Category Archives: Wine

Delicious Fund-Raiser, New Zagat, Michelin Guide News, & More

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Enjoy grilled halibut at Yankee Pier Lafayette on Thursday to help a good cause. (Photo courtesy of Yankee Pier)

Enjoy a seafood lunch or dinner at Yankee Pier in Lafayette on Sept. 24, and benefit a good cause at the same time.

Twenty percent of sales from that entire day will be donated to the Taylor Family Foundation.

The non-profit partnered with the East Bay Regional Park District in 1998 to build Camp Arroyo in Livermore. The camp serves Northern California children suffering from life-threatening and chronic illnesses, as well as kids with developmental disabilities, and at-risk youth.

Yankee Pier's fish & chips. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Whether you sit down to some grilled halibut, clam chowder, or oysters on the half shell, you’ll be helping to make a difference.

The new Zagat 2010 San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants Guide was released today. Results were based on the opinions of more than 9,700 diners.

San Francisco’s Gary Danko reclaimed the No. 1 spot for food, edging out Cyrus in Healdsburg (which came in second), and the French Laundry in Yountville (which took the title last year, but dropped to third this year).

Gary Danko also came in first for “Most Popular” restaurant, edging out San Francisco’s Boulevard (second place), the French Laundry (third place), San Francisco’s Slanted Door (fourth), and Cryus (fifth).

Given the beyond-dismal state economy, it’s probably no surprise that 52 percent of responders say they’re dining out less. Indeed, 36 percent said they find it easier to score a previously impossible-to-get reservation, and 40 percent feel their patronage is now more appreciated by restaurants.

Even with diners watching their pocketbook, 73 percent still feel that it’s important to eat local, organic, and sustainably-raised foods.

(Image courtesy of Michelin)

You’ll have to wait until Oct. 20 for the new 2010 Michelin Guide San Francisco.

But you can get an early taste of what’s to come by following the local San Francisco Michelin inspectors on Twitter (@MichelinGuideSF). Yes, the usually secretive inspectors actually will be tweeting about their experiences in the weeks leading up to the launch of the guide book.

Diners can get in on the fun two weeks before the release by playing along in a restaurant IQ game. Clues will hint at some of the inspectors’ “Picks for Value’.” Daily winners who guess the restaurnts correctly can win a set of the new guides. Plus, one grand prize winner will garner a Michelin dining experience for two. Just check the FamouslyAnonymous.com site each day, beginning Oct. 5, to find out more details.

A new component has been added to the 18th annual San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival, now going on through Sept. 27. Two cooking classes, Sept. 25-26, will be held to educate the community about healthful, local, and sustainable foods.

The “Food for the Heart & Soul” classes, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each of those two days at the Mayfair Community Center in San Jose, will teach participants how to cook more healthful Mexican food. Registration fee is $75.  To reserve a spot, register here.

Whole Foods has added a new line of kosher chicken and turkey products to its poultry offerings nationwide.

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Gaga for Gaja

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(Image courtesy of Gaja Winery)

No plans for this Sunday night yet?

Head over to Donato Enoteca in Redwood City at 6 p.m. for a just-confirmed dinner event with famed Italian winemaker Gaia Gaja of Gaja Winery.

Located in the small town of  Barbaresco in northwest Italy, the winery has been around since 1859. Known — of course — for its Barbarescos, the winery has been family-run for five generations.

Tomorrow night, single-vineyard Barbarescos and Barolos will be paired with a special Piemontese menu created by Executive Chef Donato Scotti.

The prix fixe will be $45 per person. The restaurant’s regular menu also will be available.

The Gaja wines will be offered by the glass, quarto, mezzo, and bottle, ranging from $25 to $400.

Guests will have the opportunity to purchase a bottle of wine to take home, too.

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With Madera, Looks Are Deceiving at First Glance

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King salmon with a salmon sausage at Madera.

Don’t let the ho-hum, earth-tone, low-slung buildings fool you. Nor the location right off the traffic-clogged Sand Hill Road exit off of Interstate 280.

