Dining At the Newly Revamped Izzy’s On the Peninsula

The whole trout with Meyer lemon butter sauce at Izzy's on the Peninsula.
The whole trout with Meyer lemon butter sauce at Izzy’s on the Peninsula.

After a 7-month renovation, the venerable, 20-year-old Izzy’s on the Peninsula has reopened this month with an clubby, sophisticated look befitting a beloved steakhouse, plus a more expansive menu to satisfy wide-ranging appetites, and a new outdoor dining patio (set to open sometime in February).

When I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant last week, it had been open less than two weeks, and was already packed with diners — on a Tuesday night no less.

The family-owned, 7,500-square-foot restaurant, not far from the San Carlos Airport, is an institution that was opened by restaurateur Sam Duvall after he opened the original Izzy’s Steakhouse in San Francisco in 1987. That flagship is also undergoing renovations, including the addition of a new parklet, and is expected to reopen this summer.

The restaurant's namesake Izzy Gomez.
The restaurant’s namesake Izzy Gomez.
The entrance.
The entrance.

Daughter Samantha Duvall Bechtel became the CEO of the restaurant group after her father passed away in 2020. He had named the restaurant for the bootlegger Isadore “Izzy” Gomez, a Portuguese immigrant, chef, and San Francisco North Beach restaurateur who infamously was jailed for 30 days after violating Prohibition, but was later pardoned.

Read more


Indulge In Scandinavian Brunsviger (Brown Sugar “Focaccia” Cake)

A sweet version of focaccia that's a specialty of Denmark.
A sweet version of focaccia that’s a specialty of Denmark.

Is it focaccia?

Or is it cake?

It’s kind of both. And boy, is it dang delicious.

It looks exactly like focaccia with its dimpled top, which creates perfect crevices to hold the buttery, sweet syrup that gets poured over its entire surface before baking.

Take a taste, and it’s as if pancakes drenched in butter and syrup were transformed into focaccia instead.

“Brown Sugar ‘Focaccia’ Cake,” otherwise known as brunsviger, hails from Funen, the third largest island in Denmark and the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson.

It’s a featured recipe in the new “Scandinavian from Scratch” (Ten Speed Press, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Described as a “love letter to the baking of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden,” it was written by Nichole Accettola, an American chef and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who lived in Denmark for 15 years and now runs Kantine, a Scandinavian bakery in San Francisco.

Read more



Polish Cabbage Salad with Green Sauce

You'll be seeing green with this vivid cabbage salad.
You’ll be seeing green with this vivid cabbage salad.

Whenever I read news stories of late about tech bros going to questionable lengths to try to live seemingly forever, I just roll my eyes.

Who wants the lifespan of Dracula?

Me? I’d be happy to have the longevity of a head of cabbage.

Seriously, the stuff lasts for an inordinate amount of time in your crisper drawer with little intervention needed. I mean, yes, its exterior leaves may wilt and discolor a bit over time. But peel those off, and the rest of it is as good as new. It’s like how we humans use a loofah brush to uncover smooth skin as fresh as a baby’s.

Because of its great longevity, cabbage is so handy to keep in the fridge. Because you just never know when you might need an extra side dish, salad or soup ingredient on the spur of the moment — and lo and behold, handy-dandy cabbage to fill that void.

That’s why one day, while I was leafing through the new cookbook, “Polish’d” (The Experiment, 2023), of which I received a review copy, I was so glad to have already have a Savoy cabbage on hand when I spied “Cabbage Salad with Green Sauce, Olives, and Bryndza Cheese.”

This cookbook is by Michal Korkosz, a food journalist based in Warsaw and creator of the award-winning blog, Rozkoszny (which means “delightful”).

Read more

Dining At the New Che Fico Parco Menlo

Impeccable seared octopus at Che Fico Parco Menlo.
Impeccable seared octopus at Che Fico Parco Menlo.

For those of us who live on the Peninsula and South Bay, we couldn’t be happier that it’s been a boom time of late for new restaurants opening in this region, including outposts by celebrated San Francisco chefs.

Among the latest is Chef David Nayfeld of San Francisco’s wildly popular Che Fico who opened a sister-restaurant, Che Fico Parco Menlo, in November in Menlo Park.

It debuted at Springline, the splashy new residential-restaurant mixed-use development off El Camino Real.

Last Thursday night, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, the place was buzzing. Nearly every table was filled in the well-appointed, covered and heated outdoor patio that sports tufted banquettes and cozy pillows.

Gingham napkins.
Gingham napkins.

Same with the main dining room, where it was standing-room-only at the bar as patrons waited for tables to open up. A retro soundtrack of Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Green, and the Clash played in the background.

Read more

Frances Mayes’ Tagliatelle with Duck Confit and Chestnuts

Would you believe this pasta dish came together in less than half an hour?
Would you believe this pasta dish came together in less than half an hour?

In Italy, some folks eat pasta not merely every day, but twice a day.

In Tuscany, construction workers will even stop work at lunch to cook up a bowl of plain spaghetti on-site with olive oil and Parmigiano.

So writes Frances Mayes in the introduction to her new cookbook, “Pasta Veloce” (Abrams, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Those are my kind of people. Because I love pasta — not just for its comforting taste, but its ease and versatility.

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »