This is a travel piece of sorts... not San Diego, but many people go up the coast to Sonoma County I just had to include it. I had mentioned it previously below (um, yes... a year ago - apologies to my 2 followers!)Just north of Santa Rosa is a tiny little place, that in ~2002 became Willi's Wine Bar. I was living up there at the time, and just happened to go in for a "quick bite" when I found that they had a Mac and Cheese on their menu. I seem to remember asking them if this was for the kids, and the reply was... "oh no... this is no kid's macaroni". Since it is a wine bar I ordered some wine, salad and then asked for the Macaroni. It was like nothing else I have tasted. The cheeses were subtle and not over powering. In the perfectly baked dish was not only macaroni but at that time I remember, baby tomotoes, onion, and even some cauliflower. It was perfect. To top it off it was baked to perfection - you know when you have to slightly tap the top of the macaroni to get to the gooey noodles and insides... this was that!
A trip back over the summer (yes, my blogging is months behind, again) yielded the same experience. The picture above is from the summer - I paired it with some asparagus and an Arnold Palmer. I am salivating just thinking about it. It is a must stop if you are traveling anywhere near the wine country. www.williswinebar.net
On a side note... I was recently wandering the streets of Paris, France - when to my surprise, I was standing in front of Willi's Wine Bar. I found out that this place had been a expat mainstay for over twenty years. Since it was somewhere near lunch time, I went it and had lunch. No macaroni... but the filet mignon, wine, salad and of course french bread made up for it. Tres bien, magnifique! I am sure the Santa Rosa establishment is aware of the Paris location as they had a similar logo - never confirmed any relationship - so if anyone is reading my blogs and wants to ask - please comment! www.williswinebar.com
Willi's gets the highest rating...
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