Category Archives: Chefs

Sunset Dining At The Claremont’s Limewood

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A perfect dish of wild salmon at Limewood. (photo by Carolyn Jung)

A perfect dish of wild salmon at Limewood. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

 

With so many independent restaurants to choose from in the East Bay, why drive to one in the Oakland hills in a fancy hotel?

Because at sunset the view is killer.

And it’s a chance to experience history.

Limewood Bar & Restaurant is located inside the majestic Claremont Club & Spa, a 103-year-old historic landmark spanning 22 acres of greenery on the Oakland-Berkeley border.

You can’t miss the sprawling, castle-like structure when you glance toward the hills. It’s as imposing as it is impressive.

Even if you’re not splurging on a night’s stay at the luxury hotel, you can still enjoy a meal at the restaurant with its open kitchen, clubby atmosphere and bank of large windows.

The historic Claremont Club & Spa. (photo courtesy of the Claremont)

The historic Claremont Club & Spa. (Photo courtesy of the Claremont)

Arwi Odense, hotel executive chef; Joey Hattendorf, Limewood executive chef; and A.J. Thalakkat, executive pastry chef, all joined the property less than two years ago.

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A Sneak Peek at Northern California’s First Shake Shack

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Get ready for fried chicken on a potato bun at the Bay Area's only Shake Shack.

Get ready for fried chicken on a potato bun at the Bay Area’s only Shake Shack.

 

You might as well get in line right now because hordes are no doubt going to descend upon Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto on Saturday when the first Northern California Shake Shack finally opens.

Yes, the wildly popular gourmet burger chain by New York’s Danny Meyer will finally open its doors in the Bay Area. It is right next to P.F. Chang’s in the ritzy outdoor mall.

Opening hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. And the first 100 people through the doors on opening day get a free Shake Shack travel bag.

Last night, I had a chance to get a sneak peek and taste when I was invited to a media preview party.

The Palo Alto Shake Shack in Stanford Shopping Center.

The Palo Alto Shake Shack in Stanford Shopping Center.

The menu boards.

The menu boards.

The interior features reclaimed and repurposed materials.

The interior features reclaimed and repurposed materials.

The 2,491-square-foot former Wells Fargo bank building features outdoor as well as indoor seating, including tabletops made of reclaimed bowling alley lanes.

It’s also cashless. You place your order at self-serve kiosks.

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Nik Sharma’s Roast Leg of Lamb

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Set this down in front of your guests for real treat.

Set this down in front of your guests for real treat.

The holidays practically demand a showstopper entree, something with heft and presence that will make guests not only sit up and take notice, but eager to dig in with complete abandon.

For me, that’s long been bone-in prime rib crusted with salt and rosemary, fresh Dungeness crabs with their deep orange shells that give way to snowy fluffy meat, a glazed ham enveloped with a thick glistening layer of juicy fat or a massive leg of lamb cooked on the grill with copious amounts of garlic.

Now, Nik Sharma of the award-winning A Brown Table blog ups that leg of lamb option by adding a load of irresistible ginger, cardamom, turmeric, juniper, cloves, almonds, pistachios and luscious yogurt to the equation.

His “Roast Leg of Lamb” marinades in that creamy, unctuous sauce tinged the color of daffodils for a full day before being slid into the oven.

Season Cookbook

The recipe is from his first cookbook “Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food” (Chronicle Books) cookbook, of which I received a review copy.

Sharma is an Oakland-based writer, recipe developer and photographer (yes, he took all the wonderfully evocative images in his book) who writes a weekly cooking column for the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Howling For The Wolf

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Get to know fried biscuits with chicken and duck liver mousse at The Wolf.

Get to know fried biscuits with chicken and duck liver mousse at The Wolf.

 

Expectations are always high whenever a newcomer takes the place of a 40-year-old stalwart beloved by the community.

Such was the case when The Wolf opened last year in the iconic Craftsman building that for so long housed the iconic Bay Wolf restaurant.

But diners needn’t have worried. After all, The Wolf was opened by Rich and Rebekah Wood, who also own Wood Tavern and Southie, both in Oakland. In fact, Wood Tavern Chef Yang Peng made the leap to helm the kitchen at The Wolf.

The chic bar.

The chic bar.

The classic bones of the restaurant remain, but the place has been brightened with an open kitchen and a sleek solid stone bar that’s illuminated underneath.

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Bread Galore In Every Which Way at the New Manresa Bread Campbell

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A two-fisted chicken schnitzel at the new Manresa Bread in Campbell.

A two-fisted chicken schnitzel at the new Manresa Bread in Campbell.

 

If you already love the artisan loaves at Manresa Bread, then you are sure to go bonkers for the new downtown Campbell location that opened less than two weeks ago.

That’s because it features not only its already adored long-fermented loaves made with its freshly milled flours, but bread in so many other incarnations.

We’re talking chicken schnitzel breaded in the bakery’s own crumbs before being fried to a crisp and loaded into a fresh-baked bun with caper, mayo and house-fermented kraut.

Spaetzle made with a sourdough starter, and finished in a sauce of whey, butter and Pecorino.

And bone marrow matzo balls bobbing in bone broth, with the tender, moist dumplings actually made with levain bread crumbs.

Shelves of bread where you help yourself to loaves.

Shelves of bread where you help yourself to loaves.

Crusty baguettes.

Crusty baguettes.

At 2,100 square feet, the Campbell locale is twice the size of the Los Gatos and Los Altos locations, enabling it to also operate much more like an all-day cafe, with hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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