The town of Sonoma isn't that far from where we live, but often it's too hot to visit, and there's plenty of traffic on the way there & back. Robin wanted to go for a drive to take some photos for an art project, and we hadn't been there in a while, and seemed like a perfect time to go. We had no idea what was happening, and it turns out this is the Vintage Festival, which has been happening every year here for a while.
These first five shots are from the perimeter of the Plaza in the middle of Downtown Sonoma, next to the Mission.
There were all kinds of vendors, and some sort of Vintage Festival "Sip & Shop" deal where you buy a wine glass and get to try samples from the Vintners who've set up shop, and meanwhile there's all sorts of Arts & Crafts and Food vendors down there, and a lot of folks chilling on the grass.
Typical shot looking out, of 100 year old (or older) buildings with new businesses in them, and above wind-swept skies looking west.
Some Jimi Hendrix tribute band was playing here, and they were note-for-note perfect. This music is beyond dated, and I'm sure everyone who ever saw Hendrix will be deceased shortly, but does that mean his music will die? Probably not, although he didn't leave behind as extensive a catalogue as Coltrane, Mingus, Ellington, Django, Louis Armstrong, Sousa, Gilbert & Sullivan, Verdi, Wagner, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and so on. Gotta say, if I start seeing Duran Duran and Huey Lewis tribute bands in my dotage, I'll be yelling "you suck! Play some real 80s music!" Millenials will be laughing at the old wind-bag, as I'm sure they already are.
A photo of Robin taking a photo of a Walnut Tree.
Walnuts. If we had harvested some in June or July, when they are green all the way through, we could have used them to make homemade Nocino.
*****
OK, so now we're at Sonoma Market, which at first made a huge impression on me, until I started noticing some annoying things. Such as how persistent they were to help you at the meat counter--fairly common, and not that big of a deal--but when they have meat mis-labeled, and you ask for the ribs and they give you the wrong cut, that can be an issue. Or when the label says one price, but what they give you is much higher. This has happened at other grocery stores, and when it happens, I tend to stop shopping there.
That happened a couple of years ago, but now everything's changed for the better. The entire meat counter has a better set-up, and everything that was great about the meat and fish is still the same. There's still a mind-boggling selection of sausage along with locally-sourced fresh meats. They have dry aged steaks and other nice cuts. They have one of the best fish counters in the Bay Area. There's also stocks, game, cured meats, and "variety meats" galore. Definitely worth checking out if you're nearby. Good selection in spirits, and fantastic produce as well.
OK, so here's something both bizarre and amazing. Look at this selection of completely Old School cheese spreads. Pimento Cheese Cheddar Spread?!?! Sharp Cheddar Spread? Port Wine Spread?! A few feet away there was an impressive selection of dips, too. I don't see this very much anywhere else, and clearly they aren't putting this out for Nostalgia Sake. People must be buying Old School Cheese Spreads and Dips all the time here. You see stuff like this throughout Sonoma Market--like some of the Old School Candy and Cookies. Nothing I would ever get myself, but I kind of doubt we'll be see the likes of it that much longer, just as we won't see old dudes who dropped Orange Sunshine at the Monterey Pop Festival jamming out to a Jimi Tribute Band much longer.
But it's not like Sonoma Market doesn't have a clue. They've got a fantastic array of cheeses, local and international in origin, as good as the best grocers in the Bay Area, and certainly better than any Whole Foods.
Like I said, they've got a great produce section, like this: yellow cucumbers. I don't think I've seen these in any store, only at a farmer's market, or from the backyard of our buddy Bruce.
I really should have bought some of these Purple Sweet Potatoes while I had the chance. Hopefully I'll see them again, or we'll have to go back.
So they have Fiorello's Gelato in-store, but we wanted a flavor they didn't have out: Tony Spumoni. I'd never had Spumoni until Robin turned me onto it 3 years ago, but those were brands like Dreyer's that are pretty good, but nowhere close to this level of utter and complete sublimity.
I was thinking how laughable it is that people praise Blue Bell (a Central Texas ice cream) as beyond comparison, but they just don't know what's here or elsewhere, if they've never been anywhere else. It's the same way with BBQ, completely laughable to hear people speak of California BBQ as if it can compare with red-ringed, slow smoked Brisket from Lockhart or Taylor.
In any case, Fiorello's explodes with flavor on a level you have to try for yourself. The Chocolate in their Spumoni is as good as the best dark chocolate you've ever had, and the pistachio/almond contrast makes for a very singular Spumoni blend, as most versions I've had uses Cherry instead of Almond.
Another walnut tree.
A really huge walnut tree, in fact, that we found on the way out of town. Most vinyards were picked clean, but we did see a couple of fields with dried-looking red grapes hanging low.
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