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Janet Orsi Hot plates: The restaurant at the Sonoma Hotel is an excellent place to get away from it all close to home in the off-season. Comfort Food SONOMA IN THE SUMMERTIME is an excellent place to meet people from Germany, India, and Peoria, Ill. It is not, then, an excellent place to escape from crowds, and it is not, then, an excellent place to have quiet little walks around the Plaza without becoming the background blur in someone's memento photo. Ah, but the off-months when the visitors are tending to their own backyards are the time to really enjoy the beauty of this eponymous town in our county. And the Sonoma Hotel, just off the Plaza, is one of the better places to do so. When a companion and I visited in the chill of winter, in fact, we had the whole dining room to ourselves: all the wood paneling, all the handsome wall and window coverings, all the comfy chairs, all the excellent service, and all the even better food--all to ourselves. Being a tourist in your own backyard is one of the finer ways to travel, and you can always put a mint on your own pillow. The Sonoma Hotel Restaurant, inside the hotel, 110 W. Spain St., Sonoma; 939-6955. G.G. [ Sonoma County | MetroActive Central | Archives ]