Sam Sifton named to NYTimes Dining Critic post

By biteclub

sifton.jpgNYTimes culture editor Sam Sifton will be the guy who replaces Frank Bruni as top diner for the Times. And already the Tweetosphere is patting itself on the back.

The NY Observer broke the news, and photos of Sifton are everywhere. Meaning that supposed “anonymity” of the dining critic has officially gone the way of the dinosaur. Amen to that, though Sifton looks like maybe he could use a wig or two to warm up that bald head of his.

Bloggers like Seriouseats.com and Feedbag say Sifton’s appointment is a good thing — he’s a good writer and a straight shooter as at ease with pizza as foie gras. Another good thing to hear.

In a smart move, the NYTimes has already posted a Q&A with Sifton on how he’s preparing for the job and what he currently weighs. I’m already endeared to him as he responds to a reader who says they like tacos. “Dude. Me, too.”

(PS…get over thinking i’m shilling for the NYTimes, who own the Press Democrat. They opted to cut my pay 2.5% last year, so, um…yeah. I did get a very nice note from Arthur Sulzberger Jr., however, when I recently won an award. So there’s that.)

Restaurant Secrets: Your say

By biteclub

waiter.jpgOkay, so here’s a shout out to the community…

What are secrets from inside the kitchens of Wine Country restaurants you’d
love to know?

– Wondering what happens to that uneaten bread you left
behind?
– How much to tip? Is 18% appropriate? And who gets those tips anyway?
– How to get the best service?
– How do restaurants decide what to charge for corkage? And why do they charge at all?
– What’s with the butcher paper thing?
– What is the best day to order seafood?
– What’s the best way to eat alone?
– How can I get the best thing on the menu?
– What the heck is mis en place?

Let me know what you’re clamoring to have uncovered.

{NOTE: This is not a space to air your dirty laundry or just be belligerent. I will delete posts that are off-topic, don’t contribute to the spirit of this post or are just plain ignorant. }

Azzuro Pizzeria e Enoteca Napa

By biteclub


Azzuro Pizzeria e Enoteca: A new location on Main Street has meant even more fans for the longtime Sicilian-style pizza spot. The menu has continued to evolve, with of-the-moment specials (grilled peaches, tomatoes and ricotta in late July is heaven) along with weighty dinner specials like ribeye steak.
1260 Main Street
Napa, CA 94559-2637
(707) 255-5552

Norman Rose Tavern | Napa

By biteclub
Norman rose fish and chips
Fish and Chips at the Norman Rose


Norman rose fish and chips
Fish and Chips at the Norman Rose

The Norman Rose Tavern in Napa has solid chops both behind the bar and in the kitchen. The owners of popular Azzurro Pizzeria lend their culinary chops to a retro-modern American menu that speaks directly to the “oh I really shouldn’t, but I will” part of the soul.
Best bets include a Buttermilk Fried Chicken sandwich with Watercress and peppercorn mayo ($10.95); moist Five Dot Ranch burgers (with add-ons like a fried egg or avocado relish); beer-battered fish and chips ($15.95) with shoestring fries; “Frank’s Frito Burgers” (sliders made with crushed Fritos) and Fatted Calf beef hot dogs.
On the lighter side: Plan to have your split pea with ham hock soup pilfered by curious tablemates (it’s that good). Tavern Chop Salad ($12.95) with shredded chicken and candied walnuts and Crab Louie are worth a second trip. Kids are welcome to the table, and root beer comes on tap.
1401 1st Street, Napa, 258-1516.

Jellies, jams & condiments in Sonoma County

By biteclub

jam.jpgMaking jam in a hot summer kitchen can be one of the stickiest, sweatiest, most miserable jobs ever. But opening a jar in the doldrums of winter, and tasting the ripe, sweet moment of strawberry, peach or plum perfection makes any amount of suffering instantly forgotten.

Why not enjoy the fruits another’s labor?. BiteClub seeks out sweet and savory preserves that always taste like summer.

It seems fitting to start with Leon Day, who introduces you to his products not with just a story, but a ripping-good tale. As in: “While I was traveling with the nomads in the Sinai desert..” goes the pitch to his Heaven’s Necter (sic), a tonic made from squeezing four pounds of dates into 12 tiny ounces of distilled perfection.

Not into dates? No worries. Day produces more than 100 different jams, jellies, chutneys, sauces and miscellaneous condiments, many of which he sells each Saturday at the Santa Rosa Farmer’s Market, and on Sundays and Thursdays in Marin. You can taste through as many as your sweet-tooth will allow. Each visitor to the stand gets a plastic spoon onto which tiny squirts and squeezes of his goods fall. Some of the most popular flavors: A sweet-tart strawberry cranberry jam, pear-ginger-vanilla jam, peanut satay sauce, a teriyaki-esque Pacific Gourmet sauce and Major Day’s mango chutney.

Day, who was once part of the Grateful Dead entourage, has been making his condiments since 1983, when — or so the story goes — he took over the kitchen of an Indian restaurant and improved upon their chutney. Twenty six years later, he continues to tinker and experiment with new flavors, adding to his ever-expanding universe condiments. Each with its own story. chutneyman.com, or at the Saturday Santa Rosa Farmer’s Market, 8am to noon.
Continue reading “Jellies, jams & condiments in Sonoma County”

Iron Chef Morimoto opening restaurant in Napa

By biteclub

morimoto.jpgWord is out that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto has signed on to open a contemporary Japanese restaurant in Napa’s Riverfront development. SF Eater and The North Bay Bohemian both have bits on it today, but apparently this wasn’t news to Napans…Thirsty Reader reported that the deal had been inked more than a month ago.

<UPDATE> So here’s a little bit more juiciness…
It sounds as if Morimoto won’t just be a figurehead at yet another celeb-chef restaurant. The company that does the retail leasing says Morimoto is looking to possibly purchase a condo in the development and has “fallen in love with Napa.” “He’s going to be here a lot. He’s decided he’d rather spend time in Napa than in Las Vegas or San Francisco,” according to spokesman Craig Semmelmeyer. The other big news is that yet another big name is expected to be announced in the development. Hmmmm.

Morimoto is about as big as big gets in the celeb chef world. Though his TV presence is limited (his English isn’t ready for prime time) he’s been featured on Iron Chef America and the original Japanese version of Iron Chef. He’s also the star-power behind several restaurants back east.

Does anyone remember the first season of Next Food Network Star when he scoffed at contestants trying to bone a fish. <Shudder>

Fair Food Scramble at the Sonoma County Fair

By biteclub

Seven eaters. One hundred dollars. Twenty minutes to gather up as much fair food as humanly possible. One hour to eat it all.

That’s the idea behind the first Food Scramble, in which five strangers (plus a reporter and her able assistant) run through the streets of the recently opened Sonoma County Fair collecting armloads of greasy, fried, sugary and no-doubt horrible for you foods that only come ’round once a year.

Then makes pigs of ourselves tasting it all.


Continue reading “Fair Food Scramble at the Sonoma County Fair”

Pizzavino 707 opens

By biteclub

pizzavino2.jpgThe ghost of a restaurant past still hovers over Pizzavino 707.  Though reincarnation came quickly — less than a year after West County Grill shuttered in the location– the open-air kitchen built as a theater for celeb chef Jonathan Waxman and his team of white-coated commis still echoes with their presence. Nearly a third of the circular kitchen sits idle, with oddly configured prep tables and vast open spaces behind the kitchen bar.

Focus has shifted instead to a single wood-fired pizza oven that once seemed an afterthought. Now it’s the glowing heart of a humbled operation where a skeleton crew of three pull crusts, recite orders and feed the oven as quickly as orders come in.

“Two olives. Two Sebastopols. Mushroom. Fire two chickens. Make that three,” goes the rat-a-tat dialogue that’s always been the best part of sitting at the open-kitchen bar — a front row seat to your own dinner.

