Healdsburg’s SingleThread has added another Michelin nod to its already impressive three-star restaurant rating as the worldwide dining guide expands its rankings to include the world’s best hotels. Kyle and Katina Connaughton’s five-room luxury inn recently received three Michelin Keys for 2024. The new distinction rates hotel properties in five categories: architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, overall personality and character, value for the price, and significant contribution to the guest experience in a particular setting. Three Keys is the award’s highest ..read more

The first commemoration of Cinco de Mayo took place in California in 1863, one year after a stunning Mexican victory over a much larger invading French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. 161 years later, Cinco de Mayo continues to be a cause for celebration in the United States where people of all ages get together to celebrate Mexican American culture. This year, Sonoma County serves up a variety of opportunities to enjoy the day with food and fun. Here are a few things to do this Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo events Roseland Cinco de Mayo Festival, Santa Rosa: Roseland’s immensely ..read more

Paolo Pedrinazzi feeds a simple ball of dough through metal rollers in the front of his open kitchen over and over until a sheet of nearly translucent pasta stretches several feet between his arms. It’s gossamer light and threatens to tear if you look at it the wrong way, but somehow, the Italian native gently carries the fresh lasagna sheets to the back, where they’ll be cut and piled between a Bolognese ragu and béchamel sauce. Not your mama’s lasagna. Pedrinazzi and his wife, Kat Escamilla, are the pasta whisperers of Portico Italian Social Food restaurant in Sebastopol. The homey cafe ha ..read more

My buddy Ana is a serious quesabirria fan and swears that Mi Ranchito in Larkfield is the hands-down winner for her. That’s a tall order, my friend, since I’ve had my share of these long-simmered beef tacos dunked into their chile-laden broth, stuffed with cheese and grilled to a bubbly brown. I gotta say, I’m a die-hard fan of Galvan’s Eatery and Jalapeño Mexican Grill (both food trucks) for the drippy, messy, delicious versions that have stained many a shirt and may be the mystery stain on my car’s seat belt. But I’m giving a giant thumbs-up to Mi Ranchito for the lacy bits of caramelized ..read more

Over 40 food vendors will converge from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 5, for the Fork’n Good Food Festival at SOMO Village in Rohnert Park. Hosted by the SoCo Market folks (who know how to assemble some tasty food trucks), the list of eats is frighteningly extensive. There are lots of familiar food slingers, including Bite Club-approved Api Hot Chicken, Buns y Garnachas, Galvan’s Eatery (you know where I’ll be), Lila’s Streetside Eats, Nellie’s Oysters, Tacos Don Pepe, The Real Chamoy, The Wurst, and War Pigs BBQ. On my list to try are D’Grobak (Indonesian street food), Chavas wood-fired piz ..read more

With a long career as a key varietal in the making of Champagne, Pinot Noir is no stranger to being stripped of its purple skin. The grape’s interior green flesh is traditionally pressed, fermented, and bubbled into one of the world’s most celebratory beverages. But what would happen if the juice wasn’t filled with fizz? The answer is white Pinot Noir—a crisp, white oxymoron in a glass. When red grapes are crushed, the heavily pigmented skins can be separated immediately from the pale juice to make a white wine. If the juice was left to briefly comingle with its skins, you’d have a ros ..read more

Though Occidental’s Stephanie Lee is the founder of a fast-growing skin care brand touted in Forbes and Cosmopolitan, she’s also well acquainted with the down-to-earth vibe of rural west county, where she and her husband are fixing up a house in the redwoods. “I got my first chainsaw for Christmas,” laughs Lee as she details the many wonders of Occidental’s old-timey hardware store. Related: 10 Best Things to Do in Occidental, CA Lee has always been a bit of an overachiever. Shortly after college, she rocketed to the White House as a member of the staff of first lady Michelle Obama, and ..read more

If you can’t fly out to this year’s Kentucky Derby to experience all the excitement from the Churchill Downs grandstands, celebrating the event in Sonoma County might be next best thing. Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens will be hosting what the winery calls the West Coast’s largest Kentucky Derby party on Saturday, May 4. As part of the upcoming festivities, Kendall-Jackson will be turning its 4-acre culinary gardens, great lawn and alfresco patio into an ideal location to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Run for The Roses, according the the winery. This is the fourth consecutiv ..read more

Author and inspirational speaker Liz Murray was raised in poverty in the Bronx, the daughter of drug addicted parents. It was a childhood marked by neglect, hunger and hardship. But there was also love. “I grew up in a home filled with love. It just so happens that mom and dad were addicted to cocaine and heroin … We had drug addiction like a wrecking ball tearing through our family,” she explained in a video on her YouTube channel. Murray’s home life became increasingly volatile. When she was 15, her mother died of AIDS-related complications. Soon thereafter, her father failed to pay rent a ..read more

Lord Edward “Eddy” Downpatrick, second in line to the Dukedom of Kent and a godson of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, recently visited Sonoma County on a business trip for his travel company, Aristeia Travel. Downpatrick’s Sonoma County sojourn with Aristeia COO, Caitlin Walker, was dedicated to scouting wineries in hopes of finding destinations for his travel company. He founded Aristeia in 2021 to organize bespoke tours and expeditions across the globe, spanning continents from Europe to Latin America. The company also offers experiences like whale watching and heliskiing (off-trail ski ..read more