Category Archives: New Products

Warning: Now For Something A Little Different

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Hopefully, these pics of chapulines don’t scare anyone off.

Because that would be a shame.

Pan-fried grasshoppers seasoned with lime, salt, and red chile might be what gets people buzzing about the new Mezcal restaurant, 25 W. San Fernando in downtown San Jose. But what will keep them coming back are the luscious moles served here with style and graciousness.

The airy restaurant with an industrial chic vibe specializes in Oaxacan cuisine.  It was opened a month ago by Oaxacan native, Adolfo Gomez, who was formerly operations manager at the Silicon Valley Capital Club.

After you are seated, servers bring warm, fresh-fried chips but not salsa to your table. Instead, you get a small sampler of three moles — negro, coloradito and estofado — to satisfy your curious taste buds right off the bat. They’re all wonderful, particulary the inky, rich negro with its flavors of bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon and chiles.

Our server said the grasshopper appetizer is ordered by almost every table. So, naturally, when I went there for lunch today, I had to order them, too. It didn’t hurt that I was dining with three guys, all former colleagues, who were more than game to eat bugs with me.

By the way, I should acknowledge that I am a veteran insect eater.

By choice.

Well, sort of.

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Fro-Yo Craze Continues

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Trying to eat more healthful in the new year?

Then, you’ll be glad that the frozen yogurt craze that came, went, and returned, continues to be more than alive and well in 2009.

Yogen Fruz, established in 1986 in Toronto, now has more than 1,100 locations in more than 20 countries, and that includes the United States.  The fro-yo company is making a push into Northern California, having opened a cafe in San Francisco in 2008 at 3 Embarcadero Center. Now, it’s about to open one early this year in San Jose at the Westfield Oakridge Shopping Centre.

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Nutty

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Can't eat just one.

That’s what I am.

It’s because I can’t stop eating these new Emerald Cocoa Almonds that landed in my mailbox recently as a sample. You know it’s a good day when the mailman brings you goodies like this.

The cocoa is baked into the almonds so there’s no messing up your fingers. That’s a good thing since I’ve been eating them by the handful. The wonderful roasty flavor of the nuts is married with a whisper of chocolate.  It’s not so much chocolate that it tastes like candy, but just enough to give it a haunting je ne sais quoi.

I’m already wondering what these might be like baked in chocolate cookies.

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A Visit to Penzeys in Menlo Park

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Can't wait to try the jar I bought.

Much like a visit to a neighborhood bookstore, a trip to Penzeys’ new Menlo Park store will have you happily perusing the shelves while losing all track of time.

The new store, which opened at 771 Santa Cruz Ave. in late November, is the Wisconsin-based spice giant’s first Northern California outpost.

Since opening in 1957 in Milwaukee, the company has become a mail-order phenomenon, with cooks nationwide clamoring for its more than 250 herbs, spices, and seasonings.

The Menlo Park store already seems to be a hit. When I visited on a Tuesday afternoon, about 10 customers were browsing their way through the small store. Employees behind the counter said the holidays have been quite busy, with customers loading up on spice gift assortments.

Find super long vanilla beans, and vanilla sugar, among the items for sale.

What I especially love about the store is how informative the simple displays are. You’ll find apothecary jars on each shelf, containing a large sample of the spices contained in the surrounding smaller jars for sale. On the outside of each apothecary jar is a short description of each herb or spice, where it comes from, and suggested culinary uses. Best yet, you can uncap each large jar to take a whiff of what’s inside.

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Truffle Fudge Bites

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How glam are these? (Photo courtesy of Joe Notaro).

You better have a big sweet tooth — and arms of steel — when you pick up John Kelly Chocolates.

The Hollywood, Calif. chocolatier makes divine gourmet truffle fudge bars that are so dense and heavy that you need to work out before eating them just to be able to lift them. For those with a more dainty appetite and wimpier biceps, John Kelly has just introduced Truffle Fudge Bites.

Yes, these are a mere 2-ounces, compared to the standard 8-ounce bars. They are designed to serve one. But seriously, they can easily serve two. Trust me on this.

Four come in a box for $14. And two varieties are available. Find them at Neiman Marcus, Bristol Farms markets, and online.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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