Great Finds | Food Gal

Category Archives: Great Finds

Your Chance To Try the Most Delicious Fruit Ever

Posted on June 2, 2008 by foodgal 9 comments

That’s what mangosteen has been called. Until this year, the only way to try the fresh tropical fruit was to travel to Southeast Asia, where it originated; or to get your hands on others grown in Hawaii or Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture once banned the importation of mangosteens and other fruits from Thailand because of the concern that they might harbor fruit flies that could infect citrus trees in the United States. Thailand, though, agreed to irradiate its shipments (a method that kills pests with radiation). The first shipments now have arrived in the United States, just at the peak harvest season of the fruit.

You’ll pay a dear price for them, too. At 99 Ranch markets, the tangerine- to orange-sized fruit with a dark purple exterior are $8.99 a pound. And finding them is not always easy, either. At 99 Ranch in Cupertino last week, I came up empty-handed. But my trip to the 99 Ranch on Hostetter Road in San Jose a few days later netted me the goods.

So are they really the most amazing fruit you’ll ever taste? I was dubious. I had tried frozen mangosteens in the shell from an Asian market, and wasn’t impressed. I also had tried a mangosteen juice beverage that was just ghastly.

A Visit to Napa’s New Oxbow Public Market

Posted on April 28, 2008 by foodgal 3 comments

Think San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Marketplace, but on a cozier scale. That’s what Napa, a once-sleepy town of 75,000, now boasts in the Oxbow Public Market.

The similarities are only natural. Steve Carlin, founder of the Oxbow Public Market, also was project manager for the Ferry Building Marketplace. He has the goods on all things gourmet, too, having co-owned the Oakville Grocery stores for 20 years.

Situated along the Napa River and next to Copia on First Street in downtown Napa, the 40,000-square-foot Oxbow Public Market is a block-long foodie’s playground that opened in December. Eighteen merchants and restaurants already have settled in, including a branch of the ever-popular Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, the Fatted Calf (an artisanal charcuterie), Whole Spice Company (where you can buy a multitude of spices in any amount you wish), and Five Dot Ranch (the first retail site for sustainable beef raised by the Swickard family, seven generations of cattle ranchers in Northern California).

Enjoy a taste at Taylor's Automatic Refresher

May 2, the marketplace’s 10 farmstands will officially open, selling everything from figs from Knoll Farms in Brentwood to citrus from Guru Ram Das in Esparto to cherries from Frog Hollow Farms in Brentwood. The farmstands will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Still to come are a branch of the Hog Island Oyster Bar (with fresh-as-can-be oysters harvested from Tomales Bay), and Kanaloa Seafood (a market run by a Santa Barbara seafood company owned by a biologist and oceanographic researcher that will sell only sustainable seafood).

It’s definitely worth a detour off of Highway 29. If you visit, here are a few things not to miss:

Folio Enoteca & Winery: At 80-square-feet, it may very well be the world’s smallest bonded winery. No crushing or bottling are done here, but wine is indeed aged in barrels on site. Enjoy a taste, along with a grilled panini or crisp salad.

Model Bakery: The original bakery has been a landmark in downtown St. Helena for more than 80 years. Carb lovers will swoon over the Asiago cheese bread, piles of fresh-pizza slices, and chewy ginger molasses cookies. It’s the housemade English muffins that steal my heart, though. Made from ciabatta dough then griddled with cornmeal, they toast up crispy on the edges and pillowy in the nooks.

Tillerman Tea Company: Former Clos du Val Winery Chief Executive Officer David Campbell has joined with China scholar David Wong to open this striking tea cafe and emporium. Each day, a different “house flight” of five teas is offered for tasting. Customers also can book private tea tastings.

Tea time

Red Mango To Open in the Bay Area

Posted on April 21, 2008 by foodgal 14 comments

Tart fro-yo fanatics like myself are sure to rejoice that Red Mango will soon open three locations in the Bay Area: Palo Alto, San Jose, and San Carlos.

The “Coming Soon” signs are already up on the vacant storefront at 429 University Ave. at Kipling, in downtown Palo Alto. According to the company’s Web site, the other two locations will be: 3055 Olin Ave. in San Jose’s Santana Row; and 852 Laurel St. in San Carlos.

I first swooned over Red Mango when I had the chance to try it in Los Angeles last year. Choose from green tea or “original” flavors, with toppings that range from fresh strawberries to Fruity Pebbles. The original flavor — my favorite — is quite tangy, thick, and creamy. And best yet, it is nonfat, and made from real cultured yogurt.

Red Mango has been giving pioneering Pinkberry a run for its money down south in the frozen yogurt wars. See what all the fuss is about when Red Mango opens its doors. One spoonful will leave you hooked.

French-Japanese Patisserie to Open in Campbell

Posted on April 8, 2008 by foodgal Leave a comment

Cream puffs with green tea custard, anyone? Or how about tiny chocolate cookies sprinkled with Himalayan salt? Or a slice of dreamy mango coconut mousse cake, perhaps?

If you’re getting hungry, then you’ll be glad to know that Satura Cakes will be opening a branch in downtown Campbell this summer. Construction has already begun on the site, 199b E. Campbell Ave., next to Aqui Cal Mex restaurant.

This will be the third Bay Area location for Satura, which creates “Japanese innovations on European-style cakes.” Satura was created through a partnership with a Japanese bakery, Anniversary Company.

Satura’s other Bay Area locales are in downtown Palo Alto, and downtown Los Altos. Enjoy their lovely, elegant creations that are well worth the calories.