Northern California hospital opens restaurant to attract community diners

SANTA ROSA, Calif. — When the new Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital hosts its “Insiders’ View,” open-to-the-public preview party this Saturday, Oct. 4, visitors will see more than state-of-the-art facilities handling everything from intensive care to obstetrics.

They’ll get a gander at a new restaurant, officially opening on Oct. 25, and designed to hopefully attract customers who might not even be visiting someone recovering from surgery.

With the new Mountain View Bistro, chefs will prepare dishes that include local fruits and vegetables, for specialties like made-to-order pizzas, chicken and roasted veggie tacos, and grilled salmon.

What – no mystery meat casserole?

“We’re building the brand new hospital, so we wanted to step everything up,” said Sutter’s strategy and business development executive Lisa Amador. “The hospital is designed as a care center for the patient’s family, too. The bistro is an open food court, a Sonoma market grill.

People from the neighborhood can come in for lunch, and we expect they will.”

Actually, visitors can get breakfast, lunch and early dinner, selecting from stations set with salads, deli sandwiches, burgers, and pastas. Homemade soups will be a specialty, the taqueria will serve burritos and quesadillas as well, and entrees will cover classics like mac –n- cheese, meatloaf, pot roast, lemon herb chicken breast, and vegetable lasagna.

The menu comes from Todd McNeive, a former sous chef for Oliver’s Markets in Sonoma County who joined the hospital group in February. The setting isn’t typical sterile cafeteria either, but decorated with art commissioned from local artists, for 360 pieces throughout the total hospital.

The patients in the 84 beds can look forward to something new, too. Sutter will offer an “At Your Request” room service program, instead of the standard, universal menu, roll-em-out-on-a-tray thrice daily feeding.

“The patients order what they want,” said Amador, of the service that