Hot Box Grill

After wine tasting in Sonoma, a good dinner is in order. With a group of 8, it was hard finding a restaurant that would take us for dinner with an hour's notice. Good thing I remembered bookmarking Hot Box Grill! They were happy to accommodate our party of 8!

Appetizers:
*Deviled eggs: crispy parmesan, bacon, chives and paprika ($6)
*Roasted baby beets: marinated roasted beets, shaved fennel, grapefruit, feta cheese, toasted pistachios, citrus vinaigrette ($9)
*Fresh mussels "local tomales bay": chorizo, garlic and white wine sauce, garlic bread ($20)
*Spicy ahi tuna timbale: ponzu, lime and mint cucumbers, chili-infused sesame oil, avocado mousse and crispy wontons ($15)

Entrees:
*Carrot risotto: paul's produce carrot puree, napa cabbage, marcona almonds, pistachios, caraway and grana padano ($19)
*Fried cornish game hen: buttermilk-brined cornish game hen, cornbread bread-pudding with honey butter, coleslaw, semi-spicy mac'n'cheese, hot box hot sauce ($39 whole)
*Grilled "cowboy steak" (32 oz bone-in ribeye): brussel sprouts with pancetta and garlic and chili flakes, twice baked potato (cheese, bacon, green onion and sour cream), crispy shoestring onion rings, hot box steak sauce, horseradish creme fraiche and red-eye gravy ($60 for two people)

Side dishes:
*Semi-spicy mac'n'cheese ($6)
*Brussel sprouts, pancetta, garlic, chili flakes ($6)
*Duck fat fries with malt vinegar aioli ($6)

Desserts:
*Meyer lemon fool: lemon shortbreak cookie ($8)
*Brande love: homemade warm bread with handmade vanilla bean ice cream, sprinkled with cinnamon and local honey ($8)
*Tiramisu ($10)

Hot box grill is a great place for having dinner family style. Their entrees are huge! The fried cornish game hen and cowboy steak were more than enough for sharing! Both were cooked well. Moist and flavorful. My favorite app were the mussels. Tender and plump. And the sauce was delicious! Favorite dessert was the Meyer lemon fool. Tart and not overly sweet. Yum! Skip the tiramisu as it was our least fav. The powdered chocolate was not a good choice and it lacked that delicious coffee flavor that I like in tiramusu.

Our server was super sweet and accommodating. She did forgot our ribs since we ordered a whole slab. But when she realized they hadn't come, we were already too full, so we didn't end up getting them in the end.

Corkage is $15. Super important if you've been wine tasting since that's a deal! If you have wine in your car, bring it along.

Hot box grill isn't in the typical area where you'd expect to have dinner in Sonoma, but it's definitely worth the extra little drive to check out.

I ordered a half rack of ribs. It comes with beans and coleslaw. I had the beans substituted with grilled veggies. The presentation was great. The ribs came individually separated, very convenient, and stacked. The rub on the ribs was alright. It was a little on the dry side. The dipping sauce that came with it was a little on the sweet side. I prefer dry rub. A good rack of ribs shouldn't need sauce. Sauce is fattening and covers up any real flavor. I didn't fall in love with the ribs or the sauce. The coleslaw had a mild flavor. I didn't taste like much to me, but at the same time, I'm not a fan of coleslaw. The grilled veggies could have been better. Over cooked and soft. These didn't have too much flavor either. Service was good. They refilled my glass often.

Overall, the flavors are subtle and borderline bland. I was excited to see the raving reviews on this place. A disappointment. I've had better American food.

I recently came here because we were looking for a place to take a large group and I had experienced complete disinterest from everywhere I called, and experienced the exact opposite when I called the Hot Box. The new owner took an immediate interest in finding out how we could put something together, and honestly it was the conversation I had expected but found lacking from every single other place I called. He was accommodating and flexible, and seemed genuinely to want our business. We tried the food and were not disappointed. The steak was uniquely seasoned and cooked perfectly, and I ate more of the duck fat fries than I care to admit. My only regret is that Sonoma is a bit of a drive for us, so I can't come back as often as I would like. If my experience is indicative of where this place is going under new management, they have a bright future.

Update 10/6: event went great and the food and service was on point. Our whole party was very happy and the owner even checked with departing guests to make sure cabs were offered. Communication was fantastic all along and we feel that we made a great choice. Nicely done Hot Box!

Sometimes food, service, and company conspire to make you love a place exponentially more than you (perhaps) should. Without taking anything away from the fantastic food or service I'll warn others that the exterior of this restaurant inspires no awe. It inspires sort of a "Really? Here?" response and the interior doesn't make you say "Oh, now I get it" either. It's a box, just as the moniker suggests, and be warned against dining here on a hot evening. I was the last person seated one night (around 8:30 p.m.) and it still felt a bit warm inside. So maybe they've named it appropriately and whatever euphemism you thought the name referred to, maybe you're wrong.

Anyhow, who cares about the interior or exterior? You should come here to eat. This is the restaurant that my relative continued to rave about for the duration of her week-long visit. The accolades kept coming, with her repeatedly remarking on how fantastic the food was as well as the price. Again, in fairness, we dined mostly on starters and ordered no alcohol so our $69 bill did seem like a grand deal. And it was, because the food was that good.

Here's what we had:

Deviled eggs ($6 for 4): Topped with crispy parmesan, crispy bacon, chives, and paprika. These were so good that we spontaneously ordered up a second round.

Roasted baby beets ($9): Marinated roasted beets, shaved fennel, feta cheese, toasted pistachios, citrus vinaigrette. Beets and feta... mmmmm.

Brussel Sprouts ($6): Served in a tiny cast iron pot along with chunky pancetta, garlic, and chili flakes I'll admit I considered trying to hide this to prevent having to share. We asked for (and got) bread to soak up all the marvelous juices that remained in the pot after the food was gone.

Duck fat french fries with malt-vinegar aioli ($6) are thick, hot fries with military corners. I don't know if duck fat heats to some otherworldly temperature but these fries stayed piping hot until the very last one. The richness that the tasty duck fat imparted made these fries supremely filling.

Hot Box Grill Burger ($16) served with those fries. Don't order a side of fries if you're getting the burger. The portion they come with is more than ample. This was a deliciously rich burger. We split it 3-ways and all 3 of us were sated.

Pasta Rigatoni special (written on the chalkboard wall at the rear of the dining room, nice touch). Heavenly goodness in every bite, even when shared 3-ways. Here's how it was described: Pancetta, artichoke, cherry tomatoes, arugula pesto, breadrumbs, gara padino.

We so enjoyed our meal (including excellence in service) that my relative desperately wanted to personally thank the chef. Our waiter reported that the chef was done, and was now having his "office and beer" time. No need to interrupt that, so kudos to you Mr. Chef, and here's our personal thanks. I couldn't eat food this rich every day but for the special evening this proved to be, it was perfect.

they did what??

ADDED to their already inherently genius menu?!

Why, yes, yes they did those damn Culinary Bastards.

Pork Tenderloin is where it's at with crispy pork belly scattered like glitter on a 5 year old's birthday card, atop brussels, squash and a jus that will make you gush.

The Duck Fat Fries are still amahzing, especially when dipped in the tarragon bechemel that the scrumptious steak comes with, but let me tell you. That dessert list deserves a looking over.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee is the flavor as of late, a tiny bite of Pumpkin Perfection served along with 2 generous, moist to a fault slices of Pumpkin Cake. And to top it? Why, spiced whipped cream, of course.

The Apple Fritters are light, tender - almost gooey gorgeously fried fare. And that maple cream is a thick, decadent dipper like no other.

Show some respect and save room for dessert.

Don't judge a book by its cover--or a restaurant by its exterior.

I'd made reservations for a post-Thanksgiving Sunday dinner based on OpenTable availability and Yelp reviews. But as we drove past what looked like a former Dairy Queen, en route to a wine tasting further up Highway 12, I started to have my doubts. Fortunately for us, Chef Max at the Mayo Winery Reserve Tasting Room gave Hot Box a glowing recommendation when I asked if he'd heard of it. It's the only restaurant he eats at in Sonoma.

Our table of five started with the pork charcuterie special--a generous slab of country-style pate, accompanied by cornichons and whole-grain mustard. To that we added the ricotta gnocchi with acorn squash puree and browned butter sauce, which boasted a slightly toasted exterior that masked a delicately light interior. Pillowy goodness.

The entrees matched the appetizers in pairing seasonal local produce and classic proteins. The pork tenderloin, chicken paillard, and daily fish special met unanimous approval. But the 32 oz. bone-in cowboy ribeye for two stole the show. This arrived on a wooden carving board with two wood-handled Laguiole steak knives plunged into the nearly two-inch-thick steak, atop a bed of onion rings and alongside an iron skillet of Brussels sprouts with pancetta, and a double-baked potato. Oh, and bowls of horseradish creme fraiche and red-eye gravy, too. Seasoned with a restrained hand, the steak was juicy and a perfectly cooked medium rare--and honestly big enough for three, or four.

We really were too full to eat dessert (did I mention we'd also had an order of the utterly decadent duck fat fries with bearnaise sauce?), but managed to share the pumpkin creme brulee with honey-glazed pumpkin cake. A perfect fall dessert, and a great end to a wonderful meal.

If you're planning to be just north of Sonoma, make reservations here. Right now, the clientele seems to be mostly locals, but that will change once word gets out. Shhh. You didn't hear that from me.

4.5 stars

We had an outstanding meal here. Thank you Yelp and Facebook friends and our outstanding guide to Sonoma, we found this little gem. A great wine list (expected) meant we got two, of course.

Then the madness begun. We ordered deviled eggs with bacon, crispy chicken, fresh pasta, and grilled hangar steak. We had delicious food and copious wine and good conversation. It's all locally sourced and our server was attentive but not TOO attentive.

This is definitely a spot you should stop while you're in Sonoma. One of the best meals we had while there. Oh and you can bring your own wine in too so don't feel like you're limited by what they offer there.

Gayle and I took advantage of a beautiful Sunday to take a field trip out to the Sonoma Wine Country. We also had 6 bottles of Audelssa wine to pick up in Glen Ellen to help provide purpose for our journey. Yet one should not drink wine on an empty stomach, so we stopped at the Hot Box Grill for Lunch.

When we first walked in, both of us immediately wished that we could also come here for Dinner. That menu (and the associated wine pairings) looked really interesting and we could imagine the creative energy of this relatively small space within this intimate Aqua Caliente location.

Gayle ordered a Cuban Sandwich, while I opted for the Philly Cheese Bomb. Both were the type of sandwiches that melt in your mouth and not in your hands. A side of homemade sea salt and pepper chips sealed the deal. I enjoyed my Racer 5 IPA, while Gayle happily quaffed a glass of Wellington Chardonnay. That also turned out to be one of the wineries that we visited later as searched for a perfect glass of Port. That's Good Mojo and a promise to return.

Feeling devilish today??

I was in Sonoma for a day trip with the hubby. I saw the rave reviews for this place on Yelp and I knew I had to come here for dinner. We made reservations juuuust in case, but it was a pretty quiet Sunday evening.

We sat at a table by the window with a view of the kitchen to watch the action.

We started off with the infamous duck fat fries. Thick cut fries fried in fatty, ducky goodness. Served with mayo and ketchup for dipping. My fave fries were the ones that absorbed extra duck fat. Tee hee. The fries were good, but I wish they were thinner, so they could be extra crispy!

Next, we had the deviled eggs. These were my faaaavorite! Creamy and delicious! There were parmesan crisps and BACON sprinkled all over them! They were on the eggs and alllll over the plate. YES. I could eat a dozen of these, but there were only six halves on the plate.

For our main dish, we shared the fried cornish hen for two. In my mind, I imagined a cornish hen fried whole, but it came out in the typical breast, thigh and leg pieces. The chicken was nice and crispy on the outside, but I wished the breading had more flavor to it. It was almost bland, but it tasted pretty good with their homemade Hot Box hot sauce. At least the chicken meat itself was moist (even the breast!). It also came with a side of buttered cornbread and spicy mac and cheese, The cornbread was soft and had plenty of corn flavor. The mac and cheese was good, but I almost wish there was more cheese in it.

They have their own parking lot, but it's pretty small. Probably a better idea to carpool or get there early so you can secure a spot!

This is a really cute and nice restaurant to eat at. A nice place to wind down after a full day of wine tasting and shopping.

New resto launch by the original and best chef of Cafe La Haye.
Located in the old Thailand house resto on Hwy 12 close to the Boyes Hot Springs borderline.

Premium quality food. Big portions, low prices.

Best fried chicken I've eaten in 50 years, (Actually it's a 6 week old organic poussin). Yeah, yeah - Typical YELP reviewer hyperbole - but realize that I've lived in Atlanta, San Antonio and Los Angeles. I know good fried chicken.

Salads are superb. Daily fish special outstanding.

Small wine list with local delicious ones at reasonable mark-up.

The entire back wall is a slate blackboard menu chalked up with the daily specials. Me? I'm ordering off the everyday paper menu. Check out the $60 cowboy steak for two. It's enough food to satisfactorily feed 4 adults.

Casual ambience. Crowded & noisy. Small -14 tables. Reserve on opentable.com

Highest recommendation!