Floral Recipes to Brighten Your Palate Life in the Fast Lane with Driver Jessie Love SPIRIT OF THE PENINSULA popped APRIL 24 On the Wild Side Things with Wings Chic Petaluma Vintage Getaway Color+Texture Stunning Design Special Neighborhoods Section PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM
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12 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 36 {punchline} Peninsula Culture 27 Life in the Fast Lane 34 Perfect Shot 36 Diary of a Dog: Milton {due west} Travel & Wellness 41 Picturesque Petaluma 48 Things with Wings IN EVERY ISSUE 16 Editor’s Note 18 Sloane Citron 21 QuickPUNCH PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULETTE PHLIPOT / COURTESY OF HOTEL PETALUMA / ROBB MOST / SEASONS OF EXISTENCE 1 - COURTESY OF RAMONA STELZER 57 41 {food coloring} Eats, Drinks & Scoops 57 At Home in Meyhouse 62 Stovetop Studies 66 The Beat on Your Eats {home & design} Style and Substance 69 Spirited Spaces 74 Flower Power {punchout} Features 116 Petals on Your Plate {landmark} 122 Sharon Estate {april 2024} contents 74 COVER: PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAULETTE PHLIPOT (PAGE 116)
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14 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM “Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.” —JOHN LENNON FOUNDER/PUBLISHER Sloane Citron EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Andrea Gemmet CREATIVE DIRECTOR Britt Johnston SENIOR EDITOR Johanna Harlow CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Sheri Baer COPY EDITOR Carrie Lightner PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTORS Annie Barnett Paulette Phlipot PHOTOGRAPHERS Gino De Grandis Robb Most Irene Searles Robert David Siegel WRI TERS Sophia Markoulakis Loureen Murphy Robert Siegel Elaine Wu SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Dylan Lanier ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Sally Randall Georgina Fox SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jane Jerome CREATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR Airiel Mulvaney ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Alexa Randall PRINT QUALITY DIRECTOR George Marquez PUNCH is an idea about how to live a life that is more engaging and authentic, from personal adventures, growth and what we feed our bodies and souls to the culture that fulfills us and the traditions and new discoveries offered by the Peninsula. It is about appreciating and exploring the richness of where we live and how that understanding can enhance our lives and make them more fulfilling and happy. PUNCH MAGAZINE ADVERTISING Please call 650.383.3636 or email hello@punchmonthly.com PUBLISHED 1047 El Camino Real, Suite 202 Menlo Park, CA 94025 ©2024 by 36 Media, LLC Members Sloane Citron, David Arfin hello@punchmonthly.com punchmagazine.com PUNCH® is a registered trademark of 36 Media, LLC FOLLOW PUNCH: @punchmonthly PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM FOR EVERYTHING PUNCH, COMPLETE CALENDAR, INSIDE SCOOPS & MORE: punchmagazine.com
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16 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM to bring the relaxed vibe of a traditional Turkish wine house to the Peninsula at Meyhouse Palo Alto. (Page 57) And if spending all day in the kitchen wasn’t your grandmother’s thing, you can always learn how to make traditional dishes from someone else’s. Johanna Harlow takes you inside a San Carlos home for a hands-on lesson in making kimchi with Moon Soon Choi at a “Grandmas from Around the World” cooking class. (Page 62) In the pages of our April issue, you’ll meet people who are preserving family traditions in other ways, too. Jeannine Cranston is a fanciful interior designer whose bold style draws inspiration from her grandmother’s antiques. (Page 69) Teen NASCAR driver Jesse Love credits life lessons from his father for his success behind the wheel. (Page 27) Making your home in a new place is a leap of faith, one that can give flight to a world of new possibilities. Artist Ramona Stelzer, whose large abstract floral paintings have won acclaim, says it was only after leaving her native Germany for the Peninsula that she found the creative freedom to truly embrace her muse. (Page 74) The exuberant springtime beauty of the Bay Area also fired up two other artistic eyes this month: Paulette Phlipot offers flower-embellished recipes that are a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds (Page 116) and Robert Siegel, a Stanford University microbiology and immunology professor who also teaches nature photography, captures the imagination with his images of the Bay Area’s wild winged creatures. (Page 48) Find all this and more to inspire you in the pages of our 69th issue. After all, the best thing about spring is the promise of a new beginning! Andrea Gemmet andrea@punchmonthly.com {editor’s note} might have guessed from my chosen profession, I am in it for the stories, real or imagined, as I try to fill in the gaps that marriage licenses, census data and draft cards simply can’t. Some branches of my family have been here so long, or became so thoroughly Americanized, that they passed down no discernable traditions from their old lives, speaking to their children only in English for fear of saddling them with an accent. Other branches embraced their roots and passed along photos, stories and recipes. I always felt bad for my great-grandmother, who left her parents’ farmhouse in rural Slovakia and emigrated by herself at age 16, before she’d learned to cook. Languages and histories may get lost over the years, but the connection that comes from preparing a dish your family used to enjoy back in the old country is a visceral— and delicious—way to keep your cultural heritage alive. For me, that usually means cooking Italian food. On a recent trip to Italy, my daughter tucked into a plate of swordfish bathed in a sauce the menu referred to as “Ligurian,” the coastal area where my North Beach grandmother was born. Considering the delicious puddle of caper- and olive-studded tomato puree redolent of white wine and herbs, she said, “Mom, this isn’t exactly like the sauce you make, but I can see how they’re closely related.” Those culinary ties that bind us to a distant homeland are among the many enticing reasons to plan a trip to Petaluma, one of Wine Country’s overlooked gems. There you’ll find Quiote, a Mexican restaurant run by two brothers that features their mother’s recipes from her native Jalisco—and Stockhome, Roberth and Andrea Sundell’s tribute to the Swedish capital’s contemporary cuisine. (Page 41) Closer to home, business partners Omer Artun and Koray Altinsoy went beyond the menu Like many Americans, my ancestors came here from somewhere else, hoping for a better life that would offer more opportunities. The earliest American relative I can trace landed in Massachusetts in 1620, and the most recent immigrants settled in San Francisco’s North Beach in the late 1920s. I became the keeper of the family tree when my aunt entrusted me with an outdated floppy disk containing all the information she’d painstakingly compiled over the years. It was not necessarily a job I wanted, but one that I have grown to love. My interest in genealogy has ebbed and flowed over the years—I like how it piques my interest in historical events and places, and offers me context about current events—but all those lives reduced to lists of names and dates can feel a little dry and impersonal. As you
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18 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {sloane citron} the parking lot, almost empty because of the inclement weather. We were both bundled into raincoats with the hoods tied tightly, our faces the only unprotected areas of our bodies. The rain was intense and at times there were tiny ice pellets smacking against our raincoats, then bouncing to the ground. The wind tore ferociously against us and often we were forced to look down at the path and follow its edge. But to us, it was a perfect day. We pushed forward, hiking the mostly empty trail. We still were able to have good conversation, much of it about the Dish itself. Josh would see the remnant of a dirt path and recall how he had run down it as a child. Like playing golf, hiking allows for real conversations and strengthening connections. When we reached a high point, we looked up and there was the most perfect, beautiful double rainbow that either of us had ever seen. It stretched from one end of the valley to the other, and it was easy to imagine a gold pot at either end. The intense rain and winds created a different Dish, with downed trees, thousands of wild mushrooms and stunning cloud formations. By the end of the trail, returning to the guard station and reality, our jeans, shoes and socks were completely soaked through. Perfect. It was special doing this hike with Josh. Hearing his memories of the place—and creating new ones together in memorable conditions—confirmed the Dish as a place where magic happens—forging bonds, refreshing our souls and, as always, coming out ahead, mentally and physically, from when we started a short hour before. My family has been doing the Dish for as long as I can remember. For those who don’t know, the Dish is a beautiful piece of rolling hills owned by Stanford University and named for the huge radio telescope on its upper area. While Stanford uses it for many purposes, most of us enjoy it for the superb hiking opportunities it affords. From the top, you can literally see the entire Bay. Depending on the weather, it’s an excellent way to gain a sense of where we live and how all the towns and roads intersect. When we first discovered this treasure while my children were small, it was wild and free with no gates, no pavement, no rules or regulations. We would go up it and walk any which way we liked, exploring and discovering along the way. The kids would hunt for small animals—lizards and rabbits and toads—and find plants that they had never seen. Stanford eventually saw that hikers were taking over the place and that they were losing control. My kids were probably to blame. Finally, much like the Joni Mitchell song, they “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” (literally). Today, there is a peculiar parking area that requires you to back into the spots, inevitably causing traffic jams as you find a space and then clumsily pull forward and then backwards into it. On a warm spring day, finding a spot can be challenging and you have to wander around the