I should have known that when my ultimate food friend, Melanie, invited me to her house in Cloverdale this weekend that the days would be filled with chowing my way through Sonoma County. When not hanging out at her house chatting by the fire and drinking delicious wine, we were cruising the county having nibbles and bites in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale and the surrounding areas. I reported on Part I of my trip last week, which included Downtown Bakery, Willie Bird Turkeys and Matos Cheese Factory.

Friday night, we went to dinner at Scopa -- a small restaurant on the square in Healdsburg that focuses on Northern Italian dishes. Melanie did a great job of reporting on our meal on Chowhound, but a few highlights: deliciously light polpette with an addictive tomato sauce, perfectly textured papardelle with duck ragu, and a remarkable side of bread that we used to dip in anything and everything. We sat at the bar, which I would highly recommend. Scopa serves a small list of wines by the glass, but I would recommend skipping wine for a bottle of Pliny the Elder beer. Crafted by Russian River Brewing Company, this strong, double IPA has botanical overtones and a scent of elderflower. I daresay it changed my point-of-view with regards to beer, as I had never experienced the exact flavor combination I had in Pliny the Elder. William Brand's blog has more tasting notes about Pliny the Elder.

I had never been to the Santa Rosa Farmers Market and was excited to check it out on Saturday morning. This market is really the best of all worlds -- it's a small, mellow feeling market that attracts top-notch vendors. Those who attend the San Rafael market on Sundays will recognize several vendors: County Line for gorgeous vegetables, De Santis and their wonderful citrus, and Black Sheep Farm who used to attend the San Rafael market with their delicious meats. Middleton Gardens attends this market with their perfect vegetables -- farmer Nancy Skall is well known for selling to restaurants such as The French Laundry and Chez Panisse (you can read more about Middleton Gardens on Eggbeater).

I can't emphasize enough that this market is well worth a visit. Close to closing time, we picked up a couple fish tacos from Nellie's Oysters and enjoyed them at a long communal table adorned with hot sauces and condiments. The taco was made from fresh rock cod and topped with a sweet salsa. While the fish was delicious, the star of the taco was definitely the homemade tortilla which was pretty close to perfect in texture and flavor.

Headed back to Cloverdale after our afternoon adventures, we stopped by the Windsor Green Grocer. North Bay locavores had been mentioning Windsor Green Grocer to me since it opened eight months ago. Owner Joe Rueter and his wife are producing delicious prepared foods with a goal of using products from within a 150-mile radius, and doing an excellent job at it. While I am obsessively concerned with where food is coming from, it doesn't register with me unless it actually tastes good too -- and Windsor Green Grocer is achieving great flavors with local foods. We shared a pastrami sandwich made from Zoe's pastrami and chatted Joe up for a few minutes. I am really excited about what he is achieving with this small grocery and cafe.

Just when I thought I didn't have room for one more bite, we popped into Snow Bunny frozen yogurt on the square in Healdsburg. Snow Bunny is making small batches of frozen yogurt using Straus organic milk, and the tart creations are delicious. We shared a vanilla yogurt with olive oil and fleur de sel. While that flavor combination was good, my favorite taste at Snow Bunny was of the plain-flavored yogurt.

A week later, I feel like I am still recovering from the food coma of this trip -- I can't wait to go back and further explore what this area of Sonoma county has to offer.

Scopa
109A Plaza Street
Healdsburg, CA
707-433-5282

Santa Rosa Farmers Market
at the Veteran's Building
1351 Maple
Santa Rosa, CA
8.30 am - noon on Saturdays

Windsor Green Grocer
434 Emily Rose Circle
Windsor, CA
707-837-8113

Snow Bunny Yogurt
312 Center Street
Healdsburg, CA
707-431-7669

I should have known that when my ultimate food friend, Melanie, invited me to her house in Cloverdale this weekend that the days would be filled with chowing my way through Sonoma County. When not hanging out at her house chatting by the fire and drinking delicious wine, we were cruising the county having nibbles and bites in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale and the surrounding areas.

"Can you leave work at 2:30," she asked via email late last week, "I'd like to get to the Downtown Bakery in Healdsburg by 4:30pm for the half-price markdown."

On the way to Healdsburg, we exited Highway 101 to avoid traffic and came to our first stop: Joe Matos Cheese Factory. The Matos family sells their St. George's cheese to many cheese stores and restaurants in the Bay Area and their unassuming "retail store" (consisting of a wheel of cheese and a loud bell announcing customers) is located in Santa Rosa. The cheese is a bargain at $7 per pound, and I bought a large $10 slice for our weekend. This is a delicious cheese. Cowgirl Creamery's Library of Cheese describes the St. George as a "full-flavored cow milk cheese with a cheddary depth and a rich texture."

Next, we stopped at Willie Bird Turkeys to pick up some bones for stock. Many of you know Willie Bird as the purveyors of a large number of sustainable turkeys around the holidays. Their retail store is worth a stop and many bargains can be found inside. The bones were seventy cents a pound, and we bought a flat of 20 delicious turkey eggs for $4. I left the store noshing on their peppery turkey jerky and we were on our way.

We pulled into Healdsburg at 4:40 pm, and Melanie was in a hurry to get to Downtown Bakery. "I've never gotten here this late," she mentioned as we quickly walked to the bakery. Each weekday from 4:30 to 5:30, Downtown Bakery marks down many of their items to half-price. We walked in and took a number (18 people were ahead of us!) and perused the mark-down menu to make our decisions. What followed was an oddly stressful ten minutes as we watched item after item be completely sold-out by the earlier customers. Still, by the time it was our turn there were many items left and we bought a large bag of baked goods (a lot for freezing) for $15. I've always loved Downtown Bakery's croissants, which I purchase at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and happily had one for breakfast the next morning. The highlight of our purchases was a delicious almond tart which was quite sweet, full of nuts, and perfect when toasted.

Next week, I'll let you know about the rest of our trip which included a trip to the delightful Santa Rosa Farmers Market and more Sonoma county wanderings.

Joe Matos Cheese Factory
3669 Llano Road
Santa Rosa
9 am - 5 pm
707-584-5283

Willie Bird Turkeys
5350 Highway 12
Santa Rosa
707-545-2832

Downtown Bakery
308A Center Street
Healdsburg
707-431-2719

On Labor Day weekend there are a myriad of culinary experiences to choose from including Slow Food Nation in San Francisco and further north, the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. While this tremendously popular annual event consistently sells out, there are still a few tickets left to some of the winemaker lunches on Friday, August 29th, winemaker dinners on Saturday, August 30th and a chance to attend a high rolling wine auction on Sunday, August 31st.

What: Sonoma Wine Country Weekend

Where: Events take place at wineries in Sonoma County

When: August 29 - 31, 2008

How: Buy tickets to attend, tickets range from $75 to $750, depending upon the event.

Why: Get up close and personal with winemakers, chefs and local producers from our own backyard. My pick is the Taste of Sonoma a local food and wine tasting showcase event on Saturday at the historic MacMurray Ranch, that's rarely open to the public. There will be chef demonstrations, wine seminars and more.

Whichever events you choose to attend, you'll be helping to support local charities that serve the students, children, farm workers and those in need.

Local restaurants and chefs will be participating all weekend. Here are two terrific recipes courtesy of Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu and Bovolo Restaurant and Farm.

Peach Bellini Sorbetto
1 1/4 pounds ripe peaches
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup iron horse sparkling wine

Combine the peaches, sugar, and lemon juice in a food processor. Stir in the sparkling wine. Freeze in ice cream maker according to its directions.

Redwood Hill Goat Yogurt Gelato
4 cups plain goat yogurt
1 cups sugar
3/4 cup water

In a small sauce pan on high heat, bring the sugar and water to a boil to melt the sugar. Cool. Mix the yogurt with the simple syrup and freeze according to your ice cream machine’s directions.

Hey y'all -- there is a story on wine in Napa on QUEST tonight that you won't want to miss. QUEST is KQED's new TV, radio, web, and education project about science and environment in Northern California, and their latest science story has taken them to Napa Valley. The story is titled "Napa Wineries Face Global Warming" and explores the potential effects of climate change on the unique ecology and climate of Napa Valley.

The Napa and Sonoma microclimates produce world famous wines, but what happens if the climate changes? Scientists are predicting that global warming could increase the number of super-hot days in the California wine region, interfering with the way grapes ripen. Local scientists and wineries are beginning to look at how to prepare.

Post by Craig Rosa, Interactive Producer, QUEST