Category Archives: Restaurants

Highlights From Florida — Beyond the Pillsbury Bake-Off

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When I wasn’t sequestered behind closed doors as a judge of the 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off last week, I did manage to get out and about to discover some other fun things in Orlando. Here are other highlights of that trip:

* Poached farm egg, aleppo pepper hollandaise, California asparagus and pork belly at Luma on Park in Winter Park, Fla.

A perfectly poached egg that oozes a bright orange yolk to make a dish of juicy pork belly even richer. It doesn’t get better than that at this sophisticated restaurant with a glam two-story glass wine “jewel box” that displays bottles upon bottles of fine vintages.

Not your average edamame.

* Togarashi spice stir-fried Japanese edamame at Emeril Lagasse’s Tchoup Chop in Orlando.

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A Chef Worth Getting to Know in Sonoma County

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Chef Steven Snook of the Restaurant at the Kenwood Inn and Spa. (Photo courtesy of Sylvias Photography)

Chef Steven Snook spent seven years working for bad-boy celeb Chef Gordon Ramsay in both London and New York.

And yes, he’ll be the first to tell you that he did get yelled at by the famous chef who’s known for his rather colorful outbursts.

“You think you’re doing it right and then you hear it,” Snook says with a knowing chuckle. “I got called ‘f—ing donkey’ many times, especially my first year there.”

After becoming sous chef at the flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, then working at Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the London hotel in New York, Snook was ready for a change of pace.

Married to a former Gordon Ramsay pastry chef, and with a new baby, Snook and his family were ready to trade the hustle-bustle of New York City for a more bucolic existence reminiscent of the English countryside. They found what they were looking for in the Valley of the Moon, otherwise known as Kenwood in Sonoma County.

Squab with rhubarb from the seasonal tasting menu.

For the past four months, Snook has been the executive chef of the Restaurant at Kenwood Inn and Spa. The 26-room Mediterranean-style inn is surrounded by vineyards and fruit orchards. Its 22-seat restaurant with a roaring fireplace has the feel of an intimate, out-of-the-way European country-side restaurant. In Snook’s hands, it’s most definitely worth visiting, too.

The fountain in the interior courtyard.

There are only 26 rooms in this inn, surrounded by orchards and vineyards.

The one catch is that the restaurant is only open to guests of the inn. But you can become a “guest for the day” if you book an appointment at the inn’s spa.

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Lines Are Already Forming at Asian Box in Palo Alto

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Asian Box's slogan is: "What's in your box?'' In this one, it's Jasmine rice and seasoned, charred pork.

The fast-casual, gluten-free Asian Box in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village may have just opened last month. But already, lines are forming for this fun, new concept headed by Executive Chef Grace Nguyen, formerly of the Slanted Door and Out the Door, both in San Francisco.

On a recent Wednesday night, when I was invited to come in as a guest of the restaurant, to-go orders were flying out the door.

Unless it’s a nice day, you’ll most likely want to get your food to go, since there’s only one communal table inside the small space. And folks waiting for their food tend to linger right around it. Otherwise, there are a few tables outside, but no heaters.

But since all the food comes in handy compostable containers, it’s a breeze to grab and go.

The newest eatery in the Town & Country Village in Palo Alto.

Order at the counter, then come back to get it when your name is called.

The concept is simple. You choose the base of your box: Jasmine rice, brown rice, Asian vegetable salad or rice noodles. Then, you pick your favorite protein of the five offered, from six-spice chicken ($7.25) to coconut curry tofu ($6.95) to garlic and soy glazed beef ($8.25).

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All-Star Foie Dinner, Giada De Laurentiis & More

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Chef Victor Scargle of Lucy at Bardessono will be one of the chefs headlining the all-foie-gras dinner at the Plumed Horse. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Plumed Horse Celebrates Foie Gras April 9

With California set to be the only state in the nation to outlaw foie gras starting July 1, a bevy of chefs have been rallying to raise grass-roots support for the luxurious delicacy.

The latest to join in on the action is the Plumed Horse in Saratoga, which will host a top toque-studded $200 per person prix fixe on April 9 in which every course will feature the decadent fattened liver of a goose or duck.

Among the chefs cooking that night alongside Plumed Horse Executive Chef Peter Armellino will be Victor Scargle of Lucy at Bardessono in Yountville, Ron Boyd of the Daniel Patterson Group, Marc Zimmerman of Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco, and Joey Elenterio of Chez TJ in Mountain View.

Scargle will be serving his Sonoma Artisan foie gras and sauteed Petrale sole with spring onions, ramps and Granny Smith apples. Armellino will serve smoked chicken and foie gras dumplings. And Ted Romero, executive pastry chef of Lucy at Bardessono, will be turning heads with a Guittard chocolate, hazelnut and foie gras nougat with ruby port poached pear.

Half of the $200 per person price for the dinner will be donated to the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, which is made up of pro-foie gras culinary professionals. For tickets, click here.

For those who want to bring their own wine, corkage will be waived that evening.

Giada De Laurentiis To Visit the Bay Area

Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis will be signing copies of her newest book, “Weeknights with Giada” (Clarkson Potter) at three upcoming Bay Area events.

The cookbook is filled with go-to dinner recipes that take about half an hour to prepare.

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Crazy For Cupola Pizzeria

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A meat lover's dream pizza at Cupola Pizzeria.

I don’t know if it’s the 5,000-pound Italian wood-fired oven that they managed somehow to lug up to the top of the San Francisco Centre shopping mall. Or the fact that they’re cooked in a fiery 850-degree heat over almond wood.

But the pizza crusts at Cupola Pizzeria are light, airy and downright ethereal.

When I was invited as a guest of the restaurant recently, our server even joked that the delicate crust makes it entirely too easy to polish off a whole pie by one’s self.

The casual restaurant, done up with bar-height tables for eating, is a great place to take a load off after spending a day perusing all the shops below, especially because it has a good selection of wines and cocktails. Opened last summer, this the Lark Creek Restaurant Group’s first pizzeria. And it does the company proud.

The monster of an oven.

The casual, lively dining room.

Order a la carte or enjoy the “La Festa di Tutte Le Feste” (Feast of All Feasts) for $30 per person. The latter gives you small tasting portions of an assortment of antipasti, starters and pastas, along with a pizza or two (depending on how many are in your party), plus dessert, making it a great deal for those who want to try almost everything on the menu.

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