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ZIN Restaurant & Wine Bar

Zin serves deviled eggs without apology.
Potato and fried onion casserole without flinching.
A Blue Plate Pot Roast every Tuesday to a packed house.

Here, comfort food rules and no one walks away from the table hungry.

Riffing on American regional favorites, (Chicken-N-Dumplings, spaghetti and meatballs, Mac-N-Cheese) Zin Chef Jeff Mall feeds the need for dishes just like mom used to make. Only a lot better. But that's just part of the story.

Mall also throws some solid Wine Country curves on his seasonal lunch and dinner menus--like the Mexican beer-battered green beans with mango salsa; the Dungeness crab salad with avocado, mango and chili-lime salsa; or the unmistakably Left Coast-y roasted beet & orange salad with frisee, toasted walnuts, fresh goat cheese and Meyer lemon vinaigrette. The Great Alice would approve.

Somehow Mall makes this weird mix of comfort-meets-California work, despite being both a little disorienting and wildly endearing. One day you're eating wild mushroom Chile Rellenos with goat cheese, the next you're gobbling buttermilk fried chicken. Red bean cassoulet followed by Carolina pulled pork. Okay, sure.

What ties them all together are fearless flavors and Mall's nearly fanatical interest in using hand-picked ingredients from his own farm, Zin Garden. Chances are those tomatoes in your spaghetti came from one of his thousands of plants. The jelly in your Zinfandel doughnuts? Yep, he crushed the grapes himself. You get the idea.

Ultimately it comes down to this. There's Healdsburg's whole tie and cheese cart thing. Or there's Zin, where you can throw on your jeans and order up a smoked pork chop and warm jelly doughnuts.

Yeah, me too.

Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar, 344 Center Street, Healdsburg, 707.473.0946

Best Bets: Menu changes seasonally, so ask your server what's new. However, the beer battered green beans are a staple ($8), along with the pot roast ($16) and applewood pork chops ($21). The hangar steak is another can't miss ($24), topped with (in the winter) wild mushrooms and thyme. Oh and don't miss the wine list, which features an extensive list of by-the-glass local Zinfandels.

Don't Miss Zin THIS WEEKEND on the Food Network's Giada's Weekend Getaways.

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Posted March 16, 2007 3:34:38 PM
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Comments | Add Comment

Posted By: Mike (24/03/2007 12:06:33 PM)
Comment: We've had fantastic food, knowledgeable service and have enjoyed the fine selection of wines by the glass...zins and other interesting treats. Plus, we like the casual atmosphere.

Posted By: Rob (20/03/2007 8:31:34 AM)
Comment: I've dined at Zin 30+ times, and I have to say it's one of my favorite spots in No. Sonoma County, and I've been to a bunch. I have yet to find a better pork chop anywhere in the US - and I've tried! Great article, really captured the feel of Zin.

Posted By: sue (18/03/2007 5:22:45 PM)
Comment: I can't wait to go here!! They serve food at Bella Vineyards all the time, and their pulled pork w/grits that they served at barrel tasting was to die for!! We keep going back to get more. Saw them on Giada's and hope it is not too busy now! Can't wait to try the donuts!

Posted By: John (18/03/2007 1:36:18 PM)
Comment: A fun place with tasty food and all around "comfort....". We get about half way there from SR before someone says "OK...we'll start with the green beans..." and we've never been disappointed in 20+ visits, even when it's packed !!

Posted By: Regina (18/03/2007 10:54:27 AM)
Comment: Here, here. I second that Chris. I love Zin! Jeff Mall even got my son to eat green beans. They were delicious. Comfort food, I say oh yes, oh yes please. That's one talented Chef.

Posted By: Chris from San Diego (17/03/2007 6:53:13 PM)
Comment: I just saw Zin featured on Giada DeLaurentiis' Food Network show "Giada's Weekend Getaway", Her expressions of delight at tasting Zin's food is how I feel every time I make it up Healdsburg and eat at Zin. Thanks for a wonderful dining experience.

Posted By: Sonya (17/03/2007 4:29:54 PM)
Comment: I love Zin! This write up really captures the feel of the place and the style of the food. I recommend Zin to everyone I know.

Posted By: chris (17/03/2007 12:12:37 PM)
Comment: judy if you don't like "comfort food " maby zin's not for you!!thay are by far one of the BEST around for that style! if it's not YOUR cup of "tea", go drink "coffee else where

Posted By: http:// (16/03/2007 8:53:15 PM)
Comment: zin doughnuts rock -- amazing!

Posted By: Judy (16/03/2007 8:18:24 PM)
Comment: For the price they charge there are much better options where they don't do "comfort food." There are talented chefs in this county who elevate food to another level. Zin is mediocre at best.

Posted By: Glenda Castelli (16/03/2007 7:38:01 PM)
Comment: Jeff is never too busy to say

Posted By: josh (16/03/2007 4:35:51 PM)
Comment: one my favorite spots in the wine country!!! the green chili, WOW is the best way to describe it, That & yum!!!!!!

Wine Country dining. Drive-through sensibility. Heather Irwin’s dish on the region’s best food bets—short, sweet and just what you need to know.
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