Former Chef of Ad Hoc Planning His Own Restaurant

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Chef Dave Cruz cooking a whole lamb at his pop-up event.

Chef Dave Cruz cooking a whole lamb at his pop-up event.

 

After leaving Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc in Yountville, where he was head chef for seven years, Dave Cruz has some big plans of his own.

Look for Cruz to open his own restaurant late this year or sometime next year. He’s been scouting locations in Napa to open Miles Restaurant, a casual spot serving brilliant but unpretentious food, the kind of grub chefs like to eat on their days off.

The name references his son’s middle name, he says. But it also speaks of the local “miles” from the restaurant that he will source his ingredients, as well as how diners are more than willing to travel miles and miles to the Napa Valley for a great meal.

If his recent pop-up lamb roast is any indication, his food is sure to continue to lure folks from all over.

Dinner is served.

Dinner is served.

A little over a week ago, I was invited to be a guest at his pop-up at The Trappist in Oakland. When I got there, Cruz was manning a large grill set up in the gastropub’s back courtyard. For $25 per person, you got a plate full of juicy, tender lamb that had been rubbed in aleppo, paprika and espelette, along with herb-mustard potato salad, and chili-lime corn on the cob.

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Crunch-A-Licious Almonds and a Food Gal Giveaway

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Garlic Almonds for Father's Day.

Garlic Almonds for Father’s Day.

 

By now, you probably know how much of an almond addict that I am.

I love to eat them by the handful, of course. But I also love to bake with almond flour, smear almond butter on toast, dig into spoonfuls of almond jello at Chinese restaurants,  and nosh on any cookie made with sweet almond paste.

So, when Santé Nuts, a family-owned company in Santa Clara, recently sent me samples of its Garlic Almonds and Chipotle Almonds to try, I was practically delirious. The nuts themselves taste so incredibly fresh. You’ll notice that difference right off the bat. There’s a real crunch to them. The garlic ones are just garlicky enough so you still get the natural almond flavor, too. The chipotle ones have a slow smoky burn that’s never overpowering, either.

Company founder Sara Tidhar roasts the nuts the way her grandmother taught her. Tidhar used to make them for friends and family as gifts. But when she found herself divorced and a single mom, she decided to take a leap of faith to create a business around her grandmother’s tradition.

The rest is delicious history.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a “Dad’s Day 4-Pack” of two large bags of Santé Chipotle Almonds and Garlic Almonds.

Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Feb. 16 (Father’s Day). Winner will be announced on Feb. 19.

How to win?

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Buttermilk Coconut Blondies From the Farm That Supplies the French Laundry with Butter

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Moist from buttermilk and shredded coconut, these blondies won't even make you miss the chocolate.

Moist from buttermilk and shredded coconut, these blondies won’t even make you miss the chocolate.

 

When my Dad was still alive, he loved nothing more than embarking on cruises with my Mom.

He’d return from sailing around places like the Hawaiian islands with a scrapbook full of photos.

Of their room on the ship. Of the breakfast buffet on the ship. Of the fancy dinners on the ship. And of the midnight snacks on the ship.

I used to laugh, wondering if they’d ever stepped foot off the ship at all.

That’s why if he were still alive this Father’s Day, I’d bake him a batch of “Buttermilk Coconut Blondies.”

These oh-so chewy-good bars taste of the tropics, what with its generous load of shredded coconut. I couldn’t help but add a heap of macadamia nuts to the original recipe, too.

The blondies are from the new cookbook, “The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook” (Andrews McMeel), of which I received a review copy.  The book has quite the pedigree, too. It’s by Diane St. Clair who started supplying the French Laundry with its ultra-rich butter when she had all of two cows.  Her Animal Farm in Vermont continues to do so today — with eight cows.

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Seafood for Father’s Day and a Food Gal Giveaway

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A dish with which to spoil any father.

A dish with which to spoil any father.

 

My Dad loved nothing better than scrambled eggs in the morning enfolded with salty chunks of SPAM.

Yup, that was his breakfast of choice, if given his druthers.

If he were still alive this Father’s Day, I’d change that up. I’d present him with pillowy scrambled eggs, all right. But topped with briny caviar instead.

I’m sure he’d be startled, thinking I’d lost my mind or was mortgaging my house to do so.

Nope, on both accounts.

Instead, I’d tell him that Southern California-based Anderson Seafoods provided me with a sample to try. The roe is from American Lake Sturgeon. The teeny-tiny, ebony-charcoal-hued eggs have a nice pop when you bite into them. At $38 for a 1-ounce jar, it’s relatively affordable, too, as far as caviar goes, especially because it takes only a smidgeon to make anything more luxurious tasting.

The company offers an array of fresh and frozen seafood, all of which can be delivered to your door overnight.

A precious jar of roe.

A precious jar of roe.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a chance to sample $300 worth of seafood of your choice, courtesy of Anderson Seafoods. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through 6 p.m. PST June 13. The winner will be announced June 14.

How to win?

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A Return Visit to All Spice in San Mateo

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The signature "Snowglobe'' dessert at All Spice.

The signature “Snowglobe” dessert at All Spice.

What happens to a restaurant after it receives a coveted Michelin star for the first time?

It gets busy, busy, busy.

Such is the case with the charming All Spice in San Mateo, which opened in 2010, and was awarded a Michelin star in 2012.

The award is proudly displayed in the foyer of the 1906 Victorian that houses the restaurant.

The first time I visited the restaurant a few months after it opened, there were a few empty seats here and there in the cozy dining rooms. Now, the place is packed, as evidenced by a recent visit last month, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

Chef Sachin Chopra, who cut his chops at Amber India in San Jose and Daniel in New York, conceived of All Spice as a tribute to modern Indian cuisine. In the past few years, he’s fine-tuned his vision even more. All Spice has never been about blow-out-your palate spiciness. It’s always been far more subtle. It’s more so now. The fine-dining approach is evident in the artistry of the presentations. The techniques evoke French classicism. The flavors are Californian with measured accents of Indian.

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