Sniff, sip and spit

Some great wine tasting suggestions from our friend Howard (thanks!), now in Milwaukee but soon to be a local:

Wine tasting in Sonoma County is very different from the Napa experience. You can’t just point your car in one direction and hit one winery after another on the same road. It takes more effort but is more fun. One needs to make some choices based on priorities.
Most Scenic: Matanzas Creek with its beautiful lavender and delicious merlot and chardonnay surely merits a visit. Up the road is Ferrari-Carano which has lovely gardens and some tasty wines. For those that like sparkling wine, there is Korbel and Iron Horse. Korbel is one of the oldest producers [kids can tour the winery, including a beautiful garden, with their parents, but get no tastes!]. But, if I had to choose one over the other, it would be Iron Horse. Tasting is outdoors with lovely views and the wines are first rate.
If You Drink No Noir you Pinot Noir: Up 101 to River Road and make a stop at Martinelli. Big, luscious (read high alcohol) pinot and zinfandel. Further up 101 is Healdsburg. Head west from there on Westside road and ramble along the Russian River. This is Pinot country. There are a number of stops. My family’s favorite is Rochioli. If you are lucky, they will still have some of their estate pinot left to pour. Nice tables and chairs outside overlooking some of the most famous vineyards in Sonoma. Sign up for their mailing list. It will take you four years or so to get off the waiting list but you will then have the chance to purchase some of the best single vineyard pinot from California.
For Those Who Can’t Help Zining: Head to the Dry Creek Valley. There are road signs pointing you in the direction of a number of producers. For wine geeks, it is fun to notice how the micro climate differs in the Dry Creek Valley from the Russian River Valley which is close by. One is perfect for Zin and the other for Pinot. It has to do with the fog coming up the coast. My favorite stop for zin is Ridge [yes, this are the same folks as have the great winery near Santa Cruz--and if you like zins, try one of our favorite restaurants in Healdsburg, Zin, which has a great winelist]. Taste and compare its different bottlings. Yum!!!!!
For Those That Prefer A Walk On the Wine Side: Those that would prefer some walking and shopping along with their tasting can head to the square in Healdsburg [more on this charming town later]. There are a number of tasting rooms right on the square. A leisurely walk around the square and you will find some treasures. Don’t miss Rosenblum.

If you’re planning to fly…

Santa Rosa airport (just a few minutes north of town) is served by Horizon Air, a division of Alaska Airlines, with direct flights from LAX, Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas. For more frequent flight choices, we usually use Oakland or San Francisco airport, and fly Southwest (which has flights to both–Oakland is much easier of the two). Besides your usual method for finding good prices for flights, you might want to check Jet Blue (Oakland) or Virgin America (San Francisco).

Airport transportation can be arranged with Airport Express.

The plan for the weekend

The Bar Mitzvah itself is on Saturday morning, September 27, at 10:30am, followed by a light lunch; the party will be Saturday night, starting at 6:30pm. These are the most important events.

We hope that many of you will also be able to join us Friday night. It’s the custom at our synagogue on the Friday before a bar mitzvah for (1) the parents of the bar mitzvah to introduce their family and out of town guests; (2) the women of the bar mitzvah family/friends to light the Shabbat candles to begin the service (which starts at 7:30pm); and (3) the bar mitzvah boy to lead some of the prayers. In addition, following the service, the oneg Shabbat (“joy of Sabbath,” usually sweet treats to eat!) will be hosted by our chavurah (“friends”–in this case, a group of families whom we’ve known since our kids were little together, and some of them GREAT bakers!).

For OUT OF TOWNERS: We’re planning a dinner on Friday night before services, and a brunch Sunday morning.

McDonald and the Movies

McDonald Avenue is arguably the most beautiful street in Santa Rosa: quiet, tree-lined, and full of wonderful big old houses. It is THE place in town for Halloween, when the trees drop their fall leaves, residents decorate their houses and set up gory scenes on their front lawns, families fill the sidewalks and thousands of pieces of candy are acquired and consumed. And it’s a beautiful place to take a walk any time of year–the streets around it are officially designated the McDonald Historic District. Tom used to deliver mail there (though this photo is not of Tom!), and Isaac and I would often meet him there to enjoy the walk. Nearby is Isaac’s elementary school, Proctor Terrace, and the street eventually meanders past the rural cemetary (more on that in another post). If you choose to walk there, you’re also near the Town and Country center that hosts a bakery, a coffee bar and Carmen’s Burger Bar (see earlier post), should you need a pitstop.

The largest house on Mcdonald Avenue is the McDonald Mansion. According to About.com:

McDonald Mansion (a.k.a. Mableton Mansion) is Santa Rosa’s most prominent historic home. The 14,000-square-foot house was built in the late 1870s by Col. Mark Lindsay McDonald, owner of Santa Rosa’s water company, builder of the Santa Rosa Street Railway and one of the town’s most eminent early citizens. He had it built in a style to evoke the plantations along the Mississippi. The National Register of Historic Places, in which the mansion is recorded, lists the style as Stick-Eastlake, a type of Victorian architecture.

Back in McDonald’s day, many notable visitors came to the house, including Mark Twain, and railroad magnates Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker. In 1960, the mansion was used as the home in Walt Disney’s Pollyanna, a classic film about a perpetually optimistic young girl.

