Page 21 - Sonoma County gazette September 2018

46 REVIEWS online @ SonomaCountyGazette.com
For my Dad, H.P., Jr. ~ Other tasters included: Anne Kopache, MaryAnn Flippin, Mara Walls, Andrew & Mathew Posert, John Sutter
Best Pot Sticker In Sonoma County
9.90 China Bowl Bistro 1940 Piner Rd, Santa Rosa (707) 570-0688
This is the premier destination
for outstanding, fresh, beautifully cooked pot stickers in Sonoma County. They arrive, perfectly crispy on the bottom and floating on a bed of cabbage, fabulously moist and juicy (how? I don’t know) featuring rich pork, mild cabbage and an ebullient ginger tone that are in perfect balance with just a hint of white pepper lingering on the finish for complexity. The effect is sublime, leaving you fulfilled yet wanting, in
9.55 Silver Moon
1880 Mendocino Ave C,
Santa Rosa (707) 576-7878 Somehow this little, funky, steam- table place, designed for a quick, on-the-go lunch, a place that has
no plates, just styrofoam and the better square take-out boxes, has
it figured it out. You gotta order
the pot stickers cooked fresh and that is a time commitment because they cook ‘em slow here. It’s not just that the crust is perfect or the meat is good with a little garlic. The most important part, the part that almost nobody else in Sonoma County seems to be able to figure out is this: The ginger wafts across on the palette like the vermouth wafts across the glass on a perfect martini. Few Chinese restaurants around here achieve this kind of culinary subtlety.
the immortal words of Billy Idol, “... More, More, More.”
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9.33 Lily Kai
3100 Lakeville Hwy H, Petaluma (707) 782-1132
Stunning great restaurant. They brought me a sweet and sour
soup gratis! The pot stickers
arrived in a vision of sublime exquisiteness. Could there be
a more beautiful piece of food
than the golden crusts and pale white dough of a perfectly cooked potsticker? Easily, hands-down, no-holds-barred, the most gingery, most flavorful and best-cooked
pot sticker this side of Clement Street. Bravo! Just a bit more cabbage.
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sticker shells served correctly with oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Well done!
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9.85 8 Dragons
1047 Vine St, Healdsburg (707) 395-0023
Sublime in every possible way.
When a musical chord is in balance, the sound is harmonious. When nibbling into the first bite of a pot sticker you know you’ve found something best described as “just lovely.” The filling is homemade and they clearly take pride in the correct mixture of pork, cabbage and ginger. The shell is light and crisply pan fried. The owner made the recipe with the chef and they worked it out just the way they wanted, and that is just the way anyone and everyone else would want it to be, too. Worth the drive. Worth the wait. Go now.
9.66 Hunan Village
2306 295 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma (707) 763-7156
Very strong flavors with a balance
of vegetables. Why would one place, that looks like 100 other places, stand out? Bold and decisive flavors that are correct and in balance, are what makes this place special. Visually, the bottom of the shells look more fried than pan seared, that turns out to be a really good idea as the shell was perfectly crunchy. Overall, this is a spectacular pot sticker with the bright flavors. Most critically, the crust rises above everyone else’s...the Uber Alles of pot
MY RECIPE: It’s best to have a pot sticker-dumpling contraption.
1 packet of round pot sticker shells 1/2 lb ground pork, PLAIN
2 cups finely sliced cabbage
1.5 Tbl fresh ginger, grated & chopped 2 tsp garlic, grated & chopped
2 green onion chopped finely White Pepper to taste
1Tbl soy
2 tsp hoisin
2 medium wood ears softened &
chopped fine
1 large shitake mushroom softened &
chopped finely
1 Tbl Carrot shredded & chopped very
fine
Mix everything up together, fill shells and stand upright.
Heat 2 Tbl peanut oil in skillet.
Fill pan with pot stickers so that
they aren’t touching, cook until the bottoms are brown. Add enough water to cover pot stickers half way. Cover with lid slightly ajar. When water is gone and the pan changes tone to sizzling, they are done.
2/3 table vinegar, Mirin if you have it and want some extra sweetness
1/3 soy sauce.
Dipping sauce
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