This June, the travelhappy team (that’s me, my husband, and our 1.5 year-old daughter — I’m workshopping it) spent a few days in the Sonoma sunshine. I always feel warmth and nostalgia when thinking about Sonoma, and I want everyone to go there and experience it and love it. It’s idyllic.
We ate ice cream, drank wine, had some really delicious meals, and browsed through stores selling lots of artisan soap. {Livin’ the dream!}
And in the five or so times we’ve been to Healdsburg, we’ve never had a bad meal. An overpriced meal? Maybe, but bad? Never.
Here’s travelhappy’s mini guide to eating well in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California.
For a “farm to fork” meal in a rustic romantic setting, try Barndiva. We ordered nearly everything on the menu and shared it family style with my brother, mom, and grandma. Everyone loved the egg yolk raviolo and the pan-seared king salmon with caviar and crème fraîche. And even though my husband had been skeptical of my salmon order (“it’s not local!” he said), he became a believer. Everything was that good. We also tried the beets, the frites (outstanding), filet mignon, rack of lamb, herb-roasted chicken, and dessert. This is what I wrote down at dinner that night in my little notebook: “everything so good.” Barndiva, 231 Center Street.
Noble Folk Ice Cream & Pie Bar for slices of pie, old fashioned ice cream cones, and affogato in a bright and airy space off Healdsburg’s main square.
Spoonbar for “skyrockets in flight” (kaffir lime vodka and vanilla honey) or a “Sleeping Beauty” (huckleberry vodka and pickled blueberries). They do dinner too, and oh-so well. The compressed strawberry salad and pan-seared halibut were standouts, and they made a pasta with butter for my daughter ($12), which she promptly ignored but which my husband and I happily finished. Spoonbar is located inside h2hotel (review here). Spoonbar, 219 Healdsburg Ave.
Tucked just around the corner from Healdsburg’s main square is Taquiera El Sombrero for low-key authentic Mexican fare. Breakfast burritos and perfect carnitas for when you just need a good taco. Taquiera El Sombrero, 245 Center Street.
For a special dinner that starts with a glass of sparkling wine, head to Dry Creek Kitchen, located just a few steps from h2hotel in Hotel Healdsburg. Yes, it’s an oldie, but Charlie Palmer’s Sonoma standby is still churning out delicious dishes, year after year. One more reason to love it: free corkage for the first two 750ml bottles of Sonoma County wine. Yay! (If you’re doing Sonoma right, you bought a bottle of wine today that will be perfect for dinner). Dry Creek Kitchen, 317 Healdsburg Ave.
