Explore with Sonoma's multiple personalities
Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 3:32 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 3:32 a.m.
The Twain shall meet: On Saturday, George Webber, who bills himself as Sonoma's professional multiple personality artiste, is hosting a history tour of the Sonoma Plaza led by Mark Twain. After the tour, guests will head to 180 Degree Meetings, a pretty little meeting facility that Webber's wife operates, for appearances by Chef Luigi, who will entertain you with his cooking tips and song.
Finally, Professor Vine, a character inspired to some degree by the great comedian Professor Irwin Corey, will offer his unique take on local wines.
Webber generally performs for groups of about 40 but is offering Saturday's event so that locals can check out what he's all about without having to organize a big group.
As of press time, there were still reservations available.
The afternoon begins at 1 p.m. and wraps up around 3:30 p.m. Cost is $50, which includes nibbles and wine. For reservations, call 694-5097.
If you want to do some research in advance -- though we think it may be more fun to be surprised by it all -- check out www.georgewebber.com and www.180degreemeetings.com.
Oscar chat and fancy hats: Jan Wahl, the film critic known for her dramatic hats, will appear again this year at Landmark Vineyards on Feb. 2 at
6 p.m. to dish dirt on the Oscars, test guests' trivia skills and generally keep you giggling all evening.
Last year's evening with Wahl sold out well in advance, so if you want some Oscar entertainment -- and given the writers strike this may be your best opportunity -- you might want to make your reservations right away.
The cost of $45 per person includes a box-lunch style dinner and a glass of wine.
To make reservations, call 833-0224 or send an e-mail to jane@landmark.wine.
Dim sum, tea and wine: If you're out and about for Winter Wineland this weekend, you should be sure to put Hawkes Winery and Teapot Museum on your schedule for Sunday.
The winery, located at 6734 Highway 128 in Alexander Valley, next to the Jimtown Store, will be celebrating the upcoming Lunar New Year with dim sum, a tea tasting and guided tours of the Hawkes Teapot Museum. (And they will be pouring their current release wines, of course.)
The extraordinary collection of teapots from throughout the world spans four centuries. If you're not participating in Winter Wineland, you can check out the collection at the winery's Web site, www.hawkeswine.com.
SRJC's Culinary Cafe reopens for spring semester: It may be gray outside, but things will begin to sparkle at the SRCJ's popular cafe and bakery as of Wednesday.
The bakery is open Wednesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The cafe offers lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a discount available to anyone 60 or over at 1 p.m.
Everything at both the bakery and the cafe is prepared by students in the culinary arts department.
For reservations, call 576-0279.
The cafe and bakery are located within the SRJC Culinary Arts Center at 458 B St., in Santa Rosa's Brickyard Center.
Who Is Chloe? The community is all abuzz about the new Chloe's Cafe, tucked away at 3883 Airport Drive in the Landmark Executive Center in Santa Rosa.
But who is Chloe and why does she have a cafe named after her?
Chloe is a tiny little truck, originally used to deliver fresh pastries in St. Tropez in the south of France in the 1960s by the Pisan family.
When Mark and Alain Pisan, sons of the founders of the patisserie, and Renee Pisan, Alain's wife, moved here, they couldn't leave Chloe behind and so had her shipped here.
Now, she's on display at the cafe.
The cafe opens at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Most days, it closes at 5 p.m. but on Fridays, there's a sort of happy hour, with wines by the glass, cheese platters and warm Provencal hospitality. They hope to add classes on Thursday nights sometime soon.
There is always a weekly special, and foods are available for take-out. Chloe's Beef Bourguignon, last week and this week's special, has been getting rave reviews.
You can reach Chloe's Cafe at 528-3095 and www.chloesco.com.
Michele Anna Jordan can be contacted via e-mail at michele@micheleannajordan.com.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article