The holiday season was made for these beautiful baked apples with a center of nutty frangipane.
I’m the type of person who bakes when I’m happy.
Or sad.
Or stressed.
Or curious about a particular recipe.
Or simply want to spoil myself or others with something joyfully indulgent.
And at this time of year, when I bake with samples of fresh Pazazz apples, I get especially giddy because they are a natural mood booster.
Yes, apples are loaded with antioxidants that fuel neurotransmitters in the brain that trigger the release of dopamine that elevates the feelings of pleasure, contentment, and motivation.
This mighty fruit also helps lower cholesterol, decreases the risk of diabetes, aids in weight loss, promotes good digestion, and boasts anti-inflammatory properties.
Now’s the time to get your hand on some Pazazz apples.
Of course, they are mighty delicious, too. Ruby red with yellow-green striations, Pazazz are super snappy and full of sweet, tangy, quenching juice.
The $75-per-person passport lets you receive complimentary wine tastings at 19 participating wineries in Calistoga, Lake County, Pope Valley, and St. Helena, from Dec. 2 to Feb. 4, 2024. That’s more than $750 worth of tastings alone.
Additionally, the passport gives you access to special discounts from participating hotels, spas, and boutiques. It makes for an ideal time for a getaway or to do some holiday shopping for gifts.
The “Snack Yard” first course on the fall tasting menu at Be.Steak.A.
Chef Patrick Capurro wants to take you on a journey, one that recalls the cozy flavors and brisk weather of autumn in Chicago as when he lived there.
At Be.Steak.A in the Pruneyard in Campbell, he does just that with his new fall tasting menu that’s full of pure whimsy and delight.
That’s what I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to try it on a bustling Tuesday night.
Be.Steak.A, owned by Chef Jeffrey Stout, offers both a la carte dining and a seasonal tasting menu that’s $185 per person with an optional $130 wine pairing (six different pours). You can book the tasting menu when you make a reservation online or opt to order it when you get there, though, you risk the chance of it selling out for the night.
The dining room.
Walk through the restaurant doors and you’re greeted immediately with a beverage.
The glorious lamb neck shawarma and fixings at Bavel.
When husband-and-wife chef-owners Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis chose Bavel for the name of their celebrated Los Angeles restaurant, they did so because they cherished they way the likely mis-transcribed word, taken from the original Old Testament’s story of Babel, alluded to a time when everything was one.
These days, that may be but a wistful notion. But Bavel gives you a semblance of that hopefulness, as you step through its doors to the cacophony of diners of all walks and ages, clinking glasses, digging into big plates of grilled meats, and using their hands to enjoy puffy pita together with abandon.
The dining room.The patio.
And loud it is, as I found when I dined a couple weeks ago. The chic dining room with its ceiling of cascading leafy vines is especially raucous, and the comfortable front patio, where I dined, is only a few decibels less. It’s like being invited to a rollicking party at its height.
It definitely adds to the anticipation for the superb modern Middle Eastern specialties to come.
The unexpected truffle pasta dish on the kaiseki menu at N/Naka.
Since learning of it from the first season of Netflix’s “Chef’s Table” in 2015, I have been fascinated by the Los Angeles restaurant, N/Naka.
This Michelin two-starred restaurant opened in 2011 to serve kaiseki, the elegant, multi-course Japanese meal spotlighting ingredients at their seasonal peak in a series of specific cooking techniques.
Back then, it was a type of cuisine that was a rarity in the United States. And even more so when it was crafted by a woman, Chef-Owner Niki Nakayama and her wife, Sous Chef Carole Iida-Nakayama, who dared to put their own thrilling contemporary touches on this classic Japanese haute cuisine.
At all of 26 seats, this restaurant is notoriously difficult to book. While I travel to Los Angeles maybe once a year, I’d never managed to plan the trip in advance enough to even try to snag a table there.
Until two weeks ago. That’s when the stars aligned and Lady Luck was on my side, giving me entree to a dining experience that was nothing short of singularly magical.
You see, N/Naka opens its online reservation bookings once a week at 10 a.m. on Sunday for tables a month later. But sign on right at that second, and you’ll likely find all the reservations gone already and your dreams vanquished — just like that.
After experiencing that disappointment a few times, I started searching online for reservation tips. I came upon a thread that advised staying on the booking site for at least an hour after reservations open, because people will click on a specific reservation that gives a 10-minute window to finalize, only to decide they don’t want it after all. The thread also mentioned that tables of 4 or 6 were easier to come by than for 2.
The unassuming, unmarked entrance of this Michelin two-starred restaurant.
So, for more than half an hour, I kept refreshing the page again and again, growing more apprehensive by the minute. A 9 p.m. reservation for 6 people popped up, tempting me to claim it as I figured I could somehow rope a few more people into trekking to Los Angeles with my husband and me. But I hate dining that late, especially for a tasting menu that lasts 3 hours. So, I bit my tongue, and passed on it, wondering if I had just made a huge mistake.
