The Marvelous Spirals At Marvel Cake

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The famed spiral croissants at Marvel Cake bakery.
The famed spiral croissants at Marvel Cake bakery.

It seems that just about everyone has wound themselves into a tight tizzy over spiral croissants.

Ever since the original “Supreme” was launched in New York City at Lafayette Grand Cafe & Bakery, the lines have grown legendary for the tightly coiled laminated pastries that have a hidden filling and a fanciful drizzle of glaze on top.

So, it’s no surprise that when Campbell’s Marvel Cake started turning out a similar version called the “Spiral Croissant,” it started drawing fans near and wide, with queues the norm.

I’m happy to report, though, when I took a chance last Tuesday and showed up five minutes before the bakery opened at 10 a.m., there was no line at all. Hallelujah!

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Mixing It Up with Edamame Herb Hummus

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Swap out the usual chickpeas for edamame in this delicious and quick hummus.
Swap out the usual chickpeas for edamame in this delicious and quick hummus.

Anytime you can blitz together a few ingredients in a flash for a tasty and healthful snack, appetizer or light lunch that keeps for days, that’s a huge win.

And that’s exactly what “Edamame Herb Hummus” is.

Purists may scoff at the traditional chickpeas swapped out for those little green immature soybeans typically nibbled out of the pod at Japanese restaurants. But edamame are actually higher in protein, Vitamin C, calcium, and potassium than garbanzos, making them an alternative to be embraced heartily.

This super easy recipe is from the cookbook, “The Vegan Week” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by New York City-based Gena Hamshaw, a registered dietician nutritionist who created the vegan recipe blog, The Full Helping.

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Dining (And Drinking) At Adrestia and Nokori Japanese Whisky Bar

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The Corvina Nikkei -- sans konbu dashi.
The Corvina Nikkei — sans konbu dashi.

Admittedly, when it comes to whisky, I am a total light-weight. It’s not that I don’t enjoy its smooth smoky, vanilla and caramel richness. It’s just that I fear keeling over after two sips.

That’s why I was glad to get introduced to Nokori Japanese Whisky Bar in the Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale. It’s designed not only for true connoisseurs who like to sip premium and potent whisky neat, but for more wimpy imbibers like myself who can kick back instead with a lightened-up, tall whisky highball instead.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of both Nokori and its adjacent restaurant Adrestia. Both are housed inside the upscale Tetra Hotel, which is actually right across from the AC Hotel Sunnyvale Moffet Park, which has a bar that conversely specializes in gin. Both are Marriott properties.

The Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale.
The Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale.
The hotel's Japanese whisky bar.
The hotel’s Japanese whisky bar.

Since it’s located near several Google buildings and Lockheed Martin, don’t be surprised to see plenty of tech types with laptops and suitcases biding their time in the lobby, bar or restaurant until they depart for the airport.

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A Panna Cotta For Adults Only

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If you love a Negroni, you'll be smitten by this Negroni panna cotta.
If you love a Negroni, you’ll be smitten by this Negroni panna cotta.

Have you ever wanted to drink your cocktail — and eat it, too?

You most certainly can with this playful “Negroni Panna Cotta.”

Made with gin, Campari, and vermouth just like the classic Italian cocktail, this is one panna cotta you’ll want to reserve only for grown-ups.

The recipe is from “Bar Menu” (Running Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by Andre Darlington, a food and beverage writer based in Philadelphia and North Carolina.

While a few specialty cocktail recipes are included, this is really a collection of recipes for food that pairs with various mixed drinks — from light bites to more substantial noshes to even desserts.

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Grilled Chicken with Garlic and Rice Vinegar — Taiwanese American-Style

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The secret to this bright and zesty chicken? A marinade full of flavorful ingredients.
The secret to this bright and zesty chicken? A marinade full of flavorful ingredients.

Make your Memorial Day cookout a tasty Taiwanese American one.

Forget the burgers and sausages. Make room for “Grilled Chicken with Garlic and Rice Vinegar” instead.

Super moist, delightfully garlicky, and full of smokiness and brightness, this easy recipe is from Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese American Cookbook (Abrams, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by Josh Ku and Trigg Brown, co-founders of the wildly popular Win Son and Win Son Bakery, both in Brooklyn, with an assist from noted Brooklyn food writer Cathy Erway who’s the author of “The Food of Taiwan” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015).

Brown, who had cooked at New York City’s Craft and Upland had a Taiwanese American mentor, Pei Jen Chang early in his career. He teamed with best friend Josh Ku, a former property and construction manager whose parents grew up in southern Taiwan, to open the restaurant. It is named for the sweater manufacturing company, Winsome, which Ku’s grandfather started in Taiwan. Its name roughly translates from Chinese to “success and abundance of profit.”

It proved prophetic given the throngs now flocking nonstop to both Win Son and Win Son Bakery.

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