This Tuesday, May 1, launches the annual Napa Farmers Market, located in Oxbow's parking lot. The Market will be open Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7:30 am to 12 noon, May through October. Opening week welcomes a number of farms, including Tenbrink, Long Meadow Ranch, Big Ranch Farm, Gauchito Hill, Morning Sun Farm, Marshall Farm Honey, J&J Farms, Gleason Ranch, Rodriguez Farms, Busalacchi Farms, Taramasso Ranch and Soul Food Farm. You'll find a variety of seasonal produce, including: beets, carrots, broccoli, green garlic, baby chard, herbs, head lettuce, cabbage, endive, tomatoes, oranges, cherries, almonds, walnuts, honey, eggs, beef, lamb, pork, chicken, olive oil, plus vegetable, herb and perennial plant starts. The Market also has a number of specialty foods including cookies, sausage rolls, Vietnamese sandwiches, hummus,  granola, lemon curd, coffee, kettle corn, sorbets, pies, pastries and bread from Annie the Baker, Bailey's Best, Chai's Gourmet, East and West Gourmet Afghan Food, The handmade pantry, Hummus Guy, Organic Karma Coffee, Pacific Kettlecorn Express, SAMPAS, Sweet Peabody's, Sweetie Pies Bakery and Oxbow's The Model Bakery.

This Thursday, May 3, from 5 to 9 pm, Pica Pica Bar hosts Brewer's Night featuring Lagunitas Brewery from Petaluma. Check out the seasonal brew for May, Lucky 13, or the famed IPA; each are $5 for a pint and $7 with a branded glass to take home.

The Fatted Calf will be thrilling the masses with its unique brand of blade wielding fun at its monthly Butcher's Happy Hour this Thursday, May 3 from 5:30 to 7 pm. Drinks will be poured, roasts cut, and chops marinated, all as you watch. Feast on samples as you enjoy an elbow-to-elbow evening of community fun.

Raw Food Chef Instructor Brenda Hinton will join the team at Oxbow Produce this Saturday, May 5 from 11 am to 2 pm for a roundtable discussion on all things green for your healthy lifestyle choices. Brenda will share quick and easy demos to make nut milks at home and be available for Q and A on the new juices and smoothies offered at the market. Join us and get your green on! 

It's everything you loved about Todd Humphries' Kitchen Door Restaurant and more! Effective May Tuesday, May 1, the restaurant will move to full-service, with table service during brunch, lunch and dinner as well as on the outside River Deck. All of your favorite items will still be available, and the menu will also be expanded to offer more seasonal specials and small plates -- a global menu featuring local ingredients -- the food Chef Humphries likes to cook and eat. Corkage will remain complimentary and an expanded wine list will be featured. The River Deck will have exclusive seating for Kitchen Door guests, featuring new lighting and on cool nights, the stone fireplace will be fired up! Reservations are taken for groups of eight or more. Call 707-226-1560.

This Saturday, May 5 is Cinco de Mayo, and Pica Pica will serve colored empanadas as a nod to the Mexican flag (color indicates filling variety: Red for meat, green for beans or white for cheese). Enjoy three of any kind for $4.50. Pica Pica will also have a variety of Mexican beers on tap such as Modelo, Pacifica, Corona and Victoria. Come by and join the fiesta!

Spice up your life and celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Mexican chocolate ganache cupcakes from Kara's Cupcakes. Sweet, spicy and sophisticated, these chocolate cupcakes with cinnamon and chile ganache frosting are available May 1-6.

La Crepe! introduces the raspberry beret, a sweet crêpe that begins with sweet batter, made from organic Clover milk and butter, Petaluma large cage-free eggs and Guistos organic, unbleached flour. La Crepe! adds to that a bit of Meyer lemon peel and some Tahitian vanilla. This warm crêpe is then topped with powdered sugar, fresh raspberry couli and whipped cream with some lavender sugar sprinkles to top it off. C'est délicieux!

Ready for the Farmers Market? The Model Bakery is! When shopping for your locally-sourced fruits, veggies and other goodies, make sure you start your day with a treat. The Model Bakery will have a booth at the Farmers Market featuring their fresh baked pastries, breads and yummy Caffe Vita coffee. So power up first at The Model Bakery and let the Farmers Market season begin!

Hog Island Oyster Bar has two new, not-to-be-missed items on its menu: Roasted baby beet salad with Laura Chenel chevre and local oranges over frisee and new steamers with Calabrese sausage, bitter greens, Rancho Gordo Cannellini beans, white wine, herbs and butter. Delicious! Also, check out Hog Island in Bon Appetit's blog: Another Reason to Go on Left-Coast Vacay: Hog Island Oyster Farm.

Taste Vino Selections is offering a new pink wine at Pica Pica Bar for Locals' Night during the month of May. Enjoy the lovely Melipal Malbec 2010 Rosé from the Mendoza region of Argentina for $4 a glass on Tuesday evenings.

It's not too early to start thinking about Mother's Day, which is coming up on Sunday, May 13!  Stop by Anette's Chocolates for the perfect gift for Mom. Choose from a chocolate-filled ceramic flower pot, keepsake gift boxes, chocolate Cabernet wine sauces, and assorted chocolate boxes filled with macadamia nut flips, truffles and English toffee. Anette's will also custom pack the perfect 6 pc, 15 pc or 33 pc box: You can choose all dark chocolates, caramels, truffles or fun, larger pieces including honeycomb, flips and toffee. The choices are endless, and Anette's will ship anywhere in the United States.  

Ritual Coffee Roasters is excited to announce a new opportunity for customers to get their hands on delicious (often exclusive) coffees for home, and enjoy fun perks as well! Be a part of the the new Coffee Club! You get coffee (hand selected by the roasters) set aside for you twice a month, and a free drink from the menu when you pick it up...as well as complimentary Locals' Night coffee flights. Stop in and ask a Ritual barista about details so you can join the club!

This incredible set of eight bone-handled dinner knives has a deep, rich patina. The set was produced by Lamson & Goodnow in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, during the mid-late 1800s, and each piece in this handsome set measures 10" in length. Lamson & Goodnow is one of the oldest

cutlery companies in the United States. During the Civil War, the company became one of the largest United States cutlery manufacturers, employing more than 500 workers to meet the demand for their products. It was during this time they added tableware to their line of professional and agricultural cutlery, offering a variety of items with ivory, horn and exotic wood handles. In 1869, the workmen of Lamson & Goodnow produced a dinner set of 62 pieces for President Ulysses S. Grant. Half of the pieces were set in pearl handles and half in ivory, with American maple leaves engraved on the handles. The workers stated that they felt a "national pride in presenting [the set] to one who will appreciate the perseverance that aims at nothing short of perfection."  This eight-piece set is available at Heritage Culinary Artifacts for $225. 

With the weather warming up, everyone is getting ready to fire up the grill! There's nothing better then spicing up your favorite foods and tossing them on an open flame on a beautiful day. Try putting some "sweet onion sugar" as a secret ingredient in your burgers, or maybe some "Curry Madras" to give your steak an Indian kick! Whatever your flavor, Whole Spice has it, so stop by for all your BBQ needs. Try this recipe from Whole Spice:

BBQ & Vinegar French Fries 

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes (peeled or unpeeled)

Peanut or Canola oil (for deep frying)

1 1/2 tsp malt vinegar sea salt

1 1/2 tsp BBQ rub

Kosher salt to taste

Directions

Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Cut the potatoes into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices. Pour approximately 4 to 5 inches of oil into a deep, heavy frying pan or saucepan over medium heat (325°F) using a deep-frying thermometer. It is best to fry in small batches, rather than crowding the pan with too many potatoes. Turn the potatoes once or twice until they are almost tender, and still pale and waxy looking, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain excess oil. Season generously with malt vinegar sea salt , BBQ spice rub, and if needed, Kosher salt. Serve while hot.

Every season is sustainability season at Kanaloa Seafood! In conjunction with the opening of the Farmers Market on Tuesday, which emphasizes on eating local, Kanaloa will be featuring some West Coast specials in May, including white sea bass, California king salmon and Alaskan halibut. Plus, the season has opened for the very popular soft shell crab (shown here). Ask for suggestions on fun ways of pairing these delicious choices with some fresh spring veggies!   

Already known as the most highly-awarded producer of California extra virgin olive oil, The Olive Press once again earned high accolades and awards at two prestigious olive oil competitions. The Olive Press took home a Best of Show, Best of Class and Gold for their Arbequina extra virgin olive oil at the 2012 Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition. The Picual extra virgin olive oil also took home the same honors at the 2012 Yolo County Fair Olive Oil Competition. In addition to the two Best of Show Awards, a number of their extra virgin olive oils took home gold medals at the Yolo County Fair: Sevillano, Arbosana and Marquesa. Of course, many other olive oils took home silver medals. All in all, The Olive Press garnered an impressive 24 medals -- their reign as the most highly awarded olive oil producer in California continues.

Take advantage of a rare special on jasmine dragon pearls, a delicate and fragrant tea scented with jasmine blossoms, available at Tillerman Tea. Stop by and save 10% off 100 g of this delightful tea this Tuesday from 5-8 pm -- that's just $15.25 per bag. Have time for tea? Stay and enjoy a cup and find out about the exquisite process it takes to make this delightful favorite from tea buyer and educator, David Campbell.