neighborhoods to find a “legal” place to leave your car. While I do understand that it is Stanford’s property (and I am an alumnus), I’m always sad to see the free and fun experiences in our lives disappear. Today, there is a paved path through the Dish with the understanding that you will stay on it. There is an entrance gate with a little house for a guard to sit in, to make sure dogs and bikes don’t wander through. The place is now tame, like a lion in a zoo. Still wonderful and exotic, but caged, nonetheless. Even so, I and thousands of others are grateful to Stanford for allowing us to use this wonderful area to get some exercise, experience nature and improve our attitudes. One good loop and whatever your problems are, they become less. The dish is not so much a walk as a hike. It’s not terribly challenging but you don’t see a lot of out-of-shape people on the paths. Last year, we tried to do it with a double stroller with two of my grandkids inside, and it was rough going. Pushing the stroller up some of the rather steep hills is a burn not easily forgotten. Finally, we had to take the kids out of the stroller and carry them as we pushed upward. It was clumsy but successful, though we did not try that again. Recently, on one of our marvelous rainy days (atmospheric rivers, as they now call them), my son Josh, who has done the dish since he could walk, called me at work and asked me if I wanted to join him for a hike. I like being out in the elements and with my son, so I quickly said yes and an hour later we were backing into the rain dish
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PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 21 APRIL 2024 + 30 DAYS + BLOOMING TIME + OUR 69TH ISSUE {quickpunch} Start Up + Take me out to our first home game at Oracle Park on April 5: Giants vs. Padres. + Egad! It’s that time again. File early, file often: Tax Day is on April 15. + Catch the astounding Lyrids meteor shower from about April 15 to 29. + Break some matzah and drink some wine—Passover seder is April 22. Venture Out + BECOME fleet of foot on April 14 at Hiller Aviation’s annual Airport Runway Run around the San Carlos Airport next door. 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. + MEET the man behind Dwight Schrute…actor Rainn Wilson talks about his new book Soul Boom at an offsite Kepler’s event on April 24. 600 North Delaware Street, San Mateo. + JOIN the band and watch the Palo Alto Players perform The Music Man from April 26 to May 12. April is a lovely month exploding with flowers, late rain showers and green everywhere. It’s what our summer months would look like if the rains didn’t suddenly shut their spouts for the season. Fortunately, our Sierra snowpack is robust, which means that we can go another year without a drought overshadowing our daily lives. We can make our way to local nurseries and pick up loads of impatiens and other colorful plants to tuck into our garden beds. Spring also brings the great game of baseball, and some of the best action is found at your nearby parks, watching high-spirited kids swing, hit and catch as they play Little League ball. “Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.” —Bishop Reginald Heber welcome back
22 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {quickpunch} Dash to Dine + TELÈFERIC BARCELONA—Exceptional Spanish tapas and innovative paellas—855 El Camino Real #130, Palo Alto + BLIND TASTING—Great wine/drinks plus a wide variety of small plates to share—749 Laurel Street, San Carlos + MOCHIKO MOCHI PIZZA—The newest food fad: chewy rice flour pizzas—283 Lorton Avenue, Burlingame Carpe Diem + WANDER the quiet paths of San Mateo Japanese Garden, housed within San Mateo Central Park, and admire the bamboo grove, koi pond, pagoda and teahouse. Also on the grounds is the Fairy Garden, a collection of teeny tiny houses available for any stray pixies looking for an adorable place to stay. + BROWSE the San Carlos Farmers Market and challenge yourself to make a tasty dish from the fresh ingredients you find. Other markets to check out include Coastside Farmers Market, Menlo Park Farmers Market and College of San Mateo Farmers Market. The Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee— The talented author writes about the bark canoe from its inception to those still plying the water today. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins—Heartfelt and hopeful story of survival, danger and love. It’s an incredibly absorbing tale for our times. Monocle—Interesting and creative magazine published in Zurich for readers hungry for experiences beyond their national borders. monocle.com WHO KNEW? Designed as an agricultural adjunct of Mission San Francisco de Asis, Half Moon Bay was founded in the 1840s as San Benito. Later, the fledgling village was renamed Spanishtown. During this time it became the most diverse community of its era, with a population of Canadians, Chinese, English, Germans, Irish, Mexicans, Italians, Scots, Portuguese and Pacific Islanders. Finally, someone figured out that the bay-adjacent town was shaped like a half moon, and the town once again decided to change its name. Well Read Unscramble T A O N D F R S S H I D Finally, some half-baked advice: If you stir coconut oil into your kale, it makes it easier to scrape into the trash.
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24 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {quickpunch} What inspired the switch from teaching to dog walking? I developed a neurological condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia, which caused my vocal cords to spasm. Over the course of 10 years, I slowly lost the use of my voice and can only whisper now. I started out by doing group walks and now offer off-leash group outings for my business, Whole New Pooch. How do you communicate with the pack? I use hand signals, body language and a whistle. Dogs prefer visual signals to auditory cues anyway. What’s the car situation like with all those puppy passengers? I have mats, pads and towels everywhere! What’s guaranteed to make you laugh? A carefree, goofball dog who is running free and living his best life. Silliness! Physical comedy! Do you have any phobias? Not doing something because I’m afraid. What’s a wild story from the job? Early on, I got lost on a pack walk in the redwoods. After about an hour of tramping around the mountain, I turned to a Labrador and whispered, “Henry, take us home!” Within 10 minutes we were back at the car. How many pets do you currently have? I have zero pets. My husband is allergic to dogs! THE Q & A HOLLIE CROWER What’s a gift you received that you’ll never forget? My mother bought me an SLR camera when I was a young teen. Recently, I launched my own phoDOGraphy business and set up a studio in my garage. How do you handle dogs showing aggression? I am a big advocate of positive reinforcement. The whole alpha dog training movement was based on wolf observations, which dogs are not. I want dogs to come to me for support, not because they fear me. Growing up, what was your favorite children’s book? The Velveteen Rabbit. What’s an interesting fact about you that surprises people? Having vocal issues is an advantage, not a hindrance. The dogs (and my kids) are much more responsive to a calm demeanor. I am less able to self-escalate now. What dog breed most resembles your personality? Maybe a flat-coated retriever. I like to be busy and have a job, but I’m pretty easygoing. What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done at work? When I was still doing group leash walks, I continued to take out the dogs after I broke my foot and needed a knee scooter. I’d have them all on leash in front of me like Santa with his sleigh. What work task do you look forward to the most? Releasing the hounds!! The self-described “dog sherpa” from Menlo Park talks about her big career change, the time a pooch came to her rescue and how she wrangles the pack.
RACING life in the fast lane words by JOHANNA HARLOW • photography by RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 27 {punchline} PENINSULA CULTURE
28 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} If you’ve ever watched motorsports, you may have pictured yourself behind the wheel of a sleek, sexy stock car, effortlessly cruising the track’s turns. Not so fast. It might look like a breeze, but NASCAR racing drivers like 19-yearold Jesse Love know better. “Nothing’s more physically exerting than running a full race on a really hot day,” the Menlo Park native acknowledges. “It’s hell on your body.” These speed machines can match the G-force that astronauts experience during liftoff. And then there’s the heat factor. The temperature in a car can easily soar to 120 degrees Fahrenheit—170 degrees by the floorboards. Drivers commonly lose 5 to 10 pounds in sweat during a race. Now imagine trying to make split-second decisions at 200 MPH, over several hours. It’s why Jesse starts each day with heat tolerance training, welcoming the morning at 5AM with cardio and weights in a sweltering 120-degree room. While other kids played with Hot Wheels and Matchbox toy cars, Jesse took the driver’s seat early. As a kindergartner, he recalls hanging out at a Mountain View race shop with his Uncle Tony, whose two daughters raced in quarter midgets (think go-karts but with four-wheel suspension). “Then I got into Antonia’s purple quarter midget,” Jesse recalls. That was all it took. After winning his very first quarter midgets race at the wee age of five, Jesse continued competing—racking up countless wins, including multiple state and national titles, all before he reached age 10. Then Jesse started strapping into stock cars. Full-throttle ahead, he moved to North Carolina at 15 to further his career, that same year dominating in the ARCA Menards Series and becoming the youngest driver to win a title. He now competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and drives the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Though racing may be physically taxing, Jesse estimates it’s only 30% of the battle. “There’s a lot of pressure involved,” he shares, mentioning that one of his mental coaches, Akshay Nanavati, is a Marine veteran—and the first polar explorer to undergo a solo sea-tosea ski crossing of Antarctica with no sled or dogs. Jesse must be bold on the track, taking calculated risks, managing stressors and reacting
Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01866771. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate. Nick Granoski | 650-269-8556 Nick@GranoskiWeil.com DRE 00994196 David Weil | 650-823-3855 David@GranoskiWeil.com DRE 01400271 No one knows our local real estate market like Granoski | Weil & Associates. Led by veteran real estate professionals and local residents, Nick Granoski and David Weil, our team brings unmatched local knowledge, insight, expertise, and connections to home buyers and sellers in this unique market. When it comes to local real estate, we’ve seen and covered it all. We’ve got this. Sale Pending | Exquisitely Designed Modern Home 2060 Mills Avenue | Menlo Park Offered at: $4,798,000 Sold | Sonoma Style Home 781 Arroyo Road | Los Altos Offered at: $5,298,000 Sale Pending | Exquisite Spanish Colonial 11 Southgate Drive | Woodside Offered at: $8,498,000 Peninsula real estate right now.
30 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} one bigger than me,” he shares. “Being connected with God and treating people the same, whether they’re from Park Avenue or a park bench.” He also cites his father as a strong influence. Jesshill “Duke” Love drove in quarter midgets himself in his youth, competing alongside his racing pal Jeff Gordon. Though he later pursued a career in law in Redwood City rather than continuing down the racetrack, Duke shaped his son’s integrity and driving style. “You change a lot,” Jesse reflects of his racing approach, “but your core values of how you’re going to race, how you’re going to let people race you, what your driving style is, what kind of car (tight, loose, however that is)... how I like to drive now was ingrained in me when I was raised by my dad.” He follows up, adding, “The most important advice that my dad gives me has nothing to do with racing at all. It’s all about life.” to the unexpected. He must dart into narrow gaps with the kiss of a bumper—because even a moment’s hesitation will close that window of opportunity. He must also make peace with crashing, which in motorsports isn’t an “if,” but a “when.” “I’ve flipped probably a dozen times,” estimates Jesse, adding with a note of neutrality, “The flips don’t always hurt the worst because stuff’s flying off your car, and you’re dispersing energy.” Hitting dead on the wall is more brutal on your body—even with the car’s head-and-neck restraints. “I wreck a lot less now than I did then when I was trying not to wreck,” he reflects. “You just kind of get in a zone.” And when the inevitable happens? “You just hop on out and live to race another day.” A strong Christian, Jesse credits a faith-driven frame of mind for keeping him grounded in the wake of national recognition. “I’m racing for some-
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32 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} working with the simulator, attending countless pre-race meetings or watching 16 hours of film from Daytona until his eyes fatigue, so be it. “Even if you look at five hours of data and you find one thing that can help you go faster, we would all give our right thumb to find a tenth of a second,” Jesse states. “I’ve qualified by a thousandth of a second—and I’ve been beaten by a thousandth of a second.” The young driver’s gaze drifts as his thoughts turn to the road. In his mind’s eye, he’s already hugging the turns and zipping down the straightaways of his next race. “I try not to focus on what any other driver does,” he shares. “I try to just focus on what I did today and what I can do tomorrow that was better than today.” Whenever he can, Jesse tries to spend time at the shop where mechanics disassemble, replace, install and adjust every part of his car. “I’m a big believer in being available and showing people that I care,” he says. “I want my guys at the shop to know that I’m gonna work really hard for them. And when that happens, they’re gonna work harder for me as well.” It takes a village to raise up a racing driver and Jesse’s crew chief, car chief, shock, engine and tire specialists, engineers, shop team and pit crew keep him on track. With a racing nickname like The Hammer, it’s unsurprising that Jesse takes such a dogged approach to growth. “There’s a million things that you can do to just move the needle 1% forward,” he says. If that means poring over data,
34 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} PERFECT SHOT bridging the gap Photographer Gino de Grandis was out hunting rainbows when the more prosaic landscape behind him caught his eye. A fleeting moment of sunlight burst through the rain clouds and illuminated the evening commuter traffic on the Dumbarton Bridge. He immediately swiveled his tripod in the opposite direction and aimed his powerful telephoto lens at the ephemeral image. “I was lucky to capture the golden light on the bridge,” Gino recounts. “Getting soaking wet was a minor thing after having witnessed such splendor.” Image by Gino de Grandis / luiphotography.com
PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 35 calling all shutterbugs If you’ve captured a unique perspective of the Peninsula, we’d love to see your Perfect Shot. Email us at hello@punchmonthly.com to be considered for publication.
36 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} calling all dogs If you’ve got quirky habits or a funny tale (or tail) to tell, email hello@punchmonthly.com for a chance to share a page from your Diary of a Dog in PUNCH. milton DIARY OF A DOG photography by ROBB MOST Palo Alto. That nice house with the dog treats near Draeger’s Market? Check. The Ace Hardware in Palo Alto that thoughtfully provides fallen popcorn? Check. And my favorite place of all, Mademoiselle Colette, which has the most scrumptious croissants? Check. I like to start my food-finding missions early. My humans don’t need to bother with annoying alarms, because I helpfully bop them on the head with my paw well ahead of time, to let them know the sun is up and I’m ready to scour the streets for yummy treats. You might even call me a connoisseur, although I am not so snooty that I won’t help clean the floor beneath my baby brother when he eats. Anything for family! You know how some dogs have such an amazing sense of direction that they can find their way home, even if they get lost hundreds of miles away? When they show up months later, people say, “What a smart dog!” I, too, have an incredible mental map of my own, but I credit my stomach more than my brain. Without fail, I can guide my human family (whether they like it or not) to the most delicious locations in Menlo Park and
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PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 41 GETAWAY picturesque petaluma {due west} words by SOPHIA MARKOULAKIS TRAVEL & WELLNESS PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF MEGAN CLINE
42 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM Stockhome’s menu, infused with Middle Eastern influences, pays homage to the Swedish capital’s contemporary cuisine. Last spring, Julio Ortiz and his brother Jorge realized their dream of opening a restaurant in the town where they grew up. Since then, Quiote, their unassuming spot on Kentucky Street, has elevated the area’s Mexican dining scene. “Even though we serve dishes from the entire Mexican Republic, my family is from Jalisco, and the Jalisco dishes on the menu come from my mom,” he says of mother Gloria, who splits her time between the kitchen and the dining room. “It’s been fun to work with her and explore my roots through the food we serve.” Don’t miss Gloria’s mole, which is served over chicken enchiladas. STOP & SHOP Petaluma remains an antique shopper’s destination but as the town changes, so have the tastes of its residents. As a result, you’ll find a wide range of stores, selling everything from vintage furniture and estate jewelry to modern furnishings and clothing PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF M. WOOLSEY / SOPHIA MARKOULAKIS BEST BITES There’s no shortage of fantastic food options in Petaluma. Several restaurants have San Francisco pedigrees like Table Culture Provisions and Pearl Petaluma. Restaurateurs Roberth and Andrea Sundell, who operated Pläj in San Francisco for 10 years, decided to bring modern Scandinavian cooking to Petaluma in 2018 with the opening of Stockhome on Western Avenue. “We fell in love with Petaluma the first time we drove through. We also wanted to raise our kids in a small town,” Roberth says. {due west} Petaluma is a town with multiple personalities. Visitors willing to make a detour on their way to Sonoma County’s wine country will find a community that’s rooted in history yet focused on progress. Historic buildings hum with cuttingedge eateries and boutiques, while cultural attractions marry its agricultural past with modern art and innovative public spaces. It’s just one of the reasons why Petaluma has so many Peninsula transplants—the small-town charm lures both young couples looking to raise a family and recent retirees wanting to stay within reach of San Francisco. Spend a weekend here and you’ll find yourself planning your next trip to Petaluma before you’ve even checked out of your room.
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44 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM you’d find in stylish L.A. or London boutiques. The 1920s-era Vintage Bank Building on the corner of Petaluma Boulevard and Western Avenue is an exceptional example of neo-classical revival bank architecture. From 1995 to 2022, the building housed antiques dealers. Today, it’s occupied by the unique gift shop Au Thentic. Pop in to admire the building’s magnificent interior and leather goods. A block away, stop by Avinage Wine Shop, run by husband-and-wife team Damien Carney and Shree Starkman, for Old World wines. Carney also stocks his favorite minimal-intervention labels from nearby vineyards. {due west} As a former wine buyer, he hand-picks each bottle and has a popular centerpiece table with wines priced at $25 or less. On the “Table of No Regrets,” find stellar selections from France, Italy, Spain and California. Maude Rare Finds on Western Avenue carries bespoke and vintage clothing, home goods and children’s items in an ethereal space. Around the corner on American Alley, Pennyroyal offers a highly curated assortment of housewares, like locally made ceramics and leather goods. Home cooks should head over to Sonoma Spice Queen on 4th Street for hard-to-find spices, custom blends and gifty food items. Gardeners won’t want to miss Baker Creek Seed Bank on Petaluma Boulevard, the place to plot out your late summer or fall garden with specialty seeds. Hunting for European antiques? Head to French Salvage Antiques, just a couple of blocks from the main shopping district. Owner Laurie MacDuff carries an impeccable assortment of French country and provincial items. WINE TASTING Even though wine country is right on its doorstep, few visitors think to look for tasting opportunities in Petaluma’s vineyards. The area’s new Petaluma Gap AVA—which spans over 200,000 acres from Bodega Bay to Sears Point at Highway 37—aims to change that. Cheryl Quist, executive director of the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance, says the AVA is the only one defined by wind patterns. “Our signature wind and fog has a profound effect on grapevines, with smaller berries and thicker skins, producing richly textured and deeply flavored wines that have caught the attention of collectors and enthusiasts.” Pinot noir is the predominant varietal grown here, with threePHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF ANITA GALEANA / SOPHIA MARKOULAKIS
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46 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF MEGAN CLINE / HOTEL PETALUMA {due west} Barber Cellars’ tasting room and cheese shop. Looking for somewhere else to lay your head? The Hampton Inn Petaluma, situated on the east side of downtown, is a fun option. The property, formerly the Petaluma Silk Mill, manufactured sewing products and silk threads for almost a century before it was transformed. BPR Properties retained the building’s Georgian Colonial Revival exterior and kept period touches in guest rooms, along with artifacts from its former life in the common areas. Those looking for something a little more unconventional should turn to the Metro Hotel & Cafe, a boutique property filled with antiques and the option to stay in Airstream trailers or a two-story cottage. With memorable restaurants, charming shops and a selection of great vintages (of both the wine and antique varieties), pretty Petaluma has a lot to offer the weekend visitor. Home to the first practical chicken incubator, Petaluma was the “world’s egg basket” in the late 1800s. And though it lost its title of top dairy producer in the late 1980s, the town still celebrates its heritage with the annual Butter and Egg Days Festival and Parade, set for April 20 this year. If you can’t make it to the festival, get your fill of dairy with a visit to Achadinha Cheese Company. Twice a year, antique dealers and buyers take over Petaluma’s downtown streets. The 38th annual Downtown Petaluma Antique Faire attracts thousands of attendees looking to score heirlooms from hundreds of vendors. Catch it this spring on April 28. quarters of its crops devoted to this finicky grape. The rest is split between chardonnay and syrah. With tasting rooms like Brooks Note and Adobe Road downtown, plus Keller Estate and McEvoy Ranch offering tours and tastings nearby, you’ll have plenty of options to sip and swish. For a unique experience, head just outside of Petaluma to Panther Ridge, where owner Suzanne Farver will guide you through her Sonoma Mountain vineyard and a tasting of award-winning pinots in her private residence. Farver, an avid art collector, has artwork displayed in her home and among the vines. SETTLING IN Downtown landmark Hotel Petaluma is centrally located and a great choice for enjoying the commercial district’s shops and restaurants. Designed by San Francisco architect Frederick Whitton, the five-story Mediterranean-style structure has been the most exclusive spot to stay since the 1920s. In addition to updated rooms, guests can enjoy in-house oysters from The Shuckery and hit the town petalumadowntown.com BUTTER DAYS AHEAD
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48 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} In addition to being a microbiology and immunology professor at Stanford, Palo Alto’s Robert David Siegel is a docent and avid wildlife photographer who teaches courses in photographing nature. web.stanford.edu/~siegelr/photo.html Even when our winged friends come to rest, there is no assurance they will linger, especially when approached by a curious onlooker or an eager photographer. Here with its intense gaze and bright red gorget, an Anna’s hummingbird stares down the photographer. OUR WILD SIDE things with wings words & photography by ROBERT DAVID SIEGEL Bound by gravity, humans spend most of their lives in a two-dimensional world defined by the surface of the earth. Not surprisingly, people have always had a fascination with the world of winged creatures who can take to the air at a moment’s notice, adding a vast third dimension to their domain. From angels to airplanes, humans have long imaged what it would be like to take flight.
