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The menu also incorporates plants and herbs grown in Litke’s very own onsite garden, like pea shoots and lemon verbena. Perhaps the chef is best known for his “Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit” entrée, in which the meat is prepared three ways: an applewood-smoked bacon-wrapped loin, a roasted rack, and a confit of leg covered in whole grain mustard sauce and served with Yukon potato. The cripsy pan-roasted California squab breast on a bed of faro, corn, haricot vert and chanterelles in a “broken” balsamic vinaigrette and star-anise carrot reduction was also a standout.

Topping the dessert list is a chocolate ganache topped with perfectly ripe local figs, though the quince financier accompanied by flan is also quite popular. This is the heart of California wine country, though, so we can’t write about the restaurant without mentioning Wine Director Geoff Kruth’s extensive wine list that reads like a who’s who not only of Sonoma, but of many famous European regions as well.

The menu isn’t cheap, though when you compare the prices to similar restaurants in nearby San Francisco or Napa, the $35-39 range for entrées seems like a bargain, while the starters will only set you back between $12-16 (though the foie gras comes in at $23).

Maybe you’ll even have enough cash left over to splurge on a night at the Inn, where rates start at $295 a night, and range up to $650 for one of the new Barn rooms.