Category Archives: New Products

Special Tomato, New Indian Sweets, Piggy Event & More

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Tomato Time:

Are these gorgeous tomatoes or what?

These lovelies, known as “Taste Tomatoes,” were created especially for Taste Catering of San Francisco. The tomatoes, a cross between the Maglia Rosa and Zucchero varieties, is the brainchild of Baia Nicchia Farm & Nursery in Sunol.

With their sweet flavor and unique look, the tomatoes proved such a hit in hors d’oeuvres and salads with customers that the catering company wanted to make them available to the general public.

Starting July 19, you’ll be able to buy your own “Taste Tomatoes” at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at Allstar Organics’ booth on Saturdays; Menlo Park Farmers Market at Baia Nicchia’s booth on Sundays; Berkeley’s Tokyo Fish Market, Mondays through Saturdays; and Baia Nicchia’s farm stand in Sunol on Friday afternoons.

Sweets with Indian Flair:

That’s just what you’ll find at the new Bengali Sweets, which just opened at 783 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale.

Open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, the 50-seat cafe serves up sweets and chaat (snacks) made by chefs Sohan Bhatt and Bajrang Bhamu, both of Sakoon restaurant in Mountain View. This is the newest venture of the Bombay Garden Group, which also owns Sakoon.

The Bengali region of Eastern India is known for milk-based sweets, including “Chenna Jelabi”, a cottage cheese-style milk-based dough piped in coils, deep fried and soaked in a spice-infused sugar syrup.

On the savory side, enjoy entrees such as “Chole Bhatury”, a rich chickpea stew served with fried bread dumplings and curries such as lamb Roganjosh. For more information, call (408) 736-4000.

For Carnivores:

Lamb lovers will want to head to the “American Lamb Jam,” 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. July 18 at Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco.

Executive Chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR in San Francisco hosts this meaty affair that brings together dozens of top San Francisco chefs who will create succulent lamb dishes paired with local wines.

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Big Wines Come In Small Bottles

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They sure do now, thanks to Sonoma County’s TastingRoom, a new online wine retailer that sells wine packaged in mini 50ml bottles.

The idea is that it allows you to replicate a winery tasting room in the comfort of your own home by letting you try a taste of top-notch wines before committing to buying full-sized 750ml bottles.

How ingenious is that?

Recently, I had a chance to sample a six-pack of mini bottles from Rutherford’s award-winning Grgich Hills Estate that included: 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2008 Napa Valley Fume Blanc, 2007 Napa Valley Zinfandel, 2006 Napa Valley Merlot, 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2008 Violetta (a late-harvest, Botrytis-made wine that’s predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling with some Gewurztraminer).

The kit also included was a wine-tasting menu created by Grgich Hills’ winemaker that described each wine and gave a recommended tasting order.

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Cookies, Beers, Wines & Winner of the $100 CSN Certificate

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The Cookies:

If you flew on an airplane during the 1980s, chances are you might remember these crisp, little Biscoff cookies that many airlines served back then.

Now, you can enjoy them with both feet planted on the ground, when Biscoff Coffee Corner and Biscoff Coffee Carts open for business at Pier 39 in San Francisco on June 30.

Europeans have long enjoyed these cookies that taste like a cross between a gingersnap and a graham cracker. Last year, Lotus Bakeries North America in San Francisco started baking them for airlines, retail stores and online orders. Now, it has partnered with the Simco Restaurant Group to open the first North American store to sell the cookies, whose name a derivative of “bis”cuit and “coff”ee.

Indeed, that’s how the cookies are intended to be enjoyed — with a cup of joe. So when you purchase any coffee at the cafe or cart, you’ll get a free cookie.

Take a taste on July 8, when Biscoff Coffee Corner will host a grand opening, featuring a cookie juggler and an official cookie-breaking ceremony. Proceeds from all cookie sales that day will benefit the Marine Mammal Center, which helps maintain the healthy sea lion population at Pier 39. Starting July 9, 1 percent of each day’s cookie sales will be donated to the center.

The First Anniversary:

San Francisco’s Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market celebrates just that on July 1 with pinatas, party hats and prizes, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Drop your card into a 5-gallon salad spinner to win a chance at one of 50 prizes, which include tote bags, T-shirts, roasted almonds from Lagier Ranches, and coffee beans from Blue Bottle.

The first 111 people to visit the farmers market information booth that day get a $1 gift coin that can be used towards your next market purchase.

The Brewski:

As the Fourth of July approaches, there’s nowhere better to get into the festive, patriotic spirit than at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company in Princeton-by-the-Sea.

Throughout July, the brew pub and restaurant celebrates its 10th anniversary with a series of special events.  In particular, July 2-4, the brewing company will feature live music in the evening and a giveaway.

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The Real McCoy

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Yes, this bumpy little root that’s no bigger than my thumb is the real-deal wasabi.

If all that you’re used to is the common toothpaste-like blob of horseradish, mustard and green food coloring found on sushi plates almost everywhere, then you deserve to treat yourself to the real thing.

I picked up this little guy at Nijiya market in Mountain View, where the fresh, very perishable, and very pricey and very difficult-to-grow root can be found regularly in the refrigerator case next to the packages of neatly sliced raw fish.

It’s imported from Japan and sells for $55.99 a pound. Fortunately, this tiny specimen, weighing in at all of .055 of a pound, set me back only $3.08.

With real wasabi, you still get nasal-tingling burn, but not nearly as explosive as that from the imitation paste. In fact, I have no problems eating a little of the grated wasabi root straight. But I’d be hard pressed to do that with the out-of-the-tube stuff without tearing up. With real wasabi, there is more nuance — an almost floral quality and subtle sweetness. It explodes on your palate, but the heat dissipates quickly, unlike the fake stuff.

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