Many have traveled up to the tiny village of Glen Ellen, just north of Sonoma, since 2012 solely to visit the Glen Ellen Star. Chef Ari Weiswasser cut at institutions like Daniel, Picholine, and the French Laundry. Now, he’s cooking classically California-inspired
cuisine, often over a wood fire, that strips classical techniques down to key, high-impact ingredients. Many of those are coming from the Glentucky Family Farm, a stone’s throw away. The restaurant has a close relationship with the Mike Benzinger’s certified-biodynamic farm, incorporating its herbs, squash, tomatoes, eggs, lettuces, and other legumes into the menu season-by-season.
What to order
- Pay close attention to the special pie when you visit. A few weeks ago, it was Glen Ellen Star’s wood-fired sourdough pizza topped with a sultry white sauce (also found on a few other pizzas), mozzarella, artichoke, guajillo chile, espelette peppers, and beautiful rock shrimp from the Central Coast ($36).
- You could make your way through every menu item that involves corn and/or tomatoes at Glen Ellen Star and never get bored of the flavor of either. To this, the homemade creste de gallo pasta ($35) is yet another endorsement.
- As is the panzanella ($21) — barely contained in its bowl, you’ll find hunks of the house sourdough focaccia in crouton form, smoked mozzarella, English cucumbers, and so many gems from Mike Benzinger’s farm — tomatoes and opal basil to name a few.
What to drink
Well, you’re in Sonoma, so it’s pretty much a no-brainer. Truly, though, this wine list is packed with heavy hitters and harder-to-find bottles. For instance, we landed on 2023 mourvedre from Extradimensional Wine Co.Yeah!. Nothing like a giant, ripe, California red, this wine — from old vines in the Contra Costa AVA — is instead landing more in the rosemary/thyme, mineral note, mulberry neighborhood: a truly unique wine for under $100.
Insider tip
Keep an eye out, as Glen Ellen Star often holds farm dinners in collaboration with their sister restaurant, Kenwood, and Glentucky Family Farm. These are special — you get an up-close-and-personal look at the farm operation before heading to the table to feast on what you just saw pulled from the ground.
