Last weekend we attended my cousin’s wedding at a private estate just north of Sonoma in Glen Ellen.  Prior to our arrival at the wedding venue, we stopped in Sonoma for a late lunch.  After doing some quick research I thought The Girl and the Fig sounded like en excellent choice.  We arrived at 12:30 and luckily found street parking less than a block from the restaurant.  Its nice in sonoma in that they have free 3 hour street parking around their Square/Plaza where all the restaurants are situated.  I like that the restaurant has a system that takes your name and cell phone number so you can go wander the square.  It was a windy day but we walked down checking out some shops – stopping in the small kitchen supply store because, well, I love kitchen things!  We were sat just after 1:30, around when they said our table would be ready.  I was fairly excited about the menu.

They have a Salon du Fromage (yay cheese!) as well as their own house-made charcuterie (Mano Formate).  The Girl and the Fig is owned by Sondra Bernstein and delivers rustic French food in a nice casual atmosphere.  The original The Fig Cafe is located in nearby Glen Ellen.  We started with some craft cocktails – and while I don’t remember the exact name or what was in the drinks, they were delightful.  Also we agreed upon getting 3 cheeses and 3 meats to start.  The cheese were a Roquefort, Chevre, and a semi-firm cow cheese (can’t remember the name) along with 3 different cuts of charcuterie.  Delicious!  My wife also tried the soup but it was too earthy flavored for her.  For her main she went with the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, with tomato confit.  It was creamy and yummy.  For my main I went with the Duck Confit, served with fava beans, roasted potatoes, and onions.  I went with the 1 leg option.  Probably the best duck confit that I’ve had, and I’ve tried it at various places.

We have been watching The Great British Baking Show and one of the recent episodes featured trifles.  Since The Girl and The Fig had a chocolate & salted fig caramel trifle, I had to try it.  It was sweet and a nice way to end the meal.  If you’re ever in the Sonoma region, I definitely recommend it.

On our way back from the wedding weekend, we again stopped in Sonoma for some brunch before driving back to Sac.  The wife suggested we try Community Cafe.  It’s a small counter service restaurant that has various brunch and lunch options.  They have self serve coffee as well.  My wife ordered the Truffled Eggs & Toast and I had the Cuban Pork Breakfast Burrito (served with black beans).  I needed something hearty after a bit too much imbibing at the wedding.   Both dishes were extremely good and filling.  The truffled eggs certainly had enough truffle essence.  My burrito came as a wet burrito that I had to eat with knife and fork but I didn’t mind since it was so tasty.  The atmosphere of the cafe was certainly one of locals and a place to read the paper and have a lazy breakfast/brunch.  A nice small non-touristy spot for some good food.

Both places we visited in Sonoma on this visit were spot on.

While we were in the area, we visited Santa Rosa and the Charles Schultz museum (Peanuts!!).  It’s a nice little museum  to visit if you’re in the area.

-StewsCat