Monthly Archives: November 2009

Putting On the LBs at LB Steak

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Crisp, airy pomme souffle.

It can’t be helped. Not when you’re at the swank LB Steak in San Jose’s Santana Row, where there are calories galore.

But Chef Roland Passot’s latest creation, run by Chef de Cuisine Chris Joslyn, is a place where you just have to dine with a devil-may-care attitude. All the better to enjoy the numerous meaty and rich offerings.

On a warm evening, the dark, striking restaurant throws open its front, floor-to-ceiling windows, so that you feel like you’re dining al fresco even if you’re seated inside underneath the glittering chandeliers.

The steaks are all USDA “prime.” But this is one steakhouse where you don’t have to indulge in red meat to have a good meal. There’s also an array of fish and pastas, and even a vegetarian burger of oats, bulgar, wheat, brown rice and crimini mushrooms.

I was invited in to dine recently. My companion that evening at LB Steak was — who else — Meat Boy (my husband). As if you think he’d let anyone else go in his place?

The waitstaff brought over an order of the pommes souffle ($9) — thinly sliced potatoes that puff up and get super crispy from being fried twice. Although a little oily, these were gossamer puffs that crackled when bitten. Eat them fast because they taste best while they’re still hot.

Escargot with bone marrow.

I couldn’t resist the dramatic starter of escargot in Pernod garlic butter piled inside a shank of bone with its marrow ($15). The tender snails were enveloped in richness. I don’t even want to know how many calories are in that dish. But it was a dish worth busting any diet for.

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New Steak Place, New Breakfast Place & More

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Steak with sherry mushrooms at Medallion Steakhouse. (Photo courtesy of Rick Camargo)

Carnivores are flocking to Burlingame with the recent opening of Medallion Steakhouse.

Chef Thomas Sazo, also of Medjool restaurant in San Francisco, features sustainably sourced beef and local products in such dishes as prime rib spring rolls ($10) with roasted onions, peppers, provolone and cayenne ketchup; fennel and sausage pizza ($11); American Kobe sliders (two for $14); and Maine lobster risotto ($26).

There are nine different steak offerings, from a 10-ounce corn-fed skirt steak ($25) to a 12-ounce corn-fed Chateaubriand ($46).

Spring rolls stuffed with prime rib. Really. (Photo courtesy of Drew Altizer)

On the other side of the Bay, the Sunny Side Cafe has opened in downtown Berkeley, serving breakfast and lunch daily.

It’s the sister restaurant to the original locale in Albany.

Chef Aaron French, who has a master’s degree in ecology from San Francisco State University, primarily uses locally-sourced, sustainable, certified-humane ingredients. Specialties include seasonal pancakes, Croque Monsieur, “Not-Your-