Bites Nearby: Second Time is a Win at Dempsey's

Each week, GraceAnn Walden picks a restaurant in Petaluma or Novato that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:

Dempsey’s Restaurant & Brewery (www.dempseys.com)

50 E. Washington St., Petaluma, CA 94952; (707) 765-9694

Overview: Back in 1991, I brought my restaurant news column to the San Francisco Chronicle. My beat concentrated on the Bay Area’s six counties.

In that same year, I traveled to Petaluma, to check out a new spot opened by a beer-making husband and his chef-wife, Peter and Bernadette Burrell.

What a good match! What a location! This was well before others realized the possibilities of supping near the Petaluma River.

I went to Dempsey's anonymously in 1991, liked the hearty food and the selection of brews. I chatted with the dynamic couple then. Over the years, the place seemed to perk along getting good reviews, so it fell off my radar.

A week ago, on the first non-rainy night, I hopped into Dempsey’s. Everyone wanted to sit outside, kids and dogs in tow.

Burrell’s six brews are offered in a tasting flite. The food/drink runner plopped down the six small glasses without a word. No instruction as to where to start. But, being experienced tasting beer, I started with the lightest and wound my way through them: a pale ale, Sonoma Irish ale, Red Rooster ale, Petaluma strong ale, Dempsey’s Weizenbock and the Ugly Dog stout.

I found some of the ales good, especially the crisp Pale ale and the herbaceous-hoppy Red Rooster ale. My absolute favorite was the Ugly Dog stout with a creamy, roasted malt and barley giving the backbone to this hearty brew.

Décor: Dempsey’s has an arty interior, high ceilings and a large comfortable bar.

The Drinks: They serve just wine and beer. The wine list is primarily Californian with some side trips overseas.

Appetizers: Dempsey’s serves tacos, wood-oven roasted polenta, Thai soup, fried onion rings and salads/soups. I had the Caesar salad, made with whole leaves. The dressing, croutons and leaves were all perfect.

Entrees: I ordered the pork shoulder, a braised dish served with potato gnocchi, napped in a brown butter sauce. Accompaniments included spinach and butternut squash.

The dish came out and everything was in it, except for the star of the dish, the brown butter. There was a little liquid in the bottom of the dish, but it was from the braised pork. I took its picture.

Then I called the server over and told her they had left off the sauce. The place was busy, so there are two possibilities: They forgot the sauce or they had the really bad idea that the customer wouldn't know the difference. Neither of the owners were in the house.

The dish I got back was beautiful and delicious. The gnocchi and the pork were enrobed in a succulent brown butter sauce dotted with yellow mustard seeds. It was a generous serving to begin with, so I took half home.

Most of the diners were ordering burgers.

Desserts: I had a serviceable crème brule that was not made, however, with vanilla bean because there were no tiny beads of vanilla in the bottom.

Service: I had a very sharp server who told me she was a kindergarten teacher during the day.

Cost: Small plates $8.95-$12.95; salads $12.95-$13.95; flat breads, pizzas and  sandwiches $4.95-$13.95; cheeseburger $9.95; entrees $15.95-$16.95; desserts $5.50.

Disabled accessible: Yes.

Noise level: Comfortable outside; when busy talking inside can be difficult.