Category Archives: Spirits/Cocktails/Beer

“Grill Takeover” Time At Eataly’s Terra

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Lamb tongue with horseradish potato foam at Terra's first "Grill Takeover'' dinner collaboration.
Lamb tongue with horseradish potato foam at Terra’s first “Grill Takeover” dinner collaboration.

Terra restaurant at Silicon Valley’s Eataly is getting taken over — in a fun and delicious way.

The rooftop restaurant inside Eataly at Westfield Valley Fair shopping Center in San Jose just launched a “Grill Takeover” series in which it partners with a local restaurant for a one-night collaborative dinner.

I was fortunate to be invited as a guest to the inaugural one last week with San Mateo’s Pausa restaurant.

The event featured Eataly Silicon Valley’s Chef Antonio Giordano and Pausa’s Chef Andrea Giuliani teamed on a four-course meal that was $125 per person.

Eataly Silicon Valley's Chef Antonio Giordano and Pausa's Chef Andrea Giuliani with Terra's general manager.
Eataly Silicon Valley’s Chef Antonio Giordano and Pausa’s Chef Andrea Giuliani with Terra’s general manager.

The dining room was full for this sold-out event. For those still cautious about dining indoors, you’ll be glad to know that Terra’s dining room is practically outdoors. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors leading to the outside dining terrace are left open. Moreover, the ceiling itself is slatted to allow for plenty of air flow.

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Dining — To The Hilt — At Mourad

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The magnificient basteeya at Mourad.
The magnificent basteeya at Mourad.

Whenever visitors from out of town query me about where to eat, one restaurant in particular always merits a high recommendation.

And that is Mourad in San Francisco.

Because chances are wherever they hail from, they do not have a restaurant in their vicinity that serves modern Moroccan cuisine. At least not anything as elevated and imaginative yet still stirringly soulful as this.

So, when I recently gathered to catch up with family in San Francisco last weekend and discovered they had never eaten here, I knew it was high-time they were introduced to Chef-Owner Mourad Lahlou’s singular cooking.

The kitchen at Mourad.
The kitchen at Mourad.
With Chef Mourad Lahlou.
With Chef Mourad Lahlou.

We perused the menu, ordered, and paid our tab — but had no idea that Lahlou would end up sending out nearly three-fourths of the menu to our table on the house. To say that we each needed a wheelbarrow to cart us out afterward would be putting it mildly. It proved a feast in every sense and for every sense.

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Dining (And Drinking) At Adrestia and Nokori Japanese Whisky Bar

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The Corvina Nikkei -- sans konbu dashi.
The Corvina Nikkei — sans konbu dashi.

Admittedly, when it comes to whisky, I am a total light-weight. It’s not that I don’t enjoy its smooth smoky, vanilla and caramel richness. It’s just that I fear keeling over after two sips.

That’s why I was glad to get introduced to Nokori Japanese Whisky Bar in the Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale. It’s designed not only for true connoisseurs who like to sip premium and potent whisky neat, but for more wimpy imbibers like myself who can kick back instead with a lightened-up, tall whisky highball instead.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of both Nokori and its adjacent restaurant Adrestia. Both are housed inside the upscale Tetra Hotel, which is actually right across from the AC Hotel Sunnyvale Moffet Park, which has a bar that conversely specializes in gin. Both are Marriott properties.

The Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale.
The Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale.
The hotel's Japanese whisky bar.
The hotel’s Japanese whisky bar.

Since it’s located near several Google buildings and Lockheed Martin, don’t be surprised to see plenty of tech types with laptops and suitcases biding their time in the lobby, bar or restaurant until they depart for the airport.

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A Panna Cotta For Adults Only

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If you love a Negroni, you'll be smitten by this Negroni panna cotta.
If you love a Negroni, you’ll be smitten by this Negroni panna cotta.

Have you ever wanted to drink your cocktail — and eat it, too?

You most certainly can with this playful “Negroni Panna Cotta.”

Made with gin, Campari, and vermouth just like the classic Italian cocktail, this is one panna cotta you’ll want to reserve only for grown-ups.

The recipe is from “Bar Menu” (Running Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by Andre Darlington, a food and beverage writer based in Philadelphia and North Carolina.

While a few specialty cocktail recipes are included, this is really a collection of recipes for food that pairs with various mixed drinks — from light bites to more substantial noshes to even desserts.

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Hawaii Eats: Nami Kaze and the Surreptitious Green Lady Cocktail Room, Oahu

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Roasted Big Island Kampachi at Nami Kaze.
Roasted Big Island Kampachi at Nami Kaze.

Honolulu, Oahu, HI — You know you’re in a cool spot when you spy a celebrity dining inconspicuously.

At least I’m pretty sure I spotted actress Lori Tan Chinn, who plays the scene-stealing cranky and crotchety grandma on “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens,” in a corner booth at Nami Kaze when I dined there recently with friends.

A 2023 James Beard semi-finalist for “Best New Restaurant,” the small plates or okazuya-style establishment is helmed by Chef-Owner Jason Peel, former executive chef of Roy’s Waikiki and culinary instructor at Kapiolani Community College.

Nami Kaze, which is Japanese for “wave” and “wind,” sits on the pier at Honolulu Harbor, where fishing boats pull up with their fresh catch daily.

The casual dining room with an industrial vibe.
The casual dining room with an industrial vibe.

This is the perfect place to gather with a small group, so you can sample many different dishes, all of which spotlight fresh ingredients, whose farms are listed prominently on the menu.

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