Masa Master

A deserving tip of the hat goes to such new purveyors of Yucatecan food as Chaac-Mool and Poc Chuc, but homage must be paid to the genre's talented local forefather, Mateo Granados.

The chef spent more than a decade working in fine-dining kitchens like Masa's and Dry Creek Kitchen before launching his own catering company. And it shows: His delicate tamales are made with organic masa and olive oil, rather than lard, so that they pair better with Sonoma's Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs. We would cry blasphemy if those tamales--stuffed with suckling pig, chicken or seasonal vegetables and topped with tomato-habanero sauce and cured red onions--were any less delicious.

Nearly all of Granados's ingredients are local: His olive oil and goat, transformed into blood sausage and hash for a recent special, come from Preston Vineyards. Verdolagas (purslane) from White Crane Ranch appears in his Yucatán-style huevos rancheros, assembled with epazote-flavored black bean puree, broken tostadas and goat's milk feta from Redwood Hill Farm.

During the farmers' market season you'll find him in Healdsburg (Saturdays) and Sebastopol (Sundays) cooking his hybrid--and extremely personal--cuisine from his mobile kitchen.

Granados's time at the market draws to a close shortly after Thanksgiving. Go now, or you'll have to wait until spring. Road trip, anyone?

Healdsburg Farmers' Market, North and Vine Streets, Healdsburg; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon (though the first weekend in December)

Sebastopol Farmers' Market, Downtown Plaza (at McKinley Street), Sebastopol;
Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (though the first weekend in December)