Dar Baklava’s Cashew Bird’s Nest Baklava made with more nuts and less sugar than most baklava.
In theory, I love baklava.
But in practice, sometimes not so much.
After all, I can’t resist crisp, buttery phyllo pastry layers with crunchy nuts. However, more times than not, it’s just too darn sweet for me.
Sherif Badawy thought the same when he immigrated to the United States from Egypt in 2011, and found what passed for baklava here too doughy and too drenched in syrup for his taste.
So, the pediatrician and marathon runner set out to create a baklava that was less saccharine yet still delicious and satisfying.
Single-serve packages.
The result is Dar Baklava, his Chicago company that makes baklava packaged in bite-size pieces that boasts more nuts and less syrup.
I had a chance to try a sample of the $68 kit that comes with everything you need to make nine s’mores. That includes 70 percent large, square-shaped, single-origin chocolate chips from cacao beans grown in three different parts of the world: Indonesia, Belize, and Uganda.
The s’mores kit box.
Also enclosed are Dandelion Chocolate Chef Lisa Vega’s house-made graham crackers and marshmallows, along with napkins, matchbooks, instructions for making the s’mores (using a campfire, barbecue, broiler or gas stovetop), and two telescoping metal skewers.
A Chardonnay that drinks light with plenty of acidity.
2022 Bouchaine Estate Chardonnay
When the weather heats up, all thoughts turn to refreshing white wines, preferably sipped al fresco swinging in a hammock or at least basking in the comfort of A/C.
Napa’s Bouchaine Vineyards has got you covered with its 2022 Estate Chardonnay ($40).
This blend, of which I received a sample, is actually crafted from more than a dozen different Chardonnay wines produced from the winery’s estate blocks that were originally planted in 1984. As such, the final wine is the culmination of the marriage of different yeasts, along with fermentation in stainless steel tanks, as well as French oak barrels of different ages and toasts.
If you’re not the biggest fan of buttery, oaky or heavy-bodied Chardonnays, this one is for you. A golden straw color, it opens up on the nose with lime and apple aromas, and then fills the palate with green apple and lemon curd. It has an unexpected through line of acidity that makes it quite refreshing.
I used Get Saucy’s Tikka Masala on shrimp and asparagus.
After being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2018, Brian Bentow went on a low-inflammation elimination diet and became symptom-free without the need for medication.
However, he began to miss certain favorite foods, especially ones with global flavors. So he joined with Chef Suhan Lee, a Marine veteran who went to culinary school after he developed IBS symptoms following antibiotic treatments when he was injured in Iraq.
Together, they have created Get Saucy, a ready-to-cook line of sauces made with organic and non-GMO ingredients. Free of the top nine allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame), Get Saucy follows in accordance with paleo, autoimmune protocol, low inflammation, and gluten-free diets.
While a number of sauces are in the pipeline, the first one to debut is Tikka Masala, which is available in a three-pack of 16-ounce jars on the Get Saucy website for $45. I had a chance to try a sample recently.
I love a cocktail that has the taste and aroma of orange, and Uncle Val’s Zested Gin ($30) has both in spades.
Twist open the bottle and take a whiff to be floored by the fragrance of bright orange citrus with a hint of clove.
I had a chance to try a sample of this small-batch gin that’s made with bergamot, orange, coriander, barley malt, and, of course, juniper. But don’t worry; for those not too keen on the medicinal taste of juniper, this gin keeps it in balance.
Uncle Val’s is a brand by 3 Badge Beverage Corporation. It was founded by August Sebastiani. Yes, of that Sebastiani family.
In fact, the corporation is run out of an old fire station in Sonoma built in the 1880s by his great-grandfather Samuele Sebastiani, a mason and quarry miner, who went on to start making wine. It’s also where Samuele’s son (August’s grandfather) would go on to become a volunteer firefighter. The corporation is named for the three fire service badges that he earned.
Fourth-generation vintner August bought the old fire station in 2014 that had been vacant for nearly a decade. He established Uncle Val’s Gin to pay tribute to the herbal concoctions that his late-Uncle Zio Valerio (aka Uncle Val) distilled from cuttings from his Tuscan garden.
With its rounded orange taste, the gin is ideal in a Negroni. Or a gin & tonic. Or even just over ice with an orange twist.
Although Uncle Val’s gins are available at several Bay Area stores, you might have to hunt harder specifically for the Zested Gin, which is stocked in fewer places. However, it can be found at Village Market in Oakland and Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa. You can also enjoy at the bar at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco and Pearl Hour in Monterey.
Cheers: Each small-batch bottle of gin features a label with one of Uncle Val’s more notable sayings. Mine sported this one: “A closed mouth catches no flies.” Meaning think before you speak — or else pay the price later.
Half Shell Vodka
If you have a tendency toward fumble fingers, you don’t have to worry about mishaps when carrying a bottle of Half Shell Vodka.
Unbreakable and light as can be. That’s Half Shell Vodka.
That’s because this vodka is billed as the first one packaged in a completely recyclable paperboard bottle. Accidentally drop it, and there will be no damage.
In fact, when I received a sample to try, I almost didn’t believe it was inside the mailing box because it felt so incredibly light.
It sports a screw top and a liner in a bottle that’s made of 94 percent recycled paperboard for a much smaller carbon footprint.
The Santa Rosa Beach, FL company distills its vodka 18 times from U.S.-grown corn, then uses reclaimed oyster shells (from bars and restaurants) and activated coconut carbon (think charcoal made from coconut shells) to filter the spirit. But that doesn’t mean you’ll find any lingering shellfish or coconut taste in this vodka. The system is merely used to enhance smoothness and purity.
Indeed, this vodka has a clean taste with a fluid boozy warmth.
Find it for $24.99 at select Whole Foods in Northern and Southern California.
Cheers: Half Shell Vodka runs a “Sip for Sustainability” nonprofit partnership program that helps raise funds for sustainability and conservation efforts nationwide.
