By Jenn Sheridan
Lisa Nigon enjoys a glass of the Dr. Loosen Riesling.
Nestled in the heart of the Village at Northstar, Petra is the perfect place to breathe in the mountain air after a day of hiking and biking, or skiing and shopping. Petra is owned by Telos Partners, the same company behind Uncorked in Tahoe City, Truckee and Squaw Valley.
Like Uncorked, Petra offers an extensive menu of wines from all over the world along with a wall of bottles available for retail sale. Unlike Uncorked, Petra serves a menu of California-inspired meals that are light and flavorful.
Families staying in the village enjoyed making s’mores around the fire pit on the terrace.
I ordered a glass of the Licia Albariño while I waited for my friend Lisa Nigon to join me. The Albariño is a white wine from Rias Biaxas, Spain. Although I generally call myself a red wine drinker, I was looking to try something new that was refreshing and light. With hints of citrus, pineapple and mango, this wine hit the spot.
The housemade hummus served with Truckee sourdough bread was a great starter.
After Nigon arrived, we chose to move outside to the terrace. We enjoyed the friendly bustling atmosphere of The Village as we watched the kids riding bikes and the dogs making new friends. We decided to start our meal with the Housemade Hummus, which is served with Truckee Sourdough bread. The hummus was creamy with the perfect balance of garlic and Tahini. I think it was well worth the extra effort to make it in house.
The fig jam perfectly complements the chevre in the pressed fig sandwich.
For the main course, we chose to split the pressed fig sandwich with a simple salad and the handmade lemon ricotta ravioli.
General manager Liv Olsen recommended the pressed fig sandwich as one of the staff favorites and it was easy to see why. It’s a Panini-style sandwich with a fig jam, creamy chevre, honey and toasted almonds. The sweet jam and honey was perfectly complemented by the chevre. The Simple Salad is a spinach salad with cranberries, toasted almonds and sherry vinaigrette. This is a nice, light meal, perfect for a warm, fall afternoon.
The raviolis are housemade and stuffed with lemon and ricotta cheese
The handmade raviolis were a heartier plate and would be a better choice for someone with more of an appetite. They were stuffed with a lemon ricotta and topped with basil pesto, fresh heirloom tomatoes and olive oil. The pesto had a pungent basil flavor, just the way I like it. Nigon said it paired well with the Dr. Loosen Riesling she was drinking.
The dessert was a delicious pumpkin cheesecake with a graham cracker crust.
At first we were going to skip dessert, but after Olsen suggested the pumpkin cheesecake they were serving, we couldn’t pass it up. It was a generous serving of spicy, pumpkin-flavored filling that was reminiscent of the recently changing seasons. The graham cracker crust was thick and buttery. Olsen suggested that we pair this with the Cossart Gordon Madeira. This thick dessert wine had a smoky-sweet flavor and was a great way to end the meal.
Jenn Sheridan finishes the meal with a pumpkin cheesecake.
Petra is open at 2 p.m. every day in the Village at Northstar.
For more information, call (530) 562-0600.
