the girl & the fig

For the last day of university friend A's visit, we took the short drive to Sonoma to have lunch at the girl & the fig in the Sonoma Hotel, right on the corner of the main square.

The restaurant was small and packed when we arrived for a late brunch. We liked the brown paper table covers, stamped with the restaurant's name, that covered the tablecloths, the green fabric-covered bench seating and all the natural light from the windows, but we found the artwork distracted from the quaintness, both in style and quantity.

We both started with the soup de jour, a mild and delicious parsnip soup made with roasted parsnips and onions, garnished with green garlic olive oil and chive flowers:


I followed with the pea pancakes, served with shaved carrots and an amazing carrot-ginger beurre blanc:

The pancakes were packed with fresh peas and the this dish had a wonderful spring freshness to it, both in taste and presentation. I thought it was really unique and inventive and look forward to trying my hand at the beurre blanc!

We had an exceptional meal here and well worth a drive to Sonoma. I look forward to trying their food again.

We took a stroll around the main square and happily noted a chocolate tasting sign. We discovered Wine Country Chocolates, where we tasted both apricot and cabernet ganache. We couldn't resist a small and pretty selection that included The Elvis (peanut butter), Green Tea with Lemon Honey, and Orange Grand Marnier: