For most people Sonoma County means wine. In that is not a bad thing to be known for. After Portland, Sonoma is my second favorite wine region. It is totally laid back, the city itself was the US’s first official “slow city” and I have enjoyed every moment I have spent there. But Sonoma County is full of things to do, go or eat that have nothing to do with wine.
The Sonoma Coast is gorgeous. Plenty of things to do there which I think I will leave for a future post. The interior of the county has really interesting and quirky places to visit. Like Graton.
The original downtown of Graton is one street with one-stop sign/stoplight. Up until the 1970s, it was a king in the apple industry. The town thrived on dry-farmed Gravenstein apple production until it couldn’t compete with cheaper crops from Washington state and the Central Valley. Then in the 1980s wineries took over the apple processing buildings. [Here is a great New York Times article on the apple if you are interested.]
But if you are out and about in Sonoma County and you encounter Graton and its one street, you’ll see there is a coffee shop, a cafe and Underwood Bar & Bistro. If you blink you might miss it. If you do, turnaround. Underwood is a hidden gem and worth the drive to find.
Mr. Misadventures and I didn’t find the restaurant on our own. We were invited by friends. The wife grew up in wine country so she knows these under the radar spots. We meet every couple of months always at a restaurant where we catch up and share stories about travel and food.
On this particular day this past month we arrived early. Having not eaten breakfast we were a little famished so we sat in the bar and ordered a beer (from the local Russian River brewery). Then the bartender suggested we tried their sriracha fries to go with the beer. Put anything with sriracha and I am game! All the food we ate for lunch was really good, but it is the fries I am still thinking about!
The chef spends several months in Thailand a year and cooks with a French influence but overall the menu is about fresh food, in season served in small plates for friends to share. And that is exactly what we did. Like this heirloom tomato salad.
And this roasted beet salad.
And this white anchovy crostini which got us talking about sardines…
This seared Tombo tuna plate with red chile sauce, avocado, creme fraiche, cilantro, pumpkin seed, and roasted pasilla vinaigrette was the only thing I didn’t love. It was okay, but I thought the combination was a bit strange.
Mr. Misadventures wanted to lick the plate on these clams with serrano ham, tomatoes, white wine, piquillo pepper, and anchovy butter.
I stay away from anything with a lot of onions (it gives me migraines) but I didn’t enjoy the one serving of flatbread with caramelized onion, blue cheese walnut, and sage.
All washed down with more local beer and good friends. Can’t ask for more.
I am not sure how much longer Graton is going to be “secret.” A casino is opening up near the offramp that leads to Graton, maybe that will revitalize the businesses down there, but I am not sure the end justifies the means… I am just glad I got to enjoy Underwood Bar & Bistro and I hope you get a chance too.
How about you? Have you discovered a hidden gem near (or not so near) your home?
Like it? PIN it!
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November 12, 2013
Delicious!
A tapas bar just opened in my city but it has been so packed and hard to get in that I have yet to test it out. It also features beer and is called MicroBites.
November 15, 2013
The food looks amazing! I have never heard of harissa before, though, what is it?
November 15, 2013
@Nena, it is a Tunisian hot chili sauce or powder.
November 15, 2013
these foods look delicious
November 15, 2013
You did a great job at making me hungry, wow those dishes sure look inviting, If I ever visit the area I will definitely stop in and eat!
November 15, 2013
@Ginette, you should!
November 15, 2013
Looking at all this food has really given me an appetite. It all looks delicious. I would definitely like to visit this restaurant and eat there.
November 15, 2013
@Debra, hope you get there one day!
November 15, 2013
I think you did a splendid job of photographing this divine assortment of foods.It was nice that you got to share each little dish and have a sample of everything.It all looks really sumptuous especially the harissa fries.Thanks for sharing your experience.
November 16, 2013
The food looks delicious
November 17, 2013
Sigh. The life. Those fries look incredible, but I’m not sure I could handle the heat!
November 17, 2013
@Katie, harissa isn’t spicy, although with that fiery red color it looks like it! My hubby can’t eat spicy (his one flaw!) and he ate these.
November 17, 2013
Good to know! I had a recipe that called for harissa once and couldn’t find it anywhere. One substitute I saw suggested was sriracha, so I used that, and so I assumed harissa was spicy too. I’m trying to get better about spicy food by forcing myself to eat it more and more, but I’m still pretty much a wimp. 🙂
November 21, 2013
looks yummy
November 21, 2013
aaaaaaah those fries look soooo good!! MY mouth is watering.. or is it on fire?
hmm.. sriracha fries trick question 🙂
November 23, 2013
They all look delicious! Great chef who’s willing to travel & incorporate different types of food into their menu!
November 25, 2013
Everything looks so yummy!
November 25, 2013
#2
November 26, 2013
wow those fries look amazing!!
December 2, 2013
those meals looks so inviting and delicious..fries looks so yum;-)
December 14, 2013
These recipes look really good, would love to try some of these.
December 15, 2013
OMG! I am drooling as I’m typing this! The food looks soooooooooo gooood!!
January 21, 2014
So jealous! I love Thai food, I make a pizza like that often…so good.
January 22, 2014
@Shannon, it was really unique to do a fusion of Thai this way, the combo was great!
January 22, 2014
This looks like a GREAT place to check out!
January 22, 2014
@Kevin, it is definitely a hidden gem.
October 16, 2014
Oh my goodness, everything looks amazing!! I would love to try those sriracha fries!!
October 16, 2014
@Jenn, they were awesome. I just found some sriracha ketchup that is amazing, not exactly a one-to-one replacement, but it is something I can eat at home!