Donostia Debuts in Los Gatos

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A simple, yet sublime, mushroom brocheta at the new Donostia in Los Gatos.

A simple, yet sublime, mushroom brocheta at the new Donostia in Los Gatos.

 

If you had any doubt that Spanish food remains one of the hottest crazes around even years after El Bulli’s Ferran Adria introduced the world to foams, just take a look at what’s happening in the Bay Area.

In January, Chef Paul Canales, formerly of Oliveto, opened Restaurant Duende & Bodega in Oakland. This spring, look for celebrity chef, Michael Chiarello of Bottega in Yountville, to open the splashy Coqueta on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

Thankfully, the South Bay has not been left behind in all of this. Donostia (the Basque name for San Sebastian) opened last month at 424 Santa Cruz Ave. in Los Gatos to serve up tapas alongside Spanish wines and beers.

The new restaurant is by the same duo behind Enoteca La Storia, just a couple doors away in the same retail-business center. Owners Joe Cannistraci and Michael Guerra, couldn’t resist when this long, narrow 1,000-square-foot space became available.

The two Italian guys traveled to San Sebastian to familiarize themselves with authentic tapas. That’s where they met Agustin Elbert, a native Argentinian who has spent the past dozen years cooking in Spain, including at a number of well-known tapas places. They lured him to Los Gatos to be their consulting chef.

The long, narrow space features a bar with seating, as well as bar-height tables.

The long, narrow space features a bar with seating, as well as bar-height tables.

Last week, I had a chance to visit Donostia as a guest of the restaurant. With a built-in clientele who often spill over from sister establishment, Enoteca La Storia, Donostia is already packing in regulars even if it’s only been open a couple of weeks.

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Sensual Spinach Baked with Ricotta & Nutmeg

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A less rich -- but no less satisfying -- version of creamed spinach.

A less rich — but no less satisfying — version of creamed spinach.

 

This dish is rather cheeky.

It combines the voluptuousness of soft ricotta with the pert green of spinach.

Eggs, whipped to a luscious froth, add a custardy body. And grated parmesan a delicious saltiness.

I rather fancy it, especially late at night when everyone else is asleep, and I saunter silently downstairs in my silk robe to eat it brazenly with fingertips straight out of the fridge.

Forgive me my Nigella impersonation. But I can’t help myself, as this dish surely will have you feeling a little like that British culinary bombshell. “Spinach Baked with Ricotta & Nutmeg” is from Nigella Lawson’s newest cookbook, “Nigellissima” (Clarkson Potter).

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Food Photo Exhibit, Tea Fest & More

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"Watermelon Radishes'' by Paulette Tavormina. (Image courtesy of the artist)

“Watermelon Radishes” by Paulette Tavormina. (Image courtesy of the artist)

March Debuts Food Photo Exhibit

Gourmet kitchen and pantry retailer, March, in San Francisco will feature an exhibition by food photographer, Paulette Tavormina.

The New York City artist creates sumptuous food photos that have the air of 17th century Old Master still-life paintings of food and flora. Tavormina styles each photograph with the utmost of detail and makes dramatic use of light.

March will display 16 of her works from March 14 to June 1.

Just think: You can take in an art show, then shop for table linens, cast iron cookware and gourmet jams to create your own tableau at home.

"Pears'' by Paulette Tavormina. (Image courtesy of the artist)

“Pears” by Paulette Tavormina. (Image courtesy of the artist)

San Francisco International Tea Festival

Enjoy the soothing and fascinating world of tea at the San Francisco International Tea Festival, March 10 at the Ferry Building.

The event includes seminars on the history of tea in the United States, tea as medicine and the green teas of Japan. There will be plenty to taste, too.

Exhibitors include the Imperial Tea Court, owned by festival host, Roy Fong; as well as Chado, Sky Tea and Alegio Chocolate.

General admission, which includes a commemorative tote bag and ceramic tasting cup, is $20 each. Seminars are $5 each.

“Taste of the Nation” Coming to San Francisco

A bevy of stellar chefs will be featured in the Taste of the Nation event, March 21, at the Bentley Reserve in San Francisco.

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Aida Mollenkamp’s Shrimp Simmered in Garlicky Beer Sauce

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Pour yourself a cold beer to enjoy this easy shrimp dish heady with your favorite bar food-flavors.

Does the thought of noshing on handful after handful of honey-mustard pretzels chased with a frosty beer sound like bliss?

Then, you’re sure to go wild for this dish from Food Network host Aida Mollenkamp that boasts all of those favorite bar-food flavors.

“Shrimp Simmered in Garlicky Beer Sauce” is from her cookbook, “Keys to the Kitchen” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy. The host of “Ask Aida,” who studied at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, has created a reference book to put you at ease in the kitchen. The book includes 305 recipes for straightforward dishes that will take you through morning, noon and night.  Also included are primers on various cuts of protein, cooking equipment, spices to keep on hand, and illustrations on how to expertly cut up a chicken and fillet a whole fish.

This shrimp dish is simple enough to make on a weeknight as it cooks up in less than half an hour. Large shrimp are simmered in butter, loads of garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, a drizzle of honey and some lager beer. Mollenkamp calls for light lager, but I just used regular lager.

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Richard Blais To Appear at Santana Row’s Sur La Table, Justin’s Restaurant To Finally Open in Santa Clara, and More

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The whimsical cover of Richard Blais' debut cookbook.

Meet Top Chef’s Richard Blais

Richard Blais, winner of  “Top Chef: All-Stars,” will be appearing at Sur La Table in San Jose’s Santana Row on March 3.

The chef, known for his way with liquid nitrogen and other molecular cooking techniques, will headline a Q&A session at Santana Row Park at 11:30 a.m. At noon, he will sign copies of his new book at Sur La Table.

“Try This at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate” (Clarkson Potter) is his first cookbook. It features 125 recipes that highlight his inventive approach to cooking, including adding coffee to butter for pancakes, cooking lamb shanks in root beer and making cheese foam for your favorite burger.

The book signing is a ticketed event and seats are limited. Tickets will be given out upon purchase of “Try This at Home” at Sur La Table.

Justin’s to Open in Santa Clara in March

It’s taken nearly three years, but Chef Justin Perez is finally poised to open his restaurant at the old Wilson’s Jewel Bakery site on Homestead Road in Santa Clara.

Only now, it won’t be called Restaurant O, after his former restaurant in Campbell. It’ll be Justin’s Appetite for Expression. Plagued by permit and construction delays, the new restaurant is expected to open March 5, if all goes according to plan.

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