When it comes to Christmas dinner, our traditions vary so widely you might wonder if we're all celebrating the same holiday.
And, of course, we're not.
Christmas is both highly personal and universal, perhaps the most ubiquitous of holidays.
It is impossible to ignore, yet traditions range from savoring the gift of solitude or an open house with dozens of family and friends to driving to the coast for Dungeness crab or ignoring the holiday entirely.
If we go out to dinner, our options are limited to a handful of local restaurants open for the holiday, or Chinese food.
Chef Evelyn Cheatham, executive director of Worth Our Weight Culinary Apprenticeship Program, goes to C. K. House, a Chinese restaurant in Healdsburg, after the last of the hundreds of meals she and a group of friends prepare have been delivered. The tradition began years ago when she was leaving her kitchen, a meal for herself in hand. When a man approached, asking if he was too late for dinner, she gave him hers and headed to Healdsburg.
Karen MacKenzie, founder and president of the MacKenzie Agency, a Santa Rosa-based public relations firm that specializes in the food and beverage industry, is one of dozens of Sonomans who treasure Christmas dinner at Madrona Manor.
"I long to be transported from the televised football and inexpensive flights that tempt my teenagers from hearth and home," she says.
"I don't want an average experience. I want the sights and sounds of an imagined Victorian Christmas to surround us as we enjoy a delicious meal together."
Inns and hotels are often the best bets for dinner, but that's not the case at the Vintner's Inn. Its famous restaurant, John Ash & Co., is closed on Christmas Day. This year its executive chef, Thomas Schmidt, his wife and their newborn baby will gather at his father's home in Richmond for a family feast.
And what about the inn's guests?
"We give them a list of restaurants that are open on Christmas Day," Percy Brandon, general manager of John Ash & Co., says.
If you're inclined to enjoy Christmas dinner at a restaurant — rather than find a restaurant that ignores the holiday — remember that it is a meal like no other of the year. It is an occasion; part of the fun is dressing for it.
Bring out the velvet gloves, cashmere scarves, a favorite tie, an elegant top coat and leave cell phones, iPods, iPads and earbuds at home or in the car. The kids will protest, of course, making it a prefect moment for a gentle lesson about the pleasures and traditions of the table.
These six restaurants offer holiday feasts at their finest, with enchanting decorations, Christmas music and all the magic our modern world can muster. Some destinations — Madrona Manor, for example, and Manka's Inverness Lodge — are booked weeks in advance, but it is worth a call because there are usually last-minute cancellations. In the case of Manka's, to enjoy dinner you must either be an overnight guest or be invited by someone who is staying there.
These are not the only possibilities for Christmas dinner away from home; you'll find diners like Adel's on College Avenue in Santa Rosa and a host of Chinese restaurants open, as well.
Alexander's at Timber Cove Inn, 21780 Highway 1, Timber Cove, (707)847-3231, timbercoveinn.com
Alexander's, located about 14 miles north of Jenner, has a sweeping view of the Pacific and its coastal bluffs. Christmas Day features three dinner seatings, the first at 4 p.m., which provides an opportunity to savor the view of the sea. There are 6 and 8 p.m. seatings, as well.
The a la carte menu features traditional holiday dishes that incorporate ingredients from nearby farms, ranches and, of course, the ocean.
Madrona Manor Inn & Restaurant, 1001 Westside Road in Healdsburg, (707)433-4231, madronamanor.com
Two weeks of Dickens Dinner celebrations culminate on Christmas Day, with seatings at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Chef Jesse Mallgren's holiday menus feature such dishes as seared foie gras with quince compote, lobster-inspired Shepherd's Pie, Dungeness crab with Green Goddess dressing, beef Wellington and Christmas pudding.
The five-course menu is $125 per person (all ages). Dickens carolers entertain throughout the meal.
Auberge du Soleil, 180 Rutherford Hill Road, Rutherford, (707)963-1211
With one of the most beautiful views in all of wine country, Auberge du Soleil is as beautiful a location for dinner as you can find. On Christmas Day, a prix fixe menu will be available from noon until 9 p.m. Highlights of past menus include wild mushrooms with prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano, lentils and Asian pears; roasted chestnut soup with fromage blanc and black truffles; prime beef with Yukon Gold potatoes, leeks, mushrooms and Poivrade sauce and, for dessert, cinnamon panna cotta, Fuji apples, spice cake and Cognac caramel. Cost is $115 for adults, with a special children's menu for $45.
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