eat + drink

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON JAACKS

HEALDSBURG

UNPARALLELED INDULGENCES LIE AHEAD IN SONOMA’S HIPPEST SMALL TOWN

Located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, a little over an hour from Walnut Creek, Healdsburg has long been a draw for oenophiles who prefer a slightly less commercial experience than Napa. At the center of three world-class wine growing regions—the Russian River, Alexander and Dry Creek Valley—new tasting rooms are popping up downtown at a record pace including Selby, La Crema, Banshee, Kendall Jackson, Seghesio, and Ferrari-Carano. ➤

Even as Healdsburg has evolved over the past decade into a chic hamlet drawing star chefs, vintners, hoteliers, and restaurateurs from around the globe, it manages to retain an authentic and down-toearth welcoming vibe.

If anything solidified the town’s sophisticated shift it was the opening of Relais & Chateaux’s sophisticated Hotel Les Mars in 2005. Sixteen elegantly appointed rooms envelope discriminating guests in ultimate luxury. The only Forbes-rated property in Sonoma County, the hotel is an oasis of old school European charm and genuine hospitality. Spacious rooms feature deep hydrotherapy tubs, gas fireplaces, and colossal down pillows on four-poster antique beds. A French breakfast is served in-room and afternoon wine and cheese are paired in the lobby. Complimentary tours and tastings at proprietor Bill Foley’s wineries, such as Chalk Hill, Roth, Lancaster, and Foley Sonoma, are a must. (hotellesmars.com)

Situated in the heart of Healdsburg, lounges, restaurants, and shops are steps outside your hotel door making it easy to browse the town square, sample local charcuterie at Journeyman, taste focaccia at Downtown Bakery, and sip complex roasts at Flying Goat Coffee. For

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS HARDY

art lovers, there are dozens of galleries and eclectic places like Studio Barndiva. The patio at Bear Republic is a good spot for burgers and Racer 5 IPA’s.

Destination restaurants have proliferated in Healdsburg, most notably 3-Michelin Star Single Thread, and nationally acclaimed Valette. Chef Kyle Connaughton, and his farmer/wife Katina, became an overnight sensation when they opened Single Thread in 2016. Inside the chic Zenlike atmosphere, a Japanese-influ

enced 11-course tasting menu is meticulously prepared by a team of chefs from a visible gallery. Named one of the best restaurants in the world, this is a bucket-list gastronomic experience. (singlethreadfarms.com)

Chef Dustin Valette and his brother Aaron Garzini continue to rock the food world with elegant, locally sourced dishes from their hip restaurant Valette inside a historic brick building. The intimate

airy interior features a spectacular redwood bar, custom-made charcuterie locker, and open-air kitchen where chefs lavish on dishes like scallops en Croûte and Sonoma duck. For a nightcap, slide onto a stool at Spoonbar, the h2’s snazzy watering hole for an old-fashioned made with chai-infused bourbon. (valettehealdsburg.com) —PK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC WOLFINGER