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Evan Hufford

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Kiss with a Slap Days: Our Roadmap Going Forward...

Photo and Dish Credits:
Executive Chef Jordan Rosas: EGGPLANT TERIYAKI with charred shishito, nori, and shiso; HOUSEMADE RIGATONI summer squash & blossoms, calabrian chili, pine nuts, garlic, grana padano, basil / Pastry Chef Neidy Venegas: WHITE CHOCOLATE ROSE BUDINO with apple granita and dehydrated apple; BARNDIVA FARM BARTLETT PEAR FRANGIPANE with heirloom apple cider vinegar; POTATO ROLLS with fines herbes / Farm Manager Dan Carlson: Gravenstein apples / Jil Hales: All other photos

The smoke had not yet cleared from the Walbridge Fire before it began to drift back in again, shrouding Healdsburg and Philo from fires raging far to the north and east. The sky turned a frightening red, the color of dried persimmons, then into a flecked ash murky brown, which was almost worse. It has thankfully passed now, though the fires in California are by no means contained. It was certainly a week we will long remember in Wine Country, deeply unsettling. And yet, incredibly, we came out the other side, hosting a safe distance wedding rehearsal dinner Saturday night that was respectful of our current state of play, yet achingly beautiful. On Tuesday we juiced the first of our apples.

These are kiss with a slap days. Situations that start out sharp and seemingly unforgiving suddenly give way to a glimmer of restitution, a way forward. The trick is to stay open to the better possibilities, and dig deep. We’ve taken the position that we’re going to get through this year in some form that adds up to more than ‘just surviving.’ Change is in the air. When it’s not too smoky to smell it.

The truth is, no one knows what food culture, much less any patronage dependent enterprise like theater or the arts, will look like when we get to the other side of this horrible terrible year (and we will). But we keep coming back to the question of whether ‘a return to normal’ is all that’s needed. In these past months we’ve had a rare chance to stop and take stock: to discern what’s truly important, see more clearly which aspects of our lives need to be strengthened, and enriched. For our small family business that has meant gimlet eye focus on the people we work alongside who have helped us every step of the way. How do we protect these people and the things we love most about living and working in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties? 

It was so satisfying to read the Sonoma Magazine article, “How One Healdsburg Restaurant is Mastering Social Dining” by Dana Rebmann because it was further confirmation that the innovative and nuanced system Lukka and his team have put in place - and are constantly improving - is resonating beyond the gardens. We’re not taking any bows mind you, it’s been bloody hard work and it’s far from over. Not everyone gets it. Many people so hate the circumstances we all find ourselves in that their frustrations spill over. But overwhelmingly people are so pleased to be out again, in a safe and beautiful space. And Jordan’s food is remarkable.

The article was written from the diner’s perspective, but there have also been fascinating revelations for us as well as we navigate the most creative ways to deal with ‘safe distance dining’ - I mean what did that even mean, pre-March? The biggest discovery has been that in limiting the physicality of service we did not have to limit the quality of that service. No matter your age or technological inclinations, once you get into the flow of using your phone to text or call the brigade of staff just inside the Barn, all masked and communicating with you and each other over wireless headsets, the experience opens up and you can enjoy the best part of dining out in a roomful of strangers: the possibility of great flavors, the presentation of beautiful food, the excellence of a wine list, the joys of a great bar, ambiance, flowers, music. We are blessed to have large gardens and an incredibly engaging and smart food and wine team, but it’s the technology we all dreaded which has allowed us to continue to deliver anything resembling an authentic experience. The biggest surprise is that it’s come with remarkable affinity and ease. Go figure.

Speaking as a diner there are things I won’t miss if they never come back post Covid: long winded recitations of dishes which a well written menu or a diner’s question could better convey; the frustration of trying to get a busy server’s eye to order more wine or replace a dropped fork, and (unless you really crave attention) the constant interruptions just when a conversation is kicking into high gear for superfluous water service. Perhaps the biggest turn off we are currently able to avoid at Barndiva, because of the immediacy of the conversations we’re having with every guest, is the often awkward pacing of a meal. Guests let us know when they want more of anything, how they want to pace the meal according to how they feel, how much time they want to spend at the table.

This is not to say we don’t miss great front of house service - which, when the stars align, is a thing of beauty. Never obtrusive, there is that ‘queen for a day’ feeling we all crave when a dining experience is elegantly curated.

We have almost as many FOH staff now as before, they are just inside the restaurant, able to respond to guests at once. You can still flit through our 700 bottle wine list - you just need to do it on your phone - before texting or calling to talk directly with our sommelier, the wonderful Evan Hufford. Nish, who with two friends came in with Val on her birthday preferred the brevity of texting because he knew what he wanted and felt comfortable to stipulate a price range. But for every Nish there is the wine lover who expects, and still receives, an in depth conversation about a bottle, a vintage, a grape.

Without a doubt, the 20% service charge that now appears on the menu is the most important change to our service since Covid. It accomplishes long sought but hard to reach goals. We have always wanted to find the resources to provide full health care for every member of the staff. We also wanted to address the disparity of pay between the front of house and all other positions, especially those in the kitchen. We feel and express overwhelming gratitude to First Responders for the frightening work they do in keeping us safe, but as a culture we must do more for them and for people behind the scenes doing less perilous jobs that keep our lives going, often enriching them. Wrongly defined as mundane, this work force is not compensated, respected, or appreciated enough. Even a master at hospitality like Danny Meyer failed to make the reasonable case that a cover charge is a viable way to address things like health care and higher wages. Great restaurants - which we aspire to be - rise or fall on many hands, many shoulders, from somm to dishwasher.

