Fresh back from "Fresh": It's a keeper

I just enjoyed a terrific meal for the first time –– and certainly not the last –– at Lisa Hemenway's new venture "Fresh" in Santa Rosa. The name says it all. Open only a month, Fresh keeps the menu simple and offers whatever you need to take-away as well. There's a small sit-down restaurant in the center of the "market," with a wine bar along one side and extra tables near the bakery display. (And when the weather is agreeable, tables on the patio.) Surrounding all that is fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and baked goods. One aisle is all beverages, wine, microbrews, juices. In the back is a pizza oven that was getting a good workout during my visit. When you first walk in the door there's an assortment of gift items –– what I generally refer to as "girly" stuff –– such as bath products, candles, and so forth. But the remainder of the space is devoted to food.

I can recommend the pancetta and onion quiche, one of the best quiches I've ever had, accompanied by a generous side of crisp salad greens. Others in my party of 10 were equally excited about their turkey paninis (with the same side salad), and the curry chicken salad was also luscious. There were nice touches on every plate, from the finely sliced radish and olive garnish to the twisted toothpicks on the sandwiches. But the pizza fans at my table were disappointed –– their two thin-crust pies were delivered barely warm. Our waiter was pleasant and hard working, and even enthusiastic about producing separate checks.

If you visit, be sure to buy a dessert to go –– cookies, cakes, the marshmallow "thingy" pictured here, something called a mocha roll, or one of the butter horn pastries, with huge whole strawberries on top.

Lisa Hemenway has a long, successful history in the restaurant and catering business, primarily here in Sonoma County. Fresh looks like another winner.