Your Chance to Try the Food Gal App, Cindy Pawlcyn Celebrates with Cake, and More

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FoodGalApp

Try the Mini Food Gal App — For Free

Yes, now here’s your chance  to try a mini version of my Food Gal “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” — for free.

Available at the iTunes store, the  free version has 21 recommended restaurants on it. If you like what you see, you can download the complete app with 70 more restaurant write-ups for a mere $1.99. It’s just like trying a cookie sample at the supermarket. With that first bite, you’re sure to enjoy it so much that you’ll want the whole shebang.

The map feature cleverly lets you find my recommended spots closest to you no matter your location in the Bay Area. Also new to the app is the ability to make reservations through OpenTable.

There might be no such thing as a free lunch. But now you can partake of my delicious mini app for free.

Cindy Pawlcyn Celebrates 30 Years

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s pioneering Mustard’s Grill in Yountville will celebrate its 30th anniversary in a very sweet way.

We’re talking cake — a different one featured daily for 30 days, from now through June 15.

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn celebrates a mega anniversary. (Photo courtesy of Alex Farnum)

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn celebrates a mega anniversary. (Photo courtesy of Alex Farnum)

The cake will be available on the dessert menu daily not only at Mustard’s Grill, but at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena and Cindy Pawlcyn’s Wood Grill & Wine Bar in St. Helena.

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A Visit to Hutong, Err, Betelnut

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Grilled Monterey calamari at Betelnut-turned-Hutong-turned-Betelnut.

Grilled Monterey calamari at Betelnut-turned-Hutong-turned-Betelnut.

 

Forgive this post for being a little schizoid. But when I visited the former Betelnut restaurant in San Francisco last month, it had recently revamped its interior and menu and had renamed itself Hutong restaurant. But after a lackluster review from the San Francisco Chronicle, Hutong abruptly became Betelnut again.

Fortunately, many of the more adventurous dishes that emerged from the Hutong menu remain available, now alongside classic Betelnut fare such as “Cecilia’s Minced Chicken Lettuce Wraps” ($12.50), named for Chinese culinary doyenne Cecilia Chiang, who was the original consulting chef for Betelnut.

Even better, long-time Chef Alex Ong remains at the helm, creating fiesty, pungent dishes reminiscent of Asian street food found in crowded alleys, otherwise known as “hutongs” in places like Beijing.

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Greek Yogurt Cake

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My idea of health food.

My idea of health food.

Yogurt does a body good.

This cake has plenty of yogurt in it.

Ergo, this cake is bona fide health food.

OK, maybe not. But can you blame me for trying? Especially when this “Greek Yogurt Cake” is so moist and tender, with a wonderful tang to it?

The recipe is from the new cookbook, “Mad Hungry Cravings” (Artisan) of which I received a review copy. Lucinda Scala Quinn, executive food editor of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and mother of three, has created comforting dishes sure to appeal to families — everything from chicken chive burgers to “Eggplant Parm Stacks” to banana chocolate chip cookies.

For this cake, I used Nancy’s Organic Greek Yogurt, of which I recently received a sample. The nonfat version is so thick and creamy that it’s hard to believe it’s made with skim milk. What’s more, the company says that each serving contains more than 56 billion active probiotic cultures, which are thought to aid digestion and strengthen the immune system. See, yogurt cake is good for  you. (wink, wink)

Thick and creamy Greek yogurt.

Thick and creamy Greek yogurt.

The yogurt, available in 6-ounce ($2.29) and 24-ounce ($6.69) containers is sold at Albertson’s, Safeway, Whole Foods, Raley’s, Andronico’s, Rainbow Grocery, Real Food, and Mollie Stone’s stores.

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Allergy-Free, Imagine It Baked Goods

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Crumb cake from Imagine It bakery. It's all gluten-free, too.

Crumb cake from Imagine It bakery. It’s all gluten-free, too.

 

When Tracy Horton found out she was allergic to gluten, she wished for cookies and cakes that she could still enjoy.

What’s more, she wanted to find a way to give youngsters with similar allergies a chance to finally enjoy their first decadent birthday cake just like any other kid would.

She imagined the possibilities.

And she made them happen.

The result is Imagine It, an allergy-friendly bakery that sells its treats at local farmers markets, including the Saturday Willow Glen market in San Jose, the Saturday Santa Clara market, and the Sunday Campbell one.

The baked goods are made without wheat, gluten, soy, eggs, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts. Instead, they get their texture from garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, fava bean flour, organic rice milk, and a vegan egg product.

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San Francisco’s Coqueta — A Tantalizing Triumph

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Michael Chiarello welcoming guests at his new Coqueta.

Michael Chiarello welcoming guests at his new Coqueta.

 

Swoon.

If I knew the Spanish word for that enraptured feeling, I’d be saying it.

Because that’s exactly how the new Coqueta restaurant on Pier 5 makes you feel with its Spanish flair. It’s not only the first restaurant in San Francisco by celeb Chef Michael Chiarello, but it’s also his first foray into something other than his Italian heritage.

Chiarello is no stranger to Spain, though. He’s traveled to that country for years. His eldest daughter also lives there, having married a Catalan man.

Like his smash-hit Bottega in Yountville, Coqueta (“flirt” in Spanish) is all about bold flavors with modern takes on traditional dishes done with whimsy. The former Lafitte restaurant is still recognizable. But it’s been given a major face-lift. The once temporary patio now has permanent walls, as well as a bar, where you can enjoy noshes sans reservations. Inside, the soaring, rustic-chic space is warm with lots of reclaimed wood, oak table tops made from barrel staves, and branded hides on the floors (from casualties from actual bull fights in Spain).

Take a seat at the bar to watch the kitchen in action.

Take a seat at the bar to watch the kitchen in action.

The restaurant imports the melt-in-your-mouth Iberico ham, as well as cures its own ham. In fact, you’ll find the Iberico even infused in gin that’s served in the “Tariff” ($12) cocktail with housemade acorn & apricot tonic, orange and cava. It’s one of the many creative libations by Joe Cleveland, a former mixologist for Jose Andres’ restaurants.

You know a restaurant has got it going, if it’s strong right out of the gate. Coqueta has set exactly that pace, as evidenced by my visit a mere three days after it had opened in April, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

With Chiarello’s track-record of opening hit restaurants, it’s no surprise just how wonderful the food is at Coqueta.

Quail egg “Diablo” ($2.50 each) puts mere deviled eggs to shame. These tiny hard-boiled eggs are spreared with lovely, sweet Serrano ham and a dollop of sharp pickled mustard seeds. The compact little morsel sure rocks the palate.

A pintxos of quail egg and jamon Serrano. Bet you can't eat just one.

A pintxos of quail egg and jamon Serrano. Bet you can’t eat just one.

More jamon draped on crisp tomato bread.

More jamon draped on crisp tomato bread.

Pan con tomate ($5) is the traditional grilled bread smeared with fresh tomato, but made with extra care, by using light airy Cristal, the famous bread of Barcelona, as its base. It gets super crisp on the grill, giving way to the smooth, sweet, jammy tomato sofrito.

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