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Michael Amsler You can't put a price on love: John Ash & Co. executive chef Jeffrey Madura serves up a sensuous meal. No wonder readers deem it the Best Place to Overspend on your sweetheart. Spend the Rent FIVE CENTS SHORT of $27 for an entrée?!" you sputter. Yeah, we know it's expensive (hell, you could probably buy 31 cans of baked beans and a Diet Coke for that), but sometimes you just gotta bite the wallet. In a region rife with restaurants serving that ubiquitous phenomenon called "wine country cuisine," this is the granddaddy of them all. John Ash & Co. remains a longtime Sonoma County institution for culinary crazies who simply can't fork out enough for dishes like mushroom-crusted loin of lamb with spinach risotto, caramelized onions, and balsamic jus, or grilled venison with black-eyed pea pilaf and dried-fig and port reduction sauce. The real stars of this imaginative cooking are the fresh local ingredients, and the supporting players are the crackling fireplace, extensive wine list, and alluring vineyard views. Your overtaxed Visa card has an integral walk-in role. John Ash & Co., 4350 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa; 575-7350 P.H. [ Sonoma County | MetroActive Central | Archives ]