In a new fashion editorial titled “Life in the Slow Lane,” they write:

“You don’t have to be a foodie to love Healdsburg. You don’t have to be a wine snob, either. Or a cycling geek. But if you’re all three, leaving this Sonoma County outpost after a weekend getaway will surely break your heart. Which explains why there’s a growing community of creative and impressively fit professionals living in this town of just 11,000. They came to eat, drink, and play – and realized this is how they wanted to live.”

Pretty cool, right?

Pick up a copy of the June issue.

And come into Spoonbar for Cappy’s autograph. And one of his mind-bending cocktails.

As you may have heard or read or tasted, Spoonbar has a new chef. And yes, we’re positively thrilled. Not just because Louis Maldonado, 30, cut his teeth at The French Laundry and was recognized as a “Rising Star Chef” by the SF Chronicle in 2009 (joining the rarified ranks of past winners like Michael Minna and Douglas Keane). And not just because he came from San Francisco’s Michelin starred hot spots Aziza and Cortez. And most certainly not because Eater SF named him the “Hottest Chef in the Bay.” (Note: Don’t ask him about that. Like… ever. His skin visibly crawled in embarrassment when I did. He hopes that goes away soon. Sorry, Louis.) No, the main reason we’re thrilled is because he’s an exceptional chef.

And he’s excited to be in Healdsburg.

“Every chef probably dreams of going to a small town and doing something big,” he says. “It’s not a big fish, small pond thing. For me, it’s more about being a part of something bigger than myself. I want to be part of that sea change that puts Healdsburg and Sonoma County ahead of Napa as a dining destination. Cyrus and Dry Creek Kitchen started that conversation. And other great restaurants like Scopa and Mateo’s have continued it. I’d like Spoonbar to be one more asset to all this town has to offer.”

Maldonado has created a menu that can best be described as simple yet totally original. The preparations are grounded in classic cooking techniques, but feature unexpected flavor combinations. The modern presentation of each dish is as artful as the surrounding dining space.

The menu is divided into five categories: Snacks, Vegetable Appetizers, Cured Fish, Pasta and Mains. Snacks are dramatic showpieces that just so happen to compliment Spoonbar’s creative cocktails. Vegetable Appetizers are sourced from local farms and showcase Louis’ artistry on the plate. The Cured Fish section is Louis’ personal favorite as it allows him to present a variety of fish in simple and thoughtful dishes. The pasta section features inventive takes on traditional favorites. The Mains are protein-centric and offer exotic sides.

“The menu is priced and set up so that locals can eat here more than once a month,” he says. “You don’t always have to be committed to an entrée. You can do snacks or appetizers or any combination, really.”

If he had to brand his style, he’d call it American.  Though in truth, it’s an adjective that acts as a philosophy: “There’s a lot of confusion about what American food is. Around the world, people probably think it means meatloaf and hamburgers. But it’s not. We’re a cultural melting pot, and I think it’s important to reflect that in the food. I like pulling from everywhere, across all cultures, and putting it all into one dish.”

For instance, in the Short Rib entrée, Maldonado uses quinoa, torn mint, red jalapeno, and preserved orange. Or for the Beet appetizer, he inventively uses Tokyo turnip, baby lettuces and ash yogurt for a fresh but smoky twist.

Short Rib!

“I like thinking that everyone will recognize the flavors, but maybe can’t put their fingers on where they’ve had it or where it ‘comes from’ because they’re in new combinations.”

This idea excites him, but he doesn’t want to over-intellectualize it. “Yes, I’m trying to elevate the conversation about what American food really is,” he says, “but I’m also creating minimal, simplistic dishes that are very much to the point.”

Maldonado primarily sources his produce from Preston and Front Porch Farms. The Vineyard Salad, for instance, came about during a recent tour of Preston, when he discovered a rich, naturally growing cover crop of edible greens. He thought it would make a great salad, and enhanced the dish with green almonds and romesco sauce. And he was right. It is a fun and fitting salad, given the region.

But as the seasons change, so will the menu.

And while we’re all very excited about what Louis is doing now, like him, we look forward to all the future holds.

Shrimp on brioche, kohlrabi, celery

Sunchokes, fava beans, green garlic, poached egg

Ocean trout, shishito peppers, cabbage

We already know this guy’s a rock star behind the bar.

And now, so do the judges at the recent Bulleit Bourbon Cocktail Competition at John Ash Restaurant. More than a dozen of the North Bay’s best bartenders shook and stirred for their chance at glory. And well, Cappy proved to be the very best that night, taking home first place. (Go Cappy!)

Here’s the winning drink:

“Boom Goes the Dynamite”

1.5 Bulliet bourbon
.75 lemon
.75 Pinapple gomme (housemade)
.25 allspice dram
1 dash whiskey barrel aged bitters
.5 egg white

Finished with stenciled bitters and dehydrated Pineapple.

Sounds good, right?

(Tastes even better.)

Stop by Spoonbar and try for yourself.

Oh, and… CONGRATS CAPPY!

So says writer Stett Holbrook in a recent feature for The North Bay Bohemian. And we tend to agree. The piece goes on to spotlight four area pastry chefs “with the gift of sugar, egg and cream,” and our Amber Simpkins earned some much deserved praise. Here’s a link to the whole story, and here’s the part about Amber…

“As is the case with many chefs, Amber Simpkins doesn’t get fancy when talking about her favorite dessert. “Anything with chocolate,” she says. Specifically, her pleasure is a simple fudgey chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, accompanied by a glass of milk.

But her creations at Healdsburg’s Spoonbar are more than just simple pleasures. Not only does Simpkins create fresh, new desserts on a nightly basis for the restaurant, she’s in charge of confections for h2h hotel guests, and for making bread each day.

Though she was educated at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Simpkins says she essentially started her career around age 10, when she would help her mom bake in the winter (”It helped keep the house warm,” she says), and tagged along during catering gigs.

Now Simpkins likes to take advantage of the local bounty, using seasonal fruit for a pop of color. She rarely uses a recipe more than once for dessert, which bodes well for frequent guests.

Simpkins is modest about her abilities and sees her job as no different than anyone else’s. “People think it’s this glamorous job,” she says, “but it’s not.” She stretches out her burn-marked arms as evidence, and motions to the lingering darkness outside during a 6am interview.

Asked what else she might be doing, Simpkins pauses for a minute. She might be a stay-at-home mom, she mentions, with her two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son, but Simpkins doesn’t escape the critics when she gets home. Her husband was also a chef at Spoonbar when she started, and her daughter can be a picky eater. Luckily, her son “pretty much eats everything,” she says.

Simpkins has been at Spoonbar for almost two years (since about the time it opened, she says), assisting the previous pastry chef before stepping into her current role in October.

Though she arrives at work sometimes as early as 3:30am, even being surrounded by fresh pastries doesn’t tempt Simpkins to drink coffee—it makes her jittery. Sometimes she naps after work. This easygoing personality might be traced back to her growing up in Jenner.

“There’s not much to do there,” she quips of the tiny town, “if you’re not a surfer.”

Amber knows how to WOW with this "Lebanese Pancake"

That looks pretty good, huh? It’s Amber’s latest creation… The Lebanese Pancake. Lightly flavored with orange blossom water, it features house made ricotta cream and pistachio filling, drizzled with blood orange syrup. And like all of our  desserts, it’s only $8. Come in and try it!

Who is that?

‘Tango the Cheetah.’ He’s kind of a big deal… he’s famous.

How famous?

Well, for starters, he was recently featured in National Geographic for his work as an “Ambassador Cat.”

That’s not very famous.

Ahem… I said ‘for starters.’ There’s more. He recently starred in an Infinity commercial with Neil Patrick Harris. And in two weeks he’s starring in a Superbowl commercial for Hyundai. A SUPERBOWL commercial!  Is that famous enough for you?

Yes.

Very well then.

What’s an “Ambassador Cat”?

Pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a cat that, while not tamed, is trained to make public appearances in hopes of raising awareness about the species. The end goal, of course, is conservation. Conservationists feel like the best way to forge a lasting, emotional connection (ie. the best way to make people care) is by putting them in a room with these animals… with nothing but air, and a few feet between them.

Where’s he from?

South Africa. He was raised by the folks at Cheetah Outreach, though he currently resides with his people at Project Survival’s Cat Haven (just outside Kings Canyon, CA.)

What is Cat Haven?

It’s a non-profit group dedicated to helping researchers and conservationists in their efforts to study and protect wild cats. Its goal is to engage the support of like-minded individuals through education, and channel it directly to specific projects. The organization supports wildlife specialists through grant writing, fundraising and the donation of equipment and supplies. These efforts are designed to further our understanding of captive husbandry and the effective management of wild populations.

Why is he on your blog again?

Right! This weekend we’re hosting a fundraising Benefit Dinner for Project Survival’s Cat Haven. The event includes a three course meal with wine provided by Hook & Ladder, a “meet-and-greet” with Tango, and a presentation by the organization’s founder, Dale Anderson. (Dale’s brother, Dean, is Hotel Healdsburg’s longtime night audit, which is how we came to learn about Cat Haven.) Also, a special photography exhibit of artist Renae Sandberg’s work on endangered cats will be on display courtesy of Just for You Gallery.

When and Where?

The Benefit Dinner is Saturday, January 28th (6-9 pm) in h2hotel’s Green Room. Tickets are $75 and will be available at the h2 front desk, or online at cathaven.com.

What if I can’t make it but still want to help the cause?

You can write a check to “Project Survival” and send it to the folks at Cat Haven. I’m sure they’d love that.

Envolve Winery's Danny Fay, Ben Flajnik and Mike Benzinger pouring wines for writer Matt Villano

Yup. That’s him.

Ben Flajnik.

You know, the guy that approximately 30 gazillion women are currently swooning over. For those of you who live under a rock, Ben is the current star of ABC’s hit reality show, The Bachelor.

And he’s also a partner in a very cool Sonoma winery, Envolve.

This afternoon, Ben and his buddies tasted local writer Matt Villano on Envolve’s wines. And from what I can overhear, Matt’s writing a fun story about how to talk about wine around girls without sounding like an idiot. We’ll link to the piece when he publishes it.

Spoonbar's stud slash manager guy Justin Dominiak (left) with the Envolve crew

For the uninitiated, urban homesteading is a rapidly growing movement comprised of urbanites looking to reduce their impact on the environment. And this book is a comprehensive, back-to-the-land guide filled with tips, practical info and stories from people already living the urban homesteading lifestyle. It embraces the core concepts of localization (providing our basic needs close to where we live), self-reliance (re-learning that food comes from the ground, not the grocery store), and sustainability (giving back at least as much as we take). Readers will find concise how-to information that they can immediately set into practice, from making solar cookers to growing tomatoes in a pot to raising chickens on a tiny plot and maintaining the mental serenity of country life in the fast-paced city environment.

Sounds great, right? We thought you’d think so.

Rachel Kaplan will be on hand this weekend to discuss the book, and we hope you’ll be around to hear it.

If not, buy the book anyway. Read it and reap.

Urban Homesteading Author Event. Saturday, 12/7, 3-4 pm. h2 Green Room.

Cost? FREE!

But Scott Beattie isn’t the only reason Spoonbar has one of the country’s premier cocktail programs. We have a secret weapon behind the bar.

Meet Cappy Sorentino, a 25-year-old Santa Rosa native who, before landing at Spoonbar, manned the bars at the Michelin-starred Spruce (SF), Starks and Willi’s.

And no, he’s not our secret weapon just because the guy has guns of glory.

Cappy is a bright up-and-comer with the kind of curiosity that lies behind every great mixologist.

Take his ‘Great Pumpkin’, for instance. Anyone who roasts pumpkin in-house (with clove, sugar, salt, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon), and utilizes the puree in a crisp and refreshing seasonal cocktail is Aces in our book. And Cappy is, in fact, Aces in our book.

Says he: “I love making cocktails, and exploring new combinations of liquors and fresh ingredients. The sum is always greater than the individual parts, but if you do it right, the elements never get lost in the mix. You can taste and appreciate each flavor. Sometimes I feel like a mad scientist. I love it.”

While the Great Pumpkin is a newcomer to the list, that’s not the only recent addition here at Spoonbar. Cappy just installed a DeLonghi espresso and cappuccino maker at the bar. Not for espressos or cappuccinos, but to heat up a series of new winter drinks.

Yes, it’s COLD out there. Dare we say unseasonably? And to raise the temp of your cocktails (and spirits), Cappy has added some new drinks to the list. Like the Mexican Hot Chocolate, Hot Buttered Rum, Hot Lion’s Tail and a Spiced Cider.

So come to Spoonbar and cozy up to one of Cappy’s new cocktails.

And don’t worry if you find yourself gawking at his guns.

We all do.

Paper, right?

Well, not necessarily. The fact is that they both suck for the environment in their own insidious ways. For instance, did you know it takes almost 4x as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic one? Shocking, right? You can read about that study, and other myth busting info here.

Or you can pick up a copy of Susan Freinkel’s stunning new book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story. The book traces the rise of plastic in consumer culture, and its effects on our health and the environment. And it too addresses the Sophie’s Choice we face whenever we select one disposable bag or another.

So, while the Healdsburg City Council has recently joined the proposed countywide ban on plastic bags, the real discourse shouldn’t be between paper or plastic, but centered around reusable.

And here at h2hotel, we know a thing or two about that. For starters, we’re offering our bathroom amenities in refillable containers, and farmers’ market bags in the lobby. But much more importantly, David Baker’s team designed the hotel with custom h2o bars on every floor. All rooms come equipped with a carafe and water glasses (repurposed from wine bottles), and at the h20 bars, guests can choose between chilled and purified sparkling and flat water. While lots of restaurants have their own similar water service, as far as we know, we’re the only hotel with such a feature designed into the building.

Here’s what co-owner, Circe Sher, had to say about it…

“So many hotels charge for water in the guest room. We just don’t believe in this, and have offered complimentary plastic bottles in Hotel Healdsburg since our opening. But using plastic always felt wasteful to me and excessive. Plus, water just tastes better out of a glass. In my home life, I’ve tried to eliminate plastic bottles for several years, so after seeing the sparkling and flat water offered in restaurants, I thought why can’t we do it in a hotel?”

And so, we did.

“It’s such a simple amenity, and a no-brainer for us. From our focus on the Foss Creek Restoration, to the living roof that filters storm water, or our Ned Khan ‘Spoonfalls’ sculpture, water plays such a key role in our hotel’s identity. And luckily, guests have really embraced it. It comes up time and time again in their reviews of the hotel.”

It’s been such a success, in fact, that we’ve decided to also implement the program at Hotel Healdsburg as well.

Love it? Hate it? What do you think about our water bars? We’d love to hear from you!