Offspring is a fitting name for Chef Perry Hoffman’s second restaurant, an inviting pizza and pasta joint in teeny Boonville in the Anderson Valley.

After all, it was the success of the Boonville Hotel and Restaurant across the street, where he’s also chef, that gave birth to it.

Yet it’s also a name that applies profoundly to him, too, as this descendant of veritable culinary royalty knows a thing or two about the creating a lasting legacy.

His grandparents were famously, Don and Sally Schmitt, who bought an old stone building in sleepy Yountville in 1978, the French Laundry. They worked hard to turn it into a true destination, a process Hoffman witnessed from the time he was 5 years old when he’d roast peppers and cut baguettes to help out at the restaurant. It was the tender start to his own storied career that culminated in becoming the youngest chef in the United States to receive a Michelin star when he was 25 at the helm of Domaine Chandon’s Etoile restaurant in Yountville in 2009.

When his grandparents decided to retire from the restaurant in 1993, they entertained interest from many buyers, but in the end chose to sell it to Thomas Keller. The rest is epicurean history, of course. Keller took it over and ran with it, transforming it into a Michelin three-starred establishment respected the world over. Keller didn’t stop there, but grew Yountville into true destination dining with the additions of his Bouchon Bistro, Bouchon Bakery, Ad Hoc, Ad Hoc Addendum, RO Restaurant & Lounge, and Burgers & Half Bottles, all mere steps from each other.

In much the same way, Don and Sally Schmitt’s children and grandchildren are doing likewise in this pastoral area of Mendocino County.

After leaving the French Laundry, the couple set about restoring the Philo Apple Farm, 11 minutes from Boonville. The 32-acre heirloom apple farm is now run by Hoffman’s aunt who also owns the Farmhouse Mercantile home-ware store in Boonville that’s a stone’s throw from Paysanne, the ice cream shop opened by one of Hoffman’s partners in the Boonville Hotel.

In this community of less than 1,000, this is a family whose reach has been far and wide. But while Hoffman acknowledges the hand he’s had in attracting more visitors to Boonville, he doesn’t take that responsibility lightly.

“Some people say we’re the next Yountville. We absolutely don’t want it to be the next Yountville with 5,000 hotel rooms here,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong; Yountville is amazing, especially what Thomas has done. But we want Boonville to move forward in the right way. We want to respect our sense of place, and to have businesses that go into these storefronts that people find accessible.”

That applies to Offspring. His Uncle Johnny Schmitt who revamped the Boonville Hotel Restaurant in 1988, was looking to step down from chef duties there when he lured his nephew to take over 7 years ago. Schmitt had set his sights on opening a pizza place across the street in 2020, only to be forced to close it after a mere four months when the pandemic hit. The family, not wanting the challenge of trying to run two restaurants during that trying time, closed the pizza place.

For 10 months, it sat empty. Then, Hoffman opened it as a pizza pop-up, one that was such a hit that it ran for 2 1/2 years. Emboldened by that, he completely remodeled the space and opened it in March 2024 as a full-service restaurant with Chef de Cuisine Ben Eldhart in charge. Eldhart had worked with Hoffman at Auberge du Soleil and at Shed in Healdsburg.

I had a chance to check it out for myself when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant and hotel a couple of weeks ago.

What Hoffman and Johnny Schmitt fondly describe as a modern roadhouse, the Boonville Hotel was built in the 1860s. Over the years, Johnny Schmitt lovingly restored it and added more standalone cottages to the 4-acre property.

The place has a bohemian feel, as if flea market finds were made shiny and cool to put the place together. It’s got a funky, fun vibe all its own that fits with the small-town, rural setting.

There’s a small retail shop inside, where you can purchase Philo Apple Farm jams and a host of other gourmet ingredients. Or take a load off in the sitting room to read a book or play a board game.

Out back, you’ll find all manner of apple and persimmon trees, as well as rows of tomatoes, negi onions, , Italian parsley, mustard flowers, Sicilian oregano, garlic chives, and heirloom Genovese basil specifically for pesto — all of which gets incorporated into the menus of both the hotel restaurant and Offspring.

