect, to keep it going. It's mark is indelible; the greatest self fulfilling prophecy we have.

Here are five enduring reasons that make life worth living around here, all year, not just on Feb. 14.  Write a list of your own, then get out there, and grow it. 

#1  Loving Fathers (Uncles and Grandads!)

#2 Farmers who give a damn

#3 Chefs who give a damn

#4 Animal Love

#5 The delicious art of eating the view

All images Jil Hales, with the exception of Big Dream Ranch produce, courtesy Kristee Rosendahl. Graphic design by Kirsten Petrie.

Dance Me

Throwing Barndiva dinner parties on New Year's Eve for the past 13 years has meant I never have to worry about a reservation - or for that matter a date - on the ultimate night of the year. But like pretty much everyone else I still find myself devising New Year resolutions, as if winning strategies might help make sense of the year as history moves on.

For 2017 it’s abundantly clear the resolution that tops the list - something we all need to do more of this coming year - is to Listen. As carefully, and thoughtfully, as we can. Where Empathy leads, follow. It’s going to be a tremendously hard year for the human race as we continue to stumble and bumble our way towards an uncertain future. And considering the veritable brain trust of indelibly talented people we lost this year, it would also be wise to add Finding Ways to Celebrate and Support the Arts.

I only had the luck of meeting two of the powerhouse creative people who died in 2016, (Zaha Hadid: formidable; George Martin: the definition of graceful erudition), but I’ve been struck how the passing of loadstar figures like David Bowie and Leonard Cohen has felt so personal. The way singular creative voices touch our lives is part of what draws us together; grieving public figures is one of the few things we all still, thankfully, have in common. Listening to Desperado after Glenn Frey died the line “come down from your fences, open the gate,” jumped out at me. One of the greatest things about growing up in the 60’s - which we are so in need of now - was belief in the idea that we might find a national anthem not based upon religion, or race. Or money. 

The poignancy of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher dying within a day of one another, while tragic, was an apt ending to this upside down year. Singing in the Rain was an anthem for American possibility, a paean to the happiness my parent's generation felt for this country. Finding her true voice in the depths of a painful recovery, Carrie did more than tell her own story. She and her mother were in fact two sides of the same coin. Beyond her illness, or because of it, she bravely spoke to the various systems that bind and obscure us as women.

In a year when politics let us all down (and this goes for everyone, even if you think your side won) giving thanks to the distinct creative voices that pose answers to difficult questions, offering us solace as we soldier on, is more important than ever before. At Barndiva we are all about enabling healthful food systems, but even in this regard enlightenment comes from many directions: I’ve learned what not to do as a restaurateur from AA Gill, how not to lose the passion of appetite from Jim Harrison. When I frame a shot or design a new space, somewhere in my memory bank sits the cool images of Raoul Coutard, the filigreed humanity of Vilmos Zsigmond. That these visionaries - cue your own Quixote in here - are gone now does not erase their contribution to our lives. But in giving thanks for the gifts they left us, we need to do more than tip our hats and raise our glass. Prince was a brave artist, and if not with the same historic reach as Ali, of a similar mindset, that speaking truth to power comes at a cost you must be willing to make. For our part, we must be willing to listen.

We drag the past with us, but it should not be as weight so much as a ballast. And, if we’re listening carefully, the mast to hold tight our sails. Aaron Taylor’s  “I Ain’t Worried,” reminds us of another brave voice from past who spoke hard truth, with honesty and hope. We send it out to you, glass half full, along with our heartfelt thanks for your support this past year, with wishes for a New Year in which you eat and drink well, and make exciting, meaningful, joyful choices.

 Cheers!

Aaron Taylor, "I ain't worried (interlude)" on his Still Life album.

On the run up to Christmas... and New Year's Eve

The run up to Christmas and New Year's is one of the best seasons here at Barndiva. Things are buzzing. As challenging as the year has been, all the more reason to bring it to an end in style, with great food, drink and good will abundant. Towards that goal, while we will close on the big day, we are mad for Christmas Eve. This year, on the night before you celebrate St. Nick we invite you to join us in celebrating St. Peter, patron saint of Fishermen. Alongside our full à la carte menu and a cellar bursting with bubbly, Chef Ryan will be butter basting Saint Peter's fish (aka John Dory) with turnip gratin and Dungeness Crab ravioli bathed in the Meyer Lemon butter. Scotty will be baking traditional mince tarts. Isabel will be serving special yule libations - and our just bottled apple juice for the little ones. We’d love to share this very special evening with you and your extended family.

If you’re still up in the air for Xmas eve, come on down! 

We'd also love to help you fill those Christmas Stockings. Still the best idea for just about anyone on your list is still The Barndiva Gift Certificate, redeemable everywhere  in Barndivaland - for food and drink in the Barn and the Bistro, or for beautiful objet d'art from house artists Manok, Seth, Ismael, and Geoff ... and now, for the first time,  for any future purchase in The Somm's Table.

Whether you are giving or taking (as in home) you should check out The Somm's Table, where we are proud to offer uniquely curated wine and champagne sets - great bottles chosen by our extraordinary Somm, Alexis Iaconis.  3 to 5 themed bottle collections, with engaging wine notes that include food pairings by Chef Ryan,  come "wrapped" in a very cool Barndiva market bag you can use all year, another first for us. My favorite sets are three Barndiva House Wines: Pinot, Chardonnay, and a plummy, rich, soft and well poised from bottle age Syrah, all made at Copain by the incomparable Wells Guthrie ($82); The Best Bubbles - a four bottle collection of wonderful champagnes which would be a treat to have around the house this time of year ($130); and Rosé Is Not Just for Summer, which in addition to François Chidaine Touraine 2015 and Idlewild's The Flower Rosé from the North Coast includes a delectable domain de Rimauresq, Cru Classé Côtes de Provence, a favorite from this past summer. We went through a lot of Rosé this summer - this set is a treat. (All three Rosés, in our signature bag, with Somm and Chef's notes, $60.)  

We are happy to sell single bottles from the table, especially glad to see local clients starting to pick up a special bottle when they've discovered something new after dinner in the bistro. The Somm's Table will expand into our expression of collaborative wine exploration over the winter - including a mysterious 'Wine School @ Home' program we're going to enjoy foisting on the unsuspecting public. But do come in and check it out over the holidays.

Lots of firsts for us in 2016 are available this Christmas - one we are especially proud of is being able to offer our insanely addicting Barndiva Farm Apple Juice, previously only available in the barn by the glass in the few weeks after press. Pasteurized by Manzana in Sebastopol, we have 10 oz glass bottles, available by the six-pack. For those under 21, we're drinking it chilled and neat; when the kids aren't looking you might try it over rocks with rum, or with a smooth shooter of fine bourbon, as we are currently offering in Barndiva and The Gallery Bar. Our apple juice is dry farmed from heirloom trees on the Greenwood Ridge in Philo, certified organic. 

For the Wine Paired menu, CLICK HERE.

Which brings us to NYE. Space in both restaurants is going fast, with lots of larger parties this year. Ryan's menu in the Barn is pure Fancher elegance, light, bright and memorable, with many of his classic dishes. In the Bistro, doing NYE for the first time with a different menu, things will be a bit more raucous, but incredibly delicious as well. (Please don't ask us to turn the music down.) If you are dining in the Barn and would like to come over to the Bistro for a dance or two after midnight, you will be more than welcome. Nothing fancy, mind you, just a few hoots to see the year out. 

Then it's onward to wherever 2017 takes us. We are expanding food production at the farm - very exciting news - with new greenhouses as we continue to perfect a signature salad and expand into unusual herbs and edible flowers for a reboot of our "lift, flirt, slide" cocktail campaign this Spring. There will be wine events at The Somm's Table, some led by Alexis, others invitational, with talented winemakers and sommeliers we think you should meet. Be sure to sign up so we can let you know when and where. (email wine@barndiva.com)

If you do not wash up on our shores until after Jan, we sincerely wish you and yours a Happy New Year from all of us. The Barndiva Family loves having your patronage and, in so many cases, your friendship. It's going to be an interesting year. Let's embark on it together.

Cheers, Friends of the Barn!

Introducing The Somm's Table

And just when we thought there wasn’t any more room on our dance card ... what with keeping the Barn and Bistro dining rooms humming, dodging rain for some of our best private parties of the year, pressing apples and bottling our cider vinegar......cue the music.

Having Alexis Iaconis, a master sommelier on staff now, and winning ‘two glasses’ from the Wine Spectator which vaulted us onto their Best Restaurants in America list, surely gave us the final nudge. But truth be told The Somm’s Table is something we’ve been contemplating for a while. 

For me it started with the Taste of Place exhibit we threw here in the Studio when the artist Laura Parker traveled the breadth of Sonoma County collecting soil samples you could smell and even taste alongside the food grown in them. A brilliant way of connecting food to landscape, landscape to farmer, it started me wondering if there wasn’t also a better way to talk about, and experience, wine.

Most of our diners fall somewhere in the gap between ‘the experts’ who approach wine with serious science and a mouthful of jargon and the traveling hordes wandering Healdsburg, glass in hand, during wine tasting weekends. 

I’ve got nothing against expanding a command of wine nomenclature (or for that matter, getting a buzz on), but too often the convoluted ways we talk about wine end up circumventing the very experience of tasting, and enjoying it, taking us further away from a meaningful connection to landscape and the stories of the many hands that pilot the grape on its journey to the glass.

True learning moments are the ones where you step off from what you know into unfamiliar terrain. Too much information and the brain fogs, too little and you’re running on the steam of subjective opinion. Travel helps expand our understanding of terrior and different wine cultures, while spending time with someone whose wine knowledge is deeper than your own helps incubate curiosity. 

But living in the heart of Sonoma County, surrounded by extraordinary producers and an excess of tasting rooms often leads us away from curiorisity and experimentation. Most of us know what varietals we tend to like best, which names to gravitate toward when perusing a restaurant menu. If you're not in the industry, when was the last time you lifted a glass and felt really excited to take that first sip?  

 I don’t expect a revelation every time I pick up a glass. But those moments when I breathe in deeply, close my eyes, sip and experience something exhilarating brings back all I love about wine. It's a moment easily forgotten in the ease of daily quaffing in this glorious terrain. Sure, there’s the buzz you get when alcohol travels through your bloodstream, the romance of circumstance, where you find yourself imbibing, and with whom. But the ability, some say talent, to detect flavor and scent and nuance is the thrill of a hunt we shouldn't lose. It's the fun of making personal connections - animal, vegetable, or mineral your call - that elevates drinking wine to another level.  

Louis Jadot’s legendary winemaker Jacques Lardière calls the collaborative endeavor of making wine “seeking the unconscious of the earth.” I thought a lot about this quote when I first read it. Jadot’s reference, to a vine's ability to pump minerality from the ground while pulling molecules from the air, speaks to, and honors, the mysterious transformation that ultimately takes place in the bottle. It can't be fully explained. Beyond the science, beyond the art, beyond the incredible labor it takes to make wine, there is a connection we make to wine which has held sway over us since recorded history began.

To rediscover or remember this we need to recognize that what's in the glass is a living entity. Wine is alive. 

Leading the team behind The Somm's Table, Alexis Iaconis, with some of our first picks.

The Somm’s Table, if nothing else, will be a celebration of that life. Over the holidays Alexis will help us curate selections of our favorite wines and with Lukka, Cathryn, Chef Ryan and Gallery Manager Ryan Birrer's help, we will try to communicate what we love about these vintages. The Gallery, filled with so many beautiful objet ancien du vin, has grown over the past year into a wonderful space in which to dine. Over the winter we’re going to grow it even more. 

Another goal: to provide an opportunity for lesser known, but extraordinarily talented winemakers who may not have a presence in Healdsburg to feel they now have a beautiful space where they can strut their stuff to our open minded, increasingly discerning patrons. Stay tuned - sign up by visiting barndiva.com/wine - for these occasions.

A club, a salon, a room in which to break bread and laugh, to eat and tell stories. At heart TSM will be about exploring the limits of what we know and love about wine, and going just a bit further. The truth is that right now while we have a great many ideas, we don’t really know where this venture is going. That’s going to be the fun of it. And, we sincerely hope, the joy.  

Come visit The Somm's Table in Studio Barndiva and join us as we embark on this journey. 

Cheers

Celebrating Excellence

With the exception of the Mendocino County Fair in Boonville, where the sight of gold ribbons festooning our apples has been known to make us giddy, we are not generally award seekers. Sure, it’s great to be acknowledged, but the desire to impress critics and judges too often shifts focus from the real people we should be pleasing... our customers. Take your eye off the ball for even a minute with a dining experience like ours, which strives to engage all the senses, and you can blow it. Talent without consistency is like only being able to sing a perfect aria in the shower. You need to hit the high notes with every performance.

At the end of day diners here know Ryan holds their pleasure as the hallmark of our achievement. We’re with him.

That being said, earlier this year we made an exception and gave our deeply talented wine director and somm Alexis Iaconis the resources to expand our cellar, and giddy we were when we learned Barndiva has earned a coveted 'two glasses' in the Wine Spectator’s Best Of Awards “for excellent breadth across multiple wine growing regions and/or significant vertical depth of top producers, along with superior presentation."

To win in this category you need a minimum of 350 or more selections (or faces) within two specialties. Ours were California and France, which befits our food profile. For all his drive and innovation Ryan has never strayed far from a love of a California/French style of cooking in great part inspired from his years working alongside Thomas Keller at both The French Laundry and Per Se.

Here in town, Dry Creek Kitchen has justly held two glasses for many years, with Charlie Palmer’s deep bank of California wines and his wonderful Pinot Festival a hallmark on the wine calendar. This award puts us in some esteemed company with restaurants we admire -Atelier Crenn, Coi, Quince, Auberge du soleil. (To check out all the winners, click here.)

Also breaking news: three of the selections on our “award winning” list will soon have a Barndiva label on them. Thanks to Alexis, Wells Guthrie, and the talented folks at Copain Winery, we are adding three Barndiva Label wines this Fall: an elegant Chardonnay with aromas of honeysuckle, jasmine and lemon curd, with a lively palate of fresh orchard and crushed stone; a Tous Ensembles Syrah in classic Wells style, exhibiting great tension and balance; a Pinot Noir with a nose of fresh red fruits, rose petal and vanilla, a body redolent of dark stone fruit and apple skins. (don't you just love wine nomenclature?) All three will be available BTG in Barndiva and The Gallery Bar & bistro this Fall. We are especially pleased the organic grapes for the Chardonnay were grown not far from Barndiva's Farm in Anderson Valley. 

 Alexis, Cathryn and Lukka have also been hard at work this year expanding our reach in wine events, especially those which showcase excellence, talent, and, yes, as important to wine making as it is to food, consistency.  In the gallery and gardens we've twice hosted the wonderful local collaborative that throws the White and Pink Parties, catered many individual winery launches and tastings, and will continue through Fall to host a very special “last Friday of the month" lunch with Lioco winemakers, which is open to the public.

Working with Alexis - a new mom again - we have all been reinvigorated by the depth of her passion. Though her knowledge is prodigious, (Our Cup Runneth Over), her abiding goal is that our cellar reflects an expansive range that's exciting but approachable. She is just as happy to discover a unknown gem from a small vineyard as she is to go deep with classic producers and vintages that never fail to make intriguing connections to the finer nuances of Ryan Fancher menus. She does not miss a beat.

 It’s not just that Alexis understands the connection between wine and food. It's that she 'gets' the connection between wine and life, the almost magical way that by enhancing the experience of one, you invariably lift all there is to celebrate about the other. 

If you craft or represent a superior wine you'd like us to consider, you can reach Alexis at wine@barndiva.com. To host a wine related event in The Gallery or in one of our beautiful gardens, contact events@barndiva.com.

Cheers!

Read: 13 World Class Restaurants in Napa and Sonoma Wine County

#inthegardensnow #intheorchardsnow #inthekitchennow

First up: Beauty Plums. To be followed by Laredo Sweet Purple, Pluot Greens, French Prunes

Scotty Noll's Summer Plum Cobbler - The Gallery Bar + bistro

Summer vacation? You're kidding, right? We are all too busy juggling Barndiva, The Gallery Bistro, two dining gardens, and a full roster of stellar celebratory private parties to think about taking a summer vacay, not that we're complaining. Living between Sonoma and Mendocino Counties we are blessed to see and smell and taste summer in all its glorious forms every minute of every day. Here are a few visual shout outs to some of our favorite people this summer who are growing, jamming, cooking the bounty coming in through the kitchen doors. 

Summer doesn't last forever. Both glorious gardens are now open for libations and dining. 

Herbal bounty from our new collaboration with Big Dream Ranch

A bumper crop of genoa figs  - most of our trees are over 80 years old

Pancho - our pasta program's secret weapon ("release the secret weapon!")

