Category Archives: Spirits/Cocktails/Beer

Atelier Crenn Celebrates 15 Years In A Big Way

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Scallop, smoked mussel and caviar, a dazzling dish from the Atelier Crenn & Atomix collaboration dinner.
Scallop, smoked mussel and caviar, a dazzling dish from the Atelier Crenn & Atomix collaboration dinner.

When a Michelin three-starred restaurant reaches a milestone 15th anniversary, you know it will pull out all the stops.

Such is the case with San Francisco’s acclaimed Atelier Crenn, which marks that occasion this year by debuting Continuum, a new collaborative dining experience. It brings visionary chefs from around the world to cook at the Cow Hollow neighborhood restaurant with Chef-Owner Dominique Crenn and Pastry Chef Juan Contreras.

I was fortunate enough to be invited in as a guest for the inaugural dinner last week with Chef Junghyun Park of Atomix, the modern Korean restaurant in New York City that’s garnered two Michelin stars, and was named No. 1 on “North America’s 50 Best Restaurants” list. It also catapulted him to a James Beard “Best Chef New York” in 2023.

Not surprisingly, it took less than a day for the $596.55-per-person dinner to sell out.

Chef Dominique Crenn.
Chef Dominique Crenn.
The entrance to the Michelin three-starred restaurant.
The entrance to the Michelin three-starred restaurant.

Once seated, you’ll find a small packet at your place setting. Inside, you’ll find cards introducing Chef Park, along with information about some of his dishes to be served.

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A Taste of Eastern Europe at Dacha

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Lamb chops with eggplant, pita, and spicy chile condiment at Dacha.
Lamb chops with eggplant, pita, and spicy chile condiment at Dacha.

Even if you didn’t know that Dacha is an Eastern European term for a second house that’s all about gathering and relaxing, you would feel those sentiments the moment you walk in the doors of this San Francisco restaurant.

Co-founded by married couple, Katya Skye and Suki Skye, and friend Tanya Ivanovich, the Lower Nob Hill restaurant just celebrated its second anniversary in November.

Proudly queer-owned and female-empowered, it boasts a decidedly warm, welcoming, and feminine vibe, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week.

The inviting dining room.
The inviting dining room.
The back of the dining room.
The back of the dining room.

It’s all in the little touches: The bud vases and candles on each table. The faux fireplace that creates a cozy feel. The homey bookcase with shelves filled with plants, books, and framed photos. And the floral wallpaper, free feminine products, hand lotion, and sweetly etched mirrors in the bathrooms.

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Happiness Is Getting A Table At Happy Crane

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Hand-pulled noodles with hedgehog and shiitake mushrooms at Happy Crane.
Hand-pulled noodles with hedgehog and shiitake mushrooms at Happy Crane.

After opening in August in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley neighborhood, Happy Crane has garnered acclaim far and wide.

So, it’s no wonder that landing a reservation to enjoy Chef James Yeun Leong Parry’s contemporary take on Cantonese cuisine is as hard as getting invited to Taylor Swift’s upcoming nuptials.

A tip to the wise: Reservations open up 30 days in advance at noon on OpenTable. So, set yourself up with your phone, laptop or desktop five minutes before, and keep refreshing the page over and over again. When the reservations finally so pop up, immediately pounce.

That’s how I managed to secure a reservation for four a few weeks ago. And it was absolutely worth jumping through those hoops.

The dining room.
The dining room.

Like with Mister Jiu’s and Four Kings, both in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Happy Crane has reinvigorated Chinese food with fresh, young energy with the use of top-quality ingredients, time-honored and modern techniques, and playful reinterpretations.

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Jose Andres’ Zaytinya Finally Opens in Palo Alto

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Chef Jose Andres opens his first restaurant in the Bay Area.
Chef Jose Andres opens his first restaurant in the Bay Area.

It’s a big deal whenever a world-renowned chef opens a new restaurant. But even more so when it’s Jose Andres, recipient of two Michelin stars and two James Beard Awards, who was twice named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.” He not only operates 40 restaurants globally, but founded World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit humanitarian organization that is so often first on the ground at major disasters around the world to help feed those in desperate need.

It’s been a long time coming, but Andres has finally opened his first restaurant in the Bay Area. Zaytinya took two years to debut from conception through construction, and was nearly derailed by a short-lived ban by Palo Alto on gas stoves in new construction.

Last week, it opened in the former Macy’s Men’s store site at Stanford Shopping Center to great fanfare to serve Greek, Turkish and Lebanese fare. It is the sixth location of Zaytinya in the country.

Opened in the former Macy's store.
Opened in the former Macy’s store.
Outdoor dining for the warmer months.
Outdoor dining for the warmer months.
Neon at the bar.
Neon at the bar.

Although Andres wasn’t there for the opening, his presence was on display in the form of a monogrammed chef’s jacket hanging at the host stand. He also had veteran staff on hand from his other restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas to ensure seamless service, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last Tuesday.

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Santa Clara Welcomes Jashn Restaurant

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Beef bone marrow nalli nihari at the new Jashn in Santa Clara.
Beef bone marrow nalli nihari at the new Jashn in Santa Clara.

When Vittal Shetty and Reshmi Nair — formerly corporate executive chef and operations manager, respectively, of the Bay Area’s Amber India restaurants — decided to venture out on their own, the plan was to always open their own restaurant together.

Little did they know, they joked, that it would take 11 years.

That’s because they didn’t count on the catering company that they immediately started to try to raise money for that restaurant venture turning into an immediate juggernaut.

Indeed, their Jalsa Catering & Events has grown into one of the largest and most sought-after Indian catering companies in the Bay Area. It was one of the first Indian catering companies to go beyond standard steam tables to present food with more fine-dining finesse. Shetty’s intent was to take the skills he used at Amber India and transfer them to the catering industry.

Jalsa, which means “social gathering,” caters upwards of 400 events annually, many of them weddings with as many as 500 guests, as far north as the Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe, and as far south as Carmel. It’s even been hired to do events in Arizona and Mexico.

Every restaurant has to have an Instagram-ready wall now, right?
Every restaurant has to have an Instagram-ready wall now, right?
One of two private dining rooms.
One of two private dining rooms.

“People would attend the weddings we did and ask ‘Where is your restaurant?’ because they enjoyed the food so much, ” Nair says. “We would have to tell them there wasn’t one.”

Not anymore. When the catering company relocated three years ago from Milpitas to Santa Clara (the former Justin’s Restaurant and Wilson’s Bakery site), it gained a lot more space. Enough for Jashn, which means “celebration,” to open there earlier this month.

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