Restaurants in Ukiah

To enliven the local, organic produce that fills his kitchen, Chef Vinay Patel welcomes monthly shipments of spices from India, such as turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, and cardamom. After seasoning his meats, he lowers them into a clay tandoor to cook over handpicked, hardwood mesquite charcoal. For all the effort that goes into each chicken dish, curry, and biryani, the Bohemian has awarded Sizzling Tandoor Indian Restaurant its Best Indian award for 22 years running.

The dishes sprawl from traditional entrees to Northern and Southern Indian specialties and Indo-Chinese fusion dishes. Chefs also tandoor-fire nearly a dozen types of bread, including naan, paratha, and gluten-free and vegan missi roti to sop up sauces. Rather than placing a miniature fire extinguisher at each table, chefs calibrate each dish's spiciness from mild to hot.

As diners expand the depth of their palate, an Indian ambiance envelops their body. At the Santa Rosa location, live belly dancers charm and entertain on Friday and Saturday night, and live musicians stop by for events such as Samosas and Sitar. While watching, guests can nurse Indian beers and specialty cocktails including the Sizzling Sunset, which ups the ante of traditional mango lassi with vodka.

Between Boskos Trattoria’s exposed stone walls, ruby-hued booths and tables showcase sandwiches stacked high, fresh pastas made daily, and pizzas baked to a golden finish in a wood-fired oven. Chefs bake house-made focaccia garlic bread to commence culinary adventures, as well the burrata appetizer. Artfully crafted tiramisu and cheesecake cap off meals, which the wait staff serve under a hanging mirror and lighting that, like a sack of potatoes recently crushed by a piano, is soft. Libation connoisseurs top off glasses with beer, coffee, and your choice from 30 wine selections.

Within the historic Cottage Grove Hotel, Buster's Main Street Cafe serves burgers of locally raised, grass-fed beef from Knee Deep Cattle Company. Chefs crown patties with accouterments such as bacon, cheese, ham, and avocado. Breakfast offerings of omelets and several styles of eggs benedict reward early-rising appetites, while later diners may sip craft brews or select one of 200 craft sodas, including 40 varieties of root beer massaged from the roots of sacred shrubs.

Lyon's Restaurant parades an all-day smorgasbord of hearty morning meals, juicy lunchtime burgers, and homestyle dinner entrees until late into the night. Glimpses into the kitchen display rolling steam from hearty omelets intertwining in vapor from sizzling tossed skillet breakfasts as carving artisans slice succulent cuts from slow-roasted meats to pile on a slate of deli sandwiches. Classic dinners of roast sirloin and chicken fried steak fill palates with a sense of Americana not felt since gnawing on the Lincoln Memorial, and a bevy of diner-inspired desserts and milk shakes keep ice-cream spoons company.

The BBQ Spot transforms regular pork, beef, and chicken into a smorgasbord of Texas– and Memphis–style barbecue. Hardworking chefs meticulously prepare feasts through traditional Southern methods⎯slowly roasting each meaty slab over a smoky fire of hickory chips and rival-college football-team memorabilia. Succulent cuts of brisket peacefully share table space with St. Louis ribs as well as tender morsels of pulled pork. A menagerie of classic barbecue sides garnishes plates or sops up leftover sauce with portions of baked beans, tangy coleslaw, and wholesome cornbread. The friendly staff delivers the protein-rich cuisine amid homey, no-frills diner décor outfitted with red-, green-, and yellow-checkered floors and surrounded by earthy pale-yellow walls. Wood chairs and tables impart a natural feel to the aesthetic, and The BBQ Spot further enriches its relationship with local diners by providing catering services for weddings, parties, and corporate events, such as CEO firings.

Following Baja Fresh’s ethos set in 1990 as a healthy take on fast food, never-frozen meats sizzle atop the grill before they're tucked into made-to-order tacos and burritos. Grilled corn and flour tortillas embrace fish, carnitas, chicken, and steak, and smoky queso fundido sidles onto nachos and into burritos. Between bites, chips scoop up salsa made from farm-fresh produce rather than poured out of a can or fabricated in a space-age replicator. A complimentary salsa bar ensures no mouthful goes unspiced, and guests can scoop up their favorites as they await their dine-in, takeout, or catering orders.