Healdsburg in 2001 was a different place. Back then, a $25 steak felt like a splurge, and the sidewalks belonged to dusty boots and Carhartts, not Birkins or Blahniks.
That was the year chef Charlie Palmer opened Dry Creek Kitchen, putting the agricultural outpost on the culinary map. Heirloom tomato salad and locally grown beets with goat cheese still felt novel — and Palmer’s $25 charcoaled beef sirloin was the priciest item on the menu.
That same year, a more humble pub opened just a block away to a quieter reception. Healdsburg Bar & Grill, or HBG as it was quickly dubbed, became the place where locals could settle in with a beer and feed the whole family for less than $50. It wasn’t McDonald’s, but you could get a solid burger for $7.25 or grilled salmon for less than $11…