sonoma/petaluma

isn't that a thing of beauty? 

sunday morning we got on the road after exploring the oxbow public market and eagerly headed to our favorite breakfast place (i would bet $$$ that they put on a mean lunch & dinner, too), boon fly cafe. while we sat in the sun and waited for a table, the mister noticed that a man came outside with a bacon bloody mary and pointed it out to me. um, yessss, i needed one, too! it was one of the better bloodys that i have had- nice and spicy from the horseradish and a little salty from the bacon with celery salt crusted on the rim.

i am a sucker for a well made eggs benedict, and i remembered from the last time we were there that they had a very good one with a silky jalapeno hollandaise, so of course that's what i ordered. the mister went with the green eggs and ham with a creamy lemon leek sauce. he asked for it on the side since he was feeling a little wary of the sauce, but one taste and he decided that it was delicious.

the service there is always friendly, the food is delicious and the inside is in the style of a modern farmhouse, which the mister and i both love. they have these fluffy, warm donuts on the menu as an appetizer at breakfast that are holy-crap! good, served with a warm chocolate dipping sauce, if you feel so inclined. we weren't feeling anything sweet that morning, but trust me, if you make it there, order them. you won't be sorry.

we drove into petaluma and went straight downtown to grab some coffee at the uber-hipster coffee shop, acre, and then walk around downtown. we were both pleasantly surprised by how big and happening the downtown was. i think we both expected a cute little downtown, like chico, in the middle of rolling green hills, dotted here and there with moo-ing cows. that was not the reality. the downtown was 5 times the size of chico's and had many cute shops to pop into and browse.

we checked into the hotel and then made a beeline for lagunitas brewing. we grabbed a bench at one of the many family style benches outside and ordered some snacks and we each ordered a beer sampler. we really enjoyed the lil sumpthin' sumpthin', hop stoopid and pilsner. there was live music inside and the place was lively and fun. we loved that its a dog friendly place, people were just hanging out with their dogs, drinking beer and shooting the shit. go there!

that night we had a mediocre meal, and mediocre service, at graffiti in downtown. we ordered a couple salads and then a few things off the small bites menu- shrimp spring rolls, crab cakes and margharita flatbread. all were just so-so in taste and overall we just wished we had gone somewhere else.

the next morning, we made a stop at bovine bakery to have a quick breakfast of local coffee, ham + cheese croissant and a cinnamon coffee cake roll before going to the marin french cheese company. it is situated amongst beautiful green hills just a short (and lovely, see image above) 11 mile drive outside of downtown petaluma. 

they have 2 different picnic areas with benches, one near the pond and one in a big, grassy field. inside the cheese shop, they have lots of samples, cheese, crackers, pre-made sandwiches, dips, spreads and wine (full and half bottles) that you can purchase and then go nibble on at a picnic table in the sunshine, while watching the ducks lazily swim the pond. 

we had a relaxing vacation and can't wait to go back to both napa and petaluma!