Another year, another 365 days of satisfying the appetite. Which eats do I still dream about? Which would I go back to just for another sublime taste?
These are my Top 10 dishes of the year (in no particular order). Here’s to 2019 — and more unforgettable meals to come!
Real-deal Black Forest cake at Gaumenkitzel. (photo by Carolyn Jung)
Gaumenkitzel in Berkeley is named for the old-fashioned German term for “delicious and precious.”
The restaurant is both those things personified.
It was opened in 2011 by husband-and-wife Kai Flache and Anja Voth, who hail from Hamburg, Germany.
You can’t miss the restaurant on San Pablo Avenue, what with its sunny mustard-hued facade. It’s the place for comforting, rib-sticking fare, along with what’s likely the largest selection of German beers and wines in the Bay Area.
Recently, I met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner, paying our own tab at the end.
The happy-hued exterior. (photo courtesy of Gaumenkitzel)
Flache revamped and designed the colorful, almost Scandinavian-like, clean-lined space, which used to be a lighting store. Voth is the head chef. She takes great pride in the fact that everything that can be made in house, is. That means even milling her own flour to make bread daily, flaking her own oats for granola, jarring her own jams, and culturing her own yogurt.
Chocolate (left) and halva (right) babkas by Babka by Ayelet.
If you think babka is just a sweet yeasted bread swirled with chocolate or cinnamon, then get ready to have your mind — and palate — blown.
After months of delays, Babka by Ayelet finally opened its doors two weeks ago at Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village to serve up babka in a variety of flavors, both sweet and savory.
Made by Israeli-born Ayelet Turgeman Nuchi, a former private chef on the Peninsula, this Eastern European specialty bread has been transformed.
All the flavors of Kung Pao chicken in vegetarian form.
There are many theories as to why Jews flock to Chinese restaurants on Christmas Day.
Some say this affinity, which dates back to the early 19th century, started because Jews and Chinese immigrants shared the commonality of being outliers in a new land.
Others say it’s because these were the only establishments open on the holiday, as Chinese restaurants famously never shut their doors.
I think it’s because who wouldn’t want to celebrate with family and friends around a big round table laden with winter melon soup, steamed dumplings, roast duck, a heap of chow mein and the like?
Whatever the reason, Chinese food definitely deserves a place at the holiday table. “Kung Pao Cauliflower” makes it super easy to inject a little Asian spice, no matter what else you’re serving.
The recipe is from the new “The Staub Cookbook: Modern Recipes for Classic Cast Iron”
Spicy Korean-style fried chicken snuggled inside steamed buns at Cin-Cin.
A lot of changes have been underfoot in the past year or so at the ever-popular Cin-Cin Wine Bar & Restaurant in Los Gatos.
First, founder Lisa Rhorer, a former marketing professional-turned-sommelier, sold the restaurant that she opened in 2008 to husband-and-wife Pasquale and Andrea Romano. With Pasquale already a co-founder of her second Los Gatos restaurant, Centenove, it was a fitting choice.
Second, a new chef came on board in May. Executive Chef Chris Velasquez is a familiar face in the South Bay, having worked at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino, Plumed Horse in Saratoga, The Table in San Jose, and Orchard City Kitchen in Campbell.
On his “free time,” Velasquez also teams with Chef John Shelsta (who’s especially famed for his kouign-amann and other buttery pastry delights) on pop-up Sunday brunches at Zola in Palo Alto, where Shelsta is manning the kitchen.
Head Chef Chris Velasquez.
Velasquez invited me in as a guest of the restaurant recently to see what he’s been up to. He revamped the menu, which used to be primarily centered around small plates. Now, he’s added more entrees and larger portions all around.