In addition to Pollyanna, the street has been the site for three other films: two versions of Shadow of a Doubt and Wes Craven’s Scream. Hitchcock used the interiors as well as the exteriors of the house shown here–wartime rationing meant there was no wood to build separate sets, as was his custom. The 1991 Hallmark Hall of Fame remake had to use the house across the street.

Click on this link for a piece from the San Francisco Chronicle about McDonald Avenue and the movies.

Die Grine Kusine

In anticipating the joys of Isaac’s bar mitzvah, we can’t help thinking about the people who would have loved to have been there, who knew and loved Isaac (and vice versa), like Mimi and Papa and Teeva. They live in our hearts and minds in so many ways. Here, in honor of the memory of our very special Teeva, listen to a rendition of her favorite piano piece, a klezmer song called Die Grine Kusine (“the green cousin,” referring to a person newly arrived on the boat from Europe and not yet knowing all the ways of American life).

My Training

I have been working towards my Bar Mitzvah since I was five years old by learning Hebrew, prayers, and just recently, my Torah portion. I have been in religious school for the past eight years, but this year at what a lot of people in my class call “Jew School” was definitely the hardest.
From kindergarten to 3rd grade, I went to religious school on Saturdays only. Then in 4th through 6th grade, I went on Saturdays and Wednesdays. In that time, we learned about different aspects of Jewish life and a few prayers. Then last December, I started going only for the prayers and then my Torah portion, which consists of 14 verses in Hebrew from the Old Testament. Right now I am going every Monday for three classes: T’filah (prayers), Parashat (my Torah portion), and Jewish Ethics. I’m basically done learning all the prayers that I have to do at my Bar Mitzvah (I will lead the entire service), and more than halfway through my Torah portion, which I will chant. I’ll be studying during the summer, even when I’m at camp!

Hungry?

There are many restaurants in Santa Rosa and the surrounding area that we like to go to that aren’t exactly easy for visitors to know about, so we thought we’d share some suggestions.

One of our favorites is Café Citti in Kenwood, a roadhouse with really good Italian food and a great deck for eating on. The address is 9049 Sonoma Hwy; if you’re driving out from Santa Rosa, it will be on the right. You walk up to what looks like a deli case, order, then take all the rest of your service from your table. We love the puttanesca, arrabiata, and very garlicy Caesar salad.

Another one of our favorites is Carmen’s Burger Bar at 1612 Terrace Way, in one of the first shopping centers of Santa Rosa. They have got some of the best burgers in town. including great veggie burgers. It’s about two and a half miles from our house and we go there a lot, so you might see us there.
There are many others including:
Fresh Choice in the downtown mall is almost as good as Soup Plantation in Mission Viejo, where we like to go with Grandpa and Lil.
Sizzling Tandoor (Indian) at 409 Mendocino Ave does a lunch buffet; at dinner they sometimes have belly dancers.
The China Room at 500 Mission Blvd. (out Highway 12) is our vote for best Chinese. Try the eggplant with basil in spicy garlic sauce.
Jhanthong Banbua (Thai) at 2400 Mendocino Avenue. Because the name is hard to pronounce, a lot of people call it “Motel Thai,” since that’s what a quick glance at the sign would make you believe is the name! They do a great vegetarian sate.
and much more!

Feel free to comment on this and tell us what you thought of these restaurants and any others that you liked.

The Temple

Our temple, Congregation Shomrei Torah, has an interesting history. We used to be at a church about a mile from our new home. We were there for about 30 years (long time) and then on 29 April 2007 we marched our Torahs over to the new temple and had a ceremony to celebrate the new building. My mom helped a lot in the building of it.
The website for the temple if you want to learn more is: www.shomreitorah.org.

Peanuts, Anyone?

Did you know…that for 30 years Santa Rosa was the home of Charles Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown and Snoopy? We have “Snoopy’s home ice,” the Redwood Ice Arena, a rink built, according to legend, so that Schulz’s daughter could learn to skate, and site of an annual holiday ice show, senior hockey tournament, endless birthday parties–and, long ago, tennis matches! Schultz used to be a regular at the cafe there, the Warm Puppy. Across the street is the Charles M. Schulz Museum, which includes Schulz’s studio and changing exhibits of cartoon art. Three exhibits will be on display in September: Baseball as Allegory, Political Peanuts, and Schultz’s Beethoven: Schroeder’s Muse (check their website at http://www.schulzmuseum.org/).

Without even trying, you can’t miss the influence of Peanuts. For the last few summers, local artists have decorated statues of Snoopy on his doghouse, Woodstock in a tree, Joe Cool, and, of course, Charlie Brown himself; after their display around town, they were auctioned for charity. Many remain in front of the businesses that purchased them. A good place to view several of them is Railroad Square, aka lower (west of Hwy 101) Fourth Street. Two stand in front of one of our favorite breakfast places, the Omelette Express.

While you’re in Railroad Square, don’t miss the train station at the western end of the street. This is the setting for a scene from Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, which was filmed in Santa Rosa (we’ll give some more Hitchcock recommendations along the way). Here is where Joseph Cotton arrived and was greeted by Theresa Wright. The station now houses a visitors’ information center. Check out the Charlie Brown bronze at the corner, a tribute to Schulz, and if the station is open, take your small child to play with the electric train inside.

Welcome!

Isaac’s big day is coming! We’re putting together this blog to help prepare friends and family coming to celebrate with us. We’re planning on telling you more about the ceremony, the celebrations, and our recommendations for visitors to Santa Rosa. We hope to share the excitement with you, and to help you enjoy our home. Can’t wait to see you!