The Spinster Sisters
Asparagus and maitake go into a tempura batter that comes out champagne-colored and stays crisp, with a soy, ginger, daikon and sake sauce beside it. Liza Hinman cooks, in the SOFA district south of A Street.1
Why go
Jeff Cox reviewed this for the Press Democrat and opened by saying the best way to order is to pin the menu to a wall and throw darts.1 His point was about range. The kitchen calls itself American and then cooks Tunisian lamb meatballs with cubeb in them, sits them in a tomato-saffron broth and floats couscous through it.1 The fries are cut from Kennebecs, smaller than a normal fry and bigger than a matchstick, salted lightly and sprinkled with toasted rosemary.1 The list won a Wine Enthusiast place among America's hundred best for wine in 2014, and Cox found a sparkling Grüner Veltliner on it at $42.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the asparagus and maitake tempura, $10 when Cox ate it. Hen-of-the-woods in a crust that stays delicate.1
- Order: the country pork terrine, coarsely ground and dotted with pistachios, with cornichons, mustard, olives and salt crystals.1
- Order: the Kennebec fries with SOFA sauce, which is aioli, horseradish, honey, sriracha and Dijon.1
- Avoid: the braised rabbit sugo, on Cox's night. Good rabbit, good pappardelle, no sauce.1
What locals & experts say
- Jeff Cox, The Press Democrat:
To sum up: Santa Rosa is very lucky to have this restaurant.
He was less kind about two plates. The rabbit:The rabbit was excellent, the pappardelle wide and tender, but where was the meaty sauce?
The bluenose bass:This opaque filet was a little dry.
1
Good to know
- Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday, 9.30am to 2pm, and takes no reservations.2
- Dinner is Wednesday to Saturday 5 to 9, Sunday 5 to 8.30. Book it.2
- There is a garden when the weather allows.2
- Cox's prices are undated, so treat them as a shape rather than a bill.
Verdict
should-visit — Liza Hinman cooks the way the tempura suggests she thinks. Asparagus spears and maitake go into a batter that comes out champagne-coloured and stays crisp, with a soy, ginger, daikon and sake sauce beside it, and Jeff Cox of the Press Democrat closed his review saying Santa Rosa is very lucky to have the restaurant. The lamb meatballs are built on cumin, black pepper and cubeb and sit in a tomato-saffron broth. Wine Enthusiast put the list among America's hundred best for wine in 2014. The rung stops short of the top because the same reviewer sent back a rabbit sugo with no sugo and found the bass dry, and because his review carries no date through our route.