Barndiva
231 Center Street
Healdsburg, Calif.
(707) 431-0100
www.barndiva.com
Elegant Farm-to-Table
Open: Wednesday-Sunday
Lunch: Noon to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Sunday Brunch: Starts at 11 a.m.
“Wherever you are, eat the view”—that’s the motto at Barndiva. Family-owned and operated, Barndiva is hip and elegant Sonoma County casual. Geoff and Jill Hales and Lukka Feldman, opened the restaurant in 2004. Their goal was to offer a dining experience celebrating the exquisite bounty of Sonoma and Mendocino counties from Healdsburg to the coast, but the family farm is at the heart of the enterprise.
Since opening, Barndiva has gained a reputation for its farm-to-table cuisine. And in recent months, Mark Hopper, executive chef, has taken the helm of the kitchen. Alex and I arrive on a weekday evening, and it’s clear this is a popular spot for tourists and locals. Barndiva is a study in contrasts and the name embodies all that it is. The barn was never constructed for its usual functional purpose. “It was developed and constructed by the family to showcase the wine, food and art they love,” says Lynn Rogers, our server for the evening. As for –diva in Barndiva, according to Jil Hales, it’s meant to elevate any maker who hits the high notes in food, farming and drink.
We begin with cocktails, and learned that Jil takes great care to name each cocktail based on its personality. I ordered the “Bitches of the Seiziéme,” partly because I was intrigued by the name. Light and refreshing, this cocktail consists of Korbel Brandy infused with orange peel, fresh lemon and bubbles. Though the story behind the name is too involved to relay here, it was inspired by the Rite of Spring concert in Paris in 1913 by Igor Stravinsky, which was not received well. Alex ordered “Why Bears Do It,” a concoction of Barndiva Brown Butter Whiskey, garden thyme syrup, fresh lemon and organic apple juice. Aptly named, we learned, because every year when the apples turn ripe on the farm where they’re sourced, the bears get drunk on the scent of fallen apples, often pulling limbs off the small heirloom trees. This cocktail is reminiscent of an old fashioned, but the brown butter whiskey takes it to a new level.
Next, we tried a selection of appetizers. The roasted cauliflower soup is creamy and delicious, garnished
with poached apricot and fried capers, which gives it a nice salty note. The chilled beets were perfectly cooked, and served with petite lettuces, carrot, radish, toasted pistachios and pistachio yoghurt. The yellowfin tuna crudo is served with avocado, fried rice, tamari soy ponzu and fresno chili, this starter has concentrated flavors and is a study in flavor and texture—bright and savory, crispy, yet creamy. Inventive and delicious, this is a memorable dish.
The chef surprised us with one final starter, the di Stefano burrata—a fresh Italian cow milk cheese made with Mozzerella and cream, served with grilled red bird bakery levain. This appetizer is simple perfection, and a good starter to share. Chef Mark, as they call him at Barndiva, stopped by our table and I asked him about his culinary philosophy. “Keep it simple,” he says. “Find the best product, do the least amount to it and make it delicious.”
Chef Mark is a natural in the culinary world. Growing up, his grandmother gave each child a basket with pasta and wine each Christmas. “The wine went to the adults,” he says with a laugh. But the pasta became a creative project. “Food is the vehicle that brings people together,” he adds. He began cooking at 15, and never looked back. In 2002, he was a sous chef at The French Laundry, and in 2004 he was opening Chef de cuisine of Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Las Vegas—a role that naturally evolved to becoming the executive chef of casual dining for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.
For the main course, Alex ordered the herb-roasted chicken—a signature dish at Barndiva. He was pleased with his choice. The chicken was well executed, and served with Brussels sprouts and a compressed apple-chestnut velouté. I had the pan-roasted petrale sole with lobster, spaghetti squash sultana, and toasted almonds in a beurre blanc sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked with a nice crisp. There are so many ingredients, it’s hard to imagine how it can be a cohesive dish, but it’s a spectacular plate of food.
For dessert, we shared the snickers macaroon, which is a light and airy piece of confection that’s decadent and tasty. Next time you’re in Healdsburg, add Barndiva to your itinerary—the perfect stop for an elegant farm-to-table dining experience, but it’s also a good choice for cocktails and appetizers.
