Chocolates with A Sense of Place

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(Left to Right): Barbados (grapefruit), Valencia (orange), and Kalahari (dark chocolate rolled in nuts)

The confections at Luis Moro Chocolate of Scotts Valley are annointed with the names of cities, regions and countries from around the world, reflecting the provenance of their ingredients, and proprietor Luis Ellisos Dinos Moro’s love of travel.

Born in Madrid, Moro was once a travel agent. But a trip with his wife to a chocolate boutique and lavender farm in France changed his life. After training at the Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando and with Jean Pierre Wybauw at the French Pastry School in Chicago, he set out to make chocolates with plants, herbs, and fruit.

A four-piece box is $10; an eight-piece box is $18; and a 16-piece box is $35.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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A Four-Star Chef Lends His Expertise to Home-Cooks

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Roasted duck with red wine-braised apples.

I still remember when I first watched a Charlie Trotter cooking show on public television years ago.

The renowned chef of the eponymous gastronomic temple, Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, was prepping a big hunk of meat that was to be roasted in the oven. To ensure the meat turned out super moist, he was going to stud it with bacon. “Just take your larding needle and insert the bacon pieces into the meat,” he instructed.

Uh, my what?

That was one of my early clues that big-name chefs are not like you and me.

I don’t know about you, but the only needles I usually have around the house are for sewing loose buttons on my blouses.

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Sneak Peek: Mayfield Bakery & Cafe

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Flaky, buttery croissants at the new Mayfield Bakery & Cafe.

When restaurateur Tim Stannard was just a kid and his father a professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto, he remembers riding his bike through the campus and across El Camino Real to buy candy bars at the drugstore that once stood on this spot.

Now, Stannard and his Bacchus Management Group have transformed that icon of his childhood into his newest restaurant venture, Mayfield Bakery & Cafe.

It opens for dinner on Monday, Feb. 9, and will add lunch, breakfast, and brunch service in the weeks to come. I got a sneak peek on Saturday night of the newest restaurant to open in the Palo Alto Town & Country Village, which will serve up wood-fired American cuisine.

Mini versions of the restaurant's Niman Ranch chuck burgers with fried onions and remoulade were served at Saturday's invitation-only, opening party.

On the opening menu, find burrata bruschetta ($12); griddled artic char with cracked wheat, herbs, olive oil and dates ($22.50); braised lamb cheeks with gremolata and parsley paparadelle ($19.75); and spit-roasted Fulton Ranch chicken with rosemary polenta and green olive-melted tomato sauce ($19).

Diners also will get a choice of sparkling or still filtered water served in carafes gratis — a nice, and environmentally-sound touch. All the coffee served will be organic, fair-trade, and roasted by Bacchus’ ROAST coffee company in Oakland. The beans will be ground and brewed to order.

The bakery.

The bakery, overseen by Pastry Chef Nancy Pitta, formerly of San Francisco’s Boulevard restaurant, will supply fresh-baked bread twice a day to all Bacchus Management restaurants, including the Village Pub in Woodside, and Spruce in San Francisco.

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Home-Grown, Home-Made Chocolates

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Deep-Dark Chocolate

Audrey Vaggione hand-forms almost every single chocolate she sells. What’s more, most of the fresh fruit, herbs, and flowers used to flavor the ganache for her bonbons was grown by her just a stone’s throw away in a community garden across the street from her Saratoga shop.

Dolce Bella Chocolates shop opened in July 2008. But Vaggione, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, has been making cakes and confections since she was a kid.

Her chocolates are $1.50 a piece or $17 for a 12-piece assortment. They’re available at her store or online. She also sells at the Sunday Saratoga Farmers’ Market (Fruitvale and Allendale Avenue), and at the Sunday Mountain View Farmers’ Market (600 West Evelyn St.)

Dolce Bella Chocolates

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Restaurant Specials and Food From the Heart

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Enjoy stuffed squash for half price, if you eat late and in a big party. (Photo courtesy of John Benson)

If you’re a night owl, gather your nocturnal friends for a dining deal at Zare at Fly Trap restaurant in San Francisco.

Its new “Ten After Ten” promotion lets parties of 10 or more who make a dinner reservation for 10 p.m. or later get 50 percent off the cost of food. It’s good Monday through Saturday. Just mention what special occasion you’re celebrating — birthday, anniversary, bachelorette party or something else — when you book.

Meatballs with harissa at Zare at Fly Trap. (Photo courtesy of the National Honey Board)

If you prefer eating earlier, Chez Papa Resto in San Francisco has introduced a monthly changing themed four-course prix fixe dinner menu (with amuse bouche) nightly for $50. Wine pairing is available for an additional $35.

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