DINING
Dickens of a dinner
Healdsburg's Madrona Manor takes a step back in time to celebrate the holidays
During the holiday season, Madrona Manor in Healdsburg is a beacon of Christmas cheer, bedecked with garlands and sparkling lights.
CHARLIE GESELL / PDPublished: Friday, November 27, 2009 at 4:06 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, November 27, 2009 at 4:06 p.m.
The most thrilling sight in the entire holiday season here in Wine Country must be Madrona Manor perched up on its Healdsburg hilltop, lights blazing from its many windows, promising fabulous food, good cheer and an atmosphere of luxury and gaiety.
Facts
In winter, go west
Along the Sonoma Coast, the holiday season and winter in general have special charms. Unless a wet storm is wallowing ashore, there’s less fog, more sunshine and oftentimes even milder temperatures than in the summer. January through March is prime whale-watching season, with great views of the Pacific from Bodega Head to the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner.
And the seafood, unloaded fresh from the fishing fleet at Bodega Bay, includes succulent local Dungeness crab. All this is reason for Santa Rosans to head west and enjoy the sea’s bounty and the carmine winter sunsets at River’s End at 11048 Highway 1, on the hill above Jenner. The food is great and the view spectacular.
In Bodega Bay, folks from Santa Rosa can choose spots known to locals and tourists alike, such as the moderately priced Tides Wharf and the more luxe Bay View Restaurant — both part of The Inn at the Tides, 800 Highway 1. But we also have the advantage of knowing about some of the best-kept secrets in Bodega Bay, such as the Terrapin Creek Café, 1580 Eastshore Road, and The Duck Club, 103 Highway 1.
For sheer coziness during the holidays and throughout the wintertime, though, stay right in Santa Rosa and make reservations at Josef’s Restaurant in the Hotel La Rose, 308 Wilson St. Chef Josef Keller serves French continental dishes in the room’s comfortable, warm atmosphere. The hotel is listed on the National Trust Historic Hotels of America.
Just minutes north of Santa Rosa, it’s everyone’s fantasy of a Victorian winter holiday — minus your automobile’s tires spinning wildly on ice and snow, and weather so cold it makes your hands ache.
The holidays aren’t the only time to enjoy this beautifully preserved gem of a mansion from the 1880s and its 8 acres of estate gardens. Everything about the place sparkles in winter, but never more so than during the holidays, when the Manor becomes even more vibrant. In winter the hills turn green, rain freshens the air and washes away summer’s dust, Dry Creek becomes a misnomer and the deciduous trees on Madrona Manor’s property show off their beautiful woody structure. Evergreen trees take center stage — and Madrona Manor has one of the largest and most curious monkey puzzle trees in Sonoma County.
The building’s atmosphere and the food during the holidays and over the winter complement each other. The mansion, with 17 rooms and seven fireplaces, is stuffed with gorgeous antiques, and wherever you turn there is something worth a look.
The food is as exquisite as the setting. Executive Chef Jesse Mallgren is one of Wine Country’s finest chefs, and his winter menus change with the availability of the finest winter ingredients: rich winter squash, lamb, fresh seafood.
For the holidays, however, he hews close to tradition, because that’s what people want: “Myself included,” he says. “If I go out for a holiday dinner, I want the traditional foods of the season.”
His Thanksgiving dinner is, of course, turkey, with a chanterelle mushroom and local chestnut stuffing. “At Christmas, I serve roast goose, and beef Wellington wrapped in puff pastry with mushroom duxelles,” Mallgren says. “My wife’s family always serves lobster at Christmas, so there’s lobster on the menu, too.”
With local crab in season, “I always have a crab salad of some kind on the winter menu,” he says.
For dessert, winter gives us the conical, red-orange hachiya persimmons that need bletting — as ripening off the tree is called. And when they blet, their astringent flesh turns into delicious, sweet, luscious jelly that Mallgren uses as the basis for warm persimmon pudding served with a bourbon-laced sweet whipped cream.
Mallgren’s holiday feasts are called the Dickens Dinners, after Charles Dickens, author of the Victorian classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Madrona Manor is the perfect setting for the dinners, which have been served there for more than 15 years.
The holiday decorations, stored safely away for most of the year, reappear in December, with co-owner Trudi Konrad and her helpers taking a week to set them up. Every nook of the mansion’s first floor has its nutcracker, Santa Claus or other seasonal symbol, and the crannies are decorated, too. A 14-foot Christmas tree wrapped with 4,000 lights presides over the festivities.
Co-owner Bill Konrad says people come from all over the country and as far away as Europe to enjoy the traditional way the holidays are celebrated on this Healdsburg hilltop.
DICKENS DINNERS IN DECEMBER
Holiday dinner schedule at Madrona Manor, with per-person cost:
Friday, Dec. 11, $95
Saturday, Dec. 12 , $95
Sunday, Dec. 13, $85
Wednesday, Dec. 16, $85
Thursday, Dec. 17, $85
Friday, Dec. 18, $100
Saturday, Dec. 19, $100
Sunday, Dec. 21, $95
Tuesday, Dec. 22, $100; Wednesday, Dec. 23, $100
Thursday, Dec. 24, $115
Madrona Manor is at 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg. The holiday dinner price includes five courses, with tax and beverages additional. A 20 percent surcharge is added to all bills, so you don’t need to tip. The bar opens at 5 p.m. and dinner starts at 6 p.m. Call 433-4231 to make reservations.
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