My friend Mike and I ate a couple of great meals while in Petaluma for the cheese festival. By late Saturday afternoon, I was reeling from the amount of rich cheeses I had been consuming all day. Mike, however, had taken a long bike ride and wanted a Real Dinner, so a Petaluma local gave us recommendations. For dinner we dropped in at Tony Najiola’s Central Market on Petaluma Blvd., in the center of downtown. Service was extremely attentive and we were delighted by the food. Mike’s lamb shanks were succulent and my salad of olive oil-poached ono and potatoes satisfied me without being overwhelming. I successfully veered away from anything with cheese. Tony came by to chat briefly and treated us to sublime little chocolatey meringues with a thin layer of mocha buttercream. I left them in the car overnight and the next afternoon, after a less-than-satisfying meal in Healdsburg, we sat and each enjoyed a warm cookie in the car. It sweetened the day in more ways than one.
For breakfast the next morning, we went to Della Fattoria Cafe, just down and across the street from Central Market. Oh my, this is a place that would see me daily if I lived nearby. It felt so right from the minute we walked in, and reminded me of breakfast at Cafe Beaujolais in the ’80s–local, personal, warm and inviting. Golden-yolked poached eggs on their Della Fattoria toast with homemade raspberry jam…sigh. It was really good. The prices seemed in line for high-quality, organic ingredients; besides, I never mind paying more for things that are done properly. We didn’t have a chance to try anything from the appealing and sparkling bakery cases, but that’s on my list for the next visit.
