On the menu today, we’re serving up a tasty special of $100.
A deliciously satisfying $100 gift card from CSN to be exact.
Are you salivating yet?
The gift card is good at any CSN online store, where you can shop till you drop for everything from a glam new end table to an ice cream maker to a chic new purse to a super sharp chef’s knife.
How to win?
Hong Kong-born and San Francisco-raised, Maggie Leung is turning out irresistible modern interpretations of classic desserts at the elegant Masa’s in San Francisco, a short stroll from the Campton Place Taj Hotel.
Leung, who became executive pastry chef there this summer, has given sophisticated spins to a chocolate walnut tart, made dainty and memorable with a fleur de sel flourish and a scoop of Earl Grey ice cream; strawberry pain perdu with a distinctive rose-geranium creme anglaise; and s’mores with housemade graham cracker ice cream, hot fudge, toasted marshmallows, candied hazelnuts and hazelnut powder between two chocolate cookies.
How many food bloggers dream of owning their own restaurant?
A show of hands, please.
Well, Robert Lauriston, prominent Chowhound poster, and a former East Bay Express and SFoodie restaurant reviewer, has taken that leap with Locanda da Eva, which opened in South Berkeley in July.
The long-running restaurant site had been vacant for more than a year when Lauriston decided to take it over. He jokes that his writing background came in handy for crafting a Craig’s List ad that enticed his chef-partner, Huw Thornton, to come on board. Thornton was formerly executive sous chef at SPQR in San Francisco under then-head chef, Nate Appleman. He also worked at SPQR’s sister restaurant, A16, for two and a half years.
As you can guess, Locanda da Eva’s daily changing menu is Italian-focused with occasional excursions to other parts of the Mediterranean. On the menu, vegetarian dishes are noted, as are others that can be prepared vegetarian on request.
Last week, I had a chance to sample some dishes, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.
For 37 years, the site had been home to the popular Mexican restaurant, Casa de Eva. After the owners retired, Jim Maser of Cafe Fanny in Berkeley, opened Mazzini Trattoria in its spot. He installed a wood-burning pizza oven and had Berkeley Mills spiff up the interior with custom woodwork.
The interior still calls to mind a taqueria with its bare-bones tables. Mexican folk art-inspired, oil on wood paintings by Sonoma County artist, Laura Hoffman, grace the dining room walls. If you fall in love with any one of them, you’ll be glad to know they’re also for sale.
Of course, my husband and I couldn’t pass up trying a pizza.
And of course, we couldn’t say ”no” to one topped with the porky goodness of house-made lardo.
For four decades, San Francisco’s Joyce Goldstein has been a cooking teacher, cookbook author, chef and restaurateur.
She introduced us to tapas long before the now-crazed small plates trend existed.
She was making couscous at her restaurant before most people even knew what it was.
Now, she’s hard at work on what will be her 26th book.
And oh, by the way, she just turned 75.
This tiny, bespectacled woman continues to teach us all about cooking, eating and culture. Read all about her in my story in the September issue of Food Arts magazine, in which she is spotlighted as this month’s recipient of its Silver Spoon Award.
Then, enjoy this dish from her book, “Tapas: Sensational Small Plates from Spain” (Chronicle Books).
As Goldstein notes, “Fish in Pine Nut Sauce,” which I spied on Epicurious.com, is typical of many Spanish fish dishes in that it features sauces made with nuts. Fillets of firm, white fish are either baked in the oven or cooked on the stovetop in a homestyle, brothy Catalan sauce of tomatoes, green peas, dry white wine, garlic, and sweet paprika that gets its body from ground pine nuts and bread crumbs.
Some like it hot. Or at least tongue-tingling.
That’s what Happy Quail Farms of East Palo Alto is hoping with its two new spicy peppers. Owner David Winsberg is believed to be the only one in the United States selling the Guindilla Verde from Bilbao, Spain and the Shaerma from Bhutan.
The light green, heirloom Guindilla Verde, with its grassy flavor and moderate heat, is perfect in piperade, egg scrambles, stir-fries or simply grilled and served alongside steaks. When it turns red, taking on a sweeter note, it’s typically used in Spanish chorizo, giving the sausages their distinctive, crimson tinge.
The dark green Shaerma is practically a national treasure in Bhutan, gracing almost every meal of the day. Similar to a New Mexico Hatch chile in spiciness and to a Pimiento de Padron in flavor, this tender pepper is fairly hot, making it ideal for dishes with cheese to tame it a tad.