Sisters in SOFA: At new Spinster Sisters, former Santi chef serves healthy, modern and creative American cuisine

That area around the corner of South A Street and Sebastopol Avenue in Santa Rosa is undergoing a renaissance.

Young people and artists who congregate there call it SOFA -- and it is a comfy piece of old Santa Rosa. Beautiful mature trees line the shady street. Now, with the opening of The Spinster Sisters on the southwest corner of that intersection, it's home to the most exciting new restaurant in Santa Rosa.

Chef Liza Hinman, formerly of the defunct Santi in Santa Rosa, is partners in the venture with Giovanni Cerrone, who runs the room and acts as sommelier, and Eric Anderson, one of the principals in Prune restaurant in Manhattan's East Village. Hinman bills her food as New American cooking, as does Chef Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune, but the Spinster menu is no knock-off. At this new venue, Hinman has blossomed as a chef since her days at Santi. Whether that's due to newfound freedom to call the shots or simply an advancing talent, who knows? But her New American cooking is healthy and creative, her handling of ingredients graceful, her provisions mostly local, and the results satisfyingly delicious.

The building dates from the 1920s. It was once an Italian market with two unmarried Italian sisters living upstairs (hence the name of the restaurant), and it was many other businesses over the years. It now looks like it was designed by a minimalist architect, but it wasn't.

"We just pulled out all the stuff that had accumulated over the years," Cerrone says, revealing a simple room with lots of big windows letting in a flood of light. The main feature is a square beer and wine bar capped with century-old slabs of old-growth redwood. A pass-through looks into the stainless-steel kitchen where Hinman and her line works. The restaurant seats just 50, but looks bigger.

It's refreshing to come across a wine list that's so nicely priced. Eight wines are on tap for $18 for 500 ml, which would be $27 for a 750 ml bottle, and there are 41 wines by the bottle, 21 of which are also offered by the glass. Bottles fall mostly in the $20-$40 range and come from around the world. Service is well-delivered by earnest young folks.

If you lived in SOFA and didn't like to cook, you could just let The Spinster do all your cooking (except on Mondays, when they're closed). Breakfast starts at 7 a.m. weekdays. You'd dine well on potato and vegetable hash, oatmeal with brown sugar and dried fruit, a waffle made with ground-up granola, or a scramble of eggs, bacon, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and chives, plus many more dishes. There's brunch from 9 a.m. on weekends with house-made pastries and bagels with lox. Or go healthy with the Wilted Kale Salad ($9 ***), made with chopped red Russian kale drizzled with mustard vinaigrette, hard-boiled egg, bacon, cherry tomatoes and crisp toast.

Our table's dinner started with a Kim Chi and Bacon Deviled Egg ($3 ***), the yolks fluffed and topped with a dab of house-made kim chi and bits of real bacon adding a salty and smoky crunch. Not very spicy, but full of flavor. Then came the Corn Soup ($7 *** 1/2 ), an example of how Hinman's cooking is graceful. The pureed yellow sweet corn is at its seasonal best, heated but not boiled, and swirled with a white streak of cumin-infused yogurt. Delight in the soup is enhanced by salty, crusty cheddar and chive biscuits.

The corn theme continued with Sweet Corn and Coconut Fritters ($9 ***), golf-ball-sized fritters that tasted of corn, but not coconut. Maybe that was because the Sriracha aioli, a peppery dip, obliterated the delicate coconut flavor. Also spicy, but in a more integrated way, were the Lamb Merguez Sausages ($13 ***) from Gypsy Girl Sausage Co. of Santa Rosa. Each of several sausages was the size of a slender finger but carried a thumb-sized hit of spiciness. With it were peeled, marinated cucumber crescents with the seeds removed and a serving of cold red quinoa and more of that cumin yogurt.

Two Crispy Chicken Thighs ($16 ** 1/2 ) were straightforward, pan-roasted thighs paired with lima beans and arugula. Several slices of not quite ripe grilled nectarine seemed beside the point.

Ricotta Gnocchi ($14 *** 1/2 ) cavorted on a plate with heirloom cherry tomatoes and bits of torn basil, making as upbeat a dish as can be imagined. It had happy colors, sunny flavors and silky textures.

For dessert, don't miss the Sisters Sundae ($8 ***), scoops of dolce de leche and vanilla ice cream, toasted coconut, banana chips and hot fudge.

To sum up: The Spinster Sisters serves food for the modern age and it's tastier than ever.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review column for the Sonoma Living section. You can reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.