Monthly Archives: June 2012

The Lettuce That’s Taking the Bay Area By Storm

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Little Gem salad with spring veggies and Green Goddess dressing at Redd Wood in Yountville. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

No matter where you dine in the Bay Area, you’d be hard pressed to find a menu that did not have this particular lettuce gracing it.

Whether served cold and crisp in a salad or braised or grilled in a main dish, Little Gem lettuce is the new darling ingredient that chefs and diners just can’t seem to get enough of. Whether at Frances in San Francisco, Redd Wood in Yountville, Camino in Oakland or Mamacita in San Francisco, Little Gem is sure to be there front and center.

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Citrus Restaurant: Beyond Street-Level Dining at Santana Row

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A new look at ahi tartare at Citrus in the Valencia Hotel.

With luxe boutiques and restaurants galore lining the main interior roads, it’s easy to confine your gaze at San Jose’s Santana Row to street level.

But that’s a shame because you would be missing out by not looking up.

Three stories high to be exact.

That’s where you’ll find Citrus Restaurant in the Valencia Hotel.

A bit hidden and an elevator ride up three floors, the dimly lit restaurant with bare dark wood tables that overlook a sunny central courtyard, is worth making the trek.

The dining room up on the third floor of the hotel building.

Executive Chef Robert Sapirman, who  previously headed Parcel 104 in Santa Clara, is slowly but surely personalizing the menu since coming on board a year and a half ago. He’s awaiting the planned top-to-bottom renovation of the hotel, though, before transforming the menu completely into one of eclectic global tapas. That major hotel remodel, which has already been pushed back a couple times, may start later this year. For now, you can get a good feel for what’s to come cuisine-wise, as Sapirman’s menu already boasts many Asian and Spanish influences.

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Bi-Rite’s Pork Cutlets with Sweet Bing Cherries

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Cherries for dinner? Oh, yes!

Why just bake galettes, pies and cobblers with fresh cherries when you can enjoy their snappy sweetness in savory sensations, too?

Case in point, “Pan-Fried Pork Cutlets with Bing Cherries.”

It’s a recipe from “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook, written by Bi-Rite Owner Sam Mogannam and food writers Dabney Gough, takes you through the history of San Francisco’s most celebrated grocery store, where you’ll find not only top-notch produce but hard-to-find ingredients that are the darling of chefs.

The book takes you through each store department, teaching you the low-down on how to read labels, discern ingredients and use them at their best in a myriad of recipes.

Fruit takes to pork like peanut butter to chocolate. Cherries are no exception. Yes, you’ll have to pit them, but you use only about 18 of them, which doesn’t take that much time at all.

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Seghesio Family Vineyards Dinners, Time for “Dine Downtown San Jose” & More

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Scenes from the first "Chef's Summer Dinner'' in June in the Alexander Valley. (Photo courtesy of Richard Knapp)

Dining in the Vineyards with Seghesio Winery

Seghesio Family Vineyards, maker of some of my favorite Zinfandels, invites you to dine al fresco at the special places where their grapes are grown.

Each “Chef’s Summer Dinner” features a four-course dinner prepared by Chef Peter Janiak, as well as Seghesio wines, of course.

The July 14 dinner will take place at Westphall Ranch overlooking Lake Sonoma.

The Aug. 11 dinner will be on Rattlesnake Hill at Seghesio’s Home Ranch, the location of the country’s oldest Sangiovese vines.

Each dinner is $200 per person. If you are a Visa Signature cardholder, you’ll receive $25 off each ticket.

Enjoy Seghesio wines and a tasting menu in the vineyards. (Photo courtesy of Richard Knapp)

“Dine Downtown San Jose”

June 20 through July 1, enjoy deals on some of the finest eats downtown San Jose has to offer.

At the fourth annual “Dine Downtown San Jose Restaurant Week,” you can indulge in three- and four-course dinners specially priced from $20 to $70 per person.

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Chaya Brasserie’s “Duck & Foie Gras” Fest

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Duck breast caterpillar roll (front) and seared foie gras nigiri (back) at Chaya Brasserie in San Francisco.

California restaurants are getting their last hurrahs in for foie gras, as come July 1 the fatty duck liver will become contraband in the state.

Chaya Brasserie in San Francisco is joining in on the act with its “Au Revoir Foie Gras” menu, now available through the end of June.

Over the weekend, as an invited guest of the restaurant, I had a chance to sample many of the special a la carte foie gras and duck dishes that Executive Chef Yuko Kajino has created just for this blowout. Additionally, Chaya is inviting diners to add a dollop of foie gras to any dish on the regular menu — for an additional $10.

Foie gras sushi?

Oh, yeahhhh.

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