Category Archives: Chefs

Village Pub’s New Sunday Suppers, Chef Marcus Samuelsson To Visit the Bay Area & More

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A succulent beef dish at the Village Pub. Photo courtesy of the Village Pub)

Summer Sunday Suppers at the Village Pub

Woodside’s Village Pub will offer special “Sunday Suppers” all through July.

The four-course Sunday dinners are $65 per person and available via Gilt City through Wednesday.

The dinner starts with butter-poached lobster lasagna with sweetbreads and white corn. That’s followed by a changing seasonal market-fresh course, then seared duck breast with Sauternes-poached peaches. The meal concludes with crepes flambe with roasted cherries and creme fraiche ice cream.

Learn about Chef Marcus Samuelsson's incredible culinary journey. (Photo by Kwaku Alston).

Chef Marcus Samuelsson to Visit the Bay Area

Meet Chef Marcus Samuelsson, acclaimed chef of Red Rooster in in Harlem and victor of “Top Chef Masters,” at a series of July events in the Bay Area to celebrate his new memoir, “Yes, Chef” (Random House).

Samuelsson’s path to cooking stardom was far from the norm. Orphaned in Ethiopia at age 3 after his mother died of tuberculosis, Samuelsson and his sister were adopted by a family in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was there in the kitchen alongside his adopted grandmother, Helga, that Samuelsson grew to love cooking.

The book recounts his culinary growth, including his earning a three-star rating from the New York Times while head chef at Aquavit. At the time, he was only 24 years old, the youngest chef to receive that coveted ranking.

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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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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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After 22 Years, San Francisco’s Acquerello Still Soars

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Save room for the fun candy cart at the elegant Acquerllo in San Francisco.

San Francisco’s Acquerello is a place you dine for a special occasion.

Or readily make up an occasion on the fly just to justify indulging in the sumptuous experience you’re afforded here.

That’s how memorable it is.

With the economy still stuck in neutral, this 22-year-old restaurant is a throwback to the days of gilded dining, when burgers and pizza didn’t rule our dining-out budget. Inside this former chapel, with its vaulted wood-beamed ceiling adorned with ornate wrought iron, you’ll be seated in a dining room bathed in a rosy glow from copper sconces. Upholstered stools provide a resting place by each table for ladies’ purses. A glass-enclosed cheese cart makes its way to tables just before another cart, laden with all manner of homemade chocolates, cookies and candies. Resistance is futile, of course.

The lovely dining room, with tables set far enough apart so you can actually converse.

Warm ricotta puffs and two-bite arrancini get the palate going.

Sit back, as you’re in good hands here, as I can verify from a recent experience when I was invited to dine as a guest of this landmark Italian restaurant.

Choose from tasting menu options that range in price from $70 to $135 and touch on classic dishes that have become signatures over the years, as well as more seasonal offerings.

Chef-Owner Suzette Gresham-Tognetti oversees the kitchen as always, but now also has the assistance of talented Chef de Cuisine Mark Pensa, who is all of 28 years old. We put ourselves in their hands, letting them create a menu that spanned the best of past and present.

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