Profound changes are now coming to the entire restaurant industry that will affect all of us, no matter where you live and dine. Fast food has ‘succeeded’ in blowing out every projected measure of exponential growth during this pandemic. Make no mistake, the big boys who sell cheap proteins which denigrate the environment, are cruel to animals, and do not respect labor have grown even stronger, while smaller independent restaurants and farms are struggling, forced to close in unprecedented numbers. The profit margins built in to this industry are not the compelling reason to give your life over to it. I hate when people say trust me, but trust me on this one.

The challenge for us - and you as a diner - is how to find a way forward which allows for both the ease and beauty of fine dining but provides true economic sustainability that takes into consideration the welfare of all of us who work hard here, and the health of the food shed. The support you show in the coming months to small independent restaurants like ours flows out into the communities we all hope to get back to soon, and be a part of rebuilding. Consider following and supporting the national grass roots organization saverestaurants.com.

If kindly intended, no matter how critical, we’d love to hear your thoughts (directly please) after dining with us. Please email owner Lukka Feldman at lukka@barndiva.com. Take care. We hope to see you soon.

#saverestaurants #staytuned #stayhealthy #stayhealdsburg #healdsburgchamber #eattheview #barndiva #togo #healdsburg #thisishealdsburg #sonomacounty #mendocinocounty #sommtablehealdsburg #sonomastrong #ediblemarinwc #lovehealdsburg #biteclubeats @barndivahealdsburg @sonomamag

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#food2firefighters

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Hard to know what to think. One minute we’re mastering all the complicated bits involved in re-opening for service during a pandemic when all of a sudden 11,000 lightning bolts start raining down from what was just a hot, exceedingly innocent looking clear blue sky day. Even if you don’t let your mind go in the wrath direction, it sure does feel like the state of California got up on the wrong side of the bed a few years in a row.

Before we knew it multiple fires, one just a ridge over to the west of Healdsburg, were raging out of control. There was another out towards the coast and a fast moving blaze in Napa County. It was immediately obvious none could be contained as only scant resources were available anywhere. We became part of the LNU complex, code name Walbridge. All we could expect was that local firefighters could try and hold the line until more help arrived. Much of the terrain in northwest Sonoma County is steep and hilly; firefighters had to first find the line before they could attempt to battle it into submission.

While under threat of evacuation we temporarily closed the Barn to guests Saturday. On Sunday we began cooking for firefighters. Living where we do we never forget the professionalism and courage of these men and women, but it still feels overwhelming to confront our helplessness. We have no way of thanking them personally for protecting our way of life except to do what we know best - to feed them from the foodshed they are defending.

By daybreak Tuesday, Aug. 25, the skies across most of the Bay Area that were unbearably smokey the day before had begun to clear. While the Lightning Complex fires has burned over a million acres in our beloved state, the Meyers fire raging along the coast and the Hennessy fire in Napa County are now contained. In our part of Sonoma resources and more firefighters have arrived from Culver City, Folsom, Beverly Hills, Rancho Santa Fe and as far as Washington State to making the difference. More projected lightning storms have ignited only 13 fires that were easily identified and contained. Our hearts are hurting for all those who suffered loss - and we were heartbroken to hear that the ancient forest in California’s oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods in Santa Cruz, may be irreparably damaged. While fire burns at the edge of Armstrong Woods, it is not in any real danger at the moment.

While the health of our businesses has been on all our minds in Healdsburg for months now, without a second thought other people’s health, and their losses, once again became paramount. We were not surprised when so many restaurants and markets in town jumped in to help feed first responders. Catastrophes are partisan free zones. It never ceases to amaze what can be accomplished when people from all walks of life work together towards a common goal. We want to thank everyone for reaching out to see if we were safe - messages came from across the globe - and one stood out for asking what many of you who do not live here may be thinking. A friend from far away, no doubt overwhelmed with concern shrieked, “How can you continue to live there?”

Here’s the thing: with Covid-19 ongoing, the economy teetering, the climate in stress, systemic social injustices tearing us apart, I can think of no where else our family would rather be than in this beautiful place surrounded by amazing, talented individuals engaged in life affirming work. Harvest goes on despite the challenges we may face. There is a wonderful, inexorable optimism in farming food and growing grapes when you love a landscape, understand its history, want to protect its structural health. We draw from that every day. Then we cook as if our lives depended on it. Because, in fact, they do.

We will be cooking for firefighters again today, but plan to be open for service on Thursday August 27.

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The Barndiva Family wishes to thank our dear friend Alexis Iaconis and her remarkable children Hadley and Lincoln, Barndiva’s Cathryn and the great Bloody Bob, our new wine director Evan Hufford and his talented wife Jade, and the amazing Felix. Thank you as well for wonderful contributions from Single Thread Farms and the Philo Apple Farm of gorgeous produce. Lukka’s ability to connect with the GoFundMe campaign #food2firefighters was enabled by the infectious energy of Skip and The Healdsburg Running Company. Great neighbors. They get it. Give what you can.

On Saturday & Sunday 160 meals went out to So Co Fire

On Monday we were able to deliver 160 meals to Healdsburg FD and Soco fire stationed in Windsor.

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