What’s New at Napa Valley’s Dry Creek Kitchen?
Over the two-decade run of Charlie Palmer’s Best of Award of Excellence winner Dry Creek Kitchen, the Sonoma County restaurant has seen a few touch-ups to its dining room in downtown Healdsburg, Calif., but nothing like the facelift that debuted this fall.
Among the noteworthy transformations is the relocation of the wine cellar, now a glass-encased showpiece adjacent to the kitchen. The biggest change to the dining room itself is the addition of a grand, round, eight-top table dubbed “The Terroir Table,” which sits beneath an elegant glass-steel chandelier within view of the sidewalk, for passersby to see. The restaurant’s bar also got a new look, including a mirrored back bartop to help open up the space. And a series of paintings from local artist Bob Nugent now hang throughout the restaurant, depicting native flora such as herbs, trees and grasses.
[article-img-container][src=2023-11/restaurant-news-dry-creek-kitchen-shane-mcanelly-110223_1600.jpg] [credit= (Paige Green)] [alt= Shane McAnelly in his chef’s white uniform and blue apron][end: article-img-container]Also new is executive chef Shane McAnelly, who joins Dry Creek Kitchen after a short stint cooking at The Horseshoe Farm in North Carolina. “Sonoma County was calling, and I have a new appreciation for the area and what it has to offer,” said McAnelly, who spent the previous seven years cooking at Healdsburg restaurants, including Chalkboard and the Brass Rabbit. He also led the culinary program at Russian River Valley winery Bricoleur Vineyards when it opened in 2020.
McAnelly points to the bounty of local produce as a key reason for returning. “Rejoining the community has been fun. I visit farmers down the road and at the [farmers’] market every week. Those relationships are important,” the chef said, noting a current dish that features locally grown mushrooms. McAnelly brings his own strengths to the menu as well, including fresh pasta. “Pasta is one of my passions,” he explained, spotlighting an agnolotti dish that evokes Mexican eloté with Calabrian hot peppers, shishito peppers, cotija cheese and lime.
[article-img-container][src=2023-11/restaurant-news-dry-creek-kitchen-wine-cellar-110223_900.jpg] [credit= (Paige Green)] [alt= A table at Dry Creek Kitchen in front of a glass window, with a view into the new wine cellar and bottles therein][end: article-img-container]What hasn’t changed is the impressive list of exclusively Sonoma wines. It’s a 700-bottle deep dive into the best of the county, including treasures that can’t be found in any other restaurant, anywhere, such as old or rare bottlings from Rochioli, Williams Selyem and more.—A.R.
For more on wine and dining destinations in Sonoma County wine country, check out our new Restaurant Guide!
Montana’s Triple Creek Ranch Hosts 2023–2024 Vintner Weekends with Celebrated Winemakers
Tucked away in the mountainous Montana wilderness of the Bitterroot Range, luxury resort Triple Creek Ranch still lures wine lovers to the town of Darby, south of Missoula, to taste some of the best wines in the U.S. and meet their winemakers.
The Relais & Chateaux property is known for its wine program, which has earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2012, and for the series of Vintner Weekend events it has hosted since 2004. Winemakers and other representatives from well-known wineries, with whom the Triple Creek Ranch sommelier team has forged close relationships over the years, each head three days of seminars and tastings.
[article-img-container][src=2023-11/restaurant-news-triple-creek-ranch-110223_1600.jpg]Source : https://www.winespectator.com/articles/restaurant-news-big-changes-come-to-dry-creek-kitchen-in-california