We stayed in the Casita, a stand-alone room with its own entrance, as well as small deck with a soaking tub. The room featured a queen bed, a wet bar, a window seat, and plenty of quirky art.

The hotel offers a seasonal prix-fixe Monday through Thursday, as well as a feast of paella on Sundays, from Memorial Day through mid-October.

Offspring is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and just started offering Roman-style pizza sold by the pound for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

On a warm evening, Offspring’s deck is the perfect spot to hang out, especially with Crush (as in Orange Crush), the cute tabby who will make himself right at home at your feet or behind your banquet.

The garden tomato salad ($18), made with Green Zebras picked fresh and ripe from the hotel property, were sliced and dressed with albacore tonnato, a drizzle of balsamic, a pinch of urfa chile and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs.

House-made focaccia ($10) with a fabulous chewy crumb was the perfect vehicle to mop up all that creamy, eggy sauce.

Duck pate and nduja ($20) is a fun appetizer to share. The smooth, rich pate is paired with a ball of spicy, spreadable salumi, and accompanied by pickles, grain mustard, and roasted stonefruit mostarda. Spread a little of everything on a thin, crisp crostini.

Offspring’s yeast-based pizza dough is made with Caputo Nuvola Super Flour, which is able to absorb more water to push a near 90-percent hydration level. Fermented for 48 to 96 hours, the dough creates a crust that is light and airy yet with good chew plus an almost sourdough-like taste.

The Margherita ($26) tastes like a dazzling summer garden with its profusion of Sun Gold tomatoes picked across the street marrying with the milky house-pulled mozzarella, and just-plucked basil. Grated Parmigiano gets dusted all over the rim for extra cheesiness.

I just had to try the Garden Basil Pesto pizza ($28) since Hoffman grows heirloom Genovese just for it. The peppery, minty taste shines through, along with grassy heat from Anaheim peppers. Creme fraiche gives it an added creaminess, while a scattering of toasted hazelnuts gives it an unexpected crunch here and there.

The restaurant makes as many as 14 different pasta shapes with Italian bronze dies, and utilizes Italian Faella dried pasta for other dishes.

Paccheri ($32) are filled with shredded Liberty Farms duck, then stood upright in a earthenware dish to resemble mini bone marrow. The dish gets sauced with maitake mushroom crema before being baked in the oven until the top gets crispy. The pasta tubes are thin and supple, and the duck filling so wonderfully moist that it’s almost like pate.

For dessert, dig into pistachio semifreddo ($10). Creamy and satisfying, it’s served in a goblet with local blackberries, lemon-scented whipped cream, and plenty of toasted nuts.

Breakfast is included with your stay at the hotel. It’s a simple yet comforting spread laid out on the bar top. Help yourself to coffee, Philo Apple Farm apple juice, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt with granola, fresh-baked scones with the farm’s jam, and slices of farm-grown apples.

In the future, Hoffman would like to expand the offerings at Paysanne to include pastries. He’d also like to write a cookbook.

For now, life is good for Hoffman and his wife Kristen, whom he met at Domain Chandon and is now the wine buyer for the hotel restaurant and for Offspring. Their daughter Charlie, 7, can sometimes be spotted folding napkins at the restaurant, while son Teddy, 6, helps pick herbs in the garden. Contemplating the next generation already, he muses that he’d love for his kids to run the two places one day.

“Being raised in a restaurant is hard. Yet, as relentless as it was, we cherished it. It was magical,” Hoffman says. “You never know which way life will go, but I wouldn’t have changed any of this in a heartbeat.”

More: Gourmet Getaway to the Mendocino Region, Part I: Michelin Two-Starred Harbor House Inn

And: Gourmet Getaway to the Mendocino Region, Part II: The Historic MacCallum House

And: Gourmet Getaway to the Mendocino Region, Part III: Jumbo’s Win Win

Plus: Sally Schmitt’s Portuguese Duck Sausage in Rice

And: Sally Schmitt’s Cranberry and Apple Kuchen with Hot Cream Sauce