Category Archives: Chefs

In Tribute to Sally Schmitt: Portuguese Duck and Sausage in Rice

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A Portuguese-inspired dish of roasted duck legs, andouille sausage and sun-dried tomato rice, all garnished with duck cracklings.
A Portuguese-inspired dish of roasted duck legs, andouille sausage and sun-dried tomato rice, all garnished with duck cracklings.

Before it was Thomas Keller’s Michelin three-starred French Laundry, the old stone building in Yountville was variously a bar, laundry, brothel, and rooming house, that languished in decrepit condition for years.

It took Sally and Don Schmitt to see its potential, and to pour heart, soul, and untold hard work into transforming it into the original French Laundry in 1978, a cozy, one-menu per night restaurant. Sally did all the cooking, while husband Don greeted guests and poured the wines. It was a beloved institution that drew such acclaim that it attracted the likes of Robert Mondavi, Marion Cunningham, and Julia Child to dine.

When it came time for the Schmitts to retire from the taxing grind of restaurant life, they put the French Laundry up for sale in 1990. It took three years to sell it, as chef after chef deemed it too small or the area too rural. That is, until a down-on-his-luck chef named Keller came by, took one look, and fell hard for the place. The Schmitts generously gave him 18 months to raise the money necessary, because in their hearts they somehow knew Keller was the perfect successor.

As Sally Schmitt once deadpanned in an interview with me years ago about choosing Keller, “That worked out pretty well, didn’t it?”

Last month, Sally Schmitt passed away at age 90 — following her husband who died in 2017 — and just one month before the debut of her cookbook, “Six California Kitchens” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

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Dining Outside at Pomet

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Smoked Half Moon Bay black cod at Pomet.
Smoked Half Moon Bay black cod at Pomet.

Second-generation farmer Aomboon Deasy admits she never harbored fantasies about owning a restaurant.

After all, being a part of a family-run farm, K&J Orchards in Winters and Yuba City, was work enough. But when the owners of Homestead restaurant in Oakland — longtime buyers of the farm’s produce — approached her about taking over the space, she thought it over for a few weeks, then decided to dive in whole-heartedly.

“It was another challenge, another chapter,” she told me.

And one she obviously couldn’t resist.

The result is Pomet on Piedmont Avenue, which I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to try last weekend. The cozy establishment takes its name from the Romanian word for “orchard,” a fitting choice for the farm, founded by her parents, whose pristine fruit can be found at farmers markets around the Bay Area, as well as incorporated into dishes at some of the region’s most respected restaurants.

Chef Alan Hsu and Proprietor Aomboon Deasy.
Chef Alan Hsu and Proprietor Aomboon Deasy.

Pomet represents farm-to-table cooking — beyond.

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Dining Outside at Chez TJ

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Dry-aged squab with confit mushrooms at Chez TJ.
Dry-aged squab with confit mushrooms at Chez TJ.

Operating a restaurant during the worst of the pandemic has untold challenges. But imagine if it’s one that’s housed in a historic circa-1894 Victorian with small rooms and tight hallways, and a tiny kitchen geared toward turning out exquisite upscale tasting-menus, not takeout fare in cardboard boxes.

Michelin-starred Chez TJ in downtown Mountain View not only weathered all of that, but also made a big chef change mid-pandemic, remodeled its interior, and even added a splashy outdoor dining area complete with modern fire pit, and a snazzy louvered roof that can close in inclement weather.

It remains a lovely and special experience, as always, as I found when I dined outside last week.

Owner George Aviet has a gift for spotting talent. Among the celebrated chefs who have headed Chez TJ early in their careers are: Joshua Skenes, who went on to open San Francisco’s Saison and Angler; Christopher Kostow, who went on to earn three Michelin stars at The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena; Bruno Chemel, who later opened his award-winning Baume in Palo Alto; Scott Nishiyama, who worked at the French Laundry, and is expected to open Ethel’s Fancy in Palo Alto this year; and most recently, Jarad Gallagher, who left to open Smoke Point BBQ in San Juan Bautista.

You can see the new outdoor dining area to the right.
You can see the new outdoor dining area to the right.

Christopher Lemerand took over in summer 2020, bringing along an equally impressive background, having cooked on the team at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco when it received its second Michelin star, and at Coi in San Francisco when it received its third Michelin star.

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Dining Outside At Bao Bei Inside State Street Market

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A trio of baos from Bao Bei. (Front to back: pork belly, fried chicken, and smoked mushroom.)
A trio of baos from Bao Bei. (Front to back: pork belly, fried chicken, and smoked mushroom.)

When a friend and I met up recently to finally check out the massive food hall in downtown Los Altos known as State Street Market, we made a beeline for the one vendor we’d been most wanting to try: Bao Bei by the former husband-and-wife team behind the Michelin-starred, upscale Korean restaurant, Maum in Palo Alto, which shuttered during the pandemic.

Chefs Meichih and Michael Kim named this casual spot after a Mandarin term of endearment they lovingly call their young son. It specializes in a blend of Korean-Taiwanese street fare. With a dearth of progressive Asian restaurants in Los Altos, it’s a welcome find, too.

The 33,000-square-foot space has plenty of seating, both indoors and out. Inside, you’ll find half a dozen vendors to choose from. More are on the way, too.

The bear that greets you at the front of State Street Market.
The bear that greets you at the front of State Street Market.

Bao Bei is located inside on the left-hand side. You order at a touch-screen kiosk, choosing your items, paying with a credit card, and then entering your phone number to receive a text alert when it’s all ready.

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When Life Gives You Leftover French Fries…

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When life gives you extra French fries, make this awesome Spanish tortilla with them.
When life gives you extra French fries, make this awesome Spanish tortilla with them.

I know, I know, French fries are so addictive, that’s it’s rare to have any leftover.

But on the one-in-a-million occasion that occurs, do yourself a favor and repurpose them in “Tortilla Esapanola on Vacation.”

It is an upcycled and comforting version of the Spanish tapas classic, the eggy tortilla.

This wonderful recipe is from “Burnt Toast and Other Disasters” (William Morrow, 2021), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Cal Peternell, New York Times best-selling cookbook author and former head chef at Chez Panisse for nearly 22 years.

This clever, witty, and useful book is all about transforming leftovers, failures, scraps and the like into delectable dishes.

As Peternell writes, “If…you are the kind of cook who never makes mistakes, in or out of the kitchen, then pass this copy along to someone else who does. However, if things sometimes go sideways, like they do in our kitchen, then I hope you’ll use this collection of family fixes, hacks, and more than forty sauces to not only save dinner, but make it redemptively delicious.”

Yes, it’s basically a book we could all use on our shelf.

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