Soul Food, Soul Music: On Saturday evening, the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce hosts "A Tribute to the Hidden Roots of Black Music" at the Finley Center (2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa) from 6 to 9 p.m.
Musician Mohammed Bilal serves as the evening's emcee and will lead guests through a musical journey that begins in the 19th century and concludes with a tribute to contemporary black entertainers, including Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
Ric Alexander, a songwriter, producer and saxophonist, will be part of the festivities, along with local gospel groups, guest speakers and performers from throughout the Bay Area.
Red Rose Catering of Santa Rosa will serve jambalaya, hush puppies, red beans and rice and bread pudding for the occasion, which also will include wine tasting and dancing.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $35 for the general public, $25 for members of the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce and free for kids under 12. For tickets and more information, visit nbbcc.org.
Fat Tuesday's a-Comin': There should be plenty of options for Mardi Gras celebrations in the North Bay and we'll feature several next week. For now, here's one that may sell out well in advance.
On March 4, Jack and Tony's (115 4th St., Santa Rosa) celebrates with a special menu featuring gumbo, blackened catfish, broiled oysters, crawfish etouffee and shrimp po'boys. Special cocktails for the evening will include the Sazerac, the Hurricane and the French 75, along with Dixie Beer.
You can make reservations via opentable.com or by calling 526-4347.
Fermentation Fans: On Saturday, Shed (25 North St., Healdsburg) hosts a workshop on kombucha, kefir water and lacto-fermented sodas with Jordan Lancer, Shed's fermentation master.
If you love carbonated beverages but understand the health risks of drinking commercial sodas, this is a great class for you. Lacto-fermented fruit drinks are delicious and healthful.
The workshop will explore the entire process and students will go home with a starter kid for making kombucha at home.
The three-hour class begins at 1 p.m.
Cost is $50. Tickets are available at Shed and through healdsburgshed.com.
We all love an after party: Next Wednesday, February 26, Healdsburg Jazz presents Jazz on the Menu, an annual fete that benefits Jazz Education Programs.
At the heart of the event are dinner performances throughout town. You can find a full schedule at healdsburgjazzfestival.org.
Our favorite element is the after party at Costeaux French Bakery (417 Healdsburg Ave.), which takes place from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. and features the Healdsburg High School Jazz Band and the George Marsh Quintet.
Tickets are $15 and they are available at the Web site. If the fete does not sell out, they will be available at the door, too, but if you want to attend you might not want to leave it to luck.
For more information, call 433-4644.
Rasta Dwight at Quincy's & Twin Oaks Tavern: Rasta Dwight has been cooking in Sonoma County since the mid 1980s, including at his own restaurant in Cotati, which he closed a number of years ago, primarily to spend more time with his young daughter.
Several months ago, he quietly reappeared on the scene, serving lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Quincy's Cafe and Pub (6590 Commerce Blvd., Rohnert Park).
Now he's offering dinner at Twin Oaks Tavern (5745 Old Redwood Highway, Penngrove) on Friday and Saturday nights from 6 to 9 p.m.
The lunch menu is just what you'd expect - and want - from Rasta Dwight: Ribs, jerk chicken, jerk pork, tri-tip, sausage and chicken gumbo, macaroni and cheese, red beans and rice, mustard greens, cole slow, potato salad and corn muffins.
He also has Louisiana-style hot links that he now makes himself. In all honesty, it's the best hot link I've ever tasted.
At Quincy's, there's a huge selection, with sandwiches, half orders, whole orders, meat-only options and more. The menu is a bit more limited at Twin Oaks, yet still features Rasta Dwight's signature dishes.
Prices are remarkably reasonable. At Twin Oaks a few weeks ago, three of us enjoyed dinner for a whopping $38, which included a nice big tip.
Brokeass Gourmet visits Copperfield's: Next Wednesday evening, Gabi Moskowitz of the blog Brokeass Gourmet and "The Brokeass Gourmet Cookbook" (Egg and Dart Press, 2012) visits Copperfield's in Montgomery Village to talk about and share samples from her book "Pizza Dough: 100 Delicious, Unexpected Recipes" (Egg and Dart Press, 2013).
Moskowitz's blog is smart, fun and popular, with a feisty attitude and a lot of common sense about food that is real, good and not pricey.
Celebrating Seeger: On Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m., Murphy's Irish Pub (464 First St. East, Sonoma) is hosting a wake for Pete Seeger.
Musicians taking part including Solid Air Duo with Sam Page and Allegra Broughton; David Aguilar of the Norton Buffalo Band; Bruce Barthol and Barry Melton of Country Joe and the Fish); Dave Hamilton; Dick and Carol Holdstock; Steve Kahn; David Maloney and Hugh Shacklett.
Admission is free but you will have an opportunity to make a donation to benefit Gustavo and Jazzlin Mejia, whose car was hit by a drunk driver last October just south of Sonoma, causing serious and permanent injury. Both are facing months and perhaps years of physical therapy. Jazzlin, who is now paralyzed as a result of spinal injuries, is just five years old.
Wine, Food and Music: Cellars of Sonoma (133 Fourth St., Santa Rosa) now serves food from 4 p.m. until closing time.
The limited menu features antipasti, a cheese plate, a cheese and sausage plate, meatball sliders, chicken sliders, meatballs in marinara sauce and spinach-cheese quiche. Prices range from $8 to $10.
The Railroad Square tasting room also features live music in the upstairs lounge several nights a week, live video webcasts and other special events.
Wineries available for tasting here include Amorosa Bella, Bonneau Wines, Dunah Vineyards, Gann Family Cellars, James Family Cellars, Joseph Jewell, La Sirena and TR Elliott Winery.
Cellars of Sonoma is open Sunday through Wednesday from 3 to 8:30 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Michele Anna Jordan hosts "Mouthful" each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: