The Surprise of Safar by Karimi

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The very showy betel leaf chaat that arrives at the table in a cloud of dry ice.
The very showy betel leaf chaat that arrives at the table in a cloud of dry ice.

At Cupertino’s Safar by Karimi, you’ll find delicious North Indian and Pakistani dishes, as well as a sleek bar with modern chandeliers.

But what you won’t find is beer, wine or any alcohol.

Or any pork for that matter.

That’s because the restaurant, which opened last December, is halal.

While it doesn’t explicitly spell that out on the menu or on its website, you get the gist immediately when you look over the beverage menu, which offers plenty of teas, lassi variations, and non-alcoholic coolers blended in-house, but nothing at all boozy.

Look for the sign on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
Look for the sign on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
The bar.
The bar.

Far from turning off potential customers, it seems to be bringing them in if last week was any indication when the restaurant was bustling with folks coming in to break the fast at sunset for Ramadan. That’s when I dined, having been invited as a guest of the restaurant.

The restaurant was opened by three brothers: Rifakat Saiyed, Ashfak Saiyed, and Yunus Saiyed. They also operate the more casual Karimi Restaurant in downtown San Jose, The Cupertino restaurant on Stevens Creek Boulevard has the bonus of having its own parking lot, too.

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A Beautiful Jolt of Green

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A bit of green for the holiday -- or any day.
A bit of green for the holiday — or any day.

Some people like to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.

Me? I like to eat it.

As in matcha.

And you thought I was going to say “kale,” right?

On a holiday all about revelry, I choose to let loose with slices of tender “Matcha Latte Loaf.”

The recipe is from “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes” (Harvest, 2025), of which I received a review copy. It’s by the incomparable Dorie Greenspan, of course, the five-time James Beard Award-winning cookbook writer and baking authority.

As the title implies, it’s a collection of recipes for cakes of all shapes and sizes that really satisfy — without being too complicated or cumbersome to make.

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These Cookies Get A Little Bling

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Cookie stamps give these cookies a showy appearance. But you can also flatten the dough balls with the bottom of a drinking glass.
Cookie stamps give these cookies a showy appearance. But you can also flatten the dough balls with the bottom of a drinking glass.

“I Want to Eat Cookies.”

That’s the title of this cookbook (Hardie Grant, 2025), of which I received a review copy.

But it could just as easily be my daily mantra.

Because left to my own devices, I would eat cookies every day — morning, noon and night.

Good thing this purse-sized book has more than 90 recipes to tempt should I ever make good on that.

The cookbook is by Ellen Morrissey, a New York City-based writer and editor who is a former editorial director for special projects for Martha Stewart Living.

You’re sure to find just the cookie to satisfy your sweet tooth from a collection that includes “Brown Butter and Toffee Chip Cookies,” “Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Meringues,” “Whisky Currant Shortbread,” “Sugar-Spiced Grahams,” and “Yo Yos with Berry Buttercream.”

With a half-full bag of masa harina in the freezer, I couldn’t help but want to give “Glazed Masa Harina Cookies” a try.

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A Visit to the New Hestan Napa

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Australian Wagyu carpaccio served at Hestan Napa.
Australian Wagyu carpaccio served at Hestan Napa.

It’s a retail store, a wine bar, and a restaurant — all in one.

If you only gave Hestan Napa a quick glance, though, you might think it only a high-end kitchen appliance store, what with a gleaming demonstration kitchen filled with its cookware right beyond its doors, plus a Hestan grill loaded with all the bells and whistles that can be yours for $17,500.

But if you walked farther in, you’d see shelves of its shiny, pricey pots and pans for sale; and beyond that a sleek wine tasting bar with chairs; and even farther in, a well-appointed dining room plus a large outdoor dining patio for its restaurant.

Chef Mark Dommen.
Chef Mark Dommen.

At the helm of this new restaurant, which opened in November 2025? None other than Chef Mark Dommen, who held a Michelin star at the now-shuttered One Market in San Francisco for five years. It’s a signal that this restaurant isn’t just some nonchalant Wine Country way-stop but an establishment that aims to be taken seriously.

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Spring Forward For Oven-Roasted Artichokes

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Oven-roasting leaves these artichokes even more flavorful and even juicy tasting.
Oven-roasting leaves these artichokes even more flavorful and even juicy tasting.

My love for artichokes comes from my father. He’d arrange them in a pressure cooker, secure the lid, then let them cook away. Afterward, we’d tear off each leaf, dunking each one into a blob of mayo (Best Foods, of course) before using our teeth to scrape off the soft part to enjoy.

Because I always thought that old-school pressure cooker looked like a bomb about to go off, when I got older, I opted to use my rice cooker to steam my artichokes instead.

Of course, that had the disadvantage of only being able to cook to at a time. So when I spied this recipe for “Oven-Roasted Artichokes” that cooks four — or more if you want to add a second pan to the oven — I was keen on trying it.

The fact that the artichokes get flavored with garlic and aromatic herbes de Provence as they cook enticed me even more.

This super easy recipe is from “Mostly French” (Simon Element, 2025), of which I received a review copy.

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