San Jose’s New Poppy & Claro Outperforms

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Seared salmon with cauliflower, broccolini, and cornmeal-battered green beans. Would you believe this is all of $21 at Poppy & Claro?
Seared salmon with cauliflower, broccolini, and cornmeal-battered green beans. Would you believe this is all of $21 at Poppy & Claro?

Admittedly, when I was invited to dine as a guest of a new downtown San Jose restaurant, one established by the building’s developer who had never opened a restaurant before, I arrived skeptical.

By the time I left, though, I was an avowed convert, because Poppy & Claro far exceeded expectations.

Housed on the ground floor of the former KQED office building (and former Knight Ridder building before that), it’s very much designed for the weekday work crowd, as it’s open only Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. However, it’s available for private events on Sundays and Mondays.

Created by the Jay Paul Company, a Silicon Valley real estate firm, it’s centrally located right next to the San Jose Museum of Art and the winter ice skating rink. There’s even outdoor seating right by the Circle of Palms Plaza.

The communal table in the shape of the state.
The communal table in the shape of the state.
The bar.
The bar.

The restaurant name pays homage to California’s state flower and the wood from the state’s native walnut tree.

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In Celebration of Chocolate Chiffon Cake

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A chocolate chiffon cake with chocolate whipped cream that tastes lighter than you'd think.
A chocolate chiffon cake with chocolate whipped cream that tastes lighter than you’d think.

Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and pear tart may be the classics that typically cap off the holiday feast.

But for me, a chiffon cake enveloped in swirls of whipped cream frosting holds a dear place, as well.

As a Chinese American with extended family that includes Japanese American relatives, an airy, fluffy cake like those commonly found at Asian bakeries always hits the spot at the end of a heavy, bountiful meal when we want just a little something sweet but not too much.

Sometimes the cake would include a layer of fruit such as sliced fresh strawberries or drained, canned mandarin slices. Aunties always offered slices to take home afterward, too, carefully arranged on sturdy paper plates with a toothpick or two poking out of the top of the cake to prevent the plastic wrap cover from marring its whipped cream surface.

Even though that cake of my childhood was always vanilla, this “Chocolate Chiffon Cake” couldn’t but help bring back a rush of sweet memories.

While it’s slightly more indulgent, thanks to the melted chocolate in both the batter and the whipped cream frosting, at its heart it still eats light compared to so many traditional holiday desserts.

This marvelous recipe is from “Chocolate Lover” (Chronicle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

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Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Buttermilk Chive Fantail Rolls

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These rolls are sure to be a star on your holiday table.
These rolls are sure to be a star on your holiday table.

Holidays do a delicate dance between delivering comforting nostalgia and raise-the-bar pomp.

“Buttermilk Chive Fantail Rolls” cuts the difference splendidly. With their distinctive look of fanned-out pages of a classic novel, they signal “special” from the get-go. Yet with their ability to be enjoyed one layer at a time, they evoke memories of those refrigerated Pillsbury Grands biscuits in a tube that pops open with a “whoosh.”

Dressed up with snipped chives plus garlic and onion powders, these biscuits are from the new “Sally’s Baking 101” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy, that’s already a New York Times best-seller.

It was written by Maryland-based Sally McKenney, founder behind the sensation known as Sally’s Baking Addiction website, which has amassed millions of loyal readers. Established in 2011, the site is famed for its meticulously tested recipes and beautiful food photography.

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Dining at Michelin Two-Starred Enclos

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The dramatic presentation of venison tartare tartlets at Enclos.
The dramatic presentation of venison tartare tartlets at Enclos.

It’s uncommon for a restaurant to garner a Michelin star less than six months after opening.

It’s even more of a rarity to achieve two stars in that short span.

Yet Enclos in downtown Sonoma managed that impressive feat.

Brian Limoges, executive chef of the acclaimed restaurant that opened in December 2024, was caught so off guard that at first he didn’t think he had even been invited to the June ceremony in Sacramento. Turns out the emailed invitation had landed in his spam box.

Sitting in the audience of the awards ceremony, he then had a brief panic when he didn’t see Enclos listed among the new one-star recipients. But good things come to those who wait. And he and his staff were overjoyed to see they had won two stars right out of the gate.

Executive Chef Brian Limoges.
Executive Chef Brian Limoges.
The Michelin plaque.
The Michelin plaque.
The kitchen.
The kitchen.

Enclos, French for “enclosure,” is operated by Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma. In fact, you’ll find many ingredients on the restaurant’s tasting menu sourced from that verdant 16-acre farm just minutes away.

The winery is owned by Leslie McQuown and her husband Mac McQuown, a serial entrepreneur who also co-founded the Chalone Wine Group and Carmenet Winery. The couple decided to go all-in on the restaurant, and wow, has it paid off.

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David Nayfeld’s Miso Honey Mustard Baked Chicken

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A creamy Kewpie mayo-miso dressing does double duty, marinating the chicken and finishing a simple salad.
A creamy Kewpie mayo-miso dressing does double duty, marinating the chicken and finishing a simple salad.

We all know what it’s like to be face-to-face with a case of the hangries.

When you or someone with you is about to have a meltdown unless some delicious and satisfying food materializes pronto.

As the father of a 5-year-old daughter, David Nayfeld has been there more times than he can count.

Even for this chef-restaurateur of San Francisco’s Che Fico, Che Fico Pizzeria and Via Aurelia, as well as Menlo Park’s Bubbelah and Che Fico Parco, it can be a challenge when his daughter Helena asks pleadingly, “Dad, what’s for dinner?”

So, he’s taken all the tips and shortcuts he’s learned along the way and compiled it into his new cookbook, appropriately named, “Dad, What’s For Dinner?” (Alfred A. Knopf). It was written with Joshua David Stein, a Brooklyn author of cookbooks and children’s books.

The cookbook, of which I received a review copy, is a collection of more than 80 recipes designed to be family-pleasing, with nods to sneaking in a few more vegetables here and there, too.

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