Home beats bistro

Eastside Road, November 21, 2015—

YESTERDAY, AFTER FINISHING the marmalade I told you about, and after finishing the Martinis, the three of us settled in to a bowl of one-dish meal, a chick-pea stew, rich and piquant with north African spices, and afterward a green salad: a perfect way to end a challenging day in the kitchen.

Garnacha/Monastrell, Laya (Almansa), Old Vines, 2013

TODAY, THOUGH, WE DINED with friends at a convenient middle point between our two homes: Petaluma. Petaluma, Inez said, has become a restaurant capital, and she'd mentioned three or four from which to choose.

One called itself a bistro, and recalling a small bistro on the main street I happily made a reservation for a one o'clock lunch. In the event, though, I can't really agree that it's a bistro. There was no steak-frites, no duck legs, no cassoulet. It is perhaps a brasserie at the most.

Oh well. I settled for a perfectly adequate croque-monsieur — well, in fact, too cheesy a Bechamel sauce —, which came in a hot little black iron skillet, with a bowl of green salad topped with pickled onions, a nice touch; and the small serving of French fries was quite good too.

Ca' Momi Bianco di Napa, 2014: vaguely a Rhône type, small but sound; Ca' Momi Rosso di Napa, 2014: rather deep, full-bodied, satisfactory but lacking acid

Dessert: Apple tart with pastry cream. This was nice. Routine, but nice.

   

• Bistro 100, 140 2nd Street, Petaluma; 707-981-8228
☛Restaurants visited in 2015 are listed at Eatingday's Restaurants