The book features more than 60 globally-inspired recipes to up your grill game, including “Pina Colada Chicken Skewers,” “Grilled Gnocchi Skewers,” “Burnt Ends and Dill Pickle Skewers,” and the unlikely, “Kangaroo & Bacon Skewers.”
This duck recipe is super easy, but I admit that I took a few liberties with it.
Not for ubiquitous zucchini bread. But for dinner on the table in no time flat with the warmth of cumin and the zing of feta.
And all cooked on one sheet pan in the oven.
“Chicken (Or Turkey)-Zucchini Meatballs” is from Brooklyn-based recipe developer Ali Slagle. Published in the New York Times’ “At Home” section during the pandemic, it immediately caught my eye because who doesn’t love meatballs?
Owner Ajay Walia can’t help but chuckle these days when patrons — and even long-time regulars — walk past his Saffron restaurant in San Carlos, only to back-peddle in a double-take.
Like some other establishments, Walia decided to use the time during the pandemic when his 19-year-old restaurant wasn’t operating at full capacity to refresh its look.
The result is night and day. The once near-black exterior is now bright white. The interior, once much more traditional in vibe with gold and saffron-hued walls, is now as crisp and fresh looking as a starched summer shirt with white walls and banquettes, and loads of greenery. With so many of us spending time in our own backyards during lock-down, Walia says he was inspired to bring the outdoors in.
If you’re like me and still only dining outdoors at the moment, though, you’ll be glad to know that Saffron also has a few tables outside its front doors. That’s where I parked myself when I was invited to dine as a guest last week.
The refreshed exterior.And the inviting interior.
Walia, who also owns Michelin-starred Rasa in Burlingame, has updated Saffron’s menu, even going so far as to do away with the restaurant’s long-time buffet, to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. I’d say the food’s never been better.
“Fall Off the Bone” wings from alaMar Kitchen & Bar. (Photo by Dana Plucinski)
Nelson German of “Top Chef” Reopens Indoor Dining at alaMar Kitchen & Bar In Oakland
After months of doing only takeout and delivery, alaMar Kitchen & Bar in Oakland reopened last week for indoor dining. Come by to say “hello” to Chef Nelson German, whose time on this season’s “Top Chef’‘ was cut short by an injury from which he has thankfully recovered.
The lively restaurant, which blends Latin, Caribbean, and Mediterranean flavors, has undergone an interior refresh. The menu also has been updated with some new offerings, including shrimp tacos “quesa style” with Oaxaca cheese, chow chow and salsa criolla; roasted oysters with salsa verde, pork longaniza, and Parmesan butter; and stuffed masa, a recreation of his “Unidentified Dominican Object” created in an episode 6 challenge of “Top Chef.”
Chef-Owner Nelson German. (Photo by Melati Citrawireja)
Perennial favorites, “Fall Off the Bone Wings” and “Peel and Eat Shrimp,” that proved popular during takeout can still be enjoyed on the dining room menu, too.
Scott’s Chowder House, a more casual spin-off from veteran Scott’s Seafood, opened in downtown San Jose last week, with another planned to debut next month in San Francisco at 334 Grant Ave.
A showstopping crusty rice cake that’s super rich and creamy within.
As a kid, I remember feeling a little burst of joy whenever the rice steamed and rested just long enough in the hot rice cooker to build up crispy little bits on the bottom.
My mom would scrape them up and pile them on my plate, knowing how much I couldn’t resist the juxtaposition of soft fluffy grains with cracklingly crunchy ones.
Later as an adult, when I first tasted tahdig, the Persian rice specialty that guarantees a bottom crust of full-on golden crunchiness, I was even more smitten.
Now comes “Rice Cake,” which much like this inverted dish itself, I’ve completely gone topsy-turvy for.
It’s Persian goes Italian.
Or tahdig in the spirit of risotto.
As it’s fortified with a load of butter, Parmesan, and creme fraiche.
It’s by husband and wife, Chef Ori Menashe and Pastry Chef Genevieve Gergis, owners of the acclaimed Bavel and Bestia restaurants in Los Angeles. It was written in conjunction with Lesley Suter, the former food editor for Los Angeles magazine.
