707 Scout

When he casually strolled over to the Calistoga Fairgrounds last Saturday night, chef Andrew Wild wasn’t planning to become the emergency food coordinator for nearly 1,000 Valley Fire refugees. But by 9:30pm, the local caterer and owner of Wild About Food and Drink had been tapped to…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. Farm to Fermentation Festival 2015: Bigger and badder (meaning better) than ever, this celebration of all that ferments happens Saturday August 22nd at Santa Rosa’s Finley Community Center. Taste and learn about homemade miso, turmeric fermentation, beet kvass,…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. A veggie burger as good as In-N-Out? No one believed me when I opined that the new AMY’S DRIVE THRU—a vegetarian fast-food restaurant that recently opened in Rohnert Park—had a meatless “burger” that could give In-N-Out’…

The outdoor, open-fire meat fest COCHON HERITAGE FIRE is happening at Charles Krug in St. Helena this Sunday August 2nd. The meat-tastic party is part of the Cochon 555 national tour, which aims to celebrate and promote chefs who are using responsible, sustainable, and quality ingredients in their cooking. The…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. RESTAURANT HAZEL, the new Occidental restaurant from Berkeley chefs Jim and Michele Wimborough, has opened! For months, the former Bistro des Copains has been undergoing some serious interior updates. Both chefs have been teasing fans on their Facebook page…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. Charlie’s Wine Country Three-peat: Chef Charlie Palmer is on a roll. Following his recent St. Helena restaurant opening at Harvest Table, he announced yesterday that he’ll be opening CHARLIE PALMER STEAK in downtown Napa. The restaurant and…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. Berkeley chefs Jim and Michele Wimborough of Zut! on Fourth are moving north to open HAZEL, a wood oven-focused restaurant in Occidental. The couple are taking over the longtime Bistro des Copains space, which was for years a destination…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. Permits have been signed and work is set to get started on BREWSTER’S BEER GARDEN in downtown Petaluma. We’ve just gotten word from owner Mike Goebel that he’s planning a pretty ambitious space that will include…

We heard a rumor last week that chef Joseph Humphrey had left St. Helena restaurant THE FARMER & THE FOX, and now the press team has sent over the news of his replacement. Aaron Meneghelli, a Napa Valley native who was previously executive chef at Calistoga Ranch and chef de…

By 707 correspondent Heather Irwin. Sign up for the BiteClub Newsletter. Excuse me while I put on my rock star jeans and shine up my spork, because it’s the opening day of Napa’s BottleRock, and time’s a wastin’! With more than 40 restaurants, food trucks, and chefs…