Category Archives: Enticing Events

The Verdict on the New Veggie Grill & A Food Gal Giveaway

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A taste of Veggie Grill's Papa's Portobella Burger.

With no offense to vegetarians, I admit that I have often had a love-hate relationship with wheat gluten products that try to masquerade as bona fide meat.

I love the idea. But I hate the taste and texture, which have always seemed a true letdown.

I can remember once going to a Chinese Buddhist restaurant with friends. After one of the dishes was set down at the table, my friend’s Dad dived in excitedly, then proclaimed that the molded, pressed wheat gluten slices tasted just like Peking duck.

I almost blurted out, “Are you high?” But I managed to restrain myself and just smile in silence.

Now, Veggie Grill is making me eat that thought.

The first branch of the Southern California fast-casual vegetarian restaurant recently opened in San Jose’s Santana Row. As a local food writer, I received a couple of coupons to try a few of the entrees on the house.

I went in with trepidation. But I came out a fan. Yes, even of the wheat gluten.

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Hakkasan To Open in San Francisco, Fugu Sake For Those Who Dare & More

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Creative dim sum offerings at the soon-to-open Hakkasan in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Hakkasan To Open Its Doors Dec. 3

A splashy new, modern Chinese restaurant will debut Dec. 3 in downtown San Francisco.

Hakkasan — with branches already up and running or under construction in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, London, the Middle East and India — will encompass a 170-seat, 10,000-square-foot space on the second floor of the One Kearny building in San Francisco.

Known for its eye-popping prices and gilded interiors, Hakkasan tapped the Parisian design firm, Gilles & Boissier, to create a dramatic V-shaped bar to play off the building’s wedge-shaped design. Look for stone, glass, steel, dark-stained oak, Calcutta marble, colored mirrors, silks and embroidered leather to customize the look.

The restaurant, which will be open daily, will offer Cantonese-style dim sum, as well as an extensive wine and sake list.

Look for beautifully composed dishes like crispy duck salad with pomelo and pine nuts from Executive Chef Ho Chee Boon. (Photo courtesy of Hakkasan)

Executive Chef Ho Chee Boon, who has worked at the original Hakkasan in London, will be crafting dishes inspired by San Francisco’s dedication to organic ingredients. Look for “Jasmine Tea Smoked Short Ribs,” “Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly with Aged Vinegar,” and “Prawn and Pak Choi Dumplings.”

Ame Serves Up Fugu — In Sake

Yes, fugu, the prized Japanese fish that can be lethal in the wrong hands, will be served up at Ame in San Francisco in an unusual sake.

It looks innocent enough, doesn't it? (Photo courtesy of Ame restauarnt)

The restaurant, in the St. Regis Hotel, has taken the fins from the fish, roasted them, then steeped them in sake. The result is a drink that’s unique, rich and complex.

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Middle Eastern Spinach Turnovers and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Golden turnovers filled with sumac-flavored spinach for your holiday entertaining.

Forget the old-school cheese balls and tired crostini concoctions.

This Christmas, when I welcome guests with a palate-awakening nosh before dinner it will be with these: “Spinach Turnovers.”

They’re the creation of Faith Gorsky, whose An Edible Mosaic blog I’ve enjoyed poring over for her beautiful photos and enticing recipes. It’s from her new cookbook, “An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair” (Tuttle), of which I recently received a review copy.

Gorsky became immersed in Middle Eastern cuisine when she married her Syrian husband and lived in the Middle East for the first six months of their marriage. The book is filled with specialties she’s learned to cook from her mother-in-law, as well as creations all her own, from “Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Parsley Dressing” to “Spiced Shawarma Chicken Wraps” to “Sesame Fudge.”

Being the carb lover that I am, I’ve always had a soft spot for yeasty, flat Middle Eastern breads, especially ones imbued with spices that take me on a journey the moment I smell or taste them.

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Holiday Sweet Treats, A Special Michael Mina Dinner & More

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La Boulange's special holiday macarons. (Photo courtesy of the bakery)

La Boulange’s Holiday Offerings

Need a last-minute hostess gift or sweet treat to end the feast for Thanksgiving?

La Boulange, with locations around the Bay Area, comes to the rescue with its double whammy of  holiday pumpkin and rum raisin macarons.

The classic French cookie sandwich is filled with your choice of pumpkin or rum raisin ganache. They’re $1.50 each.

For Christmas, La Boulange offers up the classic buche de Noel. The Christmas log-cake confection is rolled and filled with cream, topped with buttercream, then decorated with marzipan and meringue.

A festive, scrumptious yule log. (Photo courtesy of La Boulange)

The edible yule log comes in two sizes: 6-inch ($23) and 12-inch ($35).

Maximum Mina Dinner For A Good Cause

That’s the appropriate name for the Nov. 27 dinner at RN74 in San Francisco, which will include a host of chefs from the Michael Mina restaurant group cooking up a five-course feast with wine pairings and a cocktail.

The “Maximum Mina” dinner will be created by Mina, wine director Rajat Parr, and Pastry Chef Lincoln Carson, as well as Ron Siegel of Michael Mina restaurant, Jason Berthold of RN74 and Omri Afalo of Bourbon Steak.

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Bruce Aidells Part I: Turkish Lamb Shoulder Plus A Food Gal Giveaway

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A lamb dish strewn with pretty pomegranate seeds for the holidays.

If there’s one cookbook that I always recommend homecooks have on their shelf, it’s “The Complete Meat Cookbook” by the Bay Area’s meat expert, Bruce Aidells.

I’ve cooked numerous recipes out of it. I’ve also referred to it countless times for information on meat cooking times and the differences between various cuts. It’s a carnivore’s best one-stop resource.

So, I was counting the days for Aidells’ new version, “The Great Meat Cookbook” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), to be published.

It’s been more than a decade since Aidells, the founder and former owner of Aidells Sausage Company, wrote that first book. The new meat book is even more comprehensive. It’s updated with information on the “grass-fed” label, heirloom pork varieties, and includes recipes for not only lamb, beef, veal and pork, but bison and goat. What’s more, there are hundreds of handy-dandy color illustrations of just about every cut of meat you can think of, making it easier to pick them out at the grocery store.

The recipes span all-American comfort to global-inflected dishes. When I received my review copy of the book, it was the recipe for “Turkish Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Shoulder Chops and Carrots” that caught my eye first.

First, I love lamb. Second, it’s such a pretty dish with jewel-like pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and fresh green herbs strewn over the chops.

Pomegranate seeds -- as pretty as rubies.

Third, the folks at Pom Wonderful had just sent me samples of their newest product, Pom Poms fresh pomegranate seeds or arils. Yes, they’ve eliminated the messy, stain-inducing task of digging the seeds out of a whole pomegranate. The new Pom Poms come in both 8-ounce and a 4.3-ounce sized containers. The latter even has a fold-able plastic spoon included so you can just open the container to start enjoying them.

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