My favorite place is Carneros Bistro in Sonoma, Calif. To be fair, the chef de cuisine is my cousin Janine (no, this isn’t a poem). If you go you have to try the Midnight Moon Mac and Cheese with maitake mushrooms and porcini crust. Also, Janine does something with an Heirloom tomato that is akin to magic (on the menu under “Tomato Aromatherapy”). Save room for dessert. She makes popcorn-flavored ice cream that looks like popped kernels of popcorn, but it melts in your mouth just like the creamy confection. (I don’t understand it, I am just reporting it.)
There are a lot of great places in Sonoma and Napa, and I love a lot of them. The best thing about some of these great establishments is that you can basically wear anything as long as you bring your wallet.
While I love fine dining, I despise restaurants that enforce a dress code.
I think it’s nice to get dressed up and go out to eat. However, I also feel that if I’m wearing a decent pair of jeans and a nice Izod, I should still get to eat indoors. I took a friend to dinner at Madre’s in Pasadena (374 miles south of Sonoma, Calif.). Madre’s is owned by a singer named Jennifer Lopez. This singer goes by the moniker J-Lo for some reason.
Speaking of singers and the songs they sing, prior to moving to Los Angeles, all I ever knew about Pasadena was from a Beach Boys tune, but it’s quite a lovely little neighborhood with several boutique shops and fine restaurants.
Anyway, it was a little after 5 o’clock in Pasadena and Madre’s had been only opened a few minutes on this particular day. The joint was deserted. The maitre d' looked at me and went, “I’m sorry, we don’t normally serve people in jeans, but we will make an exception.” Let me reiterate; the restaurant was empty. They only let me and my friend in was because we were the only customers. I wanted to walk out then and there, but my companion really wanted to dine in the singer’s bistro.
Here’s today’s Alanis Morissette (another songstress) moment: The owner, J-Lo, has a line of clothing at Kmart, which includes jeans. This means you can’t wear J-Lo’s clothes to eat in J-Lo’s restaurant. Isn’t it ironic, don'tcha think?
Granted, I would never wear shorts or sweatpants to a restaurant, but the jeans I had worn were a bit more expensive than anything found at Kmart.
Further, the décor is shabby chic. Shabby chic is basically taking your thrift store finds and gussying them up with a fresh coat of paint or applying some trendy decoupage designs to them. This means that my old beat-up secretary desk has a better chance of getting in the restaurant than I did.
There are better restaurants in Northern California than in Southern California, but naturally, SoCal has to add attitude. You pay extra for attitude; it’s the Hollywood way.
Madre’s has since closed. Now, that little old lady from Pasadena can wear sneakers and jeans next time she’s cruising down Colorado Boulevard.