Willie Bird’s a Sonoma County favorite for turkey anytime

Most Thanksgivings, I let someone else do the cooking. It's one of the advantages of being single -- friends think I'm an orphan and invite me to share in their family splendor. It's always a splendid time.

But most years, I also buy my own turkey and fixings, and the Friday after the holiday, I cook a feast to share with other single friends. That way, we all can have leftovers, which I contend, are really the best part of the long weekend. Fat sandwiches stuffed with leftover turkey and stuffing, savory turkey soup from the carcass, and my guilty indulgence: a bowl of buttery mashed potatoes and gravy inhaled as an entire meal.

It's a time I look forward to all year, but only do it once a year, and recently, I've realized how ridiculous that is. Because, connect the dots. I always buy a Willie Bird free-range pastured and an organic grain-fed turkey, appreciating how the happy poultry deliver better, defined muscle texture and leaner, but more flavorful and richer meat. I have to order it early before holiday stock sells out; national customers snatch up 12- to 14-pound Willie Birds from Williams Sonoma for $100-plus.

Here's the thing, though. I live 4 miles from the Willie Bird Turkey Store & Deli on Highway 12 in Sebastopol, and 4.5 miles from Willie Bird's Restaurant in Santa Rosa. I could be indulging in mouthwatering turkey seven days a week, year-round, without disturbing a pot or pan in my own kitchen.

The thought became extra sad, recently, as I thought about founding turkey farmer, fourth-generation rancher Willie Benedetti, who passed away at age 69 last Sept. 28. His family had run a turkey ranch since 1948, and Benedetti, at just 14 years old in 1963, convinced them to switch from selling turkey eggs, to the entire turkey. He was, and is, a legend.

Willie Bird's Restaurant has lived in its ranch-style building for 39 years now, tucked ignobly next to ancient auto repair shops on an industrial stretch of Santa Rosa Ave. south of Highway 12. It looks weathered outside, and even older inside, with a big bar and lounge that's dark even in the day, and two wood-paneled dining rooms offering a bit more light through faux stained glass windows.

You know it's not fancy when you see the open kitchen next to the entry; it's set up hofbrau style for cooks to plate up servings of sliced turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce for the Willie Bird Special. It's not cheap, though – that special rings up at $15.95 for lunch, including soup or salad plus good, soft bread and butter, or $21.95 for dinner including both soup and salad and a nibble plate of sliced salami, carrot, celery, black olives and pepperoncino.

This is home-style diner type food, too, in that comforting, old-school style that puts you into a pleasant coma. No bold flavors, no riveting sauces, no surprises amid the hamburger steak ($17.25) or beef liver ($13.95/$16.95) scattered in grilled onions, and everything comes with the same classic vegetable medley and mashed or baked potato.

Yet the place is busy day in and day out, through breakfast (turkey fried steak and eggs, $11.95), lunch (turkey breast, turkey ham and bacon club on wheat, $13.95) and dinner (turkey parmigiana over spaghetti, $21.95). Regulars are so dedicated that one evening, I overhead one neighboring diner congratulate a server on the new, black cocktail napkins. Another group gathered at the bar one afternoon, downing draft Russian River Brewing beers and martinis, sharing jokes so loud their voices bounced around the dining rooms.

It's great to see so many people happy. In these days of complicated menus and cocktails, it's nice to relax sometimes over deep-fried shrimp, and realize that these five big, meaty beauties are terrific, draped in fluffy tempura batter with decently crispy fries ($17.95). Or to dig into an Ortega melt and remember that a ?-pound ground turkey patty can be so satisfying smothered in Jack cheese, green chiles and grilled onions on sourdough ($13.25).

Bring on the turkey sandwiches, indeed, as hot, open-faced with all the Thanksgiving goodies ($14.95), warm with stuffing and cranberry sauce on whole wheat toast ($13.25), and cold with cranberry and pickles like I eat meat straight from the fridge ($13.25).

This is just what I wanted on a rainy day, meanwhile: tender turkey thigh chunks are sautéed with mushrooms in a soothing sherry and sour cream sauce for the stroganoff ($21.95), then tossed with buttery noodles for a homey dish that might have come from my grandmother's Midwestern kitchen.

Desserts are what you quietly crave, as well, as homemade apple cake laced with brown spices and crunchy walnuts ($3.95), and demanding to be served warm and a la mode ($1.50). There are fruit ($4.50) and cream pies ($4.25), and of course, pumpkin pie ($4.25) that reminds me of my childhood canned filling days.

Sure, you want to order carefully and keep your palate humble. You know what you're in for with the freebie starter salad – generic mixed greens, a marinated beet slice, chickpeas and a carrot slab all crushed under a ladleful of thick Thousand Island. Soup is a better choice - often it's turkey and rice, or pot roast with veggies – tasting a lot like good quality canned soup in that mildly seasoned, slow cooked meat and mushy green beans, celery, tomato kind of way.

Chef salad, frankly, is awful, topping that same freebie plate with a boiled egg, julienne turkey breast, smoked turkey, turkey ham, cheddar and Swiss that might have come from a deli packet ($12.95). You'll get better charbroiled rib eye and fried oysters ($27.45) at tons of other places, and the short wine list focuses on big brands like Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay ($6/$22), DeLoach Cabernet Sauvignon ($6/$22), and, yikes, Sutter Home White Zinfandel ($6/$20).

Plain stuffing, mashed potatoes and giblet gravy aren't anything remarkable, either, all vaguely sweet and surely improved with more butter and salt. Cranberry sauce reminds more of tart jam with bits of seed, yet these sides are still so familiar and friendly that I enjoy them. I also didn't have to do the cooking, am being served by such cheerful folks, and am surrounded by clientele that keeps every day a party.

As it's always been, the real focus here is on the premium turkey that has helped Sonoma County poultry gain widespread acclaim, being served at the White House for years before the new administration switched to Big Macs. Perfectly roasted breast brims with natural juices, and the famous, pickax-size roasted turkey leg ($21.95) sparkles with golden skin; I dare you to not pick it up in your paws and scrape every last bit from the bone with your teeth.

Happy Thanksgiving in March, everyone.

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.