Bay Area Adventures

Who: VegNews Editorial Assistant Anna Peraino

What: A food-and-booze-filled joyride around the Bay Area

Where: Sonoma, Petaluma, San Rafael, Oakland, Berkeley, and Moraga, Calif.

When: May 13 to 15, 2011

Why: The Perainos are foodies. Fact. 

The Scoop: My parents, happy as clams now that their two children live within 30 miles of each other, recently left the still-snowy foothills outside Denver (read more about my visit with them here) to visit my brother and me in the Bay Area. As is the case with my family, there was quite a bit of drinking, hiking, and most importantly, eating. What is it they say? The family that eats together, stays together? Something like that.

We began the weekend in Sonoma County, visiting wineries. After we'd had our fill of zins and merlots, we headed down to Petaluma's Lagunitas Brewing Company, where we spent a few hours sipping delicious, heady brews and snacking on peanuts, freshly made salsa, and avocado. Oh, and the live music was pretty stellar, too.

My brother, excited upon arrival

After happy hour, we headed to San Rafael to the beautiful home of my father's college roommate. We spent hours catching up, hearing hilarious stories about my dad's crazier days, and eating a delicious shabbat dinner. The hostess of the evening even made me vegan-friendly fare to nosh on, for which I was supremely grateful. After spending the night at my brother's in Moraga, the family started the morning at the Berkeley Bowl grocery store. Associate Editor Jennifer Chen always gushes about its awesomeness, and I must say, it lived up to my expectations. Next, we headed to Crixa Cakes, my brother's favorite bakery, to sample its delights. My vegan carrot cake was sweet, soft, and delicious, and the rest of the fam said it was their favorite, too! After one more stop at Flacos for some vegan tacos, we headed back to my brother's place to bake. (Did I mention we like to eat? I just wanted to make sure you got that.) My brother and his girlfriend baked us a delicious loaf of pain ordinaire with rye flour that they served with homemade tomatillo salsa and hummus. Post-food coma we took a hike around my brother's neighborhood, which hosted spectacular views of rolling hills, lunch greenery, a few happy cows, and Mt. Diablo in the distance. 

Photo courtesy of Estella Sanchez

Dinner Saturday night was at Oakland's Souley Vegan, where I noshed on barbecue tofu and mac 'n' cheese. I had my eye on some pie for dessert, but to be honest, none of us could hack it. After dinner, the family headed back to Moraga and promptly went to bed. Sunday was a day of little food and mostly NBA-playoff watching, and then the parents headed home. I, for one, headed straight toward a green juice.

Wine Country Weekend

Who: VN Editorial Assistant Gabrielle Pope

What: A relaxing weekend in wine country

Where: Napa and Sonoma Counties, Calif.

When: August 21-22, 2010

Why: Sun, wine, and food! What, you need more?

The Scoop: In honor of my boyfriend, who was down from Canada for the weekend to celebrate his birthday, I threw financial caution to the wind (hello ramen for the entire month of September) and planned an amazing little escape up to wine country. Somehow we managed to plan our trip on a weekend that brought magically sunny weather to the Bay Area, so there wasn't much to "escape" from, but we were happy to nevertheless head up to beautiful Napa and Sonoma Counties.

Do you know what the best thing ever is? GPS navigation. We rented a car equipped with GPS, and I wouldn't shut up all weekend about how ingenious and low-stress it was to program in an address and then just sit back and let the automated voice (whom we fondly dubbed 'Sexy') guide us while we enjoyed the scenery. After a requisite stop at Rainbow Grocery to splurge (the first of many) on some Dr. Cow vegan cheeses to complement our wine, I programmed in our first location: Ubuntu, a "vegetables" restaurant in Napa with a plethora of vegan and veganizable offerings.

Image courtesy of ubuntunapa.com

Ubuntu specializes in creating small plates made with heirloom varieties of gorgeous fruits and vegetables, many of which are grown in Ubuntu's own organic and biodynamic garden. Its mission is to "bring to our customers a bounty of local biodynamically gardened produce handled with care and skill by talented artisans and chefs providing an unparalleled experience connecting our customers to the bounty of the earth." We ordered the freshest salad with three different varieties of tomatoes, two lettuces, and an avocado goddess dressing; marinated beets with eggplant and Meyer lemon blossom raisin paste; tangy artichoke grits with smoked corn husk and cilantro; and our favorite dish of fried chickpea clusters, Romesco stewed chickpeas, and arugula. The food was exquisite, and it was so refreshing to see tourists and locals alike getting excited about the vegetable masterpieces completely devoid of meat.

Creamy artickoke grits with heirloom vegetables

After more GPS-guided driving through beautiful Napa County and a stop at the The Hess Collection Vineyards for a sampling and to check out Donald Hess' impressive art collection, we headed for the The Gables Wine Country Inn in Santa Rosa. A Victorian mansion sitting on three acres of land including an inviting lavender garden, I'd chosen the Gables due to their willingness to prepare a vegan breakfast. The host couple at the inn were pretty much the nicest people in the world, our room was breathtaking, and the complementary wine tasting in a converted barn where we chatted with the other guests was a welcome touch. One omnivorous couple even admired, and then tasted, our vegan cheese.

Image courtesy of thegablesinn.com

Waking from a perfect sleep in our stately and eloquent room, I had breakfast on the brain. Our hosts pulled out all the stops with a full three courses complete with coffee and fresh orange juice. My first course was homemade toast with jam, which was followed by a Champagne glass filled with local fruit dusted with sugar before the star of the show: a savory potato casserole seasoned with fresh herbs and spices, featuring zucchini and peppers from the Inn's garden. Being accommodated as a vegan is always much appreciated despite the fact that I usually end up with a banana and dry toast, but in this case I was truly touched by the thoughtful and creative vegan menu, which fueled me long through more wine tastings and our journey back to the city.