River Rat Lunch Time at Della Fattoria in Petaluma

After a weekend of rafts, ducks, and late night hot-tubbing on the Russian River for my friend Megara's bachelorette party (that's her, looking like the picture of summer on the deck), my ladies and I weren't about to make the drive back to SF without procuring a fancy bakery lunch.






So we rubbed a couple of brain cells together and came up with the esteemed, as-yet-unexplored Della Fattoria in Petaluma.

The first time I heard about Della Fattoria Bakery and Cafe, actually, was on a Russian River day picnic a couple of years ago. My pals Christopher and Sarah Vandendriessche, who run the excellent White Rock Vineyards in Napa, had brought breads from Della Fattoria along with a legendary arugula, and cherry tomato salad they'd made from their garden with some melty, CA-made burrata.

They were going on and on about how great this place was, and ever since, I have heard nothing but good things about it.




I am happy to report that Della Fattoria is good stuff. Solid roasted chicken salad sandwich, studded with almonds. Nice butter lettuce salad, lightly dressed in blue with my favorite tiny things, pine nuts. And a couple of outdoor tables!








Good coffee; no drip. I'll admit, I kindof prefer drip, although drinking an Americano feels fancy -- and I love feeling fancy. The pastries we tried (ham and havarti croissant, chocolate croissant, eclair, glazed palmier, croissant) ranged from fabulously rich and flaky to a little stiff (respectively), so I might not make a detour for those.







But it's a lovely, civilized place, on a lovely block of downtown Petaluma's main drag (Petaluma Blvd. North), next to a lovely little park complete with a fountain and baby gingers running around. The perfect loc for a transition from country mouse to town mouse!




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photos: TB