Category Archives: Wine

Delicious Doings

Posted on by One comment

Redwood City's new Donato Enoteca. (Photo courtesy of the www.diLuNa.org)

Hungry for braised Niman Ranch oxtail and asparagus tips served over “bigoli” pasta ($14)?

Or pizza topped with house made spicy sausage, broccoli rabe, tomato, and fresh mozzarella ($11)?

Or Mediterranean sea bream sauteed with prawns, mussels, clams and tomato sauce ($18)?

Then, head to downtown Redwood City’s new Donato Enoteca. It’s the new venture by Executive Chef-Owner Donato Scotti who cooked at the Michelin-starred Ristorante dell’Angelo in Italy, and most recently at La Strada in Palo Alto. Originally from Bergamo, Italy, Scotti’s menu reflects his northern Italian heritage.

The wine program focuses on smaller-production wines, most of them Italian. A large variety of grappas is also available, as it’s one of Scotti’s favorite spirits.

Ubuntu Annex is open for business. (Photo courtesy of Ubuntu)

In the market for upscale gourmet cookware, plus stylish yoga clothing?

Then, you’ll be glad to know that Ubuntu Annex has opened next door to acclaimed Ubuntu Restaurant in downtown Napa.

Find specialty dishware, specialty salts, artisan olive oils, and Ubuntu chef coats and aprons. Wines also will be available by the taste, vertical flight, or bottle at the wine tasting bar.

Colorful houseware available at Ubuntu Annex. (Photo courtesy of Ubuntu)

Wine specials can be had at Lark Creek Restaurant Group establishments throughout July.

For the seventh year in a row, every bottle on every wine list at every restaurant in the group will be offered at half price for brunch, lunch, and dinner during that month.

For instance, at Yankee Pier in Santana Row in San Jose, a bottle of 2008 Honig Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley that’s normally $32, can be enjoyed for $16.

Wine aficionados will find more to like at One Market and LarkCreekSteak restaurants, both in San Francisco. Through July and possibly beyond, both restaurants are touting a premium wine special.

Read more

Foodie Happenings

Posted on by 6 comments

The winery that put California on the map. (Photo courtesy of Chateau Montelena)

You’re invited to take part in a James Beard Foundation gala event to honor one of the Napa Valley’s — and the world’s — most lengendary wine-making families.

The Barrett family of Chateau Montelena helped put California wine on the map when its 1973 Chateau Montelena won the famous “Paris Tasting,” beating out all other wines, including notable French ones.

To honor the family’s historic contributions to the wine world, the foundation is hosting a “Legends of Wine” event, July 11-12, in the Napa Valley.

It starts with a tasting, tour, and lunch at Chateau Montelena in Calistoga on July 11. A flight of Chardonnays, going back 15 years, will be sampled, along with a tasting of Estate Cabarnets. Lunch will be prepared by Chef Ken Frank of acclaimed La Toque restaurant in Napa. That night, dinner also will be prepared by Frank at his restaurant.

The next day, La Toque hosts a gala dinner with guest chefs that include Neal Fraser of Grace in Los Angeles, and Michel Richard of Citronelle in Washington, D.C.

VIP tickets that get you into all the events are $1,500 per person. If that’s too rich for your blood, the gala dinner is $500. For reservations, call (707) 257-5157. The event is a fund-raiser for the James Beard Foundation.

For more fabulous wines to enjoy, don’t miss “Pinot Days San Francisco,” now through June 28.

The event thatl celebrates everyone’s favorite varietal, includes a grand festival that features more than 200 pinot producers from around the world, as well as winemaker dinners, and focused tastings. Tickets range in price from $50 to $150.

A wine deal at Terzo. (Photo courtesy of Art Gray)

Terzo restaurant in San Francisco has a deal for wine afficionados. Sunday through Thursday through Labor Day, the restaurant is offering all $40 and under wines on the menu at half-price for dinner guests. Just order two small plates or one large one per person to take advantage of the vino special.

To commemorate San Francisco’s Pride Parade on June 28, Macy’s Union Square Cellar is hosting a cooking demo, noon June 27, with some of the Bay Area’s top toques. They include Adam Jones of Market Street Grill in San Francisco; and Jennifer Biesty, former contestant on Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” and now chef at Scala’s Bistro in San Francisco.

Read more

Feast On This

Posted on by 2 comments

Husband and wife, chefs Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani, of Ame in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of Ame)

* Wednesdays, head to Ame in San Francisco to enjoy a new three-course themed dinner that changes weekly.

That’s three courses with wine/beverage pairings for $55 per person.

The June 24 dinner highlights the distilled Japanese spirit, shochu. To whet your whistle, I’ll let you know what one of the featured dishes that night is “bo ssam” — braised pork belly that you wrap at the table with fried oysters and kimchi. It will be accompanied by “Imperial Jade,” a shiso cucumber-infused shochu cocktail with preserved Meyer lemon and soda, served on the rocks.

* Friday, a new contemporary Indian restaurant opens in downtown Mountain View.

Sakoon, named for the Indian word for “peace,” features a dramatic interior decorated with fiber-optic chandeliers, hand-carved wood panels, and a shimmering waterfall. Executive Chef Sachin Chopra, who previously headed the kitchen at Mantra in Palo Alto, serves up regional Indian cuisine with a modern touch.

* Find pork galore on June 27 at the “High on the Hog” event at Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco.

The al fresco afternoon soiree will feature Pinot Noir tastings, and Executive Chef Jan Birnbaum preparing a slow-roasted whole pig scented with fennel. If that’s not enough, wine writer Jordan McKay also will be on hand to sign copies of his book, “Passion for Pinot: A Journey Through America’s Pinot Noir Country” (Ten Speed Press).

Talk about goodie bags. Guests will get to take home a treat of pork cracklings’ seasoned with sea salt.

Price is $50 per person for everything; $20 for just the food; or $30 just for the wine tasting.

* San Mateo’s modern Filipino restaurant, Bistro Luneta, has added weekend brunch to its lineup.

Wake up to “Eggs Benedict” ($8.95), served with sun-dried tomatoes and Philippine sausage; or a “Fili-Panini Sandwich” ($8.95), a panini filled with pork adobo or barbecued pork. Beverage choices include calamansi juice made from the tiny Filipino citrus ($3.80), and a 1-liter “Sangria Flask” ($9).

Buttery croissant sandwich at Mayfield Bakery & Cafe. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

* Palo Alto’s Mayfield Bakery & Cafe also will start serving breakfast, beginning June 22.

Take a bite of a “Croissant Breakfast Sandwich.” A homemade croissant — but of course, with its fab bakery on site — is stuffed with Gruyere cheese, scrambled eggs, and your choice of bacon or ham.  Or dig into a bowl of “Semolina Pudding with Honeyed Cream,” a velvety porridge topped with brown sugar, and a dollop of cream cheese sweetened with maple syrup. Breakfast dishes will be priced from $8 to $15.

A new kids' cookbook by the former food editor of Sunset magazine.

* Treat your kids to a hands-on cooking demo at MacArthur Park restaurant in Palo Alto, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. June 20.

The event celebrates the new children’s cookbook by Jerry Ann DiVecchio, former food editor of Sunset magazine, and artist Francoise Kirkman, who also worked at the magazine. “You’ve Got Recipes” (Trafford Publishing) features waterproof, laminate pages, as well as a French-English glossary with a pronunciation guide for French terms used in the book.

The class is $25. The book is $27.95, and will be for sale at the class. Call (650) 321-9990 for reservations.

* The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco is getting its grill on.

June 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., get an education in meat from Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats, as he teaches a sausage-making and grilling class. He’ll be joined by meat purveyer, Steve McCarthy of Prather Ranch Meat Co., who will give the low-down on sustainable meat. Mixologist H. Joseph Ehrmann also will show you how to concoct seasonal, fresh cocktails.

Read more

Winners of Food Gal’s “Whine, Wine, and Thine” Contest

Posted on by 17 comments

Pondering contest winners over a nice glass of Pinot Noir.

Let me just say that you guys sure don’t make it easy.

About two dozen of you entered the very first Food Gal contest, “Whine, Wine, and Thine,” which asked you to share your favorite memory about wine.

Your anecdotes variously made me laugh, drop my jaw, brush away tears, and just plain grin from ear to ear.

Your passion and honesty made it very difficult to whittle the list down to just three winners. Basically, I wanted to give everyone a prize. Since I can’t exactly afford to do that, I am amending my prizes to include not only first-, second-, and third-place winners, but also TWO honorable mentions, each of whom will win one food or wine book from my collection. The rest of you already know that third place garners you two such books, second place wins three said books, and first place gets a whopping four books.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for participating. For those of you who weren’t victorious this time around, don’t worry. After the great response to this one, I’m sure I’ll hold another Food Gal contest in the months to come.

Without further adieu, here are the winners:

Read more

Food Gal’s First Contest: Whine, Wine, and Thine

Posted on by 28 comments

Rosé -- the perfect sip for warm weather.

Wine Story #1:

I remember my first taste of wine. It was not a good one.

It occurred when I was not yet even in my teens. I was visiting my Uncle Harry in San Francisco’s Chinatown. I was feeling parched, so I rummaged around in the refrigerator for something cool to drink.

I spied a bottle of Welch’s Grape Juice, and poured myself a big glass. I eagerly took a gulp. Then, I nearly gagged.

This was definitely not grape juice, as I spat it out in the sink, and poured the remainder down the drain.

I later learned it was jug red wine my uncle had poured into the container instead.

Needless to say, I never drank anything out of that refrigerator again.

Wine Story #2:

I remember my first taste of wine that I loved.

I was not yet 21. (Shhh, don’t tell.) I was still in high school when my best friend and I decided to celebrate our birthdays together by going out to a French restaurant by ourselves. Yes, when you grow up in food-centric San Francisco, this was not uncommon for teens to do.

It was an old-school French restaurant on Geary Street, the kind where they served little bowls of pate with cornichons at the start, and flaming Crepes Suzette at the end.

Our waitress was an older French woman who was as kind as can be. When she heard we were celebrating our birthdays, she said we must have wine with dinner. My friend and I looked at each other anxiously, knowing full well we weren’t 21. We knew the waitress had to know, too. Still, she insisted. She told us there was a particular wine she knew we would enjoy. She raced off to get it.

She opened the bottle, and poured us two glasses. It was a blush pink wine, a rose that was fruity and sweet. We both smiled when we took our first sip. And our server grinned, too, at our delighted response.

I’m almost afraid to tell people nowadays what the wine was that I first fell so hard for.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »