A Delicious Feast at Mazra

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Our table overloweth at Mazra in Redwood City.
Our table overloweth at Mazra in Redwood City.

When a restaurant is packed at 5:15 p.m. on a Tuesday, you know it has it going on.

And when the Michelin Guide bestows upon it a Bib Gourmand, then you know it’s definitely worth a special trip to try.

That’s definitely the case when it comes to Mazra, the family-owned Mediterranean restaurant with locations in San Bruno and Redwood City.

I visited the latter one last week, and came away marveling at the food, service, and price point.

The dining room. There's also a sweet outdoor dining area, too.
The dining room. There’s also a sweet outdoor dining area, too.
Artwork.
Artwork.

The restaurants were founded by brothers, Jordan and Saif Makableh, after they managed to talk their father into letting them transform his Green Valley Market in San Bruno into the first location of Mazra.

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Ginger-Braised Chicken — With the Emphasis on Ginger

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Fabulous Vietnamese-style chicken wings.
Fabulous Vietnamese-style chicken wings.

Anyone who knows me well knows full well how much I love ginger.

In baked goods. In beverages, hot and cold. In soups, stir-fries, and stews. And even inhaled by the handful when candied.

So, when I came across a recipe for a dish that uses an entire cup of julienned fresh ginger, I was all in.

“Ginger-Braised Chicken” did not disappoint.

Shards and shards of ginger flavor chicken wings in a sweet, sticky, savory sauce full of sharpness and warmth.

This ginger-loving recipe is from “Vietnamese American Recipes from Phu Quoc, Oakland, and the Spaces Between” (4 Color Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It is by Tu David Phu, a Vietnamese American chef raised in Oakland, who competed on “Top Chef” Season 15. He is now the owner of Gigi’s, a Vietnamese wine bar in San Francisco.

It was co-written by Soleil Ho, a Vietnamese American writer, podcaster, and former restaurant reviewer at the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Oui Oui to JouJou

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Black cod with caramelized pineapple at JouJou.
Black cod with caramelized pineapple at JouJou.

For a time, it seemed as if French restaurants were an endangered species in San Francisco.

But in the past few years, that classic cuisine has arisen from the brink. That’s no more evident than the arrival last month of JouJou by David Barzelay and Colleen Booth, the team behind Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear in San Francisco.

While the latter delivers an ambitious tasting menu along with the theatrics of an open kitchen, JouJou in contrast serves only an la carte menu in a sprawling 6,500-square-foot space, divided into a few different dining spaces, along with two bars.

The first bar.
The first bar.
And the second one.
And the second one.
The enclosed patio dining room that's like dining in a greenhouse.
The enclosed patio dining room that’s like dining in a greenhouse.

It’s fitting that the restaurant is located in the Design District, what with its shades of cream, milky green, and soft pink that create a sort of vintage vibe, not to mention the rather risque baroque wallpaper in the bathrooms. The decor definitely leans into the restaurant’s name, which is French for “plaything.”

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Butter Up, Part II: Dressed Up Tater Tots

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Tater tots get dressed up with an easy garlic-Parmesan-date butter.
Tater tots get dressed up with an easy garlic-Parmesan-date butter.

Tater tots. Even the name evokes an immediate smile, not to mention joyful memories of being a child.

That’s more than enough reason to stash a bag in your freezer at all times.

Another?

This recipe for “Tater Tots Tossed in Hot Date! Butter.”

As always, they get baked in the oven until super crunchy all over. Then, the magic happens: They get tossed in a garlicky, herbaceous butter with dried dates to boot.

The recipe is from “Hot Date!” (Chronicle Books, 2025), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Brooklyn-based Rawaan Alkhatib, a cook, writer, and artist of Palestinian and Indian descent. She even illustrated the book with her own exuberant watercolor paintings.

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Butter Up, Part I: Something Fishy — And Delicious

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Good-for-you roasted branzino gets a little indulgent when finished with a delicious green anchovy butter.
Good-for-you roasted branzino gets a little indulgent when finished with a delicious green anchovy butter.

Olive oil is a hallmark of Mediterranean cooking.

But creamy, decadent butter has its place, too, adding a disarming voluptuousness to anything it touches.

I’m sure Julia Child would agree.

I know that Daen Lia surely does. Her cookbook may be titled, “Garlic, Olive Oil + Everything Mediterranean” (Simon Element, 2025), but butter definitely plays a role. There’s even an entire chapter devoted to recipes that use butter, including one to make “Homemade Butter.”

That includes her “Whole Roasted Snapper with Green Anchovy Butter,” in which whole fish get roasted in the oven, then finished with a dazzlingly green and herbaceous compound butter.

Lia is an Australian home-cook and creator of the digital brand, Daen’s Kitchen, who counts more than 8 million followers across her social media platforms.

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