RE: Link. Bennett, Enjoyed your article about Petalumas changing dining landscape. I agree and have noticed people are spending the weekend in and around beautiful sonoma county more and more.Since we have the good eats now we need a few more little Inns like the Metro to keep the weekend vacationers downtown. You know what they say, What goes on downtown, stays downtown. Some sweet little upstairs getaways would be fun for all!
Your link is broken but I'd love to see it. I'm confused about what 'dining' options there are in Petaluma. I think we all have different taste, but when comparing Petaluma to a town with real choices (Healdsburg, Napa, Yountville, Walnut Creek, etc, etc), it becomes clear that Petaluma is in bad shape.
I think we all have different perspectives. I was having a conversation about this with someone recently during which I proclaimed "Petaluma has not a single *good* place to eat". Someone heard this, wrinkled up his face and essentially told me I was nuts. He then proceeded to educate me. "We have Cattleman's, Mary's Pizza Shack, Graziano's, Flippers, Dempsey's..." I then thanked him for articulating my point much better than I could have and walked away.
If anyone here is inclined to disagree with me, I'd have to suggest that you venture outside of Petaluma and open your eyes to reality. When it comes to roads, retail and dining, Petaluma gets a solid 'F'.
GonzoBuggs, I don't think we can even try to be compared with Healdsburg or Yountville, but I have some very good "foodie" friends in Marin that say Petaluma has it all over their towns.
You are correct that we all have different tastes, but Hiro's is as good as it gets for Japanese food. It may be funky but I have friends that come from Napa and Marin to eat Mexican food at Mi Pueblo and Lily Kai for Chinese and Sea for Thai.
On the standards, I'd add the following to have an enjoyable evening with an out of town guest - Central Market, Graffiti, Cucina Paradiso and Risibisi. I know you've commented on this before, and I agree totally with you about Cory, but le Bistro does have good food.
Anyway, I don't think restaurants are are our 'weak link'; it's just that after a nice lunch or dinner, it's hard to find any place to go except antique stores and tattoo parlors!!!!
I'm with 5thgen on this. While we are not really a "destination" for food lovers, we do have some pretty good options (and no, cattlemens and the like are not it!). The best would be the ones 5thgen listed, but there are plenty more "casual" good places. Sugo, Thang Long, Zazzle, Gohan, Himalayan, sometimes DeSchmire (been a little hit and miss lately) and for fried chicken you can't beat the funky ol Washoe House.
Cattlemans, hummm, My boots taste better than any steak you can get there..What I have found is if your half a cook, ya just can't get a decent meat like what you can make at home. Don't get me wrong, we love to eat out from time to time, but so disappointed with the quality of food, its just not worth the time...So glad for the Food Network. Another point is most business's just can't make it in Petaluma...Hummmm, Sad isn't it...
quote:
Originally posted by mmmfood: I'm with 5thgen on this. While we are not really a "destination" for food lovers, we do have some pretty good options (and no, cattlemens and the like are not it!). The best would be the ones 5thgen listed, but there are plenty more "casual" good places. Sugo, Thang Long, Zazzle, Gohan, Himalayan, sometimes DeSchmire (been a little hit and miss lately) and for fried chicken you can't beat the funky ol Washoe House.
I think Petaluma does a pretty good job with dining. I agree that Risibisi, Central Market, Gohan (blows Hiro's out of the water), Sugo, Zazzle and many others are quite good. While there are even better options in Sonoma County, I think it's nice to know there are some good eats right here in town.
As for things to do after eating, if the downtown landlords would get real about how much they are charging, we could fill some of those empty storefronts. I guess they would rather make no money at all on those properties than charge something reasonable.
Posts: 71 | Location: Petaluma, CA | Registered: 18 April 2007
While Healdsburg and Yountville, etc. have more high end options, I think Petaluma has a lot to offer. Central Market, Risi Bisi, and Le Bistro are excellent fine dining and Tres Hombres and Mi Pueblo both are worth driving a distance for.
See, I don't care for most of those choices that you all are throwing out there. I do agree that Le Bistro has good food, but there are other issues there that I just can't deal with. I really don't care for Risibisi at all, and we've all been around and round with the Mi Pueblo throwing old chips back in the bin thing, so I won't restart that conversation. Zazzle is fine if you want to fill your belly without choking and Sugo is just awkward.
I've been driving to the Boon Fly Cafe, quite a bit, as well as places like Ad Hoc, Bouchon and Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. Barndiva, Ravenous and Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg are very good. Zazu is fantastic in North Santa Rosa.
None of these options can be considered fine dining, but they all share a high quality of ingredients and preparation. No restaurant in Petaluma can compete with any of these restaurants.
Have any of you tried Ubuntu in Napa? Go there and then you'll see how stagnant and uninspired Petaluma dining is.
I think the issue here is that many of you haven't ventured outside of Petaluma much. I'm quite confident that you'll relate better to what I'm saying if you go to any of the restaurants I mentioned above.
Cucina Paradiso, by the way, is a fine place to eat. It's arguably the best in Petaluma. I just struggle with their consistency sometimes.
