Category Archives: Restaurants

Getting into the Spook-tacular Spirit

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Chef Jamie Oliver and Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, in their "frightening'' costumes. (Photo couresty of Chipotle)

Boorito Time:

Chipotle Mexican Grill has teamed up with UK Chef Jamie Oliver for a clever Halloween promotion to expose just how scary processed foods can be.

Just visit any Chipotle restaurant between 6 p.m. and closing on Oct. 31, dressed as a horrifying processed food product, and you’ll be treated to a burrito made with naturally raised ingredients for just $2.

Proceeds from the “Boorito 2010,” up to $1 million, will benefit “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” a campaign to get people to cook and eat fresh, healthful food.

Chipotle also will host an online costume contest, where customers can be photographed in their frightening processed food costumes at Chipotle’s, then can post the pic online here.

The grand prize winner will receive $2,500; five runners-up will get $1,000 each. And 20 honorable mentions will receive a burrito party for 20 guests at a Chipotle’s of their choice.

Better get cracking now on that one-of-a-kind costume to win.

Pumpkin Carving:

Yankee Pier in Larkspur invites kids to come in, Oct. 28-31, for its annual pumpkin-carving contest.

There will be various prizes for different age ranges, including giveaways of toys and bookstore gift cards. Contest winners will be announce on Oct. 31 via Facebook.

This week, the Lark Creek Restaurant Group also will be concluding its annual “Pumpkin Festival” of dishes that showcase fall squashes.

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New Pinkberry, Free Pasta and More

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Another Pinkberry Opens:

The tart fro-yo craze continues as the South Bay welcomes another Pinkberry, this one at 2362 El Camino Real in Santa Clara.

The grand opening, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 22, will feature free samples and celebrity guest DJ Joe Manganiello from HBO’s “True Blood,” spinning tunes.

Wine Dinner at Red Crane:

Chef Royce Mori of Red Crane in Cupertino. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)Join Burrell School Winery and Chef Royce Mori when they host a special wine dinner at Red Crane in Cupertino, 7 p.m. Oct. 26.

The four-course dinner includes such delightful pairings as crispy snow crab cake with papaya salsa matched with the 2006 “Teacher’s Pet” Estate Chardonnay; and pan-roasted petit filet mignon with roasted gold beets accompanied by the 2007 “Honor Roll” Estate Merlot.

Price is $80 per person. For reservations, call (408) 725-1990.

Prime Time for Prime Rib:

It definitely will be at Sent Sovi in Saratoga, Oct. 28, when Chef-Owner Josiah Slone hosts the “Big Scary Prime Rib” dinner.

Nothing to fear; the scary part refers to those big bottles of wine (magnums and larger) that we have stashed at home, wondering when we’ll ever have the occasion to uncork them.

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Tacos? Bien Sur!

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Papito's duck confit taco. Yes, indeed.

It isn’t exactly France meets Mexico at the new Papito in San Francisco.

But you will find a thoroughly wonderful duck confit taco at this tiny restaurant in Portrero Hill, which was opened in August by the restaurateur behind the popular, Francophile Chez Papa and Chez Maman, both in San Francisco.

That would be Jocelyn Bulow, who opened Papito with one of her chefs, Oaxaca-native Rodolfo Castellanos Reyes, who got the 17-seat cafe up and running, only to leave to return to Mexico to start up his own restaurant. Not to fear, his replacement, Reynol Martinez, also from Oaxaca, seems to have a good handle on the menu.

The ingredients are top-notch. Many are organic. The pork is Berkshire. The chorizo is house-made.

Recently, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, a short drive from the Holiday Inn Civic Center, to check out the bustling cafe adorned with warm, terracotta walls and big sombrero hats for decor.

Three salsas arrive at the table when you sit down — a zesty tomatillo, a sweet and fruity mango, and a spicy red chile one. If that’s still too tame for you, your server is only too happy to bring you an even hotter version.

Grilled corn with Mexican mayo.

We started with a Mexican street-food staple — grilled corn on the cob ($5), smeared with Mexican mayo and queso cotija. Bowls of house-made red chile salt and wedges of fresh lime let you customize just how spicy or tangy you want it. The corn is sweet, smoky and tender. The squirt of lime really makes it special, cutting through its creamy coat.

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Three Delicious Events

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Doc Willoughby. (Photo by Romulo Yanes, courtesy of Gourmet.com)In Mountain View:

Meet the one and only John “Doc” Willoughby, executive editor of Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at Books, Inc. in Mountain View.

Willoughby recently rejoined those magazines after the demise of Gourmet magazine, where he worked for nine years.

He’ll be signing copies of “The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook” (Boston Common Press) at this free event.

In the East Bay:

Two teams of chef will square off in a Southern challenge, 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Five restaurant in Berkeley.

Chef Banks White of Five will be joined by Chef Scott Howard, opening chef of Five and now chef of Brick & Bottle in Corte Madera, as they duel against chefs, Dean Dupuis and Charlie Copley of Pican in Oakland in this “Iron Chef”-like challenge, “Seasonal Showdown Dinner.”

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Bay for the Gulf Fund-Raiser and Food Gal Tickets Giveaway

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It’s been six months since the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and three months since a cap installed plugged the well that had been spewing oil into that fragile ecosphere.

But how many years it will take to get that body of water and its surrounding wetlands back to normal, is anyone’s guess.

To lend a much needed hand, Chef Guillaume Bienaimé of Marché in Menlo Park, organized the “Bay for the Gulf,” an event that will take place 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at the beautiful Rosewood Sand Hill resort in Menlo Park.

Proceeds from the gala event, which will feature more than a dozen chefs, artisans and wineries, will go to the “Save Our Gulf” initiative of the Waterkeeper Alliance, which will help support the seven Gulf Coast Waterkeepers directly impacted by the oil disaster.

Bienaimé was prompted to act after befriending Pietro Paravanno, a local fisherman here who is also the president of the Institute for Fisheries Resources. It also spurred him to visit Louisiana recently to see the area for himself.

“The oil spill forever changed this unique eco-system, and way of life for so many who live in the bayous and surrounding areas. For many families who rely on the waters of the Gulf as their means of survival, it’s crucial that everything that can be done to clean up the area is done,” said Bienaimé. “The Bay for the Gulf gala, with the collaboration of the amazing chefs, wineries and restaurants that are participating, is a way for those of us in the Bay Area to show support for the people working day and night to clean up this mess.”

Among those participating in the event are: Manresa of Los Gatos,  Aziza of San Francisco, Pastry Chef Carl Swanson of Ubuntu in Napa, Andante Dairy, Far Niente, and Ridge Vineyards.

A silent auction will feature such items up for bid as rare wines and extravagant dining experiences.

Tickets are $150 each.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win two tickets to the gala. Contest is open only to those who can make it to the Menlo Park event on Oct. 24. Deadline to enter is noon PST Oct. 17. Winner will be announced Oct. 18.

How to enter?

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