Now open in Downtown Petaluma is THE DRAWING BOARD, an eatery from first-time restaurateur Rosie Wiggins. Chef Ariel Nadelberg (previously Seed + Salt) has crafted a menu that features minimally processed whole ingredients (many of them local and heirloom) with international influences that’s designed to fit many diets, from gluten-free to paleo. Dishes can include crudo, farinata pizzette, and duck confit cassoulet, and there are desserts from Robin Luu (Nopa, Bar Agricole). See, it’s not all restrictive—there’s also a full liquor license with a focus on herbaceous tinctures, tonics, shrubs, and bitters made from locally foraged botanicals. Dinner to start, and breakfast, lunch, and farm dinners will roll out soon. And look at the space, it’s pretty damn charming. Wed-Sun 5pm-12am. 190 Kentucky St. at Washington, Petaluma, 707-774-6689.
A longtime tablehopper reader (grazie, Gnocco!) forwarded an email to me from Christopher Lee—formerly the meat maestro of Eccolo—who is returning to the Bay Area after working in New York (at Il Buco) and Europe. It ends up he’s taking over Molly Best’s THISTLE MEATS in Petaluma (she is stepping away to be with her young family), and he will be transitioning the space into his own version of the butcher shop. In the email, he says, “The ‘new’ shop offerings will be diverse and will include fresh meats, poultry, game, sausages, and a range of house-cured meats and charcuterie, as it has done. But we’ll also offer excellent cold sandwiches to take away and tasty sausage sandwiches grilled to order. There’ll be a selection of condiments, vinegars, olive oils, salt, salt-packed capers and other jarred delights, and a selection of tinned seafood from Spain and Portugal, the beauty of which I discovered over the past few years. (They are a story unto themselves, a revived artisanal industry of extraordinary quality and charm.)”
There will also be some staples, and Lee mentions in time he’ll have a couple of pickup points: Bartavelle in Berkeley and Cosecha inside Swan’s Market in Oakland. 160 Petaluma Blvd. N. at Washington, Petaluma, 707-772-5442.
WISE SONS is opening in the former Miette location in the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur. They are targeting mid-April to be open and serving bagels and bagel sandwiches, schmears, coffee, and deli items. 2227 Larkspur Landing Circle. [Via Scoop.]
The bar and communal table at The Drawing Board. Photo: Molly DeCoudreaux.
