Love’s Cupcakes — Finally

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Caramel cupcake.

It’s taken more than a year of waiting, but Love’s Cupcakes has finally opened in downtown San Jose.

I used to laugh when my gym workout buddy, Ellie, would give me week by week updates on the site, which she doesn’t live too far from.

“Oh, brown paper went up on the windows a few days ago!”

“A guy was actually inside working yesterday!”

“I peeked my head inside and they told me it would be open by the end of April!”

“They’re saying it’s PG&E’s fault now, that there’s a delay in turning on the power!”

“Still no power. Can you believe it?”

And on and on it went. I started to think it was some cruel joke by the baking gods, that the place would forever be in construction limbo.

Chocolate Dream cupcake (front), Caramel (rear left), Hummingbird (rear right)

But lo and behold, it’s now churning out about half a dozen flavors a day. I visited the cheery bakery on opening day (July 25). It was started by April Zarazua, a home baker, who graduated from the California Culinary Academy’s pastry program.

The regular size cupcakes are $3.25. There’s also a fun “create-your-own” cupcake option. Choose vanilla or chocolate cake, then your choice of frosting and one topping. Additional toppings are extra.

I chose three from the bakery case: Hummingbird, Chocolate Dream, and Caramel.

So were they worth a year-long wait?

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Food Gal Contest: A Meaty New One, And Winners of the Popchips One

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Wouldn't you love to sink your teeth into this juicy filet? One winner can. (Photo courtesy of Morton's)

I hope you found the last Food Gal contest involving Popchips a blast to participate in. The three winners of that contest who made my heart go pop the most are unveiled at the end of this post.

Now, wait until you get a load of the latest contest that starts today.

It’s especially made for carnivores.

Morton’s The Steakhouse in San Jose is generously offering one Food Gal reader a complimentary dinner for two at any Morton’s location worldwide. Yes, that’s right — a dining certificate for two people that’s good for up to one year at any Morton’s around the globe.

Now that I have you salivating, I’m sure you’re wondering just what you have to do to win, right?

No worries. It’s very easy. Keep reading.

You already know that my hubby’s nickname is Meat Boy for obvious reasons. What you might not know are some of the ways he’s truly earned that moniker. Let me tell you.

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A Solution For All That Zucchini

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Pan-fried zucchini and yellow squash with cumin and turmeric.

If you’re growing it in your backyard, chances are you’ve got your arms full of the tender, green summer squash that tends to multiply more than a Tweeted celebrity rumor run amok.

In fact, just the other week, a friend gifted me a zucchini that was as big as my head.

OK, maybe I exaggerate. But only a little, because it surely was as big as my forearm.

What to do with this Everest of squash?

You can only make so much zucchini bread, right? And sauteing it and roasting it as a side dish gets pretty ho-hum after awhile.

Cookbook author Monica Bhide comes to the rescue. In her newest book, “Modern Spice” (Simon & Schuster), the New Delhi-born food writer spotlights Indian dishes that are easily accessible for the home cook.

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Delicious Doings

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A sushi deal at Yoshi's. (Photo courtesy of Frankie Frankeny)

If you love sushi and love to eat late, Yoshi’s San Francisco and Oakland locales has a deal for you.

Every Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. till closing, you can enjoy 10 chef’s choice pieces of sushi for $10.

The “10 for 10” special from Executive Chef Shotaro ”Sho” Kamio is available in the upstairs Sake Lounge at Yoshi’s San Francisco and in the Lounge at Yoshi’s in Oakland.

Tomato aficionados will want to head to Luce at the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco for the “Tomato Tasting Menu” that’s available through the end of July.

The three-course prix-fixe meal is $34.95. Pony up an additional $12 for wine pairings.

Dishes served will be: cherry tomato broth with Cherokee tomato tartare; diver scallop with heirloom tomato confit and crispy tomato; and tomato sorbet with strawberry and yogurt.

Corn will be spotlighted in a special menu in August, and melon will star in September.

Regulars at the Gourmet Corner, the fun French food and wine store in San Mateo, will be tempted to pick up even more goodies while shopping. Every Friday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., RoliRoti will be on the premises. The mobile rotisserie serves incredible roasted sustainably-raised meats and veggies. It’s an easy way to pick up the fixings for that evening’s supper.

Paolo’s in downtown San Jose offers a summer prix-fixe menu through Aug. 1.

Price is $28.50 per person if you choose the pasta “secondi,” or $36 per person if you opt for the fish or beef “secondi.” Wine pairing is an additional $18 per person.

Restaurant O Catering will host a four-course wine dinner on July 31 with Black Ridge Vineyards at the historic La Hacienda in Los Gatos.

The Santa Cruz Mountains Winery specializes in Viognier, Pinot Noir, and a San Andreas Red Bordeaux-style blend. Dishes to be served include cherry wood smoked quail stuffed with figs and cambazola cheese with Pinot Noir glace; and grilled filet mignon with pan-seared foie gras and sauteed summer nectarines.

Price is $125 per person. For reservations, call Jennifer Flippen at Restaurant O at (408) 354-3131.

Spruce's Mark Sullivan. (Photo courtesy of Spruce)

Spruce restaurant in San Francisco celebrates its second anniversary on Aug. 2 with a special celebration menu.

Price is $55 per person. Wine pairings are available for an additional $20.

Chef Mark Sullivan has dreamed up a three-course “Two-Way” dinner menu of: Dirty Girl heirloom tomatoes two ways, Grimaud Farms natural Guinea hen two ways, and Hamada Farms two stone fruits crostata.

The Pasta Shop in Berkeley is going hog wild, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on July 25.

Its second annual “Hog Heaven” celebration is a salute to artisan pork. Enjoy cooking demos, samples, and grilled sausage sandwiches for purchase.

Congrats are in order for HALL Wines, which became the first winery in California to earn a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

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Sensational Sammies

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A masterful, melty goodness of a sandwich.

Last week, I finally got around to eating at a revered place in San Francisco I’ve been dying to try.

It’s owned and operated by a most esteemed chef. It garnered a glowing, three-star review in San Francisco Magazine. Oh, and it’s tinier than many people’s walk-in closets.

It is, of course, The Sentinel, the doll-sized, corner sandwich shop South of Market opened a year ago by Dennis Leary, a most talented chef who makes no bones for marching to his own beat.

Long before it became uber hip for high-end chefs to chuck it all to careen around town in blinged -out, gourmet taco trucks, Leary left behind the highly regarded Rubicon restaurant, where he was its highly regarded executive chef, to open a glorified diner named Canteen.

Ah, but the 20-seat Canteen is no dive. It’s a cozy, lively joint decorated with shelves of classic books, a nod to Leary’s Phi Beta Kappa degree in English literature from Wheaton College. With room for only two or three other helpers behind the counter while he cooks, Leary miraculously turns out prix-fixe and a la carte dinners that are nothing short of magical. His Parker House rolls are reason alone to go. As is the warm vanilla souffle that never leaves the menu.

Before heading to Canteen to cook each night, he mans The Sentinel at breakfast and lunch each weekday. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering if the guy ever sleeps.

I did try snapping a few photos of Leary, who was behind the counter at The Sentinel the afternoon I visited. But the red-headed chef is a whirlwind as he assembles sandwich orders lickety-split, making for some god awful blurry images I didn’t want to inflict on you.

Inside the toy-sized sandwich shop.

The small menu at The Sentinel changes daily. Usually, there are a couple of cold sandwiches, a couple of hot ones, a soup, and one “Daily Special” that comes complete with a side and dessert.

There are two doorways leading into this bustling, take-out cafe that has no seats and really no room at all to linger.

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