� E ditor's note: First Bite is a new concept in restaurant writing. This is not a go-three-times, try-everything-on-the-menu report; rather, this is a quick snapshot of a single experience. We invite you to come along with our writers as they—informed, intelligent eaters like yourselves—have a simple meal at an area restaurant, just like you do . �

Sometimes, nothing in life is better than a sunny-side up egg, flecked with crunchy crystals of sea salt and freshly ground, deeply aromatic black pepper. �

The perfect specimen has been slow-fried on one side, so that the yolk is still liquid and brilliant yellow-orange under its thin-set skin, the white is meaty, and its barest edges crackle like lace. Preferably, the top was basted with butter (or even better, bacon fat) while it cooked. �

The dish is wonderful all on its own, but even better if it's served blanketing something starchy, so the yolk has something to swim into after being pierced with a fork—crispy hash browns, perhaps, or toast. �

Such is the egg I'm savoring at Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar, the restaurant in the Lodge at Sonoma Resort & Spa. Two eggs, in fact, as the centerpiece to exquisite huevos rancheros ($11.75). �

The creation of chef Janine Falvo, the eggs crown layers of alternating soft and crisp corn tortillas, whole al dente black beans, gooey ribbons of Sonoma Jack cheese, a puddle of warm grilled tomato ragout and scoops of chunky, chilled tomato-purple onion salsa. The yolks seep through, imbuing everything with golden richness. �

It's a surprisingly fine-dining experience for an often-overlooked meal: breakfast in a hotel. �

I already knew that Falvo was talented; I'd discovered that the night before, as soon as I tasted my first bite of a foie gras and chestnut froth parfait that was served as an amuse-bouche at a tasting dinner (price varies) in the same restaurant. Her skill was evident in a spoon of Forbidden rice capped with a glistening cube of uni; I poured a raw quail egg over the top and downed it in a single mouthful. �

Falvo's delicate squash agnolotti stuffed with spinach and pine nuts had melted on my tongue in a buttery, nutty slick. Then she'd sent out a square of monkfish, wrapped in crisp potato paper on a nest of chanterelles tucked with black truffle confit and a dusting of heirloom tomato powder. My entr�e was a luxurious CK Lamb chop, smoked in vanilla cigar and bedded on peppery arugula risotto pooled in bright white Parmesan foam.

A Cypress Grove truffle "tremor" with black olive crackers and a fig shooter was an intense intermezzo to the dessert of persimmon bread pudding capped with saffron-cardamom ice cream. Each course had been paired with wines from sommelier and storyteller Christopher Sawyer, culminating in such a long, luxurious evening that driving an hour-plus home was out of the question. The plush bed of a Lodge cottage beckoned irresistibly. Thus, this impromptu breakfast. �

So now, I've got a silver pitcher of fragrant black coffee all to my own, plus a side dish of three glistening Caggiano country sausage links ($6), so fresh their skin actually snaps. And I've got another reason to appreciate the remarkable dining experience that is Carneros Bistro. The only thing left? Lunch. �

Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar, 1325 Broadway, Sonoma. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday-Saturday; Sunday, brunch and dinner. 707.931.2042.

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