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{due west} The American white pelican, seen here in breeding plumage, is one of the largest birds of North America—far bigger than its cousin the brown pelican. Found throughout most of the U.S. and Mexico, the white pelican can often be spotted along the Peninsula wetlands bordering the bay. The protuberance on its upper bills signals that this is a breed adult. The barn swallow has the distinction of being the most widespread perching bird in the world. Because of its fast and erratic behavior, the possibility of catching a swallow in flight requires a combination of patience and luck. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the right equipment. Barn swallows can also be seen lined up on wires or peering from mud nests in the overhang of buildings and other structures. The ubiquitous Asian lady beetle is the fourth most frequently photographed creature on iNaturalist with over a quarter of a million images. As the name implies, this lady beetle is an exotic species and a highly successful invader on the Peninsula. Like many lady beetles, its bright orange and black coloration advertises its presence with the implied warning: “Do not mess with me.” The use of common colors among noxious species is known as Müllerian mimicry. 50 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM
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52 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} As spring rolls around, the blue-eyed darner can be spotted in the wetlands of the Peninsula. Like many dragonflies, this darner provides a number of gifts to the avid photographer: bright colors make them easy to spot and visually appealing, they often return to the same perch (even when they initially flee from intruders) and they periodically hover in midair, as if inviting pictures. Unlike many owls, the burrowing owl is diurnal, making it much easier to photograph—if you can find it. Standing very still and camouflaged by earthy backgrounds, they are easy to overlook—until you catch a glimpse of those piercing yellow eyes. Highly attentive to aerial predators, when their gaze turns upward, you can often spot a hawk flying overhead. Although I have never had one land on my shoulder, the presence of the Western bluebird is uplifting. Found yearround in the Bay Area, Western bluebirds seem largely unperturbed by the presence of humans and will often pose for a photo. Males are more brightly colored than females. Like American robins, Western bluebirds are members of the thrush family.
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PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 57 {food coloring} EATS, DRINKS & SCOOPS words by ELAINE WU • photography by PAULETTE PHLIPOT DINING at home in meyhouse
58 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {food coloring} At first glance, a physics degree or decades of experience in the tech world doesn’t sound like a recipe for making a successful restaurateur. Omer Artun and Koray Altinsoy, the owners of Turkish fine dining restaurant Meyhouse in Palo Alto, would disagree. It’s that love for both science and food that ushered Omer into his career as executive chef. As for Koray, his business acumen and corporate experience have made him the ideal guy to manage the day-to-day operations, overseeing a swanky dining room that invites diners to linger over sea bass and sips of Sauvignon Blanc. “There’s a clear division of responsibility and together it makes the whole thing work,” Omer explains. A passionate home cook, Omer ran his own software company, but after hours he poured his energy into researching and experimenting in his kitchen. Then a friend suggested he try hosting a pop-up dinner. “I started doing them every two months and they became very popular and sold out within minutes,” the chef recalls. “That was my first foray into people actually paying for my food.” In 2018, after 10 sold-out dinners, each one serving 18 themed courses to 150 guests, he partnered with his friend Koray to start a small restaurant. “I came from a tech background, but I love food as well,” declares Koray, who had helped his wife’s uncle open a restaurant in San Francisco. “Omer and I decided to start with a small space in Sunnyvale. It became super successful and within a few months we were profitable.” When they opened their second Meyhouse location in August of 2023, however, they decided to dream big. The Palo Alto location is more stylish, sophisticated and contemporary than its Sunnyvale sister, while maintaining what Meyhouse is best known for: a warm, communal vibe. The Palo Alto restaurant includes an intimate back room for live jazz performances on Thursday nights
PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 59 ABOVE: Co-owner Koray Altinsoy (left) with executive chef Omer Artun (right). and weekends. With dishes ranging from gilthead sea bream and salt-cured Atlantic bonito to grass-fed lamb and Turkish tartare made with tenderloin, Meyhouse’s interior mirrors its surf-and-turf menu. The restaurant pairs leafy plants, earthy wood accents and dark green upholstery with a display of fresh fish by the entrance that’s echoed in the striking artwork above the bar. Omer, a gifted ceramist, created the plates and bowls to evoke the ocean’s floor (he also made the dozens of pendant light shades and the dramatic tiles on the host stand). The restaurant’s concept comes from the word “meyhane” which means “wine house” in their native Turkey. It’s a place where friends linger over small shareable plates of food and glasses of wine while enjoying good music and great conversation. It’s a concept that differs from the Turkish kabob houses more commonly found in the U.S. “The food, the decor, the music, the vibe, everything is part of the total experience,” asserts Koray. Though this is a fine dining establishment, the last thing Omer and Koray want to serve is pretentious dishes. “We serve bold, clean flavors. This is ‘real’ food, meaning you can dip your bread into your dish, take big bites and really enjoy it,” Omer says proudly. “I wanted to do the best version of traditional dishes using the
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