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- Sonoma East
- For a small town, Richmond — population 4000 — sure has some big-time restaurants. Diners from much larger cities hop off the interstate to tuck into Toscano or The Kitchen Table Bistro, both of which are renowned for fine food. Sonoma Station is the new kid on the block, located in the historic Blue Seal Feeds building on Bridge Street. A window into the old farmhouse kitchen lets diners watch Chef Monica Lamay, in her signature baseball cap, juggle sauté pans. She left Leunig's in Burlington to start the place with her partner, Lisa Mazzariello.
- What's for dinner? A verdant spinach salad, with just the right amount of dressing, comes with cubes of rosy roasted beet, Bosc pear slices, feta and red onions. Another noteworthy appetizer features spheres of silky duck liver pâté stacked with crostini in a tasty tower; drizzles of fig port sauce and a whimsical dollop of red onion marmalade add zest to the presentation and the palate.
- The signature Blue Seal Steak Frites is a perfectly cooked beef filet topped with crumbled blue cheese and served with a lush Cabernet demi-glace. Grilled red onions add a splash of color, as does the chipotle ketchup on the fries. Another entrée — a thick cut of succulent pork loin — is stuffed with apples, cranberries and raisins and arrives alongside fingerling potatoes, wilted spinach and a tasty bacon-sherry vinaigrette. Daily chalkboard specials, such as the duck confit with bacon-y beluga lentils, combine luxe and seasonal ingredients.
- From the creative cocktails to the cayenne-spiced chocolate cake, Lamay and Mazzariello know how to put it together.
- — SUZANNE PODHAIZER
- Sonoma Station
13 Jolina Court, Richmond 434-5949 
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photo: matthew thorsen
