A la carte: Jazz on the Menu

HEALDSBURG: Delicious, jazzy benefit for schools

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival presents Jazz on the Menu, a benefit for its Music in the Schools programs, at 10 restaurants on Feb. 25.

There will be live music at each restaurant, which will donate 25 percent of the sales to the festival’s music education fund. Participating restaurants in Healdsburg and Geyserville include Agave, Baci Cafe, Bear Republic, Cafe Lucia, Campo Fina, Catelli’s. Chalkboard, Diavola, Dry Creek Kitchen and Spoonbar.

The dining takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. An after-party will feature dessert starting at 7:30 p.m. at Costeaux French Bakery & Cafe, where the Ricardo Peixoto Quintet will perform Brazilian and jazz standards. After-party tickets are $15, available at healdsburgjazz.org or 433-4644. Costeaux is at 417 Healdsburg Ave.

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KENWOOD: Progressive wine and food tour

Get to know some of Kenwood’s favorite family wineries during a Delicious & Progressive Wine & Food Tour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at six different wineries.

The tour kicks off in downtown Kenwood with the first five wineries. Paradise Ridge’s tasting room will serve a Crostini with Redwood Hills Crottin and Portuguese Croquettes, and B-Wise Winery will serve a Wild Rice & Mushroom Salad and a Skirt Steak, Blue Cheese and Balsamic Onion Crostini.

En Garde will serve a Mushroom Brie Bisque, Muscardini Cellars will serve Italian Meatballs and Mayo Family Winery will serve Tahini Short Ribs.

A tour bus will drive guests to Deerfield Ranch Winery for the sweet finale: Port Infused Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Soufflé Cake and Apple Nougatine Tart. The bus will then deliver guests back to their vehicles.

Cost is $99, including wine tasting, food and transportation. To reserve: progressivetasting.eventbrite.com, or 282-9020.

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SONOMA: Eighth Street opens doors, corks

The Eighth Street Wineries in Sonoma will hold its annual Open House from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday in the warehouse district of Sonoma, 21692 Eighth St. East.

The eight boutique wineries participating in the event include Ty Caton, Enkidu, Three Sticks, Patz & Hall, Tin Barn, Talisman, Stone Edge Farm and Anaba. Tickets are $40, or $10 for designated driver. eighthstreetwineries.com.

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OCCIDENTAL: Gospel brunch with musicians

In honor of Black History Month, the Occidental Center for the Arts will hold a Gospel Brunch at 11:30 a.m. Sunday with the inspirational Milestones of Development Choir.

Milestones is a nonprofit dedicated to providing comprehensive services for people with intellectual disabilities. Local bluegrass band The Mighty Chiplings and musician Chris Riebli will also perform.

Following the music, a Southern-style brunch will be served. Tickets are $30, including concert, brunch and drink tickets. occidentalcenterforthearts.org. 3850 Doris Murphy Court.

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HEALDSBURG: Dance company benefit dinner

The UPside Dance Company will serve an “On the Wing of Spring” benefit dinner at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Russian River Rose Company.

The evening includes a three-course menu and wine pairings by chefs Kolin Vazzoler of Simi Winery and Jake Martin of Sur la Table.

The dinner is a fundraiser for “Chrysalis,” a dance performance scheduled for March 21 and 22 at Healdsburg Shed.

Tickets to the dinner are $60, $75 at the door. To reserve: upsidedance.com. 1685 Magnola Drive, Healdsburg.

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SANTA ROSA: Worth Our Weight dinner series

The Worth Our Weight program has kicked off another Visiting Chefs Dinner Series as a fundraiser for the culinary apprentice training program.

The prix fixe meals feature one seating at 6 p.m. at the Worth Our Weight Cafe, 2021 Hahman Drive, Santa Rosa. The dinners are hosted by Marcy Smothers and Clark Wolf.

Chef/owner Duskie Estes of Zazu Kitchen + Farm will be cooking a dinner this Thursday. On March 19, chefs include Ari Weiswasser and Bruce Reizenman of the Glen Ellen Star and Stellar Catering.

On April 16, the “Father of Wine Country Cuisine,” John Ash, will be cooking up fresh fare. Winery Chef Brian Jones of St. Francis Winery will be featured on May 21, and Della Fattoria founder Kathleen Weber will be the guest chef on June 18.

For a complete schedule, go to worthourweight.org. Reservations: 544-1200 or worthourweight@sonic.net.

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SONOMA: A Year in Champagne

If you’re a bubbly enthusiast, pen this in: The screening of “A Year in Champagne” March 5 at Sonoma’s Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. The event begins at 6 p.m., with dinner following the screening. Executive chef Bruno Tison alongside Santé chef de cuisine Andrew Cain are preparing the four course prix-fixe, wine-paired dinner. Tickets for the event are $225 per person, with a portion of the sale to benefit the Sonoma International Film Festival. For more information about the event, call 1-800-257-7544. The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn is at 100 Boyes Blvd.

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HEALDSBURG: Crab, chardonnay at Gary Farrell

Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery will serve its 9th annual Crab Dinner at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Healdsburg winery.

The dinner kicks off with a selection of hors d’oeuvres served with chardonnay and pinot noir. A four-course feast follows, including Porcini Mushroom Soup, a salad of Beets, Pecans and Farmstead Blue Cheese, Cracked Crab with Lemon and Butter, and a sweet finale of Sourdough Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Cream.

Cost is $150, including tax and tip. Seating is limited. Reservations: 473-2909 or concierge@garyfarrellwinery.com.

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SEBASTOPOL: Wash down that crab with craft beer

It’s beer and crab season on the North Coast, and you can enjoy both at the HopMonk Tavern’s second annual Crab Feed at 6:30 p.m. Friday featuring craft brews from Anderson Valley Brewery and North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg.

Cost is $65, including a buffet of green salad, crab cakes, crab chowder, corn on the cob, hot and cold cracked crab and jalapeñ o corn bread. Beer for the evening includes Anderson Valley ‘s The Kimmie, The Yink and The Holy Gose and Boont Amber Ale, North Coast’s Old Rasputin and Pranqster Belgian Style Ale.

The Sebastopol Tavern will provide live music with singer/songwriter Galen Ash. Advance tickets required: hopmonk.com. 230 Petaluma Ave. in Sebastopol. 829-7300.

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SANTA ROSA: Pieology opens in Santa Rosa

Pieology Pizzeria, offering custom pizzas in unlimited flavor combinations that are stone-oven fired in less than three minutes, has opened in the Mendocino Marketplace at 2280 Mendocino Ave., next to Starbucks.

Pieology starts with fresh, house-made dough that is pressed into 11.5-inch thin pizza crusts. Guests can select from eight signature sauces and more than 30 meats, cheeses, vegetables, herbs and spices. There is also an option of an after-bake sauce, including fiery buffalo, pesto and barbecue sauce. Each custom pizza costs $8 or less.

The pizza makers also offer gluten-free and whole wheat crusts, plus a selection of nine signature pizzas.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. 541-6380.

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HEALDSBURG: Charcuterie closes

Chef/owner Patrick Martin has closed the Healdsburg Charcuterie after 20 years of serving lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

Martin cited the economy and growing competition as the main reasons he closed the restaurant’s doors, but he wanted to express his gratitude to all of his customers, staff and special purveyors who “brought me their precious produce” over the years.

“When I started, it was Bistro Ralph and Ravenous and me, and then there was a dozen of us,” said Martin, who plans to take a break from the business. “The last time I counted, there were over 28 restaurants, easy.”

When Martin took over the Charcuterie space in 1995, it was a deli. He kept it that way for a year, then transitioned it slowly into a full-fledged restaurant serving French bistro foods like cassoulet and coq au vin, charcuterie and duck leg confit.

“We had two specials for lunch and two for dinner, but the main menu was the same all this time,” he said. “We did Tuesday on the Plaza, and we were big in the community.”

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SANTA ROSA: Scandinavian brunch

The Sons of Norway, Freya Lodge 6-062, will serve a traditional Scandinavian brunch at noon Saturday at the Norway Hall.

The brunch includes eggs and smoked salmon, homemade yeast breads and coffee and juice. Guest speaker Hilde Janne Korpen, the Norwegian Consul General, will disucss “The Relationship between Norway, Sweden and Denmark through the years.”

Costs is $22. To reserve, call 996-9889. 617 W. Ninth St.

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RICHMOND: Rhone Rangers Grand Tasting

Tickets are now on sale for the Rhone Rangers’ Grand Tasting March 28. The wine trade association, with more than 100 winery members, is offering the largest tasting of American Rhone wines with 300-plus pours. More than 2,000 people are expected to come. The Grand Tasting, at 3 p.m., will take place across San Francisco Bay at the Craneway Pavilion, Ford Point, Richmond. Along the perimeter of the pavilion, guests can purchase a range of small plates from chefs and specialty food trucks. The ticket price for Grand Tasting is $75 in advance and $85 at the door. To purchase these tickets, and others for the string of weekend events, visit www.rhonerangers.org.

Compiled by Staff Writer Diane Peterson, who can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com, and Peg Melnik, who can be reached at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.