Sunday, February 05, 2006

Super Bowl Sunny/ Town of Sonoma

It was like old times today. The sun was shining and the urge to get away hit. Yeah, we had to be back for the afternoon football stuff. Lucky for us, we live very close to some world class destinations. About half an hour away is the Town of Sonoma. Back when our kids were little we would sneak away during the week and check out the square in the center of town and have a picnic. That was a while ago before the town had been "discovered" and the local wine prices skyrocketed. The square is still the same or better with picnic tables and play areas for kids. Also a duck pond with some hungry ducks and a colorful, aggressive rooster.
Image hosting by Photobucket
Hungry duck
Image hosting by Photobucket
Watch out for this bad boy
The surrounding shops and restaurants have gone upscale and "up priced." There are a lot of new stores catering to the landed gentry set. Clothing, art and housewares at San Francisco prices. Some places still reflect the small town feel. The popular Basque Boulangerie was packing them in. I counted eighteen people in line for their wonderful breads and pastries. The Cheese Factory is on the square and has a great selection of picnic foods. Another business that is good and reasonably priced on the square is the Sunflower Caffe with sandwiches, salads, and more. The garden seating area in the back is grand.
Image hosting by Photobucket
Sunflower Caffe garden seating
We wanted to check out Vella Cheese for some of their Dry Jack. It is located just a few blocks away from the square. To our disappointment they are closed on Sunday. Our final stop was Artisan Bakers just a short drive north of town. We got some bread for the game and just had to have some pastries. A nice walk in the sun and good food now that's the ticket. We'll still be home in time for Superbowl.
Image hosting by Photobucket
Artisan Bakery yummies

2 comments:

cookiecrumb said...

Oh, me, me, me! Call on me, teacher!!
OK. Ahem.
A few years ago I did an in-depth newspaper story about the owner of Artisan Bakers, Craig Ponsford, when he was the coach of the US team in the world bake-off in France. (Damn, y'know, coup de boulangerie, or something, but I don't want to go look it up.) And the US team won!
He's a perfect artist: stressed and creative.
Boy, yeah. Hasn't Sonoma changed?

Anonymous said...

Delicious! Both the day out and the baked goods!