Continue reading “Pizzavino 707 opens”

Fair Food Scramble: Join the BiteClub Crew

By biteclub

UPDATE: Winners have been notified. If you’re not on the list, don’t despair. Hopefully I’ll get to you next time. Thanks for playing!
+++++
On Wednesday, July 29, I’ll invite FIVE BiteClubbers to go on a Fair Food Scramble with me. You could be among them. Oh, joy.

fairfood2.jpgThe gameplan: If chosen, you’ll spend two hours at the Sonoma County Fair on Wednesday afternoon eating your little heart out with me and four of your new best friends. I’ll provide one entry ticket each for the crew, then we’ll scramble for all the Fair Food we can muster, converge at a picnic table and share the bounty. We’ll take pictures, blog and generally have fun. Once we’re done, you’re free to enjoy the rest of the evening at the fairgrounds…or go home. Whatev.

Wanna be on the crew?

Answer these five questions in a manner you think I’ll appreciate. Impress me. Make me laugh. But most importantly, prove that you’re Fair Food Crew material and a serious BiteClubber. Chefs welcome.

1. What is your favorite Fair Food?

2. How much do you resemble your favorite fair food?

3. What is your favorite BiteClub blog entry?

4. Why would I, and five other BiteClubbers want to hang out with you for two hours?

5. What is your favorite restaurant in Sonoma County?

Email your very clever answers to me and make sure to include your EMAIL and PHONE contact info. Winners will be notified by email by 5pm Tuesday the 28th with the details and must respond by email by 11am Wednesday, the 29th. No whiners. No changies. No dramarama.

You gotta get yourself there and pay for your own parking. Don’t enter if you can’t leave work for a couple of hours on Wednesday during the afternoon or leave your kids with someone else while we’re eating. Wear tennis shoes. Seriously. This is work, people.

Please don’t make me get all lawyer-y on this either. I’m doing this for fun and entertainment only. If you don’t get picked this time, maybe next time. If you can’t take it in that spirit, move on. Really.

THE FAME: We’ll Tweet/post while we’re at the fairgrounds and name some winners/losers in Thursday’s BiteClub blog. (Hint, if you Tweet/Blog, extra points).  I’ll take pictures and give shout-outs to the whole crew. I’ll also be discussing on KZST on Thursday morning at 7:40am. Yay!

ADD YOUR .02: Can’t come? Add your fave foods on the bulletin boards.

Indian Restaurants in Soco: The Naan-o-matic Guide

By biteclub

Not sure
where to eat Indian? Here’s your Naan-o-matic Guide to Indian Eats in Sonoma and Napa.
BiteClub gives a rating from 1-5 (being the best) for Naan (fresh Indian bread served with the meal); Tikka Masala (which, though hardly authentic, is the General Tso Chicken of Indian cuisine and a benchmark for most non-native eaters); whethere they have live entertainment (sitar, bellydancing) or a lunch buffet; price (from $ to $$$$ — Indian food can be surprisingly spendy) and some of the restaurant’s specialties.
Click on the name of the restaurant for more information and details.

Restaurant Naan Tikka Belly Dancing Lunch Buffet Price Specialties
Pamposh 4 5 No No $$$$ Top pick for Sonoma County. Don’t miss the tandoori
or apricot chicken. Well-trained staff and always-spot-on dishes from this SR
kitchen. Tikka is dead on.
             
             
             
Sizzling Tandoor 3 4 Yes Yes $$$ Butter chicken beats tikka hands down. Extensive
menu can sometimes be overwhelming.Regional specialties are worth checking
out. Live entertainment including belly dancers and sitar music adds fun. Lunch buffet is solid, but not extraordinaty.
             
             
             
             
             
Shangri-La 4 4 No No $$ Reasonably priced and close to SSU. Solid Tikka and
wonderful naan.
Himalayan Tandoor and Curry House 3 3 No No $$ Nepalese dishes, plenty of vegetarian options that
reflect tastes of Sebastopolians.
Yeti 5 3 No. No $$$ Best naan in Sonoma. Don’t miss the honey naan.
Hidden away in Glen Ellen it can be hard to find, but seriously. The naan.