Pizzando's crispy chicken and jalapeno vinegar (Crista Jeremiason / The Press Democrat)

Late Saturdays in Healdsburg

DIANE PETERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Looking for a late-night nosh? In Sonoma County, that can be a challenge.

Sure, some restaurants stay open until 11 p.m. on weekends, but if you're a night owl with a fuel gauge that often points to empty at midnight, you might have to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to fill 'er up.

"In the city, you can go to Nopa (until 1 a.m.), for a full, sit-down dinner with cocktails," said Louis Maldonado, executive chef of Spoonbar and Pizzando in Healdsburg. "I went there at Christmas, and it was amazing to see that energy late at night."

Maldonado, who moved to Healdsburg a year ago after working at Aziza and other top kitchens in San Francisco, plans to remedy the 10 o'clock eating curfew this summer. And that's good news for folks in the food services industry, who don't get off work until their customers are home in their beds, sound asleep.

Starting this month and, hopefully, continuing through the summer, Pizzando will seat customers from 10:30 to 12:30 a.m. on Saturday nights only, offering a simple menu of tacos, pizza and other fun fare as part of its "Late Night Global Snack Shack." (It's normally open from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 or 10 p.m. daily.)

"It's food from all the cultures that have great late-night food," said the 32-year-old chef, who grew up in the East Bay and Ukiah. "Hamburgers don't really work ... that's too much of an investment."

The late-night menu is also aimed at out-of-town visitors, who may need some reinforcement after a concert, an event or a wedding party.

"It will be lit up at night, and if it's hot, we'll have the doors open and the music up," he said. "It's about having fun, and the food and the energy that we're going to generate."

For the once-a-week feast, Maldonado and his kitchen staff have crafted a menu of adventurous bites that they themselves would want to enjoy after work.

Think comfort foods like cornbread smothered with chile and fried chicken dunked in jalape? vinegar.

Since the restaurant boasts a Mugnaini wood oven, pizza dough naturally plays a starring role. It is rolled into soft tacos, wrapped Stromboli-style around hot dogs, and tamped into cast-iron pans for a savory egg'n'ham pie.

And, of course, there is wood-fired pizza, the backbone of Pizzando's menu.

"Pizza is such the perfect meal. It's so complete," Maldonado said. "And pizza dough is a good base to build stuff on."

For an extra surprise, the late-night pizza option is going to vary from night to night.

"The pizza option will be up to the pizza chef that night," he said. "If he wants to change it every pizza, that's fine."

The flavor combo may be as simple as tomato, basil, mozzarella and pepperoni, or as exotic-sounding as a "chilaquiles" pizza.

"That started out as a joke," said the chef, who is of Italian/Mexican descent. "We had corn chips, so we added spicy tomato sauce, short-rib trim, green onions and Fontina cheese."

Some of the dishes, such as the Crispy Chicken and Jalapeno Vinegar, come from the regular menu.

"Fried chicken is a staple at Pizzando, and who doesn't want to eat that?" he said. "It's two drumsticks and two thighs, brined and fried, with no coating."

Other dishes will offer a spicy taste of other cultures, such as the Seafood Salsa with Avocado and the Soft Shell Prawn Fried Rice.

"We cook the prawns in the shells, and the shells break down," he said. "And we'll use the meat trims - caraway sausage and crispy spareribs."

Spoonbar's pork-steamed rice serves as the base of the dish, which is studded with seasonal vegetables.

"It's spring right now, so it's going to be quite the fried rice," he said. "We'll use peas, favas, green onions, green garlic and mushrooms."

For the Seafood Salsa, the chef will lightly cook some prawns, then add halibut and lime, avocado chunks and salsa fresca, creating a soupy bowl of ceviche.

The tacos will be stuffed with meat - crispy veal sweatbreads and beef short ribs - along with the traditional radishes, cabbage and spicy crema.

Late-night entrees can be ordered to go and enjoyed at Spoonbar or Bergamot Alley as well as in the comfort of your own home.

Maldonado also plans to serve a special, prix fixe picnic menu all day on July 4, showcasing salads, ribs, fried chicken and popsicles.

"We've worked so many holidays," he said. "We said, 'Let's make what we want to have to eat.'"

The following recipes are from Louis Maldonado, executive chef of Spoonbar and Pizzando in Healdsburg.

Fried Rice

Makes 6 servings

For pork stock:

5 pounds pork bones

5 onions

2 carrots

1 celery ribs

For rice:

2 cups Basmati rice

2 tablespoons butter

5 cups pork stock

For caraway saucisson:

6 pounds diced pork shoulder

? pound diced back fat

1 cup chopped scallion

3 tablespoons Espelette pepper

8 tablespoons caraway

6 tablespoons coriander

For vegetables:

1 cup scallions, chopped

1 cup asparagus, cut into small pieces

1 cup English peas, shucked and blanched

1 cup fava beans, shucked and blanched

1cup oyster Mushrooms, torn into small pieces.

For pork stock: Roast pork bones in the oven at 450 until golden brown. Place bones and vegetables in a pot and cover with water and simmer for 4 hours.

For rice: Rinse rice till water runs clear, then toast the rice in a pot with the butter. Pour stock over rice and bring to a boil. Cover rice with lid and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Spread rice out on a sheet tray and let cool.

For caraway saucisson: Grind the spices then mix with the scallions, pork shoulder and the back fat. Let mixture sit over night, then grind in a meat grinder.

To assemble: Heat up a large frying pan, and working in small batches, saut?the saucisson till golden, add vegetables and continue to cook. When vegetables are almost done, add the rice and saut?

Seafood Salsa

Makes 6 servings

2 pounds shrimp

1 quart water

? cup salt

4 pounds Roma tomatoes

1 red onion

3 jalapeno

1 bunch cilantro

3 pounds halibut, diced

4 limes

Salt, to taste

Peel and de-vein the shrimp, then poach in 1 quart water with ? cup salt. Let cool.

Chop all the vegetables and cilantro, and mix with the diced halibut and the shrimp. Add the lime juice and salt and let sit 2 hours in the refrigerator. Halfway through, add more salt, then salt again to taste at the end.

Skillet Bread with Eggs and Ham

Makes 6 servings

For pizza dough:

525 grams water (heated to 105-110 degrees)

2 grams active dry yeast

875 grams Caputo 00 flour (or King Arthur all-purpose)

23 grams salt

15 grams extra virgin olive oil

For pizza:

6 balls pizza dough

24 slices Serrano ham

12 eggs

1 pound arugula

Butter

Olive oil

For pizza dough: Mix the warm water with the yeast in mixing bowl of stand mixer (with dough hook) and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Add flour and mix on low for 4-5 minutes. Add salt and oil, then mix on low for 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and allow it to proof and be punched down and flipped three times. Refrigerate overnight, then portion into six pieces and roll into balls. Place those balls on an oiled sheet tray and cover with a damp towel. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour then place in the fridge overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees, melt butter in a small, cast-iron pan and place one dough ball inside, pushing down with your fingertips to spread out. Cook for 12-20 minutes. When bread is three-quarters done, crack two eggs and bake until whites of eggs are set. When done, top with arugula tossed with salt and olive oil and a few pieces of Serrano ham.

You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.
Send a letter to the editor