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The WINE
WRITER: George Medovoy
A Peaceful Interlude at The
Stanford Inn on the Mendocino Coast- Includes Organic Wines in
Ravens Restaurant
By George Medovoy
MENDOCINO -- In the greenhouse at
The Stanford Inn by the Sea, big ceiling fans lumbered high above
an inviting lap pool bordered by semi-tropical plants.
Sunlight filtered down into the
warm enclosure through an angled glass ceiling.
This must be the place, I whispered
to myself alone by the pool, where a mischievous bunch of old guys
discovered a space-age fountain of youth in a swimming pool in the
movie “Cocoon.”
I imagined all of them leaving the pool -- magically transformed
into joyous, youthful specimens.
The greenhouse and its inviting
pool seemed the perfect introduction to The Stanford Inn by the
Sea, Mendocino’s own version of personal rejuvenation at the mouth
of the Big River and the encroaching sea.
This wondrous combination of
rusticity and creature comforts is the creation of two very
special husband-and-wife innkeepers, Jeff and Joan Stanford.
Here they have established a warm
sense of home which comes over you as soon as you arrive, but
especially when you’re in the cozy living room, with its
knotty-pine walls and eclectic mix of antique furnishings, comfy
couches, and two giant wood-burning fireplaces.
There’s nothing formal or rigid
about any of it. Everything has a lived-in feel, like the mantles
with pooh bears...an antique wooden snow sled sitting up against a
fireplace...or the locally-produced art work and Mendocino County
jams for sale.
Outside, on the spacious deck,
guests can peer across the grounds to the ocean in search of
whales or simply enjoy the sunset over the glimmering ocean.
If you ever thought about creating
the ideal bed-and-breakfast inn, this would have to be it.
We loved snuggling up on the couch,
daydreaming to the sounds of classical music. A sparkling grand
piano, decorated with a bouquet of lavender butterfly bush from
the inn’s own gardens, sat next to a big picture window.
Teas and coffee were available all
the time, and from 3 to 6 p.m., sweets and hors d’ouevres.
Publications covered a coffee
table...nothing too heavy, just what the doctor ordered.
Near a chess board, there was
“Martha Stewart’s Living,” “Stokes Field Guide to Birds,” “Report
from the Fund for Animals,” Elliott Erwitt’s charming “Dog Dogs,”
and a totally irreverent “How to Be a Human Bean,” written by one
Bobby Markels.
“There are all kinds of beans,”
Markels writes. “There are kidney beans, string beans, green
beans, baked beans, navy beans, lima beans, and human beans. “You
are probably a human bean.”
The big grandfather clock struck
five, but the cat sleeping on the big sofa chair didn’t stir a
bit.
Adding to the lived-in ambiance of
this charmed setting is the fact that the vegetarian inn near the
Victorian village of Mendocino is also a certified organic farm,
the pride of Jeff and Joan, who were lured here by Mendocino’s
rugged beauty and the opportunity to build something that embodies
their respect for nature and animal life.
“Rather than an inn with gardens,”
said Joan, an art therapist, and Jeff, an anthropologist, “ours is
a small, working, certified organic garden with an inn.”
It’s no coincidence that one of the
books on the coffee table was “Report for the Fund for Animals,”
for Jeff is a former board member of the local Humane Society.
The inn also accepts guests with
pets, provides and replenishes water dishes and food bowls, and
will install furniture covers in the rooms.
Spread over 10 acres of meadow and
forest lands that sweep down to the sea, the inn is also home to
several cats and dogs, 11 llamas, a stable of horses, and black
swans.
The first full day up here, we
awoke to one of those wondrous Mendocino mornings, when the fog
hangs over the horizon until noon and the air is crisp enough to
wear a sweater.
We followed the path to the pasture
to say hello to the gentle llamas, but they scarcely paid any
attention to us, continuing to eat their breakfast of hay and
oats.
Our first in-depth introduction to
inn was during a tour of the two-acre organic gardens with Dana
Ecelberger, for the past 12 years head gardener and general
manager.
There’s a great view of these
sloping gardens from the surrounding redwood buildings that house
the comfortable rooms and suites. You can see the ocean beyond the
gardens.
“It’s primarily a salad and greens
garden,” noted Ecelberger, a self-taught gardener.
The inn raises vegetables for the
kitchen as well as flowers for the lobby and the rooms. It grows
32 different types of lettuce, plus beets, chard, artichokes,
asparagus, beans, carrots, corn, guavas, raspberries, rhubarb,
strawberries, kale, herbs, edible flowers, and apple trees.
“It makes for a very nice
presentation,” said Ecelberger, “and that’s part of the
philosophy, too, that everything should delight the spirit and the
eye and the palate. We would like to lighten peoples’ visit here
and just make it enjoyable on many different levels.”
At Christmas time, the inn does
fresh garlands and wreaths for the rooms, she said, and guests get
special gifts under a big tree in the lobby.
To encourage guests to re-unite
with nature, the Stanfords also provide classes in organic
gardening and medicinal herbs. No pesticides, sprays or chemicals
are used anywhere on the property.
Beyond the gardens, the animals,
and the living room, what you’ll probably remember most about this
place is The Ravens Restaurant, where chef Georgia Lane keeps
things “fresh and simple” -- and guests can linger long after the
table’s been cleared.
Freshness and simplicity at The Ravens, named for the pair of
ravens that moved here in 1995, reflects Lane’s appreciation for
the natural bounty of the Mendocino Coast.
The diminutive chef, a native of
nearby Elk, has taken again to her childhood pastime of foraging
for wild things.
“I did a lot of that when I was a
kid,” Lane recalled. “I foraged for salad greens mostly.”
Back in her spotless kitchen and
wearing her white apron, Lane prepared “Pimentos Veranos” (“Summer
Chiles”), a heavenly entree with a rainbow of tastes.
She stuffed the big chiles with
tofu, oregano, lime, tequila and walnuts, and then roasted them to
flavorful perfection on the grill. The chiles are served with
sautéed collard greens, and flavored with lime juice, fresh herbs
and walnut sauce.
Lane’s challenge -- to find new
ways to embellish the taste of tofu -- passed the test with high
marks, thanks to her magical mix of oregano, lime, tequila and
walnuts.
But like some old-world chef, she is not known for writing down
her recipes, so it takes a bit of effort to get the details.
“They’re all in my head pretty much,” she admitted.
Another recipe she’s added to her mental compartmentalization is
“Cattail Crepes” -- a fun dessert built of fresh ingredients from
the Mendocino countryside.
Out on a recent foraging expedition, she harvested pollen from
cattail plants to make flour for the crepes.
“A little bit goes a long way,” she noted. “I just take a paper
bag...bend the cattail down, shake the pollen in the bag, and then
bring it back and put it through a drum sieve.
“From maybe a dozen cattails, I get two cups of the pollen flour.
And that makes a lot of crepes...you can make a big old batch.”
And how do they taste, these “wild” crepes?
Kind of nutty in a way, Lane said, with a really nice golden
color. Filled with nectarines and fresh berries, and perhaps
embellished with edible flowers, they sounded like a special treat
worth coming back for!
For sure, you’ll have a hard time choosing from the wonderful
Ravens menu. Here’s a sampling of three items for breakfast, which
is included in the price of lodging:
* “Blue Corn Waffle” -- a light crispy waffle made with organic
blue corn and buttermilk, served with pure maple syrup and
seasonal fruit compote,
* “Stanford Ranchero” -- two blue corn tortillas with marinated
tofu, black beans, vegan cheese, chipolte sauce, served with
tomatilla salsa and salsa cruda and grilled red potatoes. (It’s
enough to fill you for the entire day!)
* “Eggs Florentine” -- with real eggs (from cage-free hens that
are not fertile) or marinated tofu, poached above fresh spinach
and house-made English muffins with Hollandaise sauce or lemon
tahini sauce.
There’s plenty of fresh orange juice, hot coffee, teas, and fresh
rolls.
My favorite dinner item was “Ravens Lasagna” -- tender semolina
pasta layered with a host of surprises that included roasted
winter vegetables, garlic tomato sauce, spinach, herbed ricotta,
and aged asiago cheese.
The Ravens recommends this lovely dish with Navarro “Valdiguie,” a
fruity Rhone varietal.
Another adventurous entree is the “Blackened Tofu Creole,” made
with marinated Cajun-spiced tofu, seared and served with spicy
tomato coulis on a bed of jasmine rice with winter greens and
gingered carrots.
The Edmeades Zinfandel or the Preston Viognier brings out the best
in this signature entree.
The appetizer of shitaki and brazil nut pate with herbs and red
wine, served with house-made sourdough crustini and green kalamata
olives, was truly memorable -- with a zingy, whimsical sparkle
from the Mendocino mustards on the side.
Lighter fare includes pizzas with roasted garlic tomato sauce,
mozzarella and fresh herbs.
There are glorious desserts, too. For example --
“Fresh Peach and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream Sandwich” -- Between
crystallized gingerbread cookies dipped in white chocolate ganache,
or
“Flaming Palacsinta” -- Fresh brandied bing cherries rolled in an
almond sage crepe served with hot chocolate sauce.
As for the extensive wine list, The Ravens focuses on the Pinot
Noirs, Chardonnays and Dry Gewurtztreminers of nearby Anderson
Valley, including a number of wines made from organically-grown
grapes with lower amounts of sulfites or which are pesticide-free.
Acres and acres of organic grapes are grown in the Hopland area
near the Fetzer Winery south of Mendocino.
Examples of organics on the wine list included a Bonterra North
Coast 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon, a Lolonis Redwood Valley Mendocino
1996 Zinfandel, and a Napa Wine Company 1997 Sauvignon Blanc.
French organics will be added next.
Drinks also include non-alcoholic wines, as well as juices,
dessert wines from California, Spain and Portugal, beers and hard
cider.
I loved starting the day off at The Ravens, and by dinner time,
when you’re sitting down to one of Lane’s memorable entrees, you
know that you’ve come full circle.
Yet tomorrow is another day, and again you’ll find yourself in
another time and another place at The Stanford Inn by the Sea.
SIDEBAR:
STAYING AT THE INN
Rooms and suites are paneled in pine and redwood and have lovely
ocean views, wood-burning fireplaces or Irish Waterford Stoves,
king or queen four-poster or sleigh beds, cable TV, VCR’s, compact
stereos and CD players. You can rent videos from the inn’s large
collection.
There’s a fitness center and a sauna.
The big facility called The Barn, which is anything but barn-like
in its creature comforts, comes with a big main room, a cooking
area with stove, refrigerator, dishes and silverware, a bedroom,
two fireplaces, stereo with CD player, cable TV, VCR, a king-size
bed and two queen-size couch beds.
The inn operates “Catch A Canoe & Bicycles Too!” to explore Big
River, California’s longest undeveloped estuary, by canoe or
kayak, or to go riding along back roads and to nearby Mendocino.
Mountain bikes are free for guests.
Regular rates are: Bed Sitting Room with King or Queen Beds with
Ocean Views: $245.-$295. One Bedroom Suites with Ocean Views:
$355.-$425. One Bedroom Suite with kitchen facilities: $320.-$375.
Two Bedroom-Two Bath Suites with Ocean Views: $630.-$720.
Information: The Stanford Inn by the Sea, 1-800-331-8884, or visit
www.stanfordinn.com
Address: Coast Highway One & Comptche Ukiah Road, P.O. Box 487,
Mendocino, CA 95460. Three hours north of San Francisco.
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