The new Rosewood Sand Hill resort might not look that impressive from the outside. But just step inside.

Its Madera restaurant will catch you off guard with its unexpected sophistication. You’ll practically forget where you are when you step inside the California-elegant dining room with its soaring A-frame wood ceiling, roaring stone fireplace, copper-trimmed open kitchen, and floor-to-ceiling windows that open out onto a terrace with a view of the rolling hills. At sunset, there’s no better seat than one outside. You feel as if you are ensconced at a breathtaking Napa resort.

Rosewood, also the owner of such premier properties as the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, and the Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, knows how to do warm, comfortable luxuriousness well. And if the recent Saturday night I was invited to dine was any indication, folks on the Peninsula are basking in it, as the restaurant was packed.

The wine service is exceptional. No surprise since the wine program is overseen by Paul Mekis, a veteran of the Plumed Horse in Saratoga, and Aqua in San Francisco. He offers a number of wines by the glass that aren’t usually available that way, including an ’06 Nickel & Nickel Merlot ($25). Varietals are served in the newest line of Riedel stemware, which have unusually thick stems attached to the bowls, giving them a rather bold and modern sensibility, and making them very comfortable to grasp.

Executive Chef Peter Rudolph, formerly of Campton Place in San Francisco and the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, showcases a menu focused on local, seasonal, and sustainable. In fact, the evening my husband and I were invited in, East Palo Alto farmer David Winsberg of Happy Quail Farms had just given a talk to the kitchen staff about his famed peppers, including Japanese shishitos, that he is supplying to Madera.

As we were seated, the hostess deftly positioned a metal hook on the edge of the table to drape my purse, so that it didn’t have to sit on the floor. Soft, airy house-made focaccia was set down on the table, along with a cube of butter with a well in the center of it that held a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

A lovely amuse of crab and radish.

As we perused the a la carte dinner offerings, a creamy-crunchy amuse bouche arrived of crab salad, radish, and turnip puree.

White corn soup with the intense taste of summer.

I started with the glorious white corn soup ($11). A bowl was set down in front of me with rounds of salmon mousse inside. Then, the creamy, sweet soup was poured over it, with the concentrated taste of just-cut-off-the-cob imbued in it.

Crispy veal sweatbreads over a bed of wild mushrooms.

My husband’s veal sweetbreads with lobster mushrooms and white corn ($13) were exceptional, especially because they arrived at the table very hot and crisp, which is not always the case with fried foods at many restaurants.

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Get Ready for Burgers, Chocolate, Celeb Chefs, and More

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Fleming's Prime Burger is a mouth-full and then some. (Photo courtesy of Fleming's)

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is rolling out a bevy of burgers on its bar menu.

Sit down in the bar area at either of the two Bay Area locations, Palo Alto and Walnut Creek, to take your pick of Fleming’s Prime Burger (with cheddar cheese and peppered bacon, $12), Sliced Filet Mignon Burger (with sauteed mushrooms and Bernaise sauce, $18), Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Burger (with creamy mustard sauce, $16), Ahi Tuna Burger (with soy ginger sauce, $12), or Portobello Mushroom Burger (with sauteed spinach and creamy goat cheese, $10).

All are accompanied by a mini wedge salad and onion rings.

Every Wednesday through September from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the restaurant will offer complimentary samplings of its burger menu to entice you even more.

Chocolate and more chocolate star at the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival. (Photo courtesy of Ghirardelli)

If chocolate is more your thing, you’ll be in heaven at the 14th annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival, noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 12-13.

More than 40 vendors will be showcasing their chocolate creations, including Kika’s Treats, Mary Louise Butters Brownies, and Ciao Bella Gelato.

There will be live music, as well as a “Hands Free” Earthquake Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest. Yes, it’s just what you think it is, and just as messy. The winner takes home a ginormous basket of Ghirardelli chocolate.

Top Chef's Casey Thompson. (Photo courtesy of the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival)

If that weren’t enough, “Top Chef” finalist, Casey Thompson, will lead the cooking demonstrations at 2 p.m. both days.  Bravo TV fans may remember that Thompson was not only voted “America’s Favorite” on the show, but nicknamed “the Jennifer Aniston of cooking” by the one and only Anthony Bourdain.

The festival is free. Chocolate tasting tickets are $20 for 15 tastings. The event benefits Project Open Hand, a San Francisco non-profit that provides meals to seniors and seriously ill individuals.

Summer heirloom tomatoes go swank at Masa’s in San Francisco.

The restaurant is featuring a “Celebration of Tomatoes’‘ eight-course menu for $105 per person, Tuesday through Saturday nights through September. Wine pairing is an additional $79.

Dishes are expected to include ones such as Green Zebra tomato gazpacho with ricotta cheese flan and Gravenstein apple salad; and pan-seared medallion of prime New York beef with roasted tomato tartlette. The tomatoes are from Verdure Farm in Healdsburg.

Seafood goes Italian-style at Poggio Trattoria in Sausalito.

Sept. 15-19, the restaurant will host “Festa di Pesce” to showcase local seafood such as sardines, calamari, anchovies, mackerel, and swordfish.

Chef Peter McNee will debut a special menu of crudo (raw, marinated, cured), and cotto (cooked) seafood antipasti. They will be priced from $7 to $9, or three for $21. A pairing of three tastes of Italian wine is an additional $12 per person.

Duck leg confit with plum glaze, which I got to sample last week at LarkCreekSteak.

The Lark Creek Restaurant Group spotlights South Australia through September.

The “South Australia Comes to America” promotion will feature menus, wines, and special events showcasing the fourth largest of Australia’s six states. South Australia is one and a half times larger than Texas, and accounts for about 60 percent of all wine made in Australia.

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New Restaurants, New Wine Happenings, & More

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An artsy ice cream dessert from the upcoming Bocanova in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of Bocanova)

Oakland’s Jack London Square has definitely become the hot spot for exciting new restaurants.

The latest one, Bocanova, is expected to open Sept. 1 in a restored 1920s ice-house.

The flavors of Latin America, the Old World, and Northern California will be spotlighted in this Pan-American restaurant by Chef/Co-Owner Rick Hackett. A veteran of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Postrio in San Francisco, Bay Wolf in Oakland, and Oliveto in Oakland, Hackett will be turning out such delectables as Yucatan Seafood Stew ($15), Sea of Cortez Scallops with Brazilian Curry Sauce ($14), a 24-ounce “Ancho” Steak with Chimichurri Bernaise ($32), and whole Organic Rotisserie Chicken with Guajillo & Banana Salsa ($19).

Desserts are by Pastry Chef Paul Conte, formerly of MarketBar in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

Petrale sole picatta at the Lake Chalet. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Another newcomer to Oakland is the recently opened Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill in the historic, century-old Lake Merritt Boat House.

The restaurant is by the same team behind the Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant, and Park Chalet Garden Restaurant, both in San Francisco.

At the Lake Chalet grill, Executive Chef Jarad Gallagher serves up dishes such as English Pea & Ham Hock Soup, Dungeness Crab Cakes with Popcorn Puree, and Vande Rose Farms BBQ Baby Back Ribs.

New to downtown Campbell is the Cyprus Bistro & Cafe, which serves organic Greek, Turkish, and Mediterranean dishes, including house-made baklava. The wine list features a large selection of organic and biodynamic wines.

Also opening its doors in downtown Campbell is Chacho’s Taqueria. The eatery used to be located in San Jose, but closed a few years ago. Now, it’s reopened in Campbell, 266b E. Campbell Ave., serving its signature tacos, burritos, ceviche, and soups.

The new Heirloom Tomat-O Burger. (Photo courtesy of Best-O-Burger)

San Francisco’s Best-O-Burger has added two enticing summer treats to the menu.

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