Restaurant Happenings

The produce garden at 25ºBrix

Longtime stalwart Napa restaurant Brix has morphed into 25ºBrix with new owners and a new look.

The owners, the Kelleher Family winemakers, picked the slightly different name to symbolize the sugar level at which they pick their grapes for their Cabarnet Sauvignon. Their consultant on the project was David Gingrass of Two in San Francisco, who has put in a 2-acre garden on the property, which will grow produce for the restaurant.

Menu items include beer-battered soft-shell crab with cherry tomato vinaigrette ($22); Berkshire pork schnitzel with sunny quail eggs, caper brown butter and spaetzel ($28); and whole roasted branzini with potato and crab hash ($32).

An adjacent wine shop on the property sells cult and hard-to-fiind Napa Valley wines. Visitors also can pick up fresh-baked baguettes and gourmet picnic baskets to-go from the restaurant.

Down the road in St. Helena, Go Fish restaurant has livened up its outdoor dining area with acoustic contemporary and blues music every Thursday night. A flat-panel TV also has been installed, along with a misting system to keep patrons cool in the summer heat. On the Fourth of July, Go Fish plans to fire up the grill on the patio to cook up an outdoor feast.

More al fresco eating can be had at the Dry Creek Kitchen at the Hotel Healdsburg. Every Wednesday night through September, the restaurant features “Family BBQ Night,” a three-course meal served family-style for $32 per person.

Offerings may include Painted Hills Skirt Steak and Niman Ranch Pork Loin; bourbon baked beans and potato salad; and fruit pie.

Along the coast, Nick’s Cove on the east shore of Tomales Bay, is hosting winemaker events with featured winemakers and specially prepared dishes from Chef de Cuisine Adam Mali.

June 19 at 6 p.m. is “Coastal Expressions” night, featuring wines from Radio-Coteau. July 17 at 6 p.m. is “Contemporary. Innovative. Out of the Ordinary,” an evening of wines from Duckhorn, Paraduxx and Goldeneye. Price for each wine dinner is $75 per person.  RSVPÂ by calling (415) 663-1033.

For those who are always on the go, Jack Falstaff in San Francisco has created a new “Power Lunch” menu. It’s a selection of two-course paired menu items such as potato & leek soup with Jack’s classic chicken Caesar salad; or walnut and baby green salad paired with “PBLT” (slow roasted pork belly and beefsteak tomato on grilled sourdough). “Power Lunches” are $16 to $19.

Enjoy them with a new selection of “Zero Proof Concoctions,” such as Hibiscus Cooler (Hibiscus iced tea with kiwi syrup) or Raspberry-Rhubarb Lemonade. All are $6.

Jerry Regester of  C Restaurant + Bar. Photo by John Sutton.

Finally, down in Monterey, Jerry Regester has been appointed executive chef of the new C Restaurant + Bar at the new luxury hotel on Cannery Row, the InterContinental The Clement Monterey. He was most recently executive chef at The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards.

His debut menu includes Monterey Cioppino with mini cheese ravioli, artichokes, tuna, clams, and calamari in a spicy Dungeness crab broth; and fettuccine with smoked sardines, sun-dried tomatoes, and shaved garlic.

C Restaurant + Bar. Photo by John Sutton.

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