Can indulging in higher-calorie comfort food be a path to a more balanced life? Saying yes to a dripping smash burger, a 10-layer lasagna with a rich ragu or that classic chocolate-malt shake you dreamed about as a kid is oftentimes all it takes to feel good.
Over the past two decades, menus packed with calorie counts, diet warnings and strict portions have made dining out feel more like a math problem than a pleasure. Add rising prices — up roughly 31% since 2020 — and even indulgence can feel stressful. However, a new trend is quietly pushing back. Comfort food, ordered up without guilt or apology, is making a statement and reminding us that wellness isn’t measured only in calories or nutrients, but in the carb-loaded cuisine of your dreams.
In restaurants today, chefs and diners alike are discovering that indulgence and well-being can coexist, and that some of the most nourishing experiences are the ones that feed both body and spirit. Locally, the trend is making positive impacts on businesses that cater to indulgent dishes and nostalgic cuisine.
Fried chicken for the soul
Lauren Kershner, founder and owner of Goodness Gracious Hospitality — the umbrella brand behind Goodness Gracious Private Chef and Catering, Valley of the Moon Kombucha, Songbird Parlour and West Wine Tours — says she’s witnessed a notable shift in hospitality.
“For so long, we’ve been sold this idea that wellness is restriction, deprivation, punishing yourself at the gym and counting every calorie. But true wellness? It’s about mental and emotional wellbeing … It’s about joy and connection — things that actually make us want to be alive,” says Kershner.
Beginning her career in the restaurant industry, Kershner began working at Le Cordon Bleu in Portland when she was 18 years old. She eventually worked in Napa Valley at places like Morimoto Napa and Calistoga Ranch. Kershner founded the hospitality group in 2017, where it began as a private chef and catering company and has grown into a multi-concept hospitality group.
“People are flocking to pizza joints, pasta spots and ice cream parlors because they’re craving the simple pleasure of enjoying food without guilt. And I’m here for it,” Kershner says of the industry’s uptick.
At her restaurant, Songbird Parlour in Glen Ellen, the Sunday hot chicken sells out each week.
“There’s something about that crispy, golden exterior that just makes people happy,” says Kershner.
But it’s not just the chicken that people are lining up for.
“Our chef also makes this incredible cast iron focaccia special that sells out every single time. We have a braised lamb shank served with crème de fromage grits that people go wild for — it’s big, rich and satisfying,” she says.
For Kershner, the balance between good food and self-care is the true intent for curating memorable hospitality experiences.
“These are the dishes people remember, the ones they come back for,” she says.
Additionally, she and her team always use farm-fresh ingredients, local meats and house-baked goods.
“The trick is intention,” says Kershner. “You can have your fried chicken and feel good about it when it’s made with care, when it brings you joy and when you’re sharing it with people you love. That’s the path to being happy and healthy, and that matters deeply to me.”
If you’re still unsure about ordering that second round of focaccia, here’s what the science says.
The chemistry of comfort food
Could finding comfort in food be beneficial? Studies suggest a link between the brain chemicals our bodies release and the comforting foods that stimulate them.
According to the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals, feelings of safety and comfort, including consumption of comfort foods, can influence the brain’s chemical response.
The ANFP suggests that eating comfort foods activates the hypothalamus, prompting the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Dopamine signals the body to anticipate satisfaction and plays a role in regulating functions such as mood, digestion, blood flow, sleep, focus and stress levels. In fact, the mere thought of comfort food can spark a dopamine release, setting off the familiar cycle of motivation and reward.
For patrons, the power of comfort food often goes beyond taste — it can unlock memories and emotions in ways that feel almost magical. Known as the Proust Effect, memories triggered by smell and taste are among the most powerful and emotionally vivid.
According to research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), food- and scent-evoked nostalgia activates autobiographical memory in ways that feel deeply personal and familiar, often producing stronger positive emotions than memories triggered by other factors. These sensory memories are linked to psychological benefits such as increased self-esteem, a sense of social connection and greater meaning in life — helping explain why certain flavors evoke such feelings of overall comfort.
It’s the emotional pull of comfort food — where indulgence meets memory — that has allowed restaurants like La Gare in Santa Rosa to cultivate a decades-long legacy of joy, drawing diners back again and again.
Feel-good French nostalgia in Santa Rosa
In 1979, Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square became home to what would grow into one of the
city’s beloved dining institutions, La Gare. For more than four decades, the restaurant has served traditional French cuisine, under the guidance of second-generation owners (and sibling duo) Executive Chef Roger Praplan and manager Jackie Bazeley. Together, they have continued La Gare’s legacy of creating lasting memories for the community.
Rooted in tradition and refined over centuries, French cuisine has long been a source of comfort, dating back to the 14th century. Through time-tested techniques, carefully chosen ingredients, and the patience of slow, deliberate preparation, it has become a cherished culinary art form.
Bazeley explains that La Gare is more than just a restaurant. It is a place that offers guests a sense of joy and nostalgia, returning them to familiar memories time and time again.
“There’s not a night that goes by without a guest telling us they’re celebrating an anniversary here because this is where they had their first date, or a family coming in every year for Mother’s Day for the past 30 years. It’s lovely, and we’re prouder of that than of any single dish on the menu,” says Bazeley.
While it’s rewarding to see guests return time and again for their signature dishes, Bazeley says what matters most is knowing families come back year after year because the restaurant feels like a place they want to share memories together. She describes those moments of watching guests grow, return and celebrate over time as one of the true gifts of hospitality, creating shared memories that connect the restaurant to the community it serves.
The restaurant is known for signature dishes like Carré d’Agneau Persillé (rack of lamb with herbes de Provence and demi-glace), Filet de Boeuf Wellington (tenderloin of beef en croute with duxelles and Madeira sauce) and sweetbreads in a Madeira cream sauce. This style of cuisine is decadent by design — its richness drawn from premium ingredients, meticulous technique and the time-honored patience that transforms simple elements into an artful experience.
“The foundation of French cooking is the simple yet delicious omelette,” Bazeley explains. “French cuisine isn’t indulgent because of any single ingredient — it’s indulgent because of time. Like wine, the most valuable thing we have is time, whether it’s aging a bottle or spending eight hours making a demi-glace. It’s the same principle.”
That philosophy, she says, extends beyond individual dishes to the way a restaurant grows alongside its guests–a lifetime of food-made memories.
Go forward, guilt-free
Whether it’s your all-time favorite mac and cheese or mom’s meatloaf, there’s no mistaking that enjoying your favorites, especially with those you love, can leave a lasting feel-good effect.
“Food and dining can connect people in this really beautiful, profound way,” says Kershner. “It’s almost medicinal. When you gather around a table with people you care about, when you share a meal that’s been made with love and intention, when you laugh together and let go of the stress you’re carrying — that’s not indulgence in a guilty way. That’s a prescription for feeling better.”
Top Comfort Foods in America
Comfort foods are synonymous with feeling good, and in the U.S., there’s plenty of comfort options to choose from. Here are the foods that made the top of the list, according to data compiled from CottonPatch.com
1. Grilled Cheese Sandwich makes the top of the list, with its simplicity and ease, not to mention, it’s a favorite in at least six states.
2. Fried Chicken is a southern favorite with the irresistibility of the crunchy exterior and the juicy center.
3. Macaroni and Cheese, need I say more?
4. Pizza is a top contender, versatile in its many different flavor profiles and its overall simplicity in ingredients. You can’t go wrong with cheese and bread.
