Petaloooooma

I love the drive to Petaluma with the pastoral scenery, the happy cows from California, and the emerald colored hills. It's hard to believe that Petaluma is less than an hour from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco & Oakland.

We drove up this evening to have dinner with friends and ended up at Central Market--about as upscale as you'll get in low-key Petaluma.

The company was fantastic and the food was terrific. I ordered a starter of sauteed green beans with almonds and then had two more than ample sized starters: creamy polenta with dungeness crab and then an order of chicken livers with caramelized onions and goat cheese - delicious!

The restaurant got a little loud at times, but it was well worth it. Service was excellent, food, ambiance - the whole thing worked.

The ambiance of the town meets the expectations built up as you drive up. It's low-key and charming. In just that short drive you feel a million miles away-like you're on vacation--which is good--because we ate like we were on vacation. Yes--we had dessert.