Give the gift of Marin-born granola
Do disrupted supply chains and overpopulated shopping malls have you considering local sources for holiday gift shopping? I’ll be highlighting a few culinary-related suggestions from local makers in the next few weeks as we enter the giving season.
San Rafael resident Diane Cowdrey started making her naturally gluten-free Sweet Diane’s granola four years ago out of her home kitchen, turning her focus on healthy eating and nutrient-packed foods into a small cottage food operation.
Her recipe experiments led her to a version that includes whole grain oats, almonds, dried blueberries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, maple syrup and spices. She says that luckily, nearby neighbor Andy Bachich, of Andy’s Local Market, became addicted to it and placed it on his store shelves. In addition to his favorite blueberry almond, the granola comes in original and orange cranberry.
Since then, Cowdrey moved from her house to a more-expansive production facility in Oakland. Sweet Diane’s can now be found at markets throughout the broader Bay Area and, as of September, nationwide through her online shop.
“It’s been a labor of love and so many people have helped me along the way,” Cowdrey share sin an email, mentioning her taste-testing neighbors, virtual focus group friends and the invaluable advisors at Marin Small Business Development Center. Her copywriter son does the marketing, his boyfriend takes the photos and her husband handles the shipping.
In addition to its standard packages, Sweet Diane’s has a holiday gift box that contains a pound of granola in a reusable glass jar with a metal lid inside a pinstriped box with gift tag and black and white grosgrain ribbon ($20, plus shipping).
Cowdrey is donating 1% of all sales during the holiday season to No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit national campaign working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. In the past, she has made donations to local nonprofits, including the Ceres Community Project, Spirited Marin, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and Play Marin.
What’s next? A compostable
bulk bag is in the works for 2022 to give customers the option to purchase larger, environmentally friendly packages.
Find Sweet Diane’s in Marin at Andy’s Local Markets, Driver’s
Market, Farmshop, Palace Market, United Markets and Woodlands Markets, or buy a gift box, bag or three flavor sampler at sweetdianes.com.
New wine bar
Boutique wine bar Squalo Vino is now open in Tiburon for tasting, collecting and socializing.
The downtown tasting lounge has an extensive list of 90 limited selection wines by the bottle, a rotation of 15 wines by the glass and few paired bite options.
“Building our wine list was both rigorous and thoroughly enjoyable,” says general manager and longtime wine industry veteran Kelly Barrett through a spokesperson. “We wanted to offer wines that would excite a range of palates and wine knowledge, with particular focus on provenance and rarity. There are phenomenal wines from our own backyard in Napa and Sonoma as well as a large contingent of Bordeaux and other imports.”
Locally brewed beer is also on the menu.
Sip your vino with cheese and charcuterie boards featuring Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam Triple Cream, Cypress Grove and Humboldt Fog, and Shelburne Farms Cheddar
Cheese served with crackers from Rustic Bakery, warm nuts and olives. Or try Squalo’s version of “fish and chips” — caviar from neighboring Caviar Co. and homemade potato chips.
Designed by San Francisco’s Quezada Architecture, the atmosphere is described as “relaxed modern mixing sleek and warm elements with a rich palate of black, gray, gold and rust softened
by lots of wood accents.” Guests can choose among bar seating, velvet club chairs, cushioned window banquets or sidewalk bistro tables, overall accommodating up to 20 guests.
Squalo Vino is the effort of its three owners, longtime restaurant and real estate partners SG Ellison, Peter Wohlfeiler and Tiburon native John Hoffman, otherwise known as the Tiburon Tasting Trio
(T3), who share a mutual passion for wine and are involved with Tiburon’s downtown revitalization project.
Squalo Vino Wine Bar is open from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from noon to 8 p.m. Fridays through Sundays at 34 Main St. Purchase gift cards and learn about wine clubs, guided tastings, the vintner series and private event hosting at squalovino.com.
Holiday tea
Crown & Crumpet Café, the whimsical tearoom in downtown Ross, is offering its annual holiday tea extravaganza at the Marin Art and Garden Center, with teatime reservation dates throughout December.
Settle in for an elevated experience complete with specialty teas and British-inspired treats — fruit scones with clotted cream, assorted tea sandwiches, warm savories, seasonal
sweets, Christmas crackers from the United Kingdom, a glass of sparkling wine or cider and a goodie to take home.
Seatings are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. on weekends through Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 through 23.
There’s also a holiday tea for children ages 2 to 11 years old at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17 that includes an age-appropriate holiday craft, a special visitor and a glass of champagne for the accompanying adult.
Reservations are done by the two-to-12-person table ($95 adult, $55 children) at maringarden.org/ events/holiday-tea-withcrown-crumpet. A percentage of ticket sales supports
Marin Art and Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross where the holiday teas take place.
Prefer an unscheduled visit to the Ross café for tea, coffee or a meal? It’s open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays at 22 Ross Common. Find more at crownandcrumpet.com or call 415-7714252 with questions.
Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@ gmail.com with news and recommendations and follow on Instagram @ therealdealmarin for more on local food and updates on the launch of The Real Deal Marin restaurant guide.