Cox: Bright spots at Earth’s Bounty

Have you ever gone out with someone for the first time, only to discover within a few minutes that you are simply out of synch with that person, and that the evening is going to be long and awkward? Going to a restaurant for the first time can be like that, too - though thankfully it doesn’t happen very often.

But it did start out that way at Earth’s Bounty Kitchen and Wine Bar in the Mountain Hawk shopping strip, where Lisa Hemenway’s “Fresh” deli and restaurant used to be. Earth’s Bounty includes a delicatessen, a wine bar, and a restaurant with a wood-fired oven.

The manager told us that the deli closes at 5 p.m., which seems strange, since many folks are just getting off work and might want to pick up some ready-made deli food on the way home.

The restaurant and wine bar are in a room separate from the deli, rather dimly lit because the window is high on the wall. Besides the 12 stools at the wine bar, there are two other four-stool bars - one facing the wood-fired oven and one facing the kitchen’s pass-through.

Chairs at the restaurant’s tables are uncomfortable. They’re metal, with holes in the seats that suggest they are made for outdoor use so the rain can drain through. Servers were unfailingly nice, but should be told that their customers don’t need to be asked, “How are you doing here?” six or seven times during dinner, followed by the command to “Enjoy!”

The wine list features seven whites and rosés and nine reds, but vintages aren’t given. Seven reserve and limited-production wines ranging in price from $60 to $150 do have vintage dates. Corkage is $10, waived if you also buy a bottle from the list.

Executive Chef Christopher Ludwick has put together a menu with some definite bright spots, one of which is the County Line Beet Salad ($8 ??? ). Sweet red and yellow beets glazed with a cabernet vinaigrette, dabs of Redwood Hill chevre, and cashews sprinkled with minced rosemary peek out from under wild baby arugula leaves. The presentation is pretty, the salad delicious.

Niman Ranch Pork Cheek ($11 ?? ), sometimes called jowl bacon, is a tender cut of pork with a robust flavor, here cooked in the wood oven and served with a summer tomato sauce and toasted slices of seeded bread. Topping this appetizer with Vella dry jack cheese is a mistake, because instead of melting over the meat, it simply congeals and hardens.

A salad of Baby Lettuces ($8 ? ½) from County Line Harvest, an organic farm near Petaluma, suffered from an overabundance of salt and oil. Besides red, green, and speckled lettuces, it contained cucumbers, radishes, and cherry tomatoes, plus a pasty avocado mousse. Sliced avocado would have been fine, but turning it into a mousse was not an improvement.

The chef gave the Italian street food called Porchetta ($20 ?? ½) a German twist by wrapping an apple-pork loaf in a pork belly and roasting it in enough heat to crisp the skin. He sauced the meat with a Gravenstein apple jus and added fingerling potatoes and a pouf of frisee to the plate. Tasty!

Two Rock Valley Sirloin ($24 ?? ½) was a simple dish of crusty beef chunks paired with thyme-scented and buttermilk-smashed celery root, and given an intensely flavored green olive and marjoram jus. Toasted Farro Risotto ($16 ?? ½) was a creative take on the typical arborio risotto, using farro instead of rice and a grape broth instead of a meat bouillon. Small, white Tokyo Cross turnips and spicy chipotle almonds finished the plate.

Zoe’s Pepperoni Pizza ($16 ?? ) from the wood oven was good, if ordinary.

The restaurant saved the best for last. Pastry Chef Jenna Katsaros showed exceptional talent with her Ding Dong ($7 ???? ). Unlike the processed, mass-produced Ding Dongs sold by Hostess, this was a perfect piece of chocolate cake filled with marshmallow cream and coated with a deeply chocolatey ganache.

Like an awkward date that ends with a sweet kiss, that dessert just might entice me to go back to Earth’s Bounty for more.

To sum up: When the food at Earth’s Bounty is good, it can be very good.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.