Author Archives: foodgal

Jose Andres’ Zaytinya Finally Opens in Palo Alto

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Chef Jose Andres opens his first restaurant in the Bay Area.
Chef Jose Andres opens his first restaurant in the Bay Area.

It’s a big deal whenever a world-renowned chef opens a new restaurant. But even more so when it’s Jose Andres, recipient of two Michelin stars and two James Beard Awards, who was twice named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.” He not only operates 40 restaurants globally, but founded World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit humanitarian organization that is so often first on the ground at major disasters around the world to help feed those in desperate need.

It’s been a long time coming, but Andres has finally opened his first restaurant in the Bay Area. Zaytinya took two years to debut from conception through construction, and was nearly derailed by a short-lived ban by Palo Alto on gas stoves in new construction.

Last week, it opened in the former Macy’s site at Stanford Shopping Center to great fanfare to serve Greek, Turkish and Lebanese fare. It is the sixth location of Zaytinya in the country.

Opened in the former Macy's store.
Opened in the former Macy’s store.
Outdoor dining for the warmer months.
Outdoor dining for the warmer months.
Neon at the bar.
Neon at the bar.

Although Andres wasn’t there for the opening, his presence was on display in the form of a monogrammed chef’s jacket hanging at the host stand. He also had veteran staff on hand from his other restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas to ensure seamless service, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last Tuesday.

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Holiday Sips

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The perfect start to any holiday gathering.
The perfect start to any holiday gathering.

2023 Bloodroot Petillant Naturel

What would the holidays be without a glass of sparkling? Not nearly as festive, of course.

The 2023 Bloodroot Petillant Naturel ($48), of which I received a sample, will get the party started in lively fashion.

Not only is it the palest of blush in color, but it’s made entirely of the little-known Trousseau Gris, a French varietal that is grown in small amounts in eastern France and was once widely harvested in California as Gray Riesling. Healdsburg’s Bloodroot, so named in honor of the “blood” of the vines being nourished by its “roots,” makes this particular wine from Russian River Valley-grown grapes.

It is produced in the petillant naturel method, in which the unfiltered wine is bottled before the first fermentation is completed, trapping the carbon dioxide for natural carbonation.

It has a soda pop-type bottle top, and extremely lively effervescence to match. Pour it into a glass and the bubbles will foam up immediately like a just-opened soda.

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In Love with Long Beans Amatriciana

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Skip the bucatini and use Chinese long beans in this fun amatriciana dish.
Skip the bucatini and use Chinese long beans in this fun amatriciana dish.

The dress that droops like a sad sack on the hanger but is transformative when slipped on. That plain cookie you reached for last that is surprisingly the most scrumptious of the bunch. And that quiet, nerdy guy you initially dismissed who turns out to be the love of your life.

Yes, looks can be deceiving.

“Long Beans Amatriciana” is proof of that.

Using Chinese long beans, otherwise known as yard beans or snake beans, in place of bucatini might seem virtuous and the ultimate no-carb, gluten-free hack. But in the hands of Chef Jeremy Fox, it is decidedly decadent, loaded with crispy guanciale, and finished with butter.

And wow, is it ever dangerously delicious.

This clever recipe is from his newest cookbook, “On Meat” (Phaidon), of which I received a review copy. It was written with his wife, Rachael Sheridan, a writer and actress.

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Memories of Mulligatawny Soup

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Mulligatawny soup that holds a special place in my heart.
Mulligatawny soup that holds a special place in my heart.

During summers in high school, I’d work in my dad’s department at Greyhound in San Francisco, where he was a bookkeeper.

It was tedious work to be sure, filing papers and ticket receipts by hand, hour after hour, (yes, before dawn of the digital age).

The highlight of the day was always lunch, when my dad and I would walk a few yards outside to go to a cafe that catered to the in-a-rush office crowd.

It was cafeteria-style, where you took your tray down the line until you got to the station from which you wanted to order. I always held out to the end, where the roster of rotating homemade soups could be found hidden under stainless steel lids. It proved my introduction to the wide, wide world of soups. There was the familiar minestrone and clam chowder, of course, but also Mexican wedding soup, Greek Avogolemo soup, and Indian mulligatawny, all of which were new to me and dazzled with their distinctive, warm flavors.

That’s why one spoonful of this golden “Mulligatawny Soup” prompted a flood of wonderful memories of sitting at a cafe table with my dad, discussing the food we were enjoying as he’d ask “How’s things?”

The recipe is from the new “My Indian Kitchen” (Figure 1), of which I received a review copy, by Vikram Vij, the celebrated chef and restaurateur behind the groundbreaking Vij’s, which opened in 1994 and introduced Vancouver, BC to contemporary, innovative Indian cuisine. It was written with Jennifer Muttoo, a hospitality and marketing expert.

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Santa Clara Welcomes Jashn Restaurant

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Beef bone marrow nalli nihari at the new Jashn in Santa Clara.
Beef bone marrow nalli nihari at the new Jashn in Santa Clara.

When Vittal Shetty and Reshmi Nair — formerly corporate executive chef and operations manager, respectively, of the Bay Area’s Amber India restaurants — decided to venture out on their own, the plan was to always open their own restaurant together.

Little did they know, they joked, that it would take 11 years.

That’s because they didn’t count on the catering company that they immediately started to try to raise money for that restaurant venture turning into an immediate juggernaut.

Indeed, their Jalsa Catering & Events has grown into one of the largest and most sought-after Indian catering companies in the Bay Area. It was one of the first Indian catering companies to go beyond standard steam tables to present food with more fine-dining finesse. Shetty’s intent was to take the skills he used at Amber India and transfer them to the catering industry.

Jalsa, which means “social gathering,” caters upwards of 400 events annually, many of them weddings with as many as 500 guests, as far north as the Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe, and as far south as Carmel. It’s even been hired to do events in Arizona and Mexico.

Every restaurant has to have an Instagram-ready wall now, right?
Every restaurant has to have an Instagram-ready wall now, right?
One of two private dining rooms.
One of two private dining rooms.

“People would attend the weddings we did and ask ‘Where is your restaurant?’ because they enjoyed the food so much, ” Nair says. “We would have to tell them there wasn’t one.”

Not anymore. When the catering company relocated three years ago from Milpitas to Santa Clara (the former Justin’s Restaurant and Wilson’s Bakery site), it gained a lot more space. Enough for Jashn, which means “celebration,” to open there earlier this month.

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