Category Archives: Restaurants

Enjoying Foie Gras While You Can, Tomato Seedling Sale & More

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Get it while you can -- duck confit burger with foie gras. (Photo courtesy of the Bank Cafe & Bar)

Chef Ken Frank’s Extravagant Foie Gras Duck Burger

Picture rich duck confit formed into a thick patty, then topped with seared foie gras.

At Bank Cafe & Bar in the lobby of the Westin Verasa Napa, Chef Ken Frank of La Toque fame, invites you to taste just that.

The duck foie burger has been a popular fixture on the cafe’s menu since it opened four years ago. Frank plans to continue selling it until July 1, when California will become the only state in the country to ban the sale of foie gras.

Enjoy the $24 burger at lunch or dinner — while you can.

To learn more about Frank’s strong stance against the ban, read this thoughtful piece he penned for the Los Angeles Times.

Northern California Chefs vs. Southern California Chefs in Foie Gras “Battle”

If you happen to be traveling to Los Angeles on May 14, you won’t want to miss this blockbuster chef affair.

Especially because it involves foie gras. A lot of foie gras.

Chefs from the Bay Area will be flying down south to work alongside their notable Southern California counterparts at four top Los Angeles restaurants for one night and one night only. At each of the restaurants, the chefs will be creating a six-course feast of foie gras.

It’s all a benefit for the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards (CHEFS), a pro-foie gras organization.

Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani will be cooking up foie in Southern California for a special event. (Photo courtesy of the chefs

OK, it’s not a full-on battle, per se. But you can be sure the Bay Area chefs will be trying to outdo the Los Angeles ones with their dishes.

Here’s who will be cooking where:

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Scenes from the 25th Anniversary Star Chefs & Vintners Gala

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A Reuben slider from the crew at Foreign Cinema and Show Dogs restaurants at the Meals on Wheels gala.

It was a star-studded chef affair on Sunday night at Pier 48 in San Francisco, as more than 70 Bay Area top toques turned out to cook up a storm for a sold-out crowd in support of a noble cause.

More than 1,000 folks wined, dined and mingled at the sold-out 25th “Star Chefs & Vintners Gala,” the main fund-raiser for Meals on Wheels, the San Francisco organization that provides nutritious meals and support services to home-bound seniors. Last year’s event raised $1.4 million. Yours truly was lucky enough to be invited as a guest this year.

For the ninth time, Chef Nancy Oakes of Boulevard and Prospect, both in San Francisco, took the reins as gala chair for this megawatt event. The evening kicked off with a walk-around reception, in which mixologists shook up cocktails, vintners poured special vintages and a bevy of chefs manned stations to turn out gourmet noshes.

A night to remember for a worthwhile cause.

Chefs Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani, the dynamic duo behind Terra and Bar Terra, both in St. Helena, prepared bowls of their fabulous ramen complete with succulent pork slices and a oozy poached quail egg.

The Bar Terra team hard at work...

...serving up bowls of pork belly ramen.

Chef Victor Scargle of Lucy at Bardessono in Yountville served up cones of Georgia shrimp atop soba noodle salad made with the restaurant’s own rau ram herb, while Chef Ron Siegel of Parallel 37 in San Francisco followed the Asian vibe with a juicy scallop in dashi broth.

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Maui Morsels

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Thick, crisp French toast -- what a way to wake up at the Old Wailuku Inn. And this is only a half-order.

MAUI, HAWAII — Two weeks ago when invited to visit this spectacular island by the Maui Visitors Bureau, I had a chance to be a guest at a couple of complimentary accommodations as I noshed my way around the island.

Here are the highlights:

The Old Wailuku Inn at Ulupono

Total charm is what you’ll find at this B&B that evokes 1940s Hawaii, with its grand lanai, lush garden and handmade Hawaiian quilts that adorn the beds in each distinct room.

Janice and Tom Fairbanks run the Old Wailuku, a plantation-style inn that’s located in a residential neighborhood. It has seven rooms in the main house and three in a separate rear building.

Complimentary breakfast is included and shouldn’t be missed. It usually begins with a goblet of fresh fruit, including mango, banana and strawberries. That’s followed by a warm dish, such as mega French toast made from a crisp Vietnamese baguette that’s smeared with a creamy mixture of ricotta, cottage cheese and fresh mint.

The plantation-style sitting area in the main house.

The bedrooms are adorned with handmade Hawaiian quilts.

In the dining room, there’s a fridge stocked with cold cans of juice and soda to help yourself to throughout the day, as well as bowls of snack foods to nibble.

Star Noodle

I admit that when Chef Jay Terauchi was driving myself and a slew of travel bloggers to this restaurant, I secretly feared he might be a serial killer, about to do us all in and dump our bodies where nobody could find them.

That’s because Star Noodle is located off the beaten path, up a rather deserted road off the main highway, where there’s a warehouse or two and a couple of bulldozers idle on barren land.

A sampler of kimchee, shiitakes and other pickled veggies.

But continue up that road until you hit the restaurant, and you know you must be on to something because there will be a line of folks in the parking lot, waiting to get inside. Always a good sign, right?

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RN74 Celebrates Sweet Birthday, First Walnut Creek Restaurant Week & More

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Vanilla bean panna cotta with rhubarb, red wine and poppy seed granola. (Phot courtesy of RN74

San Francisco’s RN74 Offers Up Takeaway Treats for Bargain Price

To celebrate its third anniversary, RN74 in San Francisco is making batches of takeaway dessert treats for $3 each (regularly $5).

If you need an afternoon pick-me-up, head over to the restaurant, April 22-28,  to indulge in a to-go order of an assortment of French cookies, peanut butter mousse with sea salt and bourbon caramel or vanilla bean panna cotta with rhubarb and red wine.

It’s sure to be a sweet time.

Creamy peanut butter mousse with bourbon caramel and chocolate-covered peanuts. (Photo courtesy of RN74)

Student-Run Restaurant Opens in Sunnyvale

The Art Institute of California in Sunnyvale just reopened its student-run restaurant, The Bistro, with a new menu and decor.

Interior Design students, who revamped the space as part of a class project, chose neutral hues, bamboo and grasses for an organic, natural look.

Culinary students manage the dining room and oversee the kitchen, turning out seasonal lunches that are mostly organic. Choose from small plates, salads, entrees or sandwiches.

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Thai Lemongrass is a Family Affair

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Gingery ground pork with crunchy-chewy rice cakes make up this delight salad at Thai Lemongrass.

The Chakreeyarat family ran the tucked-away Thai Bistro in San Jose for many years.

Doing it all, every day, at that small eatery, though, eventually wore on  matriarch Pat Pongsil. She closed shop, and retired.

But it wasn’t long before the 70-year-old was itching to get back in the kitchen.

So, in August of last year, she opened Thai Lemongrass in a strip mall off El Camino Real in Sunnyvale, in what was once an Indian restaurant.

Last month, I was invited to be a guest of the restaurant. The dining room is simple and sparse. But from the moment you walk in, you feel like you’re in Pongsil’s warm home about to enjoy a most satisfying meal.

Pat Pongsil at work in her kitchen at Thai Lemongrass.

Thai Lemongrass is a true family affair. Daughter Jenny Chakreeyarat, who used to work at the nearby Ginger Cafe in Sunnyvale, runs the dining room. Her sister, Jennet, helps her Mom cook in the kitchen.

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