Category Archives: Spirits/Cocktails/Beer

Get to Know Asia Live — Billed As the Asian Counterpart to Eataly

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Pad Thai meets banh xeo at the new Asia Live.
Pad Thai meets banh xeo at the new Asia Live.

Last month, a massive new Asian venue opened to great fanfare at Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose, replacing what had been another enormous Chinese restaurant that had debuted with equal excitement.

Asia Live, sister restaurant to San Francisco’s China Live, opened its doors last month, replacing the opulent iChina that operated from 2021 to 2024.

A year and a half in the making, the two-story, 15,000-square-foot Asia Live is an ambitious undertaking not merely for its sheer size, but also because it is located in an upscale shopping mall that already boasts a lot of competition in the Asian cuisine category with such popular restaurants as Marugame Udon, Ramen Nagi, Baekjong Korean BBQ, and Northern California’s only outpost of Din Tai Fung.

But if anyone is up to the challenge, it’s restaurateurs, owners, and husband and wife, George Chen and Cindy Wong-Chen. This is the 17th restaurant that Chen has opened. And it’s not even his largest. That honor goes to China Live at 30,000 square feet, which just celebrated its 9th anniversary.

The second-floor entrance from inside Westfield Valley Fair.
The second-floor entrance from inside Westfield Valley Fair.
The main dining room on the second floor.
The main dining room on the second floor.
Century-old vintage Chinese posters.
Century-old vintage Chinese posters.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, where Chen was on hand to show me around — and there is a lot to see.

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San Francisco’s Causwells Expands South to Menlo Park

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The Deconstructed Pimm's Cup at Causwells.
The Deconstructed Pimm’s Cup at Causwells.

After a dozen years operating in San Francisco’s Marina District, Causwells has planted a flag on the Peninsula, opening a sister restaurant in Menlo Park’s Springline development of restaurants and residences earlier this spring.

Opened by Chef Adam Rosenblum and Beverage Director Elmer Mejicanos, it’s a handsome restaurant with showy chandeliers and a huge wall of windows to let a lot of natural light in.

It does have its quirks, though: It’s across the street from the Menlo Park Caltrain station, which means the blaring of commuter train horns regularly, especially if you’re dining at prime-time on a weeknight. You will also occasionally see non-diners wandering into the restaurant to get to a staircase or elevator to access their apartments in the complex.

The entrance.
The entrance.
The bar cart at a table in the dining room.
The bar cart at a table in the dining room.

However, if you fancy a cocktail, this is the place to be. There’s even a bar cart that will roll to your table for cocktails made tableside if you are a large enough party.

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Chicago Dining, Part I: Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres

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Caviar cones with horseradish creme fraiche at Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres.
Caviar cones with horseradish creme fraiche at Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres.

Chicago, IL — With about 40 acclaimed restaurants nationwide and in the Bahamas, plus awards galore including a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his global humanitarian work through his World Central Kitchen, Jose Andres cuts a large swath in life.

So, when you step inside one of his restaurants, you know you’re in for a big, bold time.

That’s definitely true at Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres. It’s operated by the Emmy-winning and multi-James Beard Award-garnering chef, and owned by the Chicago’s Gibsons Restaurant Group. It may be five years old now, but you’d never know it from the crowd on a recent Thursday night when I dined, which appeared to be a mix of tourists and business people alike.

Primo cuts aging.
Primo cuts aging.
Another refrigerator holding the goods.
Another refrigerator holding the goods.

Take the elevator up to the second floor of the Bank of America tower to get to the restaurant, where you’ll walk past glassed-in refrigerator cases of Japanese Wagyu beef and American prime, aged for a minimum of 28 days.

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Layers and Layers to Admire at Strata

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Rockfish crudo -- one of the courses on the $75 prix fixe at the new Strata.
Rockfish crudo — one of the courses on the $75 prix fixe at the new Strata.

In these economic times, bargain bliss is hard to come by.

But look to the new downtown San Jose restaurant Strata, set to open on Wednesday, and you will unexpectedly find it.

Relatively speaking.

After all, when’s the last time you enjoyed an upscale 5-course prix fixe dinner for $75? With a wine pairing for all of $40 for four different pours?

It’s not merely food plopped on a dish, either, but thoughtfully executed and plated with intention.

I had the opportunity to enjoy a sneak peek and taste over the weekend when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

The bar-lounge.
The bar-lounge.
The wine bottle display in the lounge.
The wine bottle display in the lounge.

Strata, pronounced “Stray-tuh,” is a geological term that refers to the layers of rock or sediment that form over time. It’s meant to evoke the layers of cuisine, hospitality, and experience that make up the restaurant, says co-owner Dan Phan.

It could also refer to the multi-faceted establishments that Phan, along with co-owners George Lahlou and Johnny Wang, have successfully launched in downtown San Jose over the past few years. Their MO Hospitality is the driving force behind bars Paper Plane, MINIBOSS, Still O.G. and Alter Ego, and the restaurant Eos & Nyx.

Like Eos & Nyx, Strata offers an upscale experience, but in this case, a bifurcated one.

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Oui Oui to JouJou

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Black cod with caramelized pineapple at JouJou.
Black cod with caramelized pineapple at JouJou.

For a time, it seemed as if French restaurants were an endangered species in San Francisco.

But in the past few years, that classic cuisine has arisen from the brink. That’s no more evident than the arrival last month of JouJou by David Barzelay and Colleen Booth, the team behind Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear in San Francisco.

While the latter delivers an ambitious tasting menu along with the theatrics of an open kitchen, JouJou in contrast serves only an la carte menu in a sprawling 6,500-square-foot space, divided into a few different dining spaces, along with two bars.

The first bar.
The first bar.
And the second one.
And the second one.
The enclosed patio dining room that's like dining in a greenhouse.
The enclosed patio dining room that’s like dining in a greenhouse.

It’s fitting that the restaurant is located in the Design District, what with its shades of cream, milky green, and soft pink that create a sort of vintage vibe, not to mention the rather risque baroque wallpaper in the bathrooms. The decor definitely leans into the restaurant’s name, which is French for “plaything.”

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