Category Archives: Great Finds

Underdog Takes Flight In Palo Alto

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Wagyu shumai at Bar Underdog. So good, you might need a second order.
Wagyu shumai at Bar Underdog. So good, you might need a second order.

Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly and Executive Chef Anthony Secviar may have earned a Michelin star at Protege only nine months after opening it on California Avenue in Palo Alto.

But for the two, who met at Michelin three-starred The French Laundry, learning from mentors and striving for excellence never stops. Hence the name of their restaurant, which opened in 2018. It’s also the reasoning behind the name of their new wine and cocktail bar that opens on Thursday just across the street.

You might say that Underdog is their spirit animal.

“We’re both from blue-collar areas. I grew up in Cleveland, and Anthony grew up in Indiana,” Kelly says. “The name is a nod to being in the trenches, and doing the work each and every day.”

It's entertainment in itself to watch the drinks being made, so take a seat at the bar for the best viewing.
It’s entertainment in itself to watch the drinks being made, so take a seat at the bar for the best viewing.

They have leaned heavily into the name and concept, too, as I discovered when I was invited in for a sneak peek a few days before the official opening.

Framed photos hang on the walls of an eclectic assortment of underdogs from history — from Rosa Parks to Rocky Balboa to the classic cartoon character, Underdog, himself, decked out in his flowing blue cape. The bartenders and servers are dressed in black Underdog jerseys, too.

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Redwood City’s Donato Enoteca Reopens After Renovation

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Several types of pizza are offered on Donato Enoteca's new menu, including this pan pizza topped with house-smoked swordfish.
Several types of pizza are offered on Donato Enoteca’s new menu, including this pan pizza topped with house-smoked swordfish.

After a month-long interior refresh, the popular 16-year-old Italian restaurant Donato Enoteca has reopened in Redwood City — better than ever.

There’s still a large patio dining area with herb planters, an open kitchen, and a handsome dining room but one that’s brighter and more contemporary looking now. There’s also a new circular white marble bar, especially conducive to the after-work crowd looking to kick back with cocktails and small cicchetti or bite-sized noshes. There are also new evocative black-and-white photos on the walls of Italian ingredients by local photographer Nadia Andreini.

The biggest change, though, is the arrival of Chef Marco Bertoldo, a native of Italy’s Veneto region, who has worked at Michelin three-starred Ristorante Le Calandre in Italy and was the executive chef at Poesia in San Francisco.

Through the passway to the marble-topped bar.
Through the passway to the marble-topped bar.
New artwork on the walls.
New artwork on the walls.

Chef-Owner Donato Scotti may be stepping back from overseeing the kitchen on a day-to-day basis, but he’s still very much a part of the restaurant. In fact, he was there last week greeting tables, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

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Wake Up and Smell the Coffee — On Fish

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Dinner is ready in a flash with grilled branzino coated in a delectable coffee rub.
Dinner is ready in a flash with grilled branzino coated in a delectable coffee rub.

When it comes to coffee, I am a one-cup-in-the-morning kind of gal.

Oh sure, there’s the occasional scoop of coffee ice cream or espresso-flavored tiramisu at the end of the evening. And even maybe some coffee-infused barbecue sauce now and then on smoked pork or chicken.

But coffee on fish?

Say what?

Having tried it now, I swear by it.

By happenstance, I came across a recipe in the New York Times for “Coffee-Rubbed Grilled Fish” when I was planning to grill a couple of branzino for dinner.

Coffee on fish? You bet!
Coffee on fish? You bet!

It’s a recipe from Oregon home-cook Rashad Frazier that was adapted by cookbook author and food writer Nicole Taylor. It was pegged as a Kwanzaa dish, but it will turn any day you serve it into a celebration.

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Spice Up Your Day — Everiday

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Everiday Garlic Chili Oil revs up a grilled cheese.
Everiday Garlic Chili Oil revs up a grilled cheese.

If you’ve jumped on the Asian chili sauce bandwagon — and who hasn’t at this point? — you’ll want to add another label to your arsenal.

Everiday Foods serves up a line of four different Asian chili sauces, each with a slightly different taste profile, and enough heat to really jolt the palate yet not incinerate it.

The Singapore company was founded by Riyana Rupani, who gave up a career in corporate finance to become a certified nutritionist after experiencing her own autoimmune issues.

With her quest for clean eating, the sauces are all made with extra-virgin olive oil, as well as additions including pitted dates, garlic, dried chili, and other seasonings,. They all are also vegan, and gluten-free.

Four varieties.
Four varieties.

I had an opportunity to try samples of the Garlic Chili Oil, Mala Chili Crisp, House Red Chili Sauce, and Sambal.

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A Lazy Way — And A Good Way with Tomatoes

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There's a time and place for stuffed tomatoes. And there's an even greater time for "unstuffed'' ones.
There’s a time and place for stuffed tomatoes. And there’s an even greater time for “unstuffed” ones.

There are times when I am up for a challenge, for those recipes that are as long as a chapter in a novel, made with ingredients that take me four trips to as many different grocery stores, and that leave me spent but gratified when I sit down at the table to enjoy them.

Granted, those times are rare.

More likely, as with so many of you, I gravitate to recipes that are not only quick and easy, but let’s face it, take the lazy approach.

Because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

For example, I’ve made Julia Child’s classic “Stuffed Tomatoes Provencal,” and they were fantastic.

But when I came across Laura Vitale’s “Baked ‘Unstuffed’ Tomatoes,” the loafer in me immediately latched on to it.

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