Santa Rosa’s Moonlight Brewing Company is a kind of hidden gem. Fans of the brewery’s Guinness-like stout Death and Taxes have hand-marked maps of where it’s available on tap, and will happily wait over four months for their sweatshirt order to be processed. Pop-up dinners pairing the brews are rare, to say the least. That in mind, Spoonbar’s four-course meal seems even more spectacular than the menu would dictate. Wagyu beef tartare, slow-roasted duck and butterscotch tart with tobacco ice cream and a macaroon are paired with Twist of Fate, Points North and Uncle Ollie, respectively. A drool-inducing, eye-saucering menu, indeed.
For fans of wine and butchery, Long Meadow Ranch is hosting its “Live Fire Lamb” event featuring Long Meadow chef Stephen Barber with Fatted Calf butcher Taylor Boetticher. The chefs will demonstrate how to butcher a whole lamb and give tips on what to look for when buying meat (“marbling” is sure to be mentioned). The menu includes lamb brochettes, meatballs, lamb asado and grilled leg of lamb, with sauces and vegetables to accompany, all paired with Long Meadow Ranch wines.
The Moonlight Brewing dinner is Thursday, April 25, at Spoonbar (219 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg; 6:15pm; $65; 707.433.7222); the lamb dinner is Sunday, April 28, at Long Meadow Ranch Winery & Farmstead (738 Main St., St. Helena; 3pm; $150; 707.963.4555).
