Why does the public descend en masse on one eating and drinking place while another spot nearby has hardly anyone in it?
As a for instance, crowds cram into the newly opened Norman Rose Tavern in Napa night after night. There's a similar enthusiasm for Jackson's Bar and Oven in Santa Rosa, as well as a few of the more established gastropubs in Sonoma County like Underwood in Graton, Willi's Wine Bar in Santa Rosa and the Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol. Yogi Berra's oxymoronic remark comes to mind: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
The answer has to do with the public's current demand for better pubs and better grub. A dingy bar with a thin burger and greasy fish and chips just won't do it anymore. Cosmopolitan influences from around the country and the world reach us through magazines, television and movies, but also now through smart phones and the social media carried on them. It all stimulates the desire for a friendly, wired-in place with a contemporary feel that serves micro-brewed beer, fine wine and good food.
The Norman Rose Tavern meets all those qualifications, except one. There's no wi-fi in case you want to live dangerously and open your laptop with all that beer around. You'll just have to live in your smart phone. However, if you feel the need to speak truth to management, the Tavern has Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Beers include many locally brewed micros, such as Moylan's from Novato and Pliny the Younger and Blind Pig IPA from the Russian River Brewing Company. There's a well-stocked list of wines by the glass, plus bottles that range from $26 for the 2008 Medlock Ames Sauvignon Blanc to the 2007 Ridge "Lytton Springs" Zinfandel for $50 to the coveted 2007 Outpost Grenache from Howell Mountain for $70. Corkage is $15.
The food is still pub grub for the most part - calorie-packed and overly salty - but maybe chef Reed Herrick will take a second look at that. The owners are Christine and Michael Gyetvan, who also run the popular Azzurro Pizzeria and Enoteca on Napa's Main Street. As you enter the restaurant, you'll find a wall full of Gyetvan family photographs. There's a long bar - beer and wine only - with high-definition flat screens tuned to sports, and lots of cozy bare wood tables with salt the only seasoning and small pots growing ornamental succulents.
According to the waiter, Norman Rose is a name concocted from the Gyetvans' son's middle name of Norman and their daughter's middle name, Rose. Seems to be a trend, as Jackson's gastropub in Railroad Square is named for owner Josh Silvers' son.
The place was packed on a recent night and the noise level high. Dinner began with a couple of high-calorie "starters" that could easily provide you with your recommended 25 grams of fat per day. First was the Bubbly Crab and Artichoke Dip ($9.95 **), a creamy, tangy dip, gratineed with cheese bubbled brown on top, and served with buttered toasts. Tavern Beer Cheese ($7.95 **) was a whipped, cheddary, slightly spicy dip in a ramekin, served with garlicky toasts.
Despite the room being just about full, our waiter kept up the proper pace and took care of our requests very professionally. Anthony Bourdain revealed that when a waiter is hopelessly running behind, he or she is "in the weeds." No weeds for this guy.
Then came a "Lazy" Bowl of Red Chili ($8.95 **) done "our way," according to the menu. And that's with no beans. It was the strangest bowl of chili ever - thin, clear broth with some meat and tomatillos in it, topped with a spoonful of sour cream and shreds of yellow cheddar. It was slightly spicy, but here's the thing: it tasted great, despite its strange appearance. Why does the menu call it "lazy?" Perhaps because it's a way to make chili quickly without the long cooking that beans require.
A bowl of Split Pea Soup ($6.95 ***) was authentically thick and flavorful, enhanced by smoked ham hock and carrots. It was so good, in fact, that after I tasted it, one person at our table commandeered the bowl and polished it off by herself. To while away the time while she finished the soup, I took to reading the label on a packet of Heinz ketchup. It said, "Grown Not Made," but the ingredients show it contains high fructose corn syrup, a manufactured product made from genetically engineered corn and factory-fresh enzymes. "Made Not Grown" would be a more accurate description.
If you want fries with whatever you've ordered, you have four choices: Sea Salt and Black Pepper ($2.95 **), barbecue, chili and cheese, or truffle oil and parmesan. The fries are double fried, giving them a nice crispness, and you get plenty, but they were salty almost to the point of inedibility. There's that salt shaker on each table. Maybe give them minimal salt in the kitchen and let customers load on more if they wish.
Of course, there is a burger. The basic one is "Five Dot Cheeseburger, All Natural" ($9.95 ***) with your choice of Swiss, cheddar, blue or pepper jack. Five Dot refers to Five Dot Ranch, a beef grower in Standish, which is east of Susanville not far from the California-Nevada border. "All Natural" refers to nothing, as the term has no official meaning and can be applied to just about anything. This one's a bodacious burger, however, pink in the middle, hefty, juicy, tasty and served on a crunchy ABC Bakery potato bun. Extra toppings include grilled onions for $1.50; smoked bacon, fried organic egg, or thyme-roasted mushrooms, all for $2, or avocado relish for $3. A slice of fresh kosher dill pickle, lettuce and red onion are on the side.
The best dish of the night was the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich ($10.95 ***?). Buttermilk battered and fried chicken is laid on a potato bun and topped with watercress, red onion and a creamy peppercorn dressing. It was crunchy and yummy.
An all-beef hot dog from the Fatted Calf butcher shop over at the Oxbow Market ($6.95 ***) is as good as hot dogs get. Expensive, but worth it.
Dinner ended with three straight misses: Rancho Gordo Beans ($4.95 *) was a crock, all right, of tasteless beans. Roasted Brussels Sprouts in Hazelnut Brown Butter ($4.95 *) was simply bitter and no fun to taste, let alone eat. And what sounded like a good dessert, Cherry Bread Pudding ($5.95 *?), was just a goopy mass of soggy bread with exactly one cherry in it, topped with butterscotch sauce and whipped cream.
To sum up: A fine place for after work or after hours, with classic American comfort food, good beers, good wine and lots of company.
Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review column for the Sonoma Living section. You can reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.
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