A Rare Trip Outside My Kitchen...The Fremont Diner

   Why did I not know about this place? How could I have been going back and forth from Sonoma to LA and back for so long and have this elude me?? Why did I have to hear about it from E-gullet and Chowhound and my blogging friend Erin from The Endive Chronicles which happens to be way over the hill in Petaluma? I'm a Sonoman, I should know what's in my own backyard. Who has been keeping this from me??

Me as it turns out. It seems as though it's no mystery. The Fremont Diner is not Brigadoon vanishing into the Wine Country mists only to appear and reappear every hundred years or so. It's elusive quality is all a matter of the road less taken. In my case Highway 121, the main thoroughfare turnoff from Highway 37 to Napa and all points beyond. The Carneros Highway.

It turns out that when we go to Napa in search of a nearby Trader Joes, or Office Depot, or Bistro Jeanty, you know all the little necessities of life,we always travel by the Old Napa Road and so have missed it! No more! This is a place you don't want to miss. They have hush puppies.

Hush Puppies With Remoulade

   The Fremont Diner used to be known as Babes' Burgers and is close by the Sonoma Skypark aka Sonoma Airport. And little further on down the Road is Stornettas Dairy and Laura Chenel Cheese. Once you find the trail there you will return again and again. Of course when Irving was visiting last week, that was the first place we had to hit.
 The Fremont Diner is not very large. There is counter space inside...

Counter Service

 Which can fill up quickly depending on the time of day.

 There are about half a dozen large tables inside.

Headless Doll Decor

Boxes of games and toys ( Mr. Potato heads) and puzzles to keep the kids happy before the food comes, and if the weather is nice, ample outdoor seating.

Al Fresco Dining In The Vineyards

  The way it works is one lines up at a service window and puts in the order, then finds a seat somewhere. Names are called out when the food is ready. It's self service at it's most efficient.
   As to the food, it is well prepared down-home comfort food with primo ingredients. Out back, there are chickens to supply the fresh eggs and other "poultry matters." Pigs can also sometimes be seen (I've seen them) though the only pork in evidence the other day was slow cooked and on a bun.

The "Whole Hog" With Rancho Gordo Beans

  The beans  featured in the dishes and for sale in bags are Steve Sandos' Rancho Gordo heirloom beans, the same as found at the celebrated French Laundry .

Cincinatti Chili

 However, this is most definitely NOT the French Laundry either in price or formality!

The Farmer's Breakfast Toast spread with Goat cheese is a light delight

Farmers Breakfast Toast

 There are thick homemade milkshakes in flavors I'd never dreamed of.

Shake And Float Menu

And homemade jams, jellies and sauces are for sale.

Jams, Jellies And Beans

  So far I've been here for breakfast and lunch, the two meals that they serve. The cheesy grits are insane though I was disappointed with the scrambled eggs. Having started  life as a short order cook in a diner dive in San Francisco, I am picky about My Scrambled Eggs and these didn't make the cut. There were so many other wonderful breakfasty things to try, such as ricotta pancakes and waffles that I really didn't miss them.
  For lunch, toss in brisket and burgers and pulled pork and a whole field of fresh salads, mac and cheese, breakfast items too, and something that Irving ordered called Cincinatti Chili. Being a native San Franciscan I'd never heard of  it before. It consisted of mac and cheese topped with what else but chili made with Rancho Gordo beans. Frosty iced tea is served in jelly jars.

   If you're visiting the Wine Country and are planning on going to Fremont Diner, get there early if you're going on the dot for breakfast or lunch. Weekdays are better when one is contending with the likes of us hungry locals. Weekends...as I said, get there early!
  So what else can I tell you about this place? The prices are fair and the portions ample and yes, unlike so many other little roadside joints, they do take plastic.
  Coming up next a whole bunch of stuff that culminates with me participating in a Burger Contest on Sunday. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Sauce For My Momo! And 'Mo 'Mo Face Stuffing

    It has been one mad whirl around here since Monday. We've had company. Our buddy Irving arrived from LA for a visit and general plowing through the regions' culinary offerings.

Irving raiding the cheese case at Vellas

   Irving was my cooking buddy in LA and we were always exploring all the corners of the Big Smoggy Basin at all hours looking for new and interesting food. Up here in Sonoma, I try to control myself. I have  jeans that I love and I have to be able to get my ass in them on a regular basis. So, most of the time since I cook at home and cook Indian food, I'm pretty careful about what goes into my pie-hole. Basically, not a lot of pie. Let's leave it at that.
   Of course when company comes, it's another matter entirely. My careful, organic, locavore-mainly veg eating turns into a free-for-all and unwillingly I find myself channeling Guy Fieri. Talk about separated at birth!

Me, with "Whole Hog" at the Fremont Diner

Guy With God-knows-what

   The last several days I've been found far outside my comfort zone, ingesting things I never even dream about. And speaking of dreams, after eating all of the above plus hush puppy,s I dreamt that night I was being arrested for piracy on the high seas. I have no idea why. I call them "meat dreams".
  After stuffing my face for the last two days I thought, I'd better cook something. Irving had asked for momo and I was wanting to try an all veg momo recipe. And so momo it was. How about 2 kinds of momo? Why not, chicken and veg? And of course one cannot have momo without proper dipping sauces, both Tamarind and Tomato, and I had to make those also. That is how I found myself eating momo at 10 pm. The sauces are quite simple and what took the time was getting up the energy to cook after all the other eating I'd been doing.
  So here is one very simple dipping sauce that goes well with anything that needs dipping. I'll give you the other one later as I have a pressing appointment with some tamales at El Molino Central. The stuff there is insanely good and can also be found at the Ferry Market in San Francisco. We're talking Blue Bottle Coffee kids.

Tamarind Chutney

  Soak 2 Tbs of tamarind pulp in 1 cup of hot water.
  (I didn't photograph this because there is no way (at least I haven't found one) to keep soaking tamarind pulp from looking like something that doesn't belong at the table.)
  Tamarind can be found at any Indian or Asian market, and also one can find tamarind concentrate in a jar at any Hispanic market. Even Safeway carries it.
  If using the concentrate, no soaking required. Just mix it with water as per the directions on the jar. You won't need as much tamarind as it's been concentrated.
  If using tamarind pulp, pour it through a sieve into another bowl and mash the tamarind down with a wooden spoon rubbing all the pulp you can into the hot water. Now set the tamarind mixture aside.
  In a small bowl mix together
 2 Tbs of chickpea flour (besan flour) with 2 Tbs of cold water. Stir this together to make a paste then add in:
another 2 Tbs of cold water to make a smooth batter. Set this aside too.
 In a skillet heat :
 2 Tbs of vegetable oil
 When the oil is hot add in:
 1 tsp black mustard seeds
 When the mustard seeds start to pop toss in:
 1 tsp of fennel seed

A minute later add in:
1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chili (or 1/4 tsp of cayenne 1/4 tsp of paprika)

1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of turmeric

Then add in:
the tamarind liquid. Bring it to a boil

 Then pour in:
 The chickpea flour batter

 Mix it in well. Add 2 Tbs of sugar or jaggery and stir it up.

 Let it boil for about 5 minutes then turn down the heat and simmer it for another 5 minutes. It will be a thick, dipping, glossy sauce that goes particularly well with the vegetarian momo recipe I'm going to be posting as soon as I return from the days pigging out.

  I have to run now as we need to take our guest foraging among the hand-ground masa and Blue Bottle Coffee. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori