Category Archives: Chefs

Sink Your Teeth Into Dreamy Scallion Pancake Biscuits

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All the deliciousness of green onion pancakes in biscuit form.
All the deliciousness of green onion pancakes in biscuit form.

Imagine biting into a heavenly allium-scented Chinese scallion pancake — only one that’s loftier, super crunchy on top, and built majestically like your favorite buttery Southern biscuit.

“Scallion Pancake Biscuits” truly are the best of all carb worlds.

This impressive recipe is from “More Than Cake” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Natasha Pickowicz, a New York city-based chef and writer behind the popular pastry pop-up Never Ending Taste.

Her Chinese and California heritages are on full display in the 100 recipes, many of which showcase seasonal fruit and/or imaginative riffs on classic Asian treats or ingredients.

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Wellington Wednesdays At Porterhouse

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Craving beef Wellington? Head to Porterhouse on Wednesdays.
Craving beef Wellington? Head to Porterhouse on Wednesdays.

My appetite for red meat comes nowhere close to that of my husband, aka Meat Boy.

But admittedly, I have a weak spot for beef Wellington.

Maybe it’s the retro vibe, the stately tradition, or celebratory nature that ropes me in.

So, I couldn’t pass up a chance of partaking recently when I was invited in as a guest of downtown San Mateo’s Porterhouse, where fittingly, Wellington Wednesdays are de rigueur each week.

Dry-aged beef is a specialty here, as you can tell from the moment you walk through the doors and spy the dry-aging refrigerators loaded with hefty cuts of mid-West beef.

The restaurant does all its own dry-aging of beef.
The restaurant does all its own dry-aging of beef.

Hamdi “Bruno” Ugur has owned this classic, old-school steakhouse since 1987, and you’ll see him greeting guests at tables nightly. Hospitality runs in the family, as his son, Steve Ugur, is not only the director of butchering at Porterhouse, but co-owns Pausa in San Mateo, and the just-opened Sekoya Lounge & Kitchen in Palo Alto.

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Takeout Time: Shawarmaji

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The chicken shawarma arabi style at Shawwarmaji.
The chicken shawarma arabi style at Shawwarmaji.

After taking Oakland by storm, Chef Mohammad Abutaha opened a second location of his Shawarmaji last last year not far from Santa Clara University.

The fast-casual Jordanian street food eatery opened with a more limited menu — just chicken and falafel — than its East Bay sister establishment that also features a shawarma blend of beef and lamb. However, when I visited two weeks ago, I was told that beef-lamb finally will be offered in Santa Clara starting sometime this month, if all goes according to plan. So, get your appetite ready.

For the uninitiated, shawarma is vertically spit-roasted meat, marinated in yogurt and spices, that is shaved to order.

The proprietor.
The proprietor.
Art on the walls.
Art on the walls.

Unlike the Oakland location, the twirling towers of meat aren’t on display behind the counter in Santa Clara, but in the kitchen.

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Feasting At Lily on Clement

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Turmeric fish with rice noodles at Lily on Clement.
Turmeric fish with rice noodles at Lily on Clement.

Spend any time with Chef Rob Lam and it won’t be long before you’re howling with so much laughter that your insides hurt.

He has an outrageous sense of humor, along with a mischievous air about him that my late-mom would have surely described as “looking like he’s up to no good.”

On the contrary, what he’s up to is actually all good at Lily on Clement in San Francisco, where he’s turning out boldly flavored, contemporary Vietnamese dishes.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I took my aunt to lunch here. While I picked up the tab, Lam added a few dishes on the house that he wanted us to try. Good thing my Chinese American auntie has a hearty appetite!

Chef Rob Lam.
Chef Rob Lam.
Take your pick of bar or table seating inside or a few tables outside.
Take your pick of bar or table seating inside or a few tables outside.

Lam, who also owns Perle Wine Bar in Oakland, opened Lily on Clement during the pandemic, and thankfully, managed to survive. In addition to dinner six nights a week, the restaurant also offers brunch or lunch, Friday through Sunday, which encompasses a la carte options, as well as a $32 two-course prix fixe that includes a specialty beverage, too.

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Presenting BTS — Of A Different Sort

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BTS -- as in the sandwich.
BTS — as in the sandwich.

Get ready for BTS coming your way.

Nope, not the South Korean boy-band sensation. But the summer classic of bacon, lettuce and tomato elevated with the addition of shiso.

Yes, a “BTS” sandwich.

You know that Sawako Okochi and Aaron Israel, co-chefs and co-owners of Brooklyn’s Shalom Japan restaurant, coyly knew what they were doing when they coined this sensational sandwich, the “BTS,” even though, technically, it really out to be a “BLTS.”

Semantics aside, this carefully crafted sandwich is all about the details. A cinch to make, it includes a couple of steps that make all the difference between a mundane sandwich and a great sandwich.

This marvelous recipe is from the new cookbook, “Love Japan” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy. The couple wrote the book with the talented food writer, Gabriella Gershenson, an editor at Wirecutter.

The book includes more than 80 home-style Japanese American dishes that cull from Okochi’s Japanese roots and Israel’s Jewish heritage, a blend that has proved winning at their unique Brooklyn restaurant.

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