Chef Jake Rand of Sushi Kosho has opened Salt & Sea, a fast-casual poke shop at The Barlow just steps from his longtime sushi restaurant. It’s the newest addition to the Sebastopol marketplace’s outdoor food court that also includes Osito Style Tacos, The Farmer’s Wife and Two Dog Night Creamery.

The menu is focused on hearty Hawaiian-style poke bowls filled with warm seasoned rice, raw fish marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, seaweed, avocado and Maui onions.

Rand riffs on the classic, adding grilled pineapple and Macadamia nuts to the Maui Wowie ($24), and kimchi and gochujang sauce to the K-Pop ($21). He also creates more unique combos like the Jalapeño Jack ($22) with amberjack, yuzu soy sauce, cucumber, jalapeño and avocado. Spicy Tuna Nachos ($14) swap fried wontons for tortilla chips with fresh ahi tuna, yuzu crema, Korean chili sauce and avocado.

Don’t miss the grab-and-go case with Japanese sandwiches. Similar to finger sandwiches, these trendy treats are made with soft, crustless white bread and are filled with either fruit or savory ingredients. At Salt & Sea, they come with clouds of cream and sliced strawberries or kiwi.

The restaurant also offers boba tea, strawberry milk, taro matcha lattes, açai bowls and Rand’s fresh Hawaiian POG, made with passionfruit, orange and guava juice.
Open from noon to 5 p.m. daily. 6570 McKinley St., Sebastopol, Instagram.com/saltandseapoke

Also on my radar

Shady Oak Barrel House will host a Smash Burger Battle on Aug. 16 with Benny’s Smash Burgers, Thanks for the Invite, The Spot and Bayou on the Bay competing for the burger bragging rights. The event will also feature live music and DJs, house-brewed beers and plenty of trash-talking bun-patty-bun action. 420 First St., Santa Rosa, 707-575-7687, shadyoakbrewing.com

You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.

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A Cafe des Croissants bakery will replace the former Pharmacy café at 990 Sonoma Ave. in Santa Rosa. It will be Cafe des Croissants’ sixth location in Sonoma County. The cafes serve croissants, bagels, coffee and other breakfast items.

The Pharmacy closed in November 2024 after nine years in business. Owner Kim Bourdet did not give a reason for the closure. She also owns a plant-based eatery, The Branch Line, at 10 Fourth St. in Railroad Square.

Sonoma Magazine reached out to Cafe des Croissants for comments and further details but did not receive a response. Stay tuned for more details. 

Salt & Sea at The Barlow

Chef Jake Rand, owner of Sushi Kosho, is set to launch Salt & Sea, a poke and smoothie shack at Sebastopol’s The Barlow, with an opening planned for early summer.

Though it’s just steps from his sushi bar and restaurant, this new spot will expand Rand’s casual dining options in the central food court. The menu will feature poke and donburi rice bowls, boba tea, acai bowls and snacky sides like togarashi-dusted wonton chips with plum sauce, spicy tuna nachos, Japanese potato salad and seaweed salad. 6570 McKinley St., Sebastopol, koshosushi.com

Mendocino Farms at Montgomery Village

Mendocino Farms, a fast-casual salad and sandwich chain with more than 50 locations, will open at Montgomery Village on May 13.

The addition is part of sweeping changes at the historic shopping center after its sale to an East Coast developer in 2021. Other food businesses on the horizon include Salt & Straw ice cream, Blue Bottle Coffee, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Sweetgreen salad chain, and Fieldwork Brewing Co. 2400 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa, mendocinofarms.com

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It’s hard to dine out these days without seeing at least a couple of people hovering with smartphones over their plates. Taking a bite before it’s been immortalized on Instagram is pretty much a cardinal sin. Gone are the days when a well-thumbed copy of Zagat served as the restaurant bible. Today, #foodtrends and #foodporn are the new guiding principles. But, in the ever expanding Instagram universe, it’s hard to keep track of what’s new and what’s old: one day, unicorn cake and cloud eggs are hot; the next, they’re not. To give you a taste of the latest foodie fad, we’ve rounded up the new kids on the block: the hottest Instagram food trends (at least at this particular moment) and where to find them in Sonoma County. Click through the gallery above for all the #yummy details.

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