Category Archives: Restaurants

Kokkari’s Greek Meatballs & A Food Gal Giveaway

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Meatballs with tomato sauce and green olives from San Francisco's Kokkari restaurant.

Shaped like flattened footballs, and heady with dried mint, cumin and Greek oregano, these meatballs are mighty meaty and plenty juicy.

They can be served as a meze or appetizer with bread. But I enjoyed them as a satisfying main course with couscous and a green salad.

“Spiced Meatballs with Green Olive & Tomato Sauce” is from the new cookbook, “Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors” (Chronicle Books), of which I recently received a review copy. The cookbook was written by Erik Cosselmon, chef of Kokkari, the acclaimed upscale Greek restaurant in San Francisco; and food writer Janet Fletcher. It’s filled with favorites from the restaurant, including whole fish roasted with tomato, potato, fennel and olives; egg-lemon soup with chicken and rice; and okra with tomato, saffron and dill.

Kokkari, along with its sister restaurant Evvia in Palo Alto, have been long-time favorite establishments of mine. Step into either and you can’t help get caught up in the warmth and vivacity of the ambiance, as well as by the the bold flavors of the food, bright with lemon, olives, feta, tomatoes and lush olive oil.

Made with a combo of ground lamb, ground beef and grated onion to keep them very moist, these hefty meatballs are seared, then finished cooking in a simple sauce of canned tomatoes and green olives.

As an appetizer, the dish serves six, with one good-sized meatball per person. As an entree, it probably serves three, with two meatballs per person.

These meatballs are wonderfully tender and with a lovely hit of cumin and mint — a nice change-up from the usual Italian version.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a copy of the new “Kokkari” cookbook. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Oct. 22. Winner will be announced Oct. 24.

How to win?

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Red Pepper Jelly Pork Chops

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Juicy pork chops with sticky red pepper jelly.

With a couple of jars of red pepper jelly in hand, I couldn’t help but dollop some over soft cream cheese for the old-school cracker spread we all adore.

But I wanted to do something beyond that with the rest, something a little more out of the norm.

I found what I was looking for in this wonderful recipe for “Pepper Jelly-Glazed Boneless Pork Chops with Steamed Baby Bok Choy.” The recipe is by Sara Foster of North Carolina’s Foster’s Market and can be found in the cookbook, “A Twist of the Wrist” (Alfred A. Knopf) by Los Angeles Chef Nancy Silverton of Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza.

We all know how pork takes to sweet, spicy and fruity in great Southern barbecue. It marries as beautifully with pepper jelly’s sticky goodness.

Good on almost anything.

I got my pepper jelly as a parting gift at the conclusion of a cookbook party at San Francisco’s Town Hall. But you can find pepper jelly in most well-stocked supermarkets.

The pork chops are marinated in pepper jelly whisked with red wine, rosemary, red wine vinegar, garlic, orange zest and orange juice. You can marinate the chops for an hour just before cooking them. But to do them real justice, marinate them overnight for a bigger boost of flavor.

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Nick’s on Main — A Tiny Place With A Big Heart

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Ahi tartare tower with Asian flavors.

With only 35 seats — and each of them snuggled close together — Nick’s on Main in Los Gatos is small on space, but vast on charm and warmth.

I’m not the only one who thinks so, either, as evidenced by the crowds that can’t wait to get in each evening to enjoy Chef-Owner Nick Difu’s robust comfort food.

Difu, 40, is a Santa Clara County native with legions of fans in the South Bay, who have followed him as he’s cooked his way around Los Gatos from Cafe Marcella to the Wine Cellar and to 180 Restaurant.

As evidenced by the name, Nick’s on Main is the restaurant he can finally call his own. Opened three years ago, this intimate space is done up in classic black and white with framed old family photos adorning one large wall and the other decorated with a striking carving emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo.

Recently, I treated my friend Donna to dinner here for her birthday. It was her first time dining here, and she couldn’t help but remark how it felt like she was eating in someone’s home, rather than in a restaurant.

Chef-Proprietor Nick Difu.

That’s because Difu makes you feel welcome from the get-go. He’s out in the dining room a lot, serving courses to tables, greeting regulars and making sure the folks waiting outside to get in are comfortable.

I first met Difu eight years ago, when I wrote a profile story about him when I was the food writer at the San Jose Mercury News. With his infectious grin and gregarious nature, Difu is hard to miss.  But what you might not detect at first until he confidently extends his hand to shake yours is the fact that he has only three fingers — all on his left hand. Difu was born with all of his fingers, but when he was 6 months old, blood clots developed that caused his other fingers to fall off.

Despite that, he graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco,  and worked his way up through a series of Bay Area restaurants, always impressing the chefs who had hired him with his work ethic and good cheer.  Indeed, it was another fellow chef years ago who bestowed upon him the nickname of “chef3lefty,” which Difu still readily answers to with pride.

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Duff Goldman Comes to Santana Row, Michael Mina Anniversary Celebration & More

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Meet Chef Duff Goldman at Santana Row. (Photo courtesy of the Food Network)

Duff Goldman vs. Robert Sapirman

Yes, the “Ace of Cakes‘‘ Food Network star takes on the local chef of Citrus restaurant in the Valencia Hotel in San Jose’s Santana Row. All in good fun, of course.

It’s all part of the Oct. 8-9 “Cadillac Culinary Challenge,” in which celeb Pastry Chef Duff Goldman (who is also trained in savory cooking) will be challenging Chef Robert Sapirman in battles at 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. each of those days to see whom will be crowned “Cadillac of Chefs.”

Seating is first come, first serve. And of course, while you’re there, you also can test drive a new Cadillac.

Never Too Early To Start Thinking About Thanksgiving

If there’s one holiday that strikes fear in even seasoned cooks, it’s Thanksgiving.

Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco wants to help. It’s hosting two one-day workshops to teach you how to host a “No-Stress Thanksgiving Dinner.”

This hands-on class is being offered 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 8 and Nov. 15. Price is $195.

You’ll learn how to make everything from hazelnut gougeres with stilton and red grapes to sourdough stuffing with prosciutto and Parmesan to pumpkin pie with toffee pecan topping. You’ll even make your own pie crust that you can take home to freeze for your holiday pie.

Chef Michael Mina has a lot to celebrate this year. (Photo curtesy of the chef)

Special Michael Mina Dinner

Oct. 9, Michael Mina will celebrate his 20-year career, as well as the first anniversary of his eponymous San Francisco — in grand style.

He will host a special Anniversary Tribute Dinner, 6 p.m. at Michael Mina restaurant, which will feature six courses prepared by famed chefs who have cooked alongside him over the years, including Traci des Jardins of Jardiniere in San Francisco, Melissa Perello of Frances in San Francisco, Joseph Humphrey of the soon-to-open Dixie in San Francisco and Ron Siegel of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. Also lending a hand with one of the courses is Mina’s mentor, George Morrone.

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What is Portland, Ore.? (Part II)

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Pinot Noir grapes on the vine at Ayres winery.

What is Portland?

One of the finest wine regions around…

If you love Pinot Noir, especially ones with an earthy roundness in the style of Burgundy, you will go crazy for these made in the Willamette Valley.

I know I have. And it’s a love affair that’s lasted many, many years already.

Thanks to Travel Oregon, a group of food bloggers, including yours truly, recently was invited as guests to explore Portland’s famous wine region, which is considered the birthplace of New World Pinot Noir.

It was my first time to the glorious Willamette Valley, which sports 20,000 acres of vineyards, most of it Pinot Noir and almost all of it grown on  hillsides to avoid frost.

With 425 wineries, the Willamette Valley is as verdant and picturesque as the Napa Valley, but with a less touristy and corporate vibe. It’s still affordable, too, relatively speaking. While you practically have to be a neurosurgeon or Google employee #5 to afford to start a new winery in Napa, in the Willamette Valley, that dream is still accessible for regular, working-class folks with a bit of bank.

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