Category Archives: Chefs

A Taste of the Second Annual Taste Tri-Valley

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Five-spice duck breast with puffed farro served at the kick-off at Sabio on Main for Taste Tri-Valley.
Five-spice duck breast with puffed farro served at the kick-off at Sabio on Main for Taste Tri-Valley.

When the inaugural Taste Tri-Valley Restaurant Week debuted in February last year, the pandemic was still raging in full force and vaccinations had only begun to roll out, making for a subdued event intended to showcase the restaurants in Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton.

This year, however, with vaccination rates high and Omicron petering off, the second annual Taste Tri-Valley has kicked off with a bang, not to mention spring-has-sprung weather, as I found out last week when I was invited as a guest to the kick-off dinner at Sabio on Main in Pleasanton.

With supply chain issues and labor shortages coming on the heels of a roller-coaster list of restrictions over the past two years, local restaurants and wineries still very much need your support and business. So, there’s no better time than now through Feb. 27 to check out the special indoor dining, outdoor dining, and takeout promotions at dozens of these Alameda County establishments.

Among the highlights are a $35 three-course dinner menu at Danville Harvest, dinner for two for $35 at Burma! Burma!, a $50 three-course dinner at Bridges, a $50 three-course dinner at Sabio on Main, and a $15 small stuffed pizza at lunch at Zachary’s Pizza. For the full list of participating restaurants, click here.

Gotta love a chef who wears an apron like this one. Executive Chef-Owner Francis X. Hogan of Sabio on Main.
Gotta love a chef who wears an apron like this one. Executive Chef-Owner Francis X. Hogan of Sabio on Main.

A benefit for Open Heart Kitchen, the largest hot-meal program serving those in need in the Tri-Valley, Thursday’s festive kick-off dinner at Sabio on Main sold out in no time flat, and even had a 60-person wait list, an encouraging sign as any that folks are definitely excited about dining out again. Tables were filled inside and out, the latter being where my husband and I dined on the cozy patio at the side of the restaurant.

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Dining Outside at Teleferic Barcelona Los Gatos

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Outstanding Galician octopus at Teleferic Barcelona Los Gatos.
Outstanding Galician octopus at Teleferic Barcelona Los Gatos.

If there’s any doubt that Covid has long entered the everyday lexicon, look no further than the new Teleferic Barcelona in downtown Los Gatos, where the new Prime Wellington gets its own vaccination tableside.

It’s all in good fun — and flat-out deliciousness — of course. When the golden pastry-wrapped roll of mushrooms duxelles and braised short ribs is set down, it actually gets injected with a metal syringe filled with jus to make it more flavorful, and no doubt immune to any dryness.

After two years of untold pandemic upheaval, you deserve a meal full of verve and playfulness that takes you away from any troubles. Teleferic Barcelona is just the place to do that, as I found earlier this month when I dined outdoors as a guest of the restaurant.

Corporate Executive Chef Oscar Cabezas.
Corporate Executive Chef Oscar Cabezas.

The Los Gatos location is the third U.S. outpost for the Spanish restaurant group, joining ones in Walnut Creek and Palo Alto.

The spacious outdoor dining area in front of the restaurant.
The spacious outdoor dining area in front of the restaurant.

It was supposed to open in September 2021, but like everything else, was delayed by supply-chain issues. Much of its furnishings, which came from Barcelona, were stuck on container ships for six months.

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You’ll “Heart” White Chocolate-Pretzel Cookies

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Put a twist on Valentine's Day with pretzel cookies.
Put a twist on Valentine’s Day with pretzel cookies.

When it comes to romance, my husband is all about the art of subtlety.

When he proposed to me at the French Laundry, it wasn’t in the dining room, in the midst of a throng of well-heeled diners. It was in the restaurant’s parking lot as just the two of us sat in our car, and he pulled the ring out of his pocket.

When he buys me flowers, it’s not because it’s some Hallmark holiday. It’s because he just spies a pretty bouquet that he knows will unexpectedly make my day.

And when he wants to express his love these days, his favorite way is to flash the Korean finger heart symbol at me, because, yes, in the pandemic, he’s become addicted to Korean dramas like so many others.

That’s why these “White Chocolate-Pretzel Cookies” are right up his alley.

This is how you make the Korean finger heart.
This is how you make the Korean finger heart.

First, they feature white chocolate, which can be polarizing to some, but which he actually likes.

Second, they get fortified with and crowned whimsically with mini pretzels, whose classic looped knot shape slyly resembles a heart.

This cute cookie is from “Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart” (Clarkson Potter, 2021), of which I received a review copy, by Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte. The couple are the founders and co-owners of Maman, the bakery-cafe with locations throughout New York, as well as in Montreal, and Toronto. The book was written with food writer and recipe developer Lauren Salkeld.

The couple named the cafe for the word “mother” in French to evoke the cozy, homespun environment they wanted to create.

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Dining Outside at Mago

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A hearty wheat berry porridge finished with mustard greens and bottarga at Mago.
A hearty wheat berry porridge finished with mustard greens and bottarga at Mago.

If you’re on the hunt for a relatively reasonably priced tasting menu full of soulful flavors, where you don’t have to get dressed up fancy, and can sit comfortably at a heated outdoor patio, look no further than Oakland’s Mago.

Its name is Spanish for magician, and Chef-Owner Mark Liberman and his staff of just five certainly perform wizardry with such a small crew.

Opened in 2019, it’s Liberman’s first solo project, following his stint in San Francisco at the shuttered AQ restaurant.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant for dinner. There’s only one tasting menu offered each night, though vegetarian and vegan versions are always available on request.

It’s $75 per person for about eight courses, which are moderate in size, but all together will definitely leave you sated at the end. Because Liberman takes a vegetable-focused approach to his rustic, Colombian-meets-California dishes, you’ll leave plenty full yet still feeling buoyant.

Chef Mark Liberman manning the live-fire grill.
Chef Mark Liberman manning the live-fire grill.

With the tasting menu lasting about two hours, I was pleasantly surprised at how many diners were indulging in it on a school night (Wednesday). Ease-dropping, I could tell quite a few were regulars, too, which is always a good sign.

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The Cutest Ever Hot Dog Flower Buns

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A genius Asian take on pigs in a blanket.
A genius Asian take on pigs in a blanket.

Before my love for B. Patisserie, Arsicault, and other modern-day baking meccas took hold, there was my childhood infatuation with Chinatown bakeries.

I remember the stacks of pink boxes on their counters, and the mesmerizing machine that would automatically wrap candy-cane colored twine around them in a blink of an eye.

I remember the bustle of customers queuing to place orders, as I scurried underfoot to get a closer look at the glass cases of golden custard tarts; glossy double-crust apple pies; squishy steamed sponge cakes; and airy layer cakes covered in ethereal whipped cream, strawberries and mandarin orange segments.

So, when I heard that the Bay Area’s Kristina Cho was writing a cookbook inspired by the sweet and savory creations of Chinese bakeries, I couldn’t have been more excited to see get these wonderful and nostalgic treats finally get their due.

“Mooncakes & Milk Bread” (Harper Horizon), of which I received a review copy, did not disappoint.

Cho, a former architectural designer turned food blogger of Eat Cho Food, recipe developer, and cooking instructor has created a true love letter to these Chinatown bakeries.

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