Category Archives: Restaurants

Introducing “Neighborfood” and a Food Gal Giveaway

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Dishcrawl, the South Bay start-up that brings folks together for unique food experiences, is launching a new program: Neighborfood.

Like the name implies, it’s a way to enjoy eight different dishes at eight different restaurants in one afternoon. It’s a great way to get to know a community that might be new to you. Or to discover an eatery you might not have known about.

The next one takes place 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 24 in downtown Mountain View. Among the restaurants participating will be Asian Box, Bangkok Spoon and Hangen.

Tickets are $40 with proceeds benefiting the Arts Council of Silicon Valley.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a free pair of tickets to the Feb. 24 Neighborfood event. Entries are limited to those who can actually make it to Mountain View that day. Entries will be accepted through midnight PST Feb. 17. The winner will be announced Feb. 19.

How to win?

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Sate Your Thirst and More at The Abbot’s Cellar

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A generous plate of pork osso bucco -- part of the nightly tasting menu at The Abbot's Cellar.

For a hip, happening and sudsy time, head to the very beer-centric The Abbot’s Cellar in San Francisco’s Mission District.

I admit I tend to be more of a wine gal. But experiencing a tasting menu of this caliber with a different beer paired with each course was one of the most fun and palate-tickling experiences I’ve had recently.

The Abbot’s Cellar was opened seven months ago by the same team behind Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco, which was established six years ago.

Both are temples to the art of craft beer. But The Abbot’s Cellar is even more ambitious. It even has a two-story stone cellar to hold a range of beers and wines at their optimum temperatures. There’s also a dramatic back-lit wall of every imaginable glassware for beer and wine. And just for fun, a few cookbooks are propped up on the bar for patrons to peruse.

An eye-catching back-lit wall of beer and wine glassware behind the bar.

About 100 beers are available by the bottle and another 20 on tap, with each characterized by intensity, style, flavors and alcohol percentage. The beer list conveniently slides out of a nook built into the side of each wooden dining table for an added dose of cool.

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Valentine’s Day Treats, Chocolate Dinner & More

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Make Valentine's Day especially sweet with these boxed macarons. (Photo courtesy of La Boulange)

La Boulange’s Valentine’s Days Offerings

From now through Feb. 15, your neighborhood La Boulange is offering three sweet treats especially for Valentine’s Day.

Choose from a box of raspberry and vanilla macarons for $12.50; a box of chocolate and raspberry macarons for $12.50; or a gorgeous heart-shaped raspberry fruit tart ($9.95).

Find them at any of the Bay Area La Boulange locations.

Chocolate hearts filled with raspberries and strawberries. (Photo courtesy of La Boulange)

Sent Sovi’s Savory Chocolate Dinner

Who says chocolate is only for dessert?

Not at Sent Sovi in Saratoga, where Chef-Proprietor Josiah Slone will be hosting his third annual “Savory Chocolate Dinner” at 7 p.m. Feb. 28.

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A Taste of Luxury at Spruce in San Francisco

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Grilled steak with duck-fat potatoes at Spruce in San Francisco.

Step inside Spruce in San Francisco to be cocooned in plushness.

Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the otherwise dimly-lit, 70-seat restaurant create an intimate ambiance of drama and mystery. So much so that the chocolate mohair walls look almost black in the evening, all the better to showcase the eye-catching, over-sized charcoal sketches of whimsical figures, including a torso draped in an Adidas sweatshirt and the the backside of a bald man clad in a natty suit.

The six-year-old restaurant, with its hammerhead banquettes and faux ostrich chairs, is all about glam. Indeed, it makes you want to have an excuse to, err, spruce up just to go there.

The glam and dramatic dining room.

Recently, I was invited to be a guest at the restaurant, part of the Bacchus Management Group of restaurants that also includes the Village Pub in Woodside, Mayfield Bakery & Cafe in Palo Alto, Cafe des Amis in San Francisco, and Pizza Antica locations throughout the Bay Area.

Chef de Cuisine John Madriaga has a deft touch with local ingredients, especially vegetables, not surprisingly since he cooked at Manresa in Los Gatos and apprenticed at Copenhagen’s famed Noma. He also has access to SMIP Ranch, the Santa Cruz Mountains farm that supplies produce to all the Bacchus restaurants.

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Delicious Doings For Chinese New Year

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Don't miss the noodle-pulling demonstration by M.Y. China's chef at Bloomingdale's. (Photo courtesy of Blair Heagerty)

M.Y. China Ushers in the Year of the Snake

Martin Yan’s M.Y. China restaurant in the Westfield San Francisco Centre will be offering two special menus, Feb. 1-26, for the Chinese New Year celebration.

The first menu, $88 for two people,  includes: “Juicy Dumplings Sampler”; Peking duck (1/2 duck two ways –“Skin in Sliders” and stir-fried meat in lettuce cups); “Seafood Treasury” (shrimp, scallop, and calamari with mixed greens and mushrooms); “Forbidden Fried Rice”; and sugar puffs.

The second menu, $68 for two people, includes: “Seafood Dim Sum Collection (shiu mai, har gow, spinach dumpling); Peking duck (1/2 duck two ways — “Skin in Sliders” and stir-fried meat in lettuce cups; green pepper beef rib eye; vegetable egg white fried rice; and sugar puffs.

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