Summer farm program: cherry toms

Chanterelles drying on the gallery bar

wild salmon, herbs and flowers - Barndiva

Summer farm program: mesclun greens

Daniel sowing

The Ridge Mesclun Salad - Barndiva

Lioco and the last Friday of every month!

Join us Friday July 29, as Lioco winery hosts lunch "somewhere" in Barndivaland - a wonderful opportunity to meet some extremely talented winemakers and strangers who may become friends. You don't have to be a member of their wine club. You do have to love wine.

and the beat goes on...

A few months ago we were confronted with a quandary. Our lives at Barndiva have always been, first and foremost, about creating exciting food and drink experiences. We strive to do this by nurturing new talent, pushing the creative envelope, consistently strengthening the ties that keep the farmer to chef connection thriving.

We are blessed with a Chef who remains fully committed to ‘touching’ every plate that leaves the Barndiva kitchen, but increasing numbers of people want to experience Ryan Fancher's food in spaces we’ve designed. The time had clearly come for us to expand, and where else but next door, in the shiny new kitchen we had built for our events and private parties.

Ryan was hankering to put a new spin on classic French Country, cooking which would reflect the easy, brassier style of our early days in town, and he has an extremely talented sous chef, Andrew Wycoff, raring to lead the new kitchen. I have been longing to curate a highly edited selection of fine artisanal spirits;  daughter Isabel was game to produce a series of B&W film montages and a playlist that wasn’t just about filling space with white noise; Lukka wanted to book more live music. 

The only question that hung over all this enthusiastic dreaming was what would become of the art gallery inside the studio. How could we move forward without giving up what we cherished most about Studio Barndiva as it began to fill with bistro tables, wire couches, deep leather armchairs. 

When we first opened the Studio we produced a card that proclaimed: “We All Forage,” and I still believe that sentiment to be inherently true. We filled the space with "Beautiful Objects, Made with Respect" (another of our early aphorisms), handmade arts and crafts that resonated in a way that things designed by algorithm, easily found on the internet, cannot. Sourcing Vetiver nests from Africa, recycled glass chandeliers from Syria, handwoven Balinese batiks, stinging nettle runners from Kathmandu, brought the world closer, in a meaningful way. Perhaps it even helped a few small artisan economies survive.

But over the years it had become increasingly clear that the real heart of the gallery lay closer to home. Whether showcasing remarkable singular talents like Manok Cohen, Seth Minor, Ismael Sanchez, Susan Preston, Jordy Morgan, John Youngblood, Chris Blum, Wil Edwards, or hosting collaborative exhibits like Laura Parker's Taste of Place and Salon de Sens, the art which captured our attention the most returned again and again to explorations of a similar theme: how we define and encourage meaningful connections to the landscape that surrounds us. One that, like it or not, is rapidly changing. 

There is no reason to think a bistro within a gallery that hews to this directive won't inform and delight; if anything it might even allow us to burrow deeper into performance art and music,  venue underrepresented but very much alive in our exceptional and happily expanding north bay community. 

It has been an incredible honor to have a space in the center of town that’s continued to flourish while being able to change, to do its own thing in its own inimitable style. For that we give thanks for your support all these years. We have loved every new incarnation – but it’s a love that needs to keep growing, as much for Ryan, Drew and the kitchen, as for our artists.

While many of the artworks and antiques that surround you as you drink and dine in The 'new' Gallery are now part of our permanent collection, we hope you'll look around for the tags, spend some time with some of the remarkable local artists whose work we will continue to exhibit for sale.

The Gallery Bar & Bistro has only been open for a few months (our prix fixe Sunday Suppers are probably the worst kept secret in town) and we're incredibly pleased it's already become a space that encourages a lively exchange of energy and conversation- for us,  an integral and joyful part of the experience of dining.

On Friday, June 17th, we will add one more piece to 237 Center Street's portmanteau as we open The Gallery Garden to the public for the very first time. Come enjoy the music of Sunday Gravy, the first band up in what we hope will be a monthly series. 

The exhibit that opened Barndiva, coming up on 12 years ago, was called "A Taste of Art."  While so much has changed for Barndiva, and for Healdsburg, in the ensuing years, there is sweet irony that we continue to explore, honor, and expand what those words mean. Having an art gallery- with a bistro inside- is our version of having your cake and eating it too. Come by and have a taste.  Eat the View!

---

The new Artisan sells out

Ryan was in his early 20’s, working every station at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, when he came to the sudden realization he’d found his path in life. One night he glanced over at the Chef de Cuisine, standing at the pass in his whites, and just knew. What I didn’t discover until last week was that his epiphany flowed, in great part, from the style of cooking he was learning at the time which celebrated classic Latino flavors “that just got into my head, and really have never gone away."

Through his years at Redd, The French Laundry, and Per Se, which brought an intimate understanding of European (especially French) cuisine, he found himself returning again and again to that place where Mexico and California meet: a land of layered heat, spices that shimmer, fat, rich, sharp flavors that burst in the mouth, a confirmation of life through food. It hasn’t hurt that for the past 20 years he’s cooked alongside some very talented Mexican chefs who have generously shared influences and techniques. We got onto the topic of what guides our food paths when I shot these images of the newest version of the Barndiva Artisan, an instant sell out in the bistro last week.

The Artisan has been with us, in one form or another, since we opened in 2004 with “The Works.” Lukka reminds me it featured four obscure handmade cheeses (long before the word “artisan” caught fire and, some would argue, imploded), charcuterie by Paul Bertoli (his early Fra' Mani days) and breads by Della Fattoria(before they stopped delivering this far north). It’s never left the menu, traveling through dozens of iterations since, with terrines and pâtés and condiments that pulled their inspiration from across the European continent. For some reason no one here can parse (but makes us crazy happy) this is the first time we’ve had a Mexican Grandmother as our muse. 

What Ryan and Andrew have done is take a classic duck confit (one of three alternative proteins you can order), and put a carnitas sizzle in it. Served on the bone, you pull off pieces, moo shu style, building each mouthful on a handmade tortilla from a board heaped with gorgeous pico de gallo, slivers of vinegary purple onions, sweet hot red peppers, a stack of baby bib lettuce, a dollop of crème frâiche, fresh limes and cilantro. A velvety smooth guacamole with an intriguing, layered heat plays the role of master of ceremonies, pulling all these brilliantly disparate flavors together. It's a riff on a family recipe which came to us from Chef Poncho's Abuelita Carmen and carries the indelible flavorprint of tomatillos, cucumber, jalapeños, fresh lemon and a mortar full of dark red and brown spices. (Sorry, I am sworn to secrecy). Veronica's tortillas are just the right size and weight, thick and moist, with crispy edges, the better to catch all the mingling sauces.

There's a good reason we will always have an Artisan on the menu at Barndiva... it embodies our general philosophy of food and hospitality. Give us a big wood board overflowing with delicious bites, a bottle of great wine to be shared in a languorous green shade pervasive with the smell of roses, and we are happy. All joy is temporary. Isn’t that the reason they invented summer?

The new Latino inspired Artisan comes with a choice of three proteins - duck carnitas, chimichurri steak, chicken asado. Chef Wycoff is happy to send vegetarian Artisans out as well, upon request.

Sweet Sundays

Food and joy are inextricably tied, often in unexpected ways, but more often than not bound up in celebrations around tradition. Easter is a special joy, coming as it does (and not by accident) at the start of Spring, when the world around us is bursting with color and promise.

Our Gardens were chock full this Easter Sunday with beautiful families coming back from church, regular brunchers, and friends from out of town meeting up for farewell mimosas. Among the bustling crowd were two little girls in matching Easter dresses who made the day extra special for all of us here. Rylee Fancher is an old hand at hunting Easter eggs by now, but this year was baby sister Reese's first go at hunting eggs in the gardens. Coming at the end of a busy week our Sunday brunch service, with it's split second timing, can be a challenge. This past Sunday, all that hard work to make it memorable never felt so good.

Weather permitting the Barndiva Gardens are now open for lunch, brunch and dinner service. The Gallery Gardens will serve cocktails, wine and our full bistro menu. Get ready to be blown away by this new use of the space - previously only available for private parties.  The Gallery Bar Garden is slated to open May 1. 

Coach with Brioche French Toast for a little guest, Caramelized Onion, Blue Cheese and Bacon Tart

Omar with Quiche Florentine & Baby Hearts of Romaine Salad, Eggs Benedict with Prosciutto di Parma, Lobster Huervos Rancheros

Ryan in the thick of things - Barndiva is blessed to have a chef that still insists on 'touching' every plate that leaves our kitchen.

Ryan and Reese find the golden egg.

"Funny Face" cocktails; Barndiva Farm lilics

George making Flying Goat lattes

Scott Noll's Easter dessert: Carrot Cake with Toasted Pecan Streusel and Cream Cheese Ice Cream. 

Going, going...

Almost but not quite gone are tickets to the fabulous Terrie Odabi concert and the Pink Party, a tasting of Rosé from some of the finest wineries around (when I say finest I'm talking Banshee, Claypool, Copain, Front Porch, Idlewild, La Pitchoune, Limerick Lane, Lioco, Passalacqua, Petrichor, Poe, Red Car, Reeve, Rootdown, Unti, Westwood and Wind Gap!) You can purchase tickets for Terrie's concert on Friday April 22 (and make reservation for dinner on the same night) here in Studio Barndiva, or at Copperfields Bookstore. Pink Party tickets can be had at any of the participating wineries or online at brownpapertickets.

Joy in the Drenching

Navarro River at Hendy Woods

Flower Fields at Front Porch Farm

Water was everywhere last week, overflowing the banks of the Navarro, battering the buds and first blooms on the trees, flooding fields and vineyards. But oh, it was a welcome deluge as we gratefully worked through our own perfect storm of Restaurant Week, round 2 of Barrel Tasting and a loyal local clientele who all bundled in, wet but happy, filling both the barn and the bistro to capacity. There were moments Saturday and Sunday evening that felt like we were in the middle of a massive community huddle. 

Through all this controlled mayhem Chef found time to finalize our initial Spring menu. First up was a gorgeous sweetbread ravioli “salad”  with mascarpone, crème frâiche and bright green stinging nettle. Sweet little turnips and carrots, plump favas, leaves of toy box romaine and crispy nuggets of Zoe’s bacon played off the richness of the ravioli, with thin slivers of  Abbaye de Belloc  cheese harmoniously bridging the umami and bright spring flavors.

Monday dawned bright and sunny and while we are all hoping more rain is on the way, we welcome this brief respite. So much to plan: construction for the new portable bar in the Studio Garden, Pigs n' Pinot this weekend, publicity for exciting upcoming events, including the Pink Party and our second Lioco lunch. And let us not forget Easter is in the wind.

I will be writing more on all these special menus next week- right now Lukka is telling me we need to give a special shout to our readers that tickets for the Terrie Odabi concert have already gone on sale at Copperfields Bookstore and here in Studio Barndiva.  Terrie is a rising star in the music world - The San Francisco Chronicle calls her "easily the most dynamic blues and soul woman to have emerged in the Bay Area since Etta James." 

Terrie will play one long set with an intermission, which will afford ticket holders ample time to wander into the gardens and enjoy a libation at the new Gallery Garden Bar.  What you won’t find on the posters around town is that we will be serving a special bistro menu in the gardens before Terrie's set begins - reservations are a must.

Her evening in Studio Barndiva on April 22 will be the hottest ticket outside of the Healdsburg Jazz festival this year. Don't miss it.

A busy, beautiful weekend of events

From the look of the trees around town we are in the middle of a warm, beautiful spring in Healdsburg, with a full dance card of events this weekend in the Restaurant, The Gallery and out at Jordan Winery. Here are a few of the things we're up to, in addition to our regular lunch and dinner service.

Keep scrolling for the March prix fixe menus for every Sunday's French Country Suppers. Reservations advised. Enjoy the weather!

Today we launch our Spring through Fall Luncheons with Lioco Winery. These last Friday of the month gatherings will move around the property and feature delectable fare paired with special wine selections presented by the extraordinary Lioco winemakers.   http://www.liocowine.com/events

On Saturday Chef Fancher joins 11 other wine country chefs in support of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's "Cooking for Solutions." Ryan's contribution will be wild bbq salmon with caviar, crème fraîche and accoutrements all wrapped in soft green scallion crêpes. This is a wonderful event to support - with a vital message to take home about sustainability as it effects the ocean's bounty.   http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/visit/special-events/cooking-for-solutions/healdsburg

Our 10th annual Oscar Evening kicks off at 5:30 on Sunday evening. It's informal this year- with an incredible prix fixe as we will be serving our French Country Supper menu. Full bar and big screen. Going to be fun.

Speaking of our French Country Suppers here is the full March board of Menus with some favorites and loads of new "classic" dishes as Winter turns to Spring. Cheers!