Cox: Sisters in SOFA

Kim Chi and Bacon Deviled Egg at Spinster Sisters (photo by Jeff Kan Lee/PD)

That area around the corner of South A Street and Sebastopol Avenue in Santa Rosa is undergoing a renaissance.

Young people and artists who congregate there call it SOFA — and it is a comfy piece of old Santa Rosa. Beautiful mature trees line the shady street. Now, with the opening of The Spinster Sisters on the southwest corner of that intersection, it’s home to the most exciting new restaurant in Santa Rosa.

Photo gallery

Chef Liza Hinman, formerly of the defunct Santi in Santa Rosa, is partners in the venture with Giovanni Cerrone, who runs the room and acts as sommelier, and Eric Anderson, one of the principals in Prune restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village. Hinman bills her food as New American cooking, as does Chef Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune, but the Spinster menu is no knock-off. At this new venue, Hinman has blossomed as a chef since her days at Santi. Whether that’s due to newfound freedom to call the shots or simply an advancing talent, who knows? But her New American cooking is healthy and creative, her handling of ingredients graceful, her provisions mostly local, and the results satisfyingly delicious.

The building dates from the 1920s. It was once an Italian market with two unmarried Italian sisters living upstairs (hence the name of the restaurant), and it was many other businesses over the years. It now looks like it was designed by a minimalist architect, but it wasn’t.
“We just pulled out all the stuff that had accumulated over the years,” Cerrone says, revealing a simple room with lots of big windows letting in a flood of light. The main feature is a square beer and wine bar capped with century-old slabs of old-growth redwood. A pass-through looks into the stainless-steel kitchen where Hinman and her line works. The restaurant seats just 50, but looks bigger.

It’s refreshing to come across a wine list that’s so nicely priced. Eight wines are on tap for $18 for 500 ml, which would be $27 for a 750 ml bottle, and there are 41 wines by the bottle, 21 of which are also offered by the glass. Bottles fall mostly in the $20-$40 range and come from around the world. Service is well-delivered by earnest young folks.