Category Archives: Restaurants

A San Francisco Treat and A San Jose One

Posted on by 7 comments

In San Francisco:

Whether you have guests in from out of town or want a magical only-in-San Francisco experience, yourself, head to Luce restaurant in the InterContinental San Francisco for “Dinner & Cocktails With A View,” in conjunction with the Top of the Mark at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins.

Every Wednesday through Saturday evening, diners can indulge in a 3-course dinner at Luce created by Chef Dominique Crenn, then two classic cocktails at the Top of the Mark on the 19th floor with jaw-dropping 360-degree city views. Or vice-versa, as you can also choose to have the cocktails first, then the dinner afterward.

Price is $80 per person and includes dinner at Luce, with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, and two classic martinis at the Top of the Mark. The price also includes complimentary access to the Top of the Mark, as well as a taxi voucher.

Reservations are required by calling either Luce at (415) 616-6566 or the Top of the Mark at (415) 616-6916.

In San Jose:

In the mood for brewski? Then, Morton’s The Steakhouse in downtown San Jose is the place to be, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. June 11.

Read more

A Swine Time at Cochon 555

Posted on by 27 comments

Last night in San Francisco, it was all about pig, pig and more pig.

Cochon 555, which pits five top San Francisco chefs against one another in a pork-off, rolled into the Fairmont San Francisco on Sunday night to a sell-out crowd of 450 carnivores.

Each of the chefs had to prepare a 140-pound heritage breed hog from head to toe. A panel of judges, as well as the public, got to taste the dishes to determine one winner who will go on to compete with nine others selected from around the country at the Grand Cochon at the Food & Wine Classic at Aspen, June 18-20.

In one corner, Anthony Strong of Pizzeria Delfina, whose weapon of choice was a Glouster Old Spot, known for its distinctive layer of back fat. In a second corner, Dennis Lee of Namu, dueling with a Yorkshire pig, known for its muscularity. In the third corner, Thomas McNaughton of Flour + Water, holding court with a Duroc (otherwise known as Berkshire), a favorite among chefs for its intramuscular marbling and thick fat cap.  In the fourth corner, Morgan Maki of Bi-Rite Market, with a Mangalitsa, a very rare breed famous for its high-quality lard-type fat and for having double the marbling of your average pork. Lastly, Staffan Terje of Perbacco with a Swabian Hall pig, the first time one has been shown in the United States. This unusual pig was created in 1821 in Germany, from the mating of the fattest pig in the world with the leanest.

It was a chance for folks not only to taste, but to learn about some heritage breeds rarely available at supermarkets or restaurants. It was an opportunity to get up close and personal with owners of small ranches who raise these now-scarce breeds, as well as with some elite San Francisco butchers, who have become veritable rock stars for bringing back a lost art. Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to see so many people at one place armed with knives, mallets and saws. There was something primal, even carnal, about it all.

Dave the Butcher, along with women butchers from Avedano’s Holly Park Market in San Francisco, got the pig party started by demonstrating how to take apart a whole pork shoulder. To emphasize just how healthful heritage pork is, Dave the Butcher even popped a raw sliver into his mouth.

He quipped, “When it comes to the pigs we use, we try to know where it comes from, what it eats, and what TV programs it watches.”

Read more

Bovolo Will Bowl You Over

Posted on by 17 comments

It’s no big deal these days to snag a decent latte and a nice pastry inside your neighborhood bookstore.

But how about being able to pick up a best-selling novel, a glossy mag, and a plate of dreamy pasta carbonara?

Yeah, not many bookstores can boast of that. But Copperfield’s Books in downtown Healdsburg sure can. That’s because past the front door, past the shelves of books, and all the way in the back of the store, you’ll find Bovolo, a sunny restaurant that makes everything from scratch from locally grown ingredients and specializes in the meat-of-the-moment, pork.

Bovolo, the sister restaurant of Zazu Restaurant & Farm in Santa Rosa, is a tiny 24-seat cafe big on charm.  It makes its own bacon and salumi from heritage pigs, as well as its own fabulous gelato. It features “Fish Frydays,” the only day of the week that pig makes room for fish. Corkage is also free for Sonoma County residents. Enter through the backdoor at 9 a.m. before the bookstore opens, and you can enjoy a rustic breakfast of fried sweetened goat cheese turnovers, a breakfast pizza or a black pig bacon, egg and cheese sammy.

Just be sure to time your visit well, as Bovolo is open only until 6 p.m. on weekdays.

The hubster and I made it there just before closing to enjoy an early dinner.

Read more

Persian Pub Grub, Whoopie Pies, Pig Galore & More

Posted on by 10 comments

Persian Pub Grub

Leave it to Iranian-born Chef Hoss Zare to reinterpret pub food with bold Persian flavors.

Tonight through Saturday at 8:30 p.m., he will team with Syre Piorkowski (a “beer sommelier”) and Ryan Corbett from the Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco to present special beer and wine pairings with Persian-style pub food at his Zaré at Flytrap in San Francisco.

Because pub grub doesn’t really exist in Iran, Chef Zare promises a most memorable meal, including sumac couscous salad with Dungeness crab; and chicken wings “Fessenjoon” with pomegranate walnut sauce. Each of five dishes will be paired with a different beer, and sometimes alongside a wine, as well.

Price is $75 per person, which includes the wine and beer. For reservations, call (415) 243-0580.

Time for Whoopie Pies

That would be gourmet ones from Marché in Menlo Park, which will be sold at the restaurant June 4-5.

Read more

A Taste of Jia — Google’s Chinese Cafe

Posted on by 20 comments

It’s some of the best tasting Chinese food around, made with organic vegetables, organic soy sauce and sustainable seafood. It’s available in unlimited quantities. And it’s all free.

But you can’t eat it — unless you work at Google’s Mountain View campus or know someone there who will invite you in as their guest.

That’s how the Food Gal got into Jia, the authentic Chinese cafe at Google, run by Executive Chef Olivia Wu.

Olivia and I go way back, to the days when she was a food writer at the San Francisco Chronicle and I was one at the San Jose Mercury News.

Two and a half years ago, with the newspaper industry already in dire straits, Olivia chucked her pen and notepad to put on a gleaming white chef’s coat instead at one of Google’s 16 campus cafes.

It wasn’t so far-fetched. After all, she’d already been a caterer and private chef, as well as mom to a son who is a cook at the well-regarded Publican in Chicago.

If you know anything about Olivia, you know she’s a stickler for authenticity and a perfectionist. I knew not to come to Jia, which means “family” and “home,” expecting chow mein and egg rolls.

Instead, what you’ll get is not Americanized, oily, gloppy Chinese food, but traditional dishes done up with primo ingredients, including an 11-grain rice blend made to her specification by Koda Farms. Sure, there’s a half dozen standard American dishes and sandwiches available at her cafe, but that’s not why employees trek from other campus buildings to take the time to eat here. It’s for Chinese food served the Chinese way.

A three-wok station complete with cascading water was installed in the kitchen. The dining room was recently redone with a motif of colorful brush-stroke carps and decorative paper lanterns.  It also was reconfigured with more electrical outlets so that each table can accommodate an induction burner on days when Olivia offers the popular “hot pot” dining, where diners cook their food together in a bubbling pot of broth in the center of the table.

It’s one of her favorite ways to eat because it naturally brings people together to get to know one another better — not always an easy task in a large corporation.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »