BITECLUB

Big news in Railroad Square: Syrah owner Josh Silvers has just closed a

deal to take over the former Mixx space in Santa Rosa's Railroad Square. After

months of speculation about who might go into the vacant restaurant, Silvers

tells BiteClub that construction and renovations have begun on Jackson's Bar &

Oven. Plans are for affordable dining with a focus on the wood-burning stove

-- pizza, pasta, burgers, hot dogs, hanger steaks with Josh's Cal-Ital-French

flair. ''We're even thinking about doing buckets of chicken wings ... stuff

you just don't see a lot of in Santa Rosa,'' says Silvers' business partner

and wife, Regina.

''We have wanted that space for a long time. It just never made sense

before and now it's falling into place perfectly,'' she adds. They plan to

open the restaurant (named for their son) early next year.

That should be about the time that nearby Jack and Tony's Restaurant and

Whiskey Bar opens for business. Plans were delayed for the opening slated for

this fall, and owners say it may be December (or so) before they're ready for

business.

Backyard tourist:To say that locals had something of an uneasy relationship

with the Napa Valley Wine Train in its early days may be putting it mildly.

Tourist-averse townies railed in the late 1980s, and one-fingered waves

weren't uncommon at crossings. Living in a tourist mecca isn't always easy,

and the happy little locomotive was a 250-ton target for our ambivalence.

But over its almost 20-year ride through the Napa Valley most of us have

come to appreciate it as part of our home -- the elegant Pullman cars quietly

rumbling along the tracks between Napa and St. Helena. What not everyone

knows, however, is that inside the historic cars are two restaurant kitchens

preparing up to four courses onsite during the three-hour train ride. BiteClub

goes along for the ride. See photos and get the full scoop at

www.pressdemocrat.com/biteclub.