Chef Kim Alter’s squash hummus with black bean salt and crudites that I enjoyed in the comfort of my own home.
This past weekend, Chef Kim Alter of San Francisco’s acclaimed Nightbird was the star attraction at my house.
OK, not her in the flesh per se. But her creativity was certainly on full display in half a dozen dishes we heartily enjoyed — without having to leave the house.
Welcome to Moveable Feast, a new nationwide subscription platform that delivers once-a-month dinner parties right to your door, curated by some of the most celebrated chefs from around the country, many of whom boast Michelin stars and James Beard Awards. It’s a meal kit with serious pedigree.
Each dinner requires only 30 minutes or less of assembling, plating and heating before it’s ready to be served. Detailed written instructions are included, as well as a QR code to access videos that show how each dish is presented. There’s even a fun playlist included for each dinner.
The dinner party fixings delivered right to your door.
Each chef designs their own dinner party meal, which is then prepared in a commercial kitchen in Napa before being shipped out. Each dinner arrives to you on a Thursday or Friday, in time to enjoy on Saturday or Sunday.
The $75-per-person passport lets you receive complimentary wine tastings at 19 participating wineries in Calistoga, Lake County, Pope Valley, and St. Helena, from Dec. 2 to Feb. 4, 2024. That’s more than $750 worth of tastings alone.
Additionally, the passport gives you access to special discounts from participating hotels, spas, and boutiques. It makes for an ideal time for a getaway or to do some holiday shopping for gifts.
The unexpected truffle pasta dish on the kaiseki menu at N/Naka.
Since learning of it from the first season of Netflix’s “Chef’s Table” in 2015, I have been fascinated by the Los Angeles restaurant, N/Naka.
This Michelin two-starred restaurant opened in 2011 to serve kaiseki, the elegant, multi-course Japanese meal spotlighting ingredients at their seasonal peak in a series of specific cooking techniques.
Back then, it was a type of cuisine that was a rarity in the United States. And even more so when it was crafted by a woman, Chef-Owner Niki Nakayama and her wife, Sous Chef Carole Iida-Nakayama, who dared to put their own thrilling contemporary touches on this classic Japanese haute cuisine.
At all of 26 seats, this restaurant is notoriously difficult to book. While I travel to Los Angeles maybe once a year, I’d never managed to plan the trip in advance enough to even try to snag a table there.
Until two weeks ago. That’s when the stars aligned and Lady Luck was on my side, giving me entree to a dining experience that was nothing short of singularly magical.
You see, N/Naka opens its online reservation bookings once a week at 10 a.m. on Sunday for tables a month later. But sign on right at that second, and you’ll likely find all the reservations gone already and your dreams vanquished — just like that.
After experiencing that disappointment a few times, I started searching online for reservation tips. I came upon a thread that advised staying on the booking site for at least an hour after reservations open, because people will click on a specific reservation that gives a 10-minute window to finalize, only to decide they don’t want it after all. The thread also mentioned that tables of 4 or 6 were easier to come by than for 2.
The unassuming, unmarked entrance of this Michelin two-starred restaurant.
So, for more than half an hour, I kept refreshing the page again and again, growing more apprehensive by the minute. A 9 p.m. reservation for 6 people popped up, tempting me to claim it as I figured I could somehow rope a few more people into trekking to Los Angeles with my husband and me. But I hate dining that late, especially for a tasting menu that lasts 3 hours. So, I bit my tongue, and passed on it, wondering if I had just made a huge mistake.
It’s made with real fruit juice without any added sugar. It’s also vegan and gluten-free.
The canned sparkling water comes in five flavors: Yuzu with Ginger, Pomelo, Calamansi, Lychee, and Mango, all of which I had a chance to sample recently.
These do not taste like overly sweet soda by any stretch. They are refreshing, fizzy waters with a vivid, natural fruit taste.
The Pomelo is bright and tangy, but with less bitterness than the fresh fruit or a grapefruit.
The Yuzu with Ginger is yuzu forward with just a faint touch of ginger. It’s floral and citrusy with far less aggressive acidity than lemon.
The Calamansi is lime-like but with a lovely flowery presence to round it out.
The Lychee might be my favorite for its touch of natural sweetness along with an expansive floralness.
Sanzo Mango Sparkling Water.
Unlike the others that are pretty much clear in color, the Mango one is yellow-orange in the glass. It’s made with Alphonso mango puree, so you really get the characteristic musky, peach-papaya-apricot taste.
It’s been a long time in coming for Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia, who was born in Mexico City and grew up in the Napa Valley. Last year, he returned to Wine Country to open this fine-dining restaurant after honing his skills at the such revered establishments as the original Cyrus in Healdsburg, the French Laundry in Yountville, Spruce in San Francisco, and Luce in San Francisco.
This marks the first star he’s earned.
And what a triumph it has been, as evidenced by the superlative meal I experienced when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant earlier this month.
Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia stands underneath his first Michelin star.
Pull up to the roundabout driveway of the country-chic resort, and you’ll find the restaurant off to the right. Auro shares the same pristine kitchen as the resort’s casual restaurant, Truss.
