By Heather Irwin for Sonoma Magazine

Sometimes you know, in the seconds after a first bite, that a dish won’t be merely memorable. It’s going to be one of the best bites of the year.

Spanish Octopus a la Plancha, Oyster ($26): Tender bites of octopus are perched atop smashed fingerling potatoes. The pool of earthy black garlic aioli is the real surprise, hidden beneath the crisp spuds. Just as I thought the dish needed a little extra flavor boost, voilà, the black gold appeared. 

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