Category Archives: Chefs

Gourmet Getaway to the Mendocino Region, Part II: The Historic MacCallum House

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Pan-seared duck breast with sweet potato chips at the MacCallum House Restaurant.
Pan-seared duck breast with sweet potato chips at the MacCallum House Restaurant.

At 144 years young, the MacCallum House in the heart of downtown Mendocino still exudes charm and quaintness.

It’s been many years since I’ve dined at this restaurant-inn that was originally the family home of Daisy MacCallum, gifted to her by her father William Kelley when she married his bookkeeper. So, when I was invited recently to stay and dine by the owners, I jumped at the chance to revisit this lovely historic Victorian.

Daisy MacCallum was a student of horticulture, who planted thousands of roses on the property. With a expansive green lawn surrounded by trees and flowers, it remains a lush, verdant property, the kind that beckons you to take a load off at one of the Adirondack chairs to relax for a long spell.

The MacCallum House is a historic Victorian.
The MacCallum House is a historic Victorian.
The historic barn, which now has guest rooms.
The historic barn, which now has guest rooms.

Nineteen rooms are available in the main house, separate cottages, or in the historic barn, which is where I stayed.

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Gourmet Getaway to the Mendocino Region, Part I: Michelin Two-Starred Harbor House Inn

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The signature abalone course at Harbor House Inn, which will set the bar for any other abalone dish you enjoy in the future.
The signature abalone course at Harbor House Inn, which will set the bar for any other abalone dish you enjoy in the future.

From the first time I dined at Harbor House Inn in 2018 before it officially opened to the public to my most recent visit this month, it remains to me the restaurant that most thoroughly embodies a true sense of place.

Maybe it’s partly the secluded setting in tiny Elk, a three hours’ drive north out of congested San Francisco through peaceful winding roads of bucolic vineyards and towering redwoods, that somehow vanquishes any of life’s troubles, worries or stresses. Maybe it’s the view from the property of the rugged coastline overlooking Wharf Rock East Arch, the dramatic rock formation bored through by centuries of powerful, unrelenting Pacific waves. And maybe it’s the vision and execution by Executive Chef Matthew Kammerer and his team, who have gone to great lengths to spotlight ingredients, plateware, and decor that are distinctly of the land and sea there.

It all adds up to terroir personified, creating a truly immersive and transportive experience.

The Harbor House Inn.
The Harbor House Inn.

Of course, few Michelin two-starred experiences come at a modest price. Harbor House Inn’s tasting menu is $325 per person. If you elect to stay overnight in one of its 11 rooms or cottages, a wise choice given that there are few other accommodations close by, it will run you a minimum of $500 per night. Make the splurge, though, and you’re in for a most memorable occasion.

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Underdog Takes Flight In Palo Alto

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Wagyu shumai at Bar Underdog. So good, you might need a second order.
Wagyu shumai at Bar Underdog. So good, you might need a second order.

Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly and Executive Chef Anthony Secviar may have earned a Michelin star at Protege only nine months after opening it on California Avenue in Palo Alto.

But for the two, who met at Michelin three-starred The French Laundry, learning from mentors and striving for excellence never stops. Hence the name of their restaurant, which opened in 2018. It’s also the reasoning behind the name of their new wine and cocktail bar that opens on Thursday just across the street.

You might say that Underdog is their spirit animal.

“We’re both from blue-collar areas. I grew up in Cleveland, and Anthony grew up in Indiana,” Kelly says. “The name is a nod to being in the trenches, and doing the work each and every day.”

It's entertainment in itself to watch the drinks being made, so take a seat at the bar for the best viewing.
It’s entertainment in itself to watch the drinks being made, so take a seat at the bar for the best viewing.

They have leaned heavily into the name and concept, too, as I discovered when I was invited in for a sneak peek a few days before the official opening.

Framed photos hang on the walls of an eclectic assortment of underdogs from history — from Rosa Parks to Rocky Balboa to the classic cartoon character, Underdog, himself, decked out in his flowing blue cape. The bartenders and servers are dressed in black Underdog jerseys, too.

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Redwood City’s Donato Enoteca Reopens After Renovation

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Several types of pizza are offered on Donato Enoteca's new menu, including this pan pizza topped with house-smoked swordfish.
Several types of pizza are offered on Donato Enoteca’s new menu, including this pan pizza topped with house-smoked swordfish.

After a month-long interior refresh, the popular 16-year-old Italian restaurant Donato Enoteca has reopened in Redwood City — better than ever.

There’s still a large patio dining area with herb planters, an open kitchen, and a handsome dining room but one that’s brighter and more contemporary looking now. There’s also a new circular white marble bar, especially conducive to the after-work crowd looking to kick back with cocktails and small cicchetti or bite-sized noshes. There are also new evocative black-and-white photos on the walls of Italian ingredients by local photographer Nadia Andreini.

The biggest change, though, is the arrival of Chef Marco Bertoldo, a native of Italy’s Veneto region, who has worked at Michelin three-starred Ristorante Le Calandre in Italy and was the executive chef at Poesia in San Francisco.

Through the passway to the marble-topped bar.
Through the passway to the marble-topped bar.
New artwork on the walls.
New artwork on the walls.

Chef-Owner Donato Scotti may be stepping back from overseeing the kitchen on a day-to-day basis, but he’s still very much a part of the restaurant. In fact, he was there last week greeting tables, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

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Meyhouse Adds Prix Fixe Lunch — and Plans for Expansion

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Braised artichoke with poached shrimp, one of the meze choices on the new prix fixe lunch menu at Meyhouse.
Braised artichoke with poached shrimp, one of the meze choices on the new prix fixe lunch menu at Meyhouse.

It’s been a remarkable journey in short order for Executive Chef-Partner Omer Artun and co-owner Koray Altinsoy who started Meyhouse as a weekend pop-up in 2017, then opened a brick-and-mortar in downtown Sunnyvale in 2018, followed by a splashy downtown Palo Alto location in 2023.

Last week, they started renovations on a third location to serve their patented modern Turkish cuisine, this one in City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. It will be slightly larger than the Palo Alto restaurant. But like that one, it will also feature live jazz regularly. If all goes according to plan, the San Ramon outpost will open its doors in November, Artun said. He’s not stopping there, either, as more locations may be on the way in the future.

What’s even more impressive is that this is not only the second career for Artun and Altinsoy, but one that they had never worked in previously. Altinsoy is a tech marketing executive while Artun has a background in software and physics. As someone who has always loved food and cooking, Artun decided to embark on this next chapter after he sold his IT company.

There's outdoor seating, too.
There’s outdoor seating, too.
The dining room.
The dining room.
A peek at the grill area in the kitchen.
A peek at the grill area in the kitchen.

To say that Meyhouse is a very personal project for him is an understatement.

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