Mouthful: Apples and bicycles in Sebastopol

Chris Dale, right, sizes up the apple pie eating competition during the 2011 Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat)

Bites and Bikes: Two big events will dominate much of Sonoma County this weekend. First is the Gravenstein Apple Fair, where you can bite into fresh Gravensteins and all manner of apple treats on Saturday and Sunday in Ragle Ranch Park. The fair opens at 10 a.m. both days and closes at 6 p.m. on Saturday (8/11), 5 p.m. on Sunday (8/12).  Admission at the gate ranges from $2 for children on bikes to $12 for adults. For tickets and a complete list of entertainment, food and other attractions, visit gravensteinapplefair.com.  This year, the fair teams up with Tour d’Organics, a cycling event hosted by the Sebastopol Community Culture Center. Participants can, if they choose, pre-register at the fair on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m or at the Sebastopol Community Culture Center (390 Morris St.) from 3 to 6 p.m. Same day registration is Sunday 6 to 10 a.m. at the center.  There are four routes: 16 miles, 35 miles, 65 miles and 100 miles. For details, visit seb.org.  If you are not participating in either event you should still take note, as traffic in west and north Sonoma County will be impacted.

Spinster Sisters Opens: Chef Liza Hinman’s new restaurant, The Spinster Sisters, opens Friday (8/10) at 401 South A St., in the heart of Santa Rosa’s cool SofA neighborhood. It launches with dinner, followed soon by breakfast and lunch. There’s a bar, a communal table and outside service.  Hinman was executive chef at Santi when it moved from Geyserville to Santa Rosa’s Fountaingrove Plaza. She left the restaurant on New Year’s Eve 2010, just weeks before her son was born.  Eric Anderson of Prune in New York City and Giovanni Cerrone, a wine industry veteran, are Hinman’s partners.  Her food is lusty, robust, thoughtful and firmly rooted in Sonoma County’s farms, fields and ranches. Prices will range from about $7 to $12 for small plates, and up to about $16 for large plates at dinner. Breakfast and lunch menus are not yet available.  The Spinster Sisters, with a haunting name that suggests the spinster Trench sisters of “Rosemary’s Baby,” should be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood.