Carolyn Jung Food Gal

Your weekly enewsletter 03.07.13     Quick Links Home About Food Gal Boutique     A Taste of Old and New at Madrona Manor in Healdsburg     You wouldn't normally expect to find trendy, liquid nitrogen-molecular gastronomy cooking going on inside an 1881-era Victorian mansion.   But at Madrona Manor in Healdsburg, that's just what you'll enjoy at the acclaimed Michelin one-star restaurant on the premises of this 22-room historic inn nestled in the hills above the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County.   I was invited to be a guest of the inn, which is charmingly decorated with period antiques and art pieces, including hand-painted wooden dolls and a framed Victorian lace wedding gown. The rooms feature fireplaces and claw-foot tubs. Homemade chocolate chip cookies are left by the bedside to welcome you.   Click here for more on the inn and the food of Chef Jesse Mallgren, who has cooked alongside some of the biggest names in the industry, including Jeremiah Tower and Gary Danko, and Mallgren's take on modernist cooking.     Downtown Bakery--A Must Stop in Sonoma County   If you ever happen to find yourself in the vicinity of Healdsburg, make a beeline pronto to the Downtown Bakery & Creamery.   You will not regret it.   And your stomach will thank you profusely.   Started in 1987 by three Chez Panisse alums, this bakery makes everything from scratch - breads, ice cream, cookies, and pastries. There's even a cafe menu if you want to sit for a spell to enjoy breakfast pizza, cheesy scrambled eggs or a Croque Madame that's a croissant topped with herbed ricotta cheese and ham.   Click here to find out why my husband and I cannot resist stopping by this place.      For more musings on food, wine, life and laughter, go to www.foodgal.com.