New Starks restaurant focus to be on poultry

More Details on The Bird and The Bottle: A few weeks ago, Mark and Terri Stark (of Monti’s, Bravas, etc.) announced that they would be opening a new restaurant at the former Italian Affair in Santa Rosa.

And now more details about the space are emerging, including the fact that (no big surprise) the menu will have a strong focus on poultry.

“We’re bringing chicken back,” said Terri Stark. “We’re moving on from all pig, all the time.” That’s a departure from the pig-centric bent of many a Wine Country chef over the last five years.

Not that a little pork and beef won’t show up on the American comfort-food menu, but expect crispy chicken skin instead of pork rinds and fried pork ears (featured at Willi’s Wine Bar).

The feel will be “modern tavern style” said Stark of the decor, more homey and less minimal. The good news for alfresco diners: The restaurant will feature 48 seats on the front deck for warm-weather dining. The Starks are aiming to open by the end of the year.

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Vignette Pizzeria on the Horizon: So what’s the difference between Neapolitan, Sicilian, New York and California-style pizzas?

Like barbecue, you’ll get a different answer depending on who you ask, but the forthcoming Vignette in Sebastopol’s Barlow center is definitely in the Neapolitan category.

Described as having a very thin crust, minimal toppings (compared to meat-laden American pizzas) and cooked at a very high heat in a wood-fired pizza oven. New York pies are a larger take on the Neapolitan, while the Sicilian version is thicker, deeper and typically square.

Chef Mark Hopper’s menu at Vignette will include pizzas like The Manhattan, with San Marzano tomatoes, chopped clams, buffalo mozzarella and chili oil.

Other dishes include nduja flatbread (nduja is a Italian pork sausage spread) with arugula, red onion and Grana Padano cheese and fire roasted vegetables. GM Michael Zwicklbauer (formerly of The Restaurant at Meadowood and Farmshop Marin) will run a carefully curated beer, wine and coffee list.

The best news: Nothing on the menu will be over $20. Look for a late July opening (6750 McKinley St., Sebastopol).

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Summer Food, Wine and Music: It isn’t summer without a couple of intimate(ish) outdoor concert venues featuring great shows, but more importantly great food and wine.

We’re smitten with Glen Ellen’s Broadway Under the Stars series, featuring favorite tunes from Broadway and beyond, with actual Broadway actors.

Get there early for noshes from Tips Tri-Tip, Ultra Crepes, Palooza Catering, Cookie Take a Bite (best chocolate chip cookies ever), Glen Ellen Star, Fork Catering and wine from dozens of local wineries.

Tickets and details at transcendencetheatre.org. Meanwhile, The Rodney Strong Summer Concert Series hosts Chris Botti, Chris Isaak and Mindi Abair on their outdoor lawn. Wine flows, picnics are welcome and the winery serves up tasty bites before the show.

Details at rodneystrong.com/events. Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen

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And finally, BiteClub couldn’t wait to mention the amazing dinner at the recently-opened Earth’s Bounty Kitchen. More details next week, but we could hardly contain our excitement over the mac ’n cheese with mushrooms, earth’s bounty burger and featured mushroom and truffle oil pizza. 5755 Mountain Hawk Way, Santa Rosa.

Still hungry? Check out Heather’s food and dining blog at BiteClubEats.com.