Chef Jennifer Puccio guest chefs at La Toque on March 7.
Chef Jennifer Puccio guest chefs at La Toque on March 7.
To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Chef Jennifer Puccio of San Francisco’s celebrated Marlowe and Park Tavern restaurants will team up with Chef Ken Frank of the Michelin-starred La Toque at The Westin Verasa Napa for a special five-course dinner on Thursday March 7, 2013.
On the menu: Cauliflower panna cotta, uni and caviar; venison carpaccio, classic Angus beef tartare, capers & crispy bone marrow and “Callie Noir” a dish made with black truffle, cippolini onions & crispy Parmesan stuffing. The dinner is $200 per person, with wine pairings included and reservations are required. 1314 McKinstry St, Napa, (707) 257-5157.
The dinner is a kick-off for the Westin’s Somm Sister Soiree Getaway Weekend featuring a collection of events showcasing women in wine, including a Grand Tasting with 30 female winemakers on Friday March 8th. The Tasting event is $50 each. Details about the entire weekend online.
The Baz Luhrmann film adaptation of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Isla Fisher opens May 15.
The Baz Luhrmann film adaptation of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Isla Fisher opens May 10.
Channel Nick, Daisy and the rest of the Great Gatsby cast at Madrona Manor’s 20s-style lawn party Sunday May 5th, 2013 from 2-5pm.
The Healdsburg inn’s first “Great Gatsby Soiree” pays homage to the forthcoming movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel with live music, dancing, cocktails, and lawn games in addition to a luncheon inspired by passages in the novel.
Michelin-starred chef Jesse Mallgren’s menu includes crispy oysters in spiced ham, Waldorf salad, suckling pig pork pie, lobster hash with caviar and cold fried chicken with goat milk biscuits and dark ale mayonnaise.
Tickets are $65 per person for the event with special rates for overnight accommodations. 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg. For reservations call 800-258-4003.
More than 3.8 million folks submitted ideas for a new Lay’s potato chip flavor (some of which, like peanut butter and jelly, were mercifully left on the drawing board).
However, the three finalists are now on grocery store shelves: Chicken and Waffles, Sriracha and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
So far, the chicken and waffles is a sort of “love it or hate it” thing, though they grow on you. Like an untreated fungus. Sriracha is, well, kind of srirach-y. Then again, I’m bitter because my entry of “Sriracha Aioli” was not considered. It would have been good. I couldn’t find a bag of the cheesy garlic bread. They were all out. Bummer.
Snap up these limited edition flavors fast, however, because they’re, well, limited editions. The contest’s most popular chip will snag $1million for the person who suggested it.
Sure, its all a big marketing ploy, but at least it’s a tasty one.
You don’t often find dim sum, braised beef with celery root puree and Tarte Tatin on the same menu, but somehow it all works at the Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Cafe.
The student-run kitchen and restaurant is still one of the best values in Wine Country with dishes ranging from sunchoke soup and goat cheese stuffed pears to homemade pizzas, duck confit with cherry sauce or a plate of steamed pork buns and shumai–not to mention amazing fresh local produce from their own Shone Farm for a fraction of the cost of what you’d pay elsewhere starting at $4 and topping out at $11.
But don’t get your heart too set on any one item. Menus are ephemeral, changing up weekly to give students a chance to practice different preparations.
Which brings us to the (kinda) bad news: The current session ends March 18th (but don’t worry they’ll be back after spring break on April 3) and the restaurant is frequently booked solid, so you’ll need to call in advance for a reservation, 522-2796. 1501 Mendocino Ave. at Carr Ave., Santa Rosa.
Hold onto your shortstack. The wildly popular breakfast, brunch and lunchery, Dierk’s Parkside Cafe in Santa Rosa, will be opening a second location in April.
Owner Mark Dierkhising tells BiteClub he’ll be opening Dierk’s Midtown Cafe at the former Midtown Cafe (1422 Fourth Street) this spring. The vibe and the menu will feel familiar to regulars of Dierkhising’s Santa Rosa Avenue location with breakfast, lunch and brunch. And speaking of brunch, it will be served all day.
What will change are some lunch additions in the sandwich and salad department, but the menu’s still a work in progress.
Mark’s brother, Roger (also a chef) will manage daily operations at the new location.
Bites & Flights: Cabernet fries, beet tartare (yes, beet) and salted caramel ice cream sandwich cookies are just a few of the tasty bites on the menu at Partake, Kendall Jackson winery’s “untasting room” opening March 25, 2013 in Healdsburg.
A cross between wine tasting room and restaurant, Partake features an a la carte food and wine pairing menu with luxe small plates and Kendall-Jackson wines.
In addition to wine-bathed fries, exec chef Justin Wangler, Tracey Shepos and Eric Frischkorn will offer local cheeses, fresh-baked bread, estate olive oil and grape seed products from K-J chair Barbara Banke’s WholeVine line. Much of the Partake’s produce will be sourced from K-J’s expansive winery gardens.
“We want you to sit down and enjoy the food,” said Wangler, of the 55-seat dining area which includes a casual lounge on one side and custom-hewn ash tree tables (a legacy of Shimo) on the other. “We want people to pop in and have a bite, a drink and hang out,” he said.
Black wine glasses add fun to the tasting, letting visitors guess the varietal. Is it pinot? Cabernet? Or Chardonnay?
On the a la carte menu: Luxe bites including a salad of shaved celery root, faro and sea salt (paired with Vintner’s Reserve Sauvignon Blanc), Cabernet Fries — crispy French fries given a wine bath before their dip in the fryer; beet tartare with black sesame; and Chef Buttercup’s lemon curd and ice cream sandwich macarons.
Slated to be open from 11am to 10pm(ish), Biteclub’s especially excited about the dessert and sweet wine pairings perfect for an apres-dinner nosh.
241 Healdsburg Ave. in Healdsburg. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. May through October, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. November through April, seven days a week, excluding major holidays. Reservations are suggested and can be made at info@partakebykj.com or visit partakebykj.com.
There’s no question that the stars of Sunday’s Oscars will be dining well, thanks to LA celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. It’s dinner for 1,600 at the Governor’s Ball, the Academy Awards’ “official” after party.
With more than 50 items on the menu, even the most finicky starlet will likely be tempted to take a nibble or two from the more than 250 pounds of tuna, 1,250 stone crab claws, 30 gallons of cocktail sauce and 30 pounds of edible gold dust. Focused on small plates with a larger concentration of “plant-based” and vegan or vegetarian friendly choices, its a menu with nods to evolving palates.
Karen Russell, an author who will speak during an upcoming High Tea at the La Rose Hotel
Karen Russell, an author who will speak during an upcoming High Tea at the La Rose Hotel
Everything’s coming up rosy for Tudor Rose Tea House owner Angela Grant.
Her downtown Santa Rosa tea house is slated to open April 6 in the former Sawyers News location and already, ladies from the Red Hat Society, brides-to-be and forward-thinking Mother’s Day planners are knocking at her door for reservations. “They’re already calling me the Tea Lady,” said Grant, who is defining her cafe as a place for gals to gather, gossip and have fun. “It’s been a long time since Santa Rosa has had something like this,” she said.
To keep folks happy, she’ll be offering several high-tea luncheons at the La Rose Hotel in connection with Copperfield’s bookstore author events…
Feb. 28: Karen Russell, New York Times Bestselling author of Swamplandia!discusses her latest book, Vampires in the Lemon Grove at 6p.m. Included in the $50 ticket are a copy of the book and the sumptuous High Tea meal. You’ll also enjoy the company of other like-minded readers. Tickets available in our box office stores in Montgomery Village, Sebastopol, or Petaluma or online.
March 21: Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, 6p.m.
April 12, Jacqueline Winspear, Leaving Everything Most Loved
Top artisan cheese makers — and their fans — converge for the Tenth Annual Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference Feb. 23-28, 2013.
Focused on the blossoming farmstead cheese movement as well as urban cheese makers from Seattle, Milwaukee and New York, the event spans five days and includes a Winter Artisan Cheese Fair in San Francisco on Saturday and a second Cheese Fair in Sonoma on Sunday, Feb. 24. The Sunday event includes a mac and cheese cook-off (which I’ll be judging!) as well as tastings of sheep, cow and goat cheeses, wines, brews and guest chefs at Mac Arthur Place from 1-4pm. Tickets are $40, 21+. Details online.
The remaining days of the conference are focused on cheese seminars and networking sessions including a one-day ZingTrain session from Ari Weinzweig of the nationally-recognized food purveyor, Zingerman’s. Speakers include Gabe Vella of Vella Cheese Company, Carleen Weiruch of Weiruch Creamery, Gordon Edgar of Rainbow Grocery Cooperative, food writer Janet Fletcher, Sondra Bernstein of the girl and the fig and Lynn Stray of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese.
The inimitable Sheana Davis (also a cheesemaker and owner of Sonoma’s Epicurean Connection) hosts the event.
Here’s what happens when you fail to secure all the relevant URLs fo your big time New York City restaurant.
Apparently a NYC programmer bought the domain guysamericankitchenandbar.com and posted a fake (or maybe re-imagined?) menu for Guy Fieri’s Times Square eatery, Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar. Among the offerings Football: The Meal (hamburgers thrown at you from 40 yards), Guy’s Big Balls (four-pound Rice-a-Roni balls) and a deep-fried snake with a sparkler and picture of David Lee Roth.
Juvenile? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. Embarrassing for Guy? Probably not. Call it even more publicity for the restaurant that’s been nothing but a publicity magnet since it opened.
