These Local Restaurants Are Serving Up Family Meals To Go
Family-style meals with hearty comfort food, upscale cuisine, wine pairings and cocktails to go are giving new hope to some restaurateurs during the pandemic.
“It’s brought a new light to the restaurant,” said Christine Rizzo-Murphy, manager of Ricky’s Eastbound in Santa Rosa.
With restaurants closed to in-room dining and no real idea about what kinds of delivery and pickup food might appeal to shelter-in-place customers, owners Rick and Linn Bruno pivoted away from the individual portions on their regular menu and looked to their existing Heat & Eat menu with crowd-friendly dishes like beef stroganoff, chicken piccata and Noni’s Lasagna.
“It’s so good. It’s all made fresh,” Rizzo-Murphy said. “We’re definitely going to continue to do family meals after this is all over.”
Other restaurateurs are reporting similar success with these order-ahead dishes. Having only one meal to create allows for simpler ingredient ordering, a smaller staff, shorter hours and a clear view of how much income is coming in each day.
Make mom (or dad) happy, feed your neighbors or send a package to someone you love and give them a night away from the stove. They’ll thank you for it, albeit socially-distanced.
Most of these meals require advance payment by credit card and are available for pickup or delivery several days a week (usually Wednesday through Saturday). Ordering is often online, but some offer phone orders. Also, hours can change. Call ahead or visit restaurants’ websites or Facebook pages for details.
Sofia Englund contributed to this article.
Santa Rosa
Boudin Bakery
Boudin has three Family Meals for take-out: sourdough pizza meals with salad, sandwich and salad meals and bread bowl soup and sandwich meals. Family Meals for two are priced at $25 or four people at $45.99. Family Meals are available daily and can be ordered for pick up at boudinbakery.com. 2345 Midway Drive, Santa Rosa.
El Coqui
Daily Puerto Rican family platters available for pick up, including their signature Pollo al Horno, as well as Picadillo entree (seasoned ground beef) and Palomilla entree (sirloin steak). 24 hours advance notice required. Some delivery to areas outside of Santa Rosa. Menu and ordering online at direct.chownow.com/order/14942/locations/21078. 400 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa.
Red Bee BBQ
Big old family-style barbecue with an international flair. Traditional brisket, pulled pork and chicken along with St. Louis Ribs, teriyaki chicken breast, baked beans, potato salad, cornbread, fried rice and Mexican street corn. Pickup or delivery through Grubhub. 750 Stony Point Rd, Santa Rosa, 707-541-6536; 8970 Brooks Rd S, Windsor, 707-836-4099
Ricky’s Eastbound
Family pizza meals are available every Thursday (place order on Tuesday) with three par-baked pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, olive + pepper), Caesar salad and fresh baked cookies (2 adults, 2 children). Add Ricky’s favorite craft cocktails to any order. Call 707-536-6606 or email [email protected] to place order. 5755 Mountain Hawk Dr, Santa Rosa.
The Spinster Sisters
It’s like a restaurant at home, with Chef Liza Hinman’s creative menu ideas. Each week features different Family Meal combos (for two — order multiple for larger parties), like Spinster’s fried chicken with creamy mac and cheese, braised collard greens, tomato + bacon, buttermilk biscuits, and German chocolate cake for dessert. Wine available to pair. Pre-order online at thespinstersisters.com. 401 S A St, Santa Rosa.
Windsor
Kin
Offering curbside pickup and delivery (via Doordash) of family-style dinners, serving 4-6 people. Dinners include choice of pasta (Pesto, Bolognese, Marinara, Alfredo, Mac and Cheese) with a side salad; and choice of meat (grilled chicken with mushroom demi glace, Chicken Cacciatore, braised short ribs) with risotto or polenta and side salad. 740 McClelland Dr, 707-837-7546
Red Bee BBQ
Big old family-style barbecue with an international flair. Traditional brisket, pulled pork and chicken along with St. Louis Ribs, teriyaki chicken breast, baked beans, potato salad, cornbread, fried rice and Mexican street corn. Pickup or delivery through Grubhub. 750 Stony Point Rd, Santa Rosa, 707-541-6536; 8970 Brooks Rd S, Windsor, 707-836-4099
Sweet T’s
Ribs, BBQ tri-tip, whole fried chicken with quarts of sides including coleslaw, chicken andouille sausage gumbo, brisket chili and whole pies for dessert. Desserts should be reserved one day ahead; and dinners require pre-order (1 hour notice for whole tri-tip orders). There’s also a full list of cocktails to go. Menu at sweettssouthern.com/menu; call to pre-order at 707-687-5185. 9098 Brooks Rd S, Windsor.
Healdsburg
Single Thread
Three-Michelin-star Single Thread offers carefully curated nightly to-go menus like the Pork Tonkatsu (for parties of 2, 4, or 6) with Sonoma pork Tonkatsu, Japanese potato salad, Yuzu cabbage, miso soup, Koshikari rice, and Japanese cheesecake. Meals typically sell out, so order ahead online at exploretock.com/singlethreadfarms. 131 North St, Healdsburg.
Valette
While his daily to-go offerings with wine pairing are a la carte, on Sunday, Chef Dustin Valette does dishes for four like coffee-spiced sous vide New York steak for 4 with kale and radicchio salad, baked mac n cheese, red bliss potatoes, butternut squash, Valette house made bread, and cinnamon spiced pumpkin bread pudding. Menu at valettehealdsburg.com. Order via email or phone: [email protected] or 707-473-0946. 344 Center St, Healdsburg.
Petaluma, Rohnert Park
Butcher Crown Roadhouse
Weekends are for feasting and menus change every week, but expect things like a tri-tip feast or their famous Piri-Piri chicken. Online ordering and menu at toasttab.com/butcher-crown-roadhouse. 1905 Bodega Ave, Petaluma.
Sally Tomatoes
Weekly family specials include dishes like Chicken Cacciatore with creamy risotto, steamed artichoke with lemon aioli, hearts of romaine salad. $11.95/person (4 minimum) with no delivery fee. Add a bottle of Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon for $20.Order before 2:30 p.m. with delivery from 4-6 p.m. in Rohnert Park, Cotati, Penngrove, Petaluma and Santa Rosa. Phone orders only. 707-665-9472, facebook.com/sallytomatoesrp.
Stockhome
Swedish comfort foods, like meatballs, smoked salmon, pancakes and rye bread, and chicken with potato gratin, are combined into family meals that serve up to 4 people. Order online for pickup. Vegetarian/Mediterranean family options are available, too, like meze, falafel, veggie, rice, baklava combos, as well as individual servings. And you can add Swedish candy to your order! 220 Western Ave, Petaluma, stockhome-108965.square.site.
West County
Backyard, Forestville
Fried chicken boxes (five, nine or 20 pieces) with biscuits, honey butter and a seasonal side (currently coleslaw) are available to pre-order by calling 707-820-8445 on Mondays between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Pick up is on Saturdays between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Also available for pre-order and pickup: 3-course chicken pot pie for two ($30) and a quart of chicken bone broth soup ($12). 6566 Front St, Forestville
Dinucci’s Italian Dinners
Family-style dinners available to go include quart-size minestrone soup, ravioli Bolognese and spaghetti Bolognese. Meals come with bread and a garden salad. Four-course Easter menu (available family-style) includes minestrone soup with warm sourdough bread, a garden green salad, a side of pasta with Bolognese sauce and traditional Easter ham with honey and cranberry glaze, roasted red potatoes and sautéed greens. Adult Easter Baskets with five “Boozy Bunny Shots” are available, too. 707-876-3260. 14485 Valley Ford Rd, Valley Ford.
Fork Roadhouse & Catering
Family meal menu changes weekly but always includes choice of chicken pozole verde or fresh mixed greens with persimmon, pomegranate, chèvre and candied pecans and flourless chocolate cake with whipped cream and berries. Last week’s entrees: Moroccan white bean ragout ($50) with ginger, lemongrass, local lamb meat balls, roasted pepper-mint raita and preserved Meyer lemon (vegetarian option available); Maple rosemary pork chop ($50) with creamy polenta and gourmet mushroom gravy; Salmon picatta ($50) with lemon, white wine, capers, buttermilk mashed potatoes and season vegetables. Order online by Thursday noon for pickup on Fridays between 3-6 p.m. 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol, 707-634-7575
Kenwood, Sonoma
Black Bear Diner
Offering specially priced family meals (starting at $19.99) — including breakfast combos and family beverages to share — in addition to a limited menu with Black Bear Diner favorites such as Ribeye Steak and Bob’s Big Bear Burger. Find the menu and place your order online. 201 W. Napa St. #34, Sonoma. Open 7am-8pm daily.
Delicious Dish
Dinners for two ($25) and dinners for four ($45) available for pickup Monday-Friday Menu changes daily with different national and international flavors — Puerto Rican, American Chinese, Asian Fusion, Baja, Greek, BBQ… Order online or call 707-721-4231 to order. 18709 Arnold Dr., Sonoma.
Palooza
Family meal specials are announced on social media, you can also call the restaurant for updates: 707-833-4000. Kids menu available, too. 8910 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood.
By: Heather Irwin
