Snail of Approval Events

Snail Trail, featuring Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria and Tierra Vegetables

March, 2021

Follow the Slow Food Snail Trail: online, to-go, outdoors, at farmers markets and farm stands near you.

This month we kick off the Snail Trail with a visit to Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria in Geyserville and Tierra Vegetables in Santa Rosa. Although we cannot meet in person yet, we encourage you to support these local Snail of Approval-honored businesses that support our community with good, clean and fair food for all. Come visit, dine, order take-out, and purchase their products.

Post a pic, tag the business, tag us!
@diavolageyserville
@tierravegetables
@snailofapprovalsonomacounty
#snailofapprovalsonomacounty

The Snail Trail supports our Snail of Approval awarded restaurants, farms, ranches and artisan producers. Get a full list at www.slowfoodsonomacountynorth.org/snail-of-approval/ 

The Snail Trail  supports our Snail of Approval awarded restaurants, farms, ranches and artisan producers.


3rd Annual Snail of Approval Awards

February 26, 2020 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

 $15

Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Avenue, Sebastopol

Please join us as we honor our 2019 Snail of Approval awardees and renewal honorees.

After the awards ceremony enjoy “Good, Clean and Fair” bites and pours from the awardees and our donors.

Farm Awardees

  • Be Here Farm + Nature – Sonoma County
  • Bernier Farms – Healdsburg
  • Laguna Farm – Sebastopol
  • Restaurant Awardee
  • Flower + Bone – Santa Rosa

Artisan Producer Awardees

We are excited to announce that we are also launching our Artisan Producer Snail of Approval program and awarding our first Snails to:

  • Black Pig Meat Co. – Forestville
  • DaVero Farms & Winery (olive oil) – Healdsburg
  • Tilted Shed Ciderworks – Windsor

Renewal Honorees

  • Backyard – Forestville
  • Black Piglet – Sonoma County
  • Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria – Geyserville
  • Estero Cafe – Valley Ford
  • The Naked Pig – Santa Rosa

After the ceremony we will enjoy “nibbles & bites” from our Snail of Approval restaurants, farms, artisan producers and our own Slow Food Sonoma County North Events Committee. Along with wine & other beverages.

Our wine sponsors for the night! We are excited to be serving wines from DaVero Farms & Winery and Two Shepherds Winery! We thank them for supporting good, clean & fair food in Sonoma County.

Snail of Approval-Slow Food in Sonoma County recognizes food-related providers in Sonoma County for making significant contributions to transform our food system to one that is good, clean and fair. We are a joint project of Slow Food Russian River and Slow Food Sonoma County North.


Snail Trail is heading to Estero Cafe in Valley Ford

December 7, 2019 @ 7:30 am – 3:00 pm

 $11 – $30

Estero Cafe
14450 Highway 1, Valley Ford
(707) 876-3333

In support of our local Snail of Approval restaurants, come follow the Snail Trail out to Valley Ford and enjoy a meal at Estero Cafe on Saturday, December 7th.

They are one of our original (2017) Snails and we want to celebrate and support them.

Breakfast, brunch, lunch, whatever you want to call it, they have it, visit anytime from 7:30am to 3pm. Gather a group of your friends and head on down, six or more and you can make a reservation. Otherwise just pop on in.

Traditional American breakfast and lunch made with locally sourced and organic ingredients! The Estero Cafe is a family owned and operated restaurant. Using only locally sourced and organic ingredients, including a commitment to pasture raised eggs, local grass fed beef, sustainable seafood, local dairy and vegetables.

We support restaurants and farms in Sonoma County that have been awarded a Snail of Approval. This meet-up is one of a series of meals we have dubbed The Snail Trail!

Slow Food in Sonoma County awards the Snail of Approval to local restaurants and farms that embrace Slow Food principles: Good, Clean and Fair food, for everybody.

Awardees utilize:
* seasonal ingredients or menus
* local, sustainable production and sourcing
* humane treatment of people and animals
* investment in fair labor practices
* green business practices (e.g. composting or recycling)

Any questions, email us at Snail of Approval-Slow Food in Sonoma County.

Use our hashtag #snailofapprovalSC


Meet up for dinner on the “Snail Trail” at Mateo’s

October 17, 2019 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Diners enjoy dinner at Mateo's Cocina Latina in Healdsburg.

Join us for a Snail of Approval “meet up” on the Snail Trail at Mateo’s Cocina Latina in Healdsburg. We will enjoy a delicious dinner among friends with true nose-to-tail and farm-to-table cooking at this remarkable Snail of Approval restaurant.

Make your reservation online or call Mateo’s at (707) 433-1520 and identify yourself as Slow Food.

We will all be seated together.

Mateo’s Cocina Latina
214 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg

In a delicious mix of cultures, the Yucatán-born chef Mateo Granados has created a unique signature that celebrates rigorously sourced local and sustainable Sonoma ingredients infused with the vibrant regional flavors of his homeland, crafted with classic French finesse, and sparked with a playful spirit.

Michael Bauer writes in  The San Francisco Chronicle: “At Mateo’s, he reimagines the flavors of the region using hyper-local products and the French techniques he honed at the other restaurants.(…) Because of his unique take on the food, the restaurant earned a place in the Top 100 list for the last three years. On my yearly revisit last week, it was evident that his food artfully captures his personality, whether it’s freshly dug potatoes ($7) surrounded by smoked chipotle aioli, or thin slices of local halibut ceviche ($15) marinated in lemon with pomegranate, grapefruit and tissue-thin coins of serrano chiles. … Much of the food is unlike anything you’ll encounter elsewhere.”


Backyard Restaurant hosts a Snail Trail 2019 Dinner

May 5, 2019 @ 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

6566 Front Street, Forestville, CA 95436

Chef Daniel Kedan & Chef Marianna Gardenhire of Backyard in Forestville, A Snail of Approval restaurant

Join us for dinner at Daniel & Marianna’s Backyard Restaurant in Forestville, a 2017 awardee of the Snail of Approval in Sonoma County!

Make your own reservation and identify yourself as Slow Food. We will all be seated together. Ask for a time between 5:30 and 6.

Everyone will get their own check.

Online or call 707-820-8445

Backyard is a seasonal, sustainable restaurant in the small town of Forestville, California. It draws its inspiration from Sonoma County, with all of its amazing bounties; orchards, farms, ranchers, foragers and fisherman. Every fruit, vegetable and animal is grown – some on its own farm, Bee Run Hollow –, raised or line caught locally. Chef-Owners Daniel Kedan & Marianna Gardenhire value community and the moral, ethical practices of sustainability — which shine through in every dish.

The 2019 Snail Trail

We want to support the restaurants in Sonoma County that have been awarded a Snail of Approval. This meet-up is the first in a series of meals we have dubbed The Snail Trail.

Slow Food in Sonoma County awards the Snail of Approval to local restaurants and farms that embrace Slow Food principles: Good, Clean and Fair food, for everybody.

Awardees utilize:
* seasonal ingredients or menus
* local, sustainable production and sourcing
* humane treatment of people and animals
* investment in fair labor practices
* green business practices (e.g. composting or recycling)


2nd Annual Snail of Approval Awards Ceremony

February 6, 2019 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

 Free – $12.50

Snail of Approval-Slow Food in Sonoma County recognizes food-related providers in Sonoma County for making significant contributions to transform our food system to one that is good, clean and fair. We are a joint project of Slow Food Russian River and Slow Food Sonoma County North.

Please join us as we honor our 2018 Snail of Approval restaurant awardees:

Patisserie Angelica – Sebastopol; Red Horse Pizza – Santa Rosa; Lowell’s – Sebastopol; Handline – Sebastopol; Trading Post – Cloverdale; SingleThread – Healdsburg; Mateo’s Cocina Latina – Healdsburg

Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Avenue, Sebastopol

After the awards ceremony enjoy “Good, Clean and Fair” bites and pours from the awardees and our donors.

We are excited to announce that we are also launching our Farm/Ranch Snail of Approval program and awarding our first Snails to: Tierra Vegetables – Santa Rosa; Lantern Farm – Cloverdale

Our Donors


Snail of Approval is coming to Sonoma County – Preview Reception

August 23, 2017 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

 Free

You are invited to a Preview Reception for Snail of Approval of Slow Food in Sonoma County on Wednesday, August 23rd, 5:30-7:30pm in the Sebastopol Grange.

Join us as we preview our new program and enjoy appetizers, beer & wine.

It’s free but we like you to RSVP and get your free ticket.

Our Snail of Approval program is a guide for locals and visitors alike to find food that is good, clean and fair. The program honors farmers, producers, food artisans, chefs, restaurants and food providers in Sonoma County. If you fall into this category, we want you to know how the development of this program may be of benefit to you.

Bring a sample from your harvest, let’s enjoy seeing the bounty of Sonoma County.

Snail of Approval recognizes and supports: seasonal ingredients or menus; local, sustainable product sourcing; humane treatment of people and animals; investment in fair labor practices; and green business practices.

Slow Food in Sonoma County is supported by two local chapters, Sonoma County North and Russian River. We will be awarding the Snail of Approval to those exceptional producers, purveyors and artisans who contribute to the quality, authenticity, and sustainability of the food we eat and the beverages we drink in the County of Sonoma.

Thank you to Community Alliance With Family Farmers (CAFF)The Farmers Guild & Sonoma County Farm Trails for your support.