Category Archives: Chefs

A Visit to Della Fattoria in Petaluma

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A flaky snail and a banana-bran muffin from Della Fattoria.

I owe my latest carb binge to Chef Adam Mali.

When I was dining recently at his restaurant, Brasserie S&P in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco, I’d occasionally come up for air from devouring his dishes only to find myself drawn completely and helplessly to the bread.

Smoky, with a hefty dark crust and a chewy interior full of delightful air holes and developed fermented flavor, I couldn’t stop eating slice after slice.

Of course, I had to ask him where it came from.

When he told me it was baked in wood-fired ovens at Della Fattoria in Petaluma, I knew I had to stop in the next time I was in the vicinity.

So, I did earlier this week.

A hearty loaf fragrant with Meyer lemon and rosemary.

Bon Appetit magazine has called it one of the Top 10 bread bakeries in America. One taste and you’ll agree.

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San Francisco Company Debuts New Line of Spice Rubs

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Just Cook's Any Day Chicken Blend.

When Scott Lucas, former software seller, and his wife, Cathy Storfer, an event planner, decided to change careers a couple years ago, they let their palates guide them to their next step.

Inspired by the flavors they encountered on their world travels, the two decided to start a new line of spice rubs with their long-time friend, Daniel Capra, executive chef of Emeryville’s Paula LeDuc Fine Catering.

There are now six Just Cook spice blends: Herbed Coffee Rub, Any Day Chicken Blend, No. 19 Salmon Blend, Ancho Chicken Rub, Close to Curry Blend, and Gimme Steak Blend.

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Press Club is One Hot Ticket in Town

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Shaved asparagus salad with a raw cow's milk cheese at Press Club.

Forgive me if I tell you that my first thought upon walking down the illuminated steps to the lounge-y Press Club wine bar was:

“If I were hip, young and single, man, oh man, would this be the place to hang out.”

Ahem, well, I may be none of those things. But Press Club in downtown San Francisco sure made me feel that I possessed each and every one of those attributes, if only for a night.

You’ll feel that way, too, in this dimly lit, expansive space that’s cozily divided into separate areas to linger in low-slung couches, at tall communal bar tables with chrome and leather stools or at a smattering of seats at the bars.

Take your pick, but don’t dally, as all those seats will surely be snapped up as the night wears on, as folks gather for after-work drinks, a girls-night-out soiree or just to take a load off after an afternoon of shopping on Union Square.

A communal bar table -- empty, but not for long.

As the night wears on, it will get packed at this popular gathering place.

While Press Club has always served food, it used to be more a place you’d stop in for a glass of wine and a quick nibble before heading elsewhere for dinner.

But that changed this spring when Chef Chris Borges of San Francisco’s Taste Catering came on board.

Under his direction, Press Club has transformed into a place where you would be remiss not to stay for the full shebang.

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Half-Price Cheesecake, Steve Raichlen Visits SF & More

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The new Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant

Cheesecake Sale at the Cheesecake Factory

It just wouldn’t be right, would it, if National Cheesecake Day came and went without some scrumptious offering from the Cheesecake Factory?

The company will be offering “Any Slice, Half Price” on all its cheesecakes for dine-in guests on July 30.

Just for the occasion, the Cheesecake Factory also will be debuting its newest specialty: Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake. Oh yes, it’s a layer of vanilla cheesecake loaded with Oreo cookies, then layers of fudge cake, along with Oreo cookie mousse. The whole shebang is frosted in milk chocolate icing, then garnished with a large Oreo cookie wafer.

Lark Creek Blue Coming to Santana Row in August

You may have noticed that Yankee Pier at Santana Row in San Jose is no more.

But don’t worry, the space won’t be vacant for long. The Lark Creek Restaurant Group is completely remodeling the spot for its new Lark Creek Blue, which will open in August.

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New Citizen Chef Cooking Kits

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You can have this fresh, vibrant meal on the table in 15 minutes flat.

How many of us race home after work, wishing we had an extra pair of hands to help get dinner on the table fast?

Yup, that would be all of us.

Citizen Chef aims to come to the rescue.

The new San Francisco company just introduced a variety of cooking kits that are designed to get a healthful, tasty meal ready in only 15 minutes.

The refrigerated kits include already chopped veggies, a tub of sauce, and quick-cooking grains. You just add your own choice of protein — chicken, fish, shrimp, beef, pork or tofu. You can even use the kit as is, without adding any protein at all.

Choose from: Thai Sesame Stir-Fry (carrots, cabbage, and sugar snap peas in a coconut milk-base sauce with brown rice), Tuscan Limone Garlic Saute (broccoli, carrots and onions with couscous), and Hawaiian BBQ Stir Fry (carrots, purple cabbage and sugar snap peas with brown rice and a sauce made of roasted tomatoes, ginger and pineapples).

Each $10 kit serves 2 to 4, depending upon what else you add to it and how much of it. They’re available at Whole Foods and Mollie Stone’s Markets in the Bay Area.

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