A fantastic mushroom pizza at Rose Pizzeria in Berkeley.
After enjoying a splendid musical production of “The Lunchbox” at the Berkeley Rep, based on one of my favorite films of the same name, I did the only logical thing afterward:
I stuffed myself silly with pizza.
After all, it was only a short stroll away from the theater to Rose Pizzeria, which the New York Times named in 2024 as one of “The Best Pizzas in America.”
Owners, married couple Gerad Gobel and Alexis Rorabaugh, also opened a second location this spring, this one in San Francisco.
The entrance.
The original Berkeley location is tiny, so it pays to make a reservation in advance if you can. Otherwise, you’re in for a wait.
The weeknight Blue Plate Special at Due West at the Olema House is a deal. This is Tuesday’s special of fried chicken.
Sometimes you long to jet off to faraway lands.
Other times, you crave a less taxing getaway that’s more easily reachable by car.
For times like that, look no further than the Olema House, a perfect spot to act as home base as you explore the beauty of nearby Point Reyes National Seashore.
That’s exactly what my husband and I did last week when I was invited to be a guest of the inn for two nights.
The boutique inn, located just off Highway 1 in the town of Olema, has a recommendation from the Michelin Guide. It is part of the Mosaic Hotel Collection, which operates half a dozen hotels, including North Block in Yountville and The Madrona in Healdsburg.
The Olema House entrance.The Olema House lobby.Sitting area in the lobby.
It was originally built 150 years ago as a hotel and saloon on the old stagecoach route. Today, it retains that rustic charm yet with all the modern accoutrements one would desire with a total of 24 rooms and cottages set on four acres beside a creek.
It boasts a market, where one can pick up snacks, breakfast baked goods, and coffee, as well as its own restaurant, Due West. A lot of hotel restaurants in semi-remote areas may fall back on being just good enough. But the food at Due West surprised by exceeding expectations. So much so, that we ate there both nights rather than venturing elsewhere on the second one.
After a dozen years operating in San Francisco’s Marina District, Causwells has planted a flag on the Peninsula, opening a sister restaurant in Menlo Park’s Springline development of restaurants and residences earlier this spring.
Opened by Chef Adam Rosenblum and Beverage Director Elmer Mejicanos, it’s a handsome restaurant with showy chandeliers and a huge wall of windows to let a lot of natural light in.
It does have its quirks, though: It’s across the street from the Menlo Park Caltrain station, which means the blaring of commuter train horns regularly, especially if you’re dining at prime-time on a weeknight. You will also occasionally see non-diners wandering into the restaurant to get to a staircase or elevator to access their apartments in the complex.
The entrance.The bar cart at a table in the dining room.
However, if you fancy a cocktail, this is the place to be. There’s even a bar cart that will roll to your table for cocktails made tableside if you are a large enough party.
Fried chicken sandwich on house-made Japanese milk bread at George + Kin.
It’s easy to fall for a place where love of family is paramount in all that it does.
Such is the case at George + Kin, a new Japanese American-inflected diner in Napa.
When I found myself in the Napa Valley a few days after it opened, I knew I had to stop in. At 11:30 a.m. on a Friday, it was already humming with patrons.
Owner Ben Koenig named his restaurant in honor of his great aunt and uncle, Kinuko and George Sato, Japanese American farmers from Pocatello, Idaho, who helped raise his mother, Wendy, after she lost her own mother at a young age.
You order at the counter.The dining room.
Although he partnered with hospitality professional Charles Whittaker and consulting chef Itamar Abramovitch to open the restaurant in the Bel Aire Plaza, Koenig is no stranger to opening businesses. He is already well known in the Napa Valley for his MOTHERS, Heritage Eats (now closed), Best Food Truck Ever, and Napa Valley Lobster Co.
When a restaurant is packed at 5:15 p.m. on a Tuesday, you know it has it going on.
And when the Michelin Guide bestows upon it a Bib Gourmand, then you know it’s definitely worth a special trip to try.
That’s definitely the case when it comes to Mazra, the family-owned Mediterranean restaurant with locations in San Bruno and Redwood City.
I visited the latter one last week, and came away marveling at the food, service, and price point.
The dining room. There’s also a sweet outdoor dining area, too.Artwork.
The restaurants were founded by brothers, Jordan and Saif Makableh, after they managed to talk their father into letting them transform his Green Valley Market in San Bruno into the first location of Mazra.
