Food for thought ... and art, in this case

In my opinion, the best kind of fund raiser is one where I get to eat lots of good food. More specifically, I like a fundraiser that doesn’t even feel like a fundraiser – where I get to eat great food for a great price and the “fundraiser” part comes out of the back end of the check. A good example of this was the recent Crab Feed I attended at the Petaluma Woman’s Club. The cost of admission was a steal of a deal — I stuffed myself full of the freshest and sweetest crab I have ever had…for roughly two hours. And my admission fee went to a good cause.

On Wednesday, February 23, Wild Goat Bistro will be offering just such a fundraising opportunity. 20% of all orders (including take-out) will be donated to benefit local favorite – Cinnabar Theater. (You MUST bring the Cinnabar Coupon with you in order to reap the benefits – it can be found here.) In addition, the nice folks at WGB will be handing out $10 off coupons for a future visit to everyone who participates. You get to eat great food, you get to help Cinnabar Theater with no additional money out of pocket, and you get a discount off your next WGB meal. This is a triple win in my book.

If you haven’t been to WGB, you have been missing out. Nancy’s pizzas are the best in town, with wonderful flavor, variety, and locally grown ingredients. Their salads, sandwiches, burger, and entrees are well thought out and always satisfying. WGB also has a nice selection of wines, regularly on special. And a word to the wise concerning Zert…if you see a cake or pie that piques your interest, don’t hesitate to order it. If you love it, which I always do, you might even want to order a piece to go. Being locally hand crafted, there is no telling when you might get the chance to experience that particular Zert again.

One of my favorite dishes in Petaluma is WGB’s “Piggies Under Cover.” It is a Miller all beef dog (the best commercially available dog, in my opinion) wrapped in provolone and pizza dough, served with relish and some of the best kraut I have ever tasted. At $5.50, this dish often supplants my other lunch plans and leaves me full enough to continue through my day without the need to punch another hole in my belt. Most of Nancy’s menu is like this. She concentrates on flavor and pricing, unlike a lot of restaurants that overstuff you with expensive and flavorless food. WGB also has several gluten-free options, often including a Zert or two. Thanks to Nancy’s educated palette, these are not the flavorless gluten-free offerings found in most restaurants.

WGB’s location is warm and inviting, as is Nancy and her staff. I had the pleasure of a recent invite to a private “learn to make pizza” session that Nancy threw for a couple of us food writers (myself and Geneva Anderson of “ART hound”) , as well as the Queen of Cuisine herself, Laura Sunday (creator of Taste of Petaluma and The Great Petaluma Chili Cookoff, Salsa, and Beer Tasting.) Nancy taught us some of the intricacies of creating flavorful Neapolitan style pizza. We created a few of her regular menu items as well as came up with some flavors of our own. I gained a whole new appreciation for sitting on the customer side of the bar now that I have been in the heat of the kitchen. (Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming blog of the full account of our experience.)

If you plan to attend this great event, please bring one of the fundraiser fliers, which can be found by visiting Cinnabar Theater’s website. While you are on the site, check out the dates for the upcoming Young Rep presentation of “The Importance of Being Earnest.” This is Oscar Wilde’s “most popular and enduring play” and the Young Rep players are sure to do a bang-up job. Although Cinnabar’s adult performance are top notch, I have yet to attend a Young Rep performance that has not blown me away. Cinnabar is renowned for turning out remarkable young actors and this season is no exception.