The Basics
Cuisine: American
Ambiance: Cozy Cottage
Address: 117 North St, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Neighborhood: Sonoma
Phone: 707.431.1302
Web Site: no site found, click here for their yelp
Must Taste (Dinner):
- According to the man at Trentadue, the burger is a must-eat. Although we really wanted to try the Ravenous burger we heard so much about, we were persuaded away by the rest of the menu, but if you try it, let me know what you think.
- Bravette Steak – $26 – “Creekstone grilled spice-rubbed bravette steak lime chipotle sauce peppers + onions…roasted potatoes” – the steak had an awesome flavor and I really enjoyed the sides, too.
Best For: Semi-casual/romantic date (because of the laid back atmosphere) or dinner with friends/family.
What to Wear: dressy casual to dressy
Fave Points: that “where the locals eat” feel, interesting menu selection, location
My Occasion: dinner with friends
My Fave Dish: That bravette steak – the flavor combo was out of this world – loved it!
Menu pricing and availability subject to change.
My Dish
After wrapping up our *sniff* last wine tasting of the day at Rosenblum Cellars , we were seriously ready to get our eat on and headed back to Ravenous (Trentadue’s dinner recommendation) to see if they were open yet. It was Saturday night, sure to be a busy night for the restaurant, so we were lucky we got there early at around 5:15pm.
The restaurant was located in what looked to be a renovated house. I loved the interior – it was so cottage-y-cozy. I love these local-type restaurants – they are so fun to visit.
The place was empty when we got there, which was good because we beat the crowd. Ravenous had quite a few reservations booked up apparently, because I watched them have to turn away a couple groups. If you want to hit up this spot, I suggest you make reservations ahead of time or get there early! The bar area filled out pretty quickly since most of the tables seemed to be saved for reservations.
We grabbed a table with a half booth along the wall where my friend and I could both fit on the cushy booth-side and were promptly greeted by our waiter…
…and 2 copies of a hand-written menu, presumably by the chef. The selections all sounded really good, so my foodie friend and I happily split a few courses so we could try out more flavors.
The table had pitchers of water with lemon and (I think) cucumber slices.
The table also had a lovely loaf of bread – I think it was wheat sourdough.
We started with a mixed green salad – can you believe this is “half”?! The portion was more than generous, and the salad was really good – the dressing was so light that I hardly noticed there was any on the salad at all (a good thing IMO).
We also got an appetizer of crab cakes to share. These came with another little salad. My friend absolutely loved the crab cakes, and though I thoroughly enjoyed my share of the dish, I couldn’t help but think the ones from Eclipse were a wee bit better. My friend confirmed her enjoyment in the dish with her look of pure crab-cake-enjoyment that I noticed as she munched on hers.
Now, the entree was another story. We got the bravette steak – from the menu: “Creekstone grilled spice-rubbed bravette steak lime chipotle sauce peppers + onions…roasted potatoes.” The steak was a little cool (heat-wise) when it came out, but the flavor more than made up for it. The spice rub was subtle but delicious and paired well with the cilantro lime sauce that lightly flavored the meat. The roasted potatoes were nice, hot, and tender, but not too soft. The carrot and asparagus were good, too, as was the roasted red onion quarter. The steak was by far the star of this meal!
After our main meal was over, we received another hand-written menu for desserts. We looked it over but remembered another recommendation by Trentadue to try Hotel Healdsburg for dessert, so we got ready for some sweets (even though we were pretty stuffed!).
Before leaving Ravenous, I snapped a couple shots of the fireplace that added extra coziness to the atmosphere.
As we left, the restaurant was just picking up steam. The place was really filling up and must be popular with the locals.
Unfortunately, Hotel Healdsburg was closed for the evening for a special event, so we headed back to San Fran in search of sweets…more on that next time.
Final Dish
I really loved how cozy our dinner at Ravenous was. My friend and I were so comfortable there dining with the locals. I enjoyed the simple, little touches, like the handwritten menu and roaring fire in the background. Our waiter did a nice job taking care of us without rushing us and the food itself was really great overall, as well. I’m a little sad I didn’t try that burger the man at Trentadue suggested, but there’s always next time. I think I’m also going to stick around for a Ravenous dessert next time, as well.