Willi's Wine Bar Santa Rosa/Kendall-Jackson

We found ourselves in the Santa Rosa area the other day, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally eat at Willi's Wine Bar. Willi's Wine Bar delivered everything promised. The food was outstanding, the wine flights intriguing-the pairing and the wineries. Willi's Wine Bar offers small international plates, and we started off with a Soda Rock Farms Heirloom Tomato Salad, with whipped ricotta cheese & verjus vinaigrette which was on the Local menu. Our next plates were from the Mediterranean menu: Seared Scallops, with roasted Corn Sauce & Tomato Escabeche and Moroccan Style Lamb Chops with preserved Lemon Couscous. Of course, we needed to have Willi's Truffled French Fries from the French menu. Each 'small' plate was ample for two, and although we were stuffed, we couldn't pass up the dessert plates. We had an incredible banana chocolate croissant bread pudding and a lovely creme brulee with raspberries. We did flights of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Each dish was perfectly prepared and presented.

So if you find yourself in the North Bay for lunch or dinner, be sure and stop by.
Planning a special event: Willi's Wine Bar has patio seating for parties of 25 and inside the restaurant for buy-outs.

Kendall-Jackson Wine Center is just a bit north on Fulton Road, and it's always worth a visit. Not only can you taste fabulous wines, but there is a wonderful Food & Wine Pairing created by Kendall-Jackson's Executive Chef Justin Wangler. This is a seated tasting experience in which you sample from a plate of delectable food paired with the day's featured wines. No appointment necessary, and this pairing is offered throughout the year. Kendall-Jackson has a lovely culinary garden from which many of the ingredients are harvested.

Kendall-Jackson has accommodate large and small groups for weddings, meetings and special events. Murder on the Menu will be producing a mystery for the Wine Club on October 25. Open to the public. Reservations necessary.

Public Mystery events

Murder on the Menu does mostly corporate and private mystery events, so it's always exciting when we have mystery parties that are open to the public. Usually our public mystery events are for fundraisers. In October we'll have two public events--October 24 for Habitat for Humanity and October 17 for San Carlos Children's Theater. Not sure all the notices are on their webpages yet, but I urge you to check with them and save the date. I'll also be putting pages on my website about each event. In the meantime, here are some particulars.

October 24, 6:30-11:30. Chaminade, Santa Cruz, CA. Dinner, Mystery, Dancing. Benefit: Habitat for Humanity.

October 17, 7-10. Hotel Sofitel, Redwood Shores, CA. Dinner and Mystery. Benefit: San Carlos Children's Theater.

And, here's a fun event open to wine club memers and the public! Join the wine club, get good wine and a discount on events!
October 25, 6:00-9:00. Kendall-Jackson, Fulton, CA