Sonoma County is known for many things — a stunning coastline, fertile vineyards, a pseudo-pagan playground for prominent Republicans. But Chinese food? Not so much.
Today, associate restaurant critic Cesar Hernandez and I dropped our list of the best restaurants in Wine Country, a mammoth undertaking that we will be celebrating — with you, hopefully — at a live tasting event in Napa in November. (Tickets are on sale now!) We knew there was good Japanese and Vietnamese food to be had in Napa. What we did not anticipate was that we would have a Chinese restaurant to full-throatedly recommend, in the teensy community of Forestville no less.
Husband-and-wife team Sean Quan and Jenny Phan opened Bazaar Sonoma last year after generating local acclaim for their popups in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa featuring Asian-inspired fried chicken and “spanked” cucumber salad. Quan, who formerly worked at three-Michelin-starred SingleThread, wanted to focus on homier cuisine, the type of family meal you’d eat as a cook before service or, you know, at home with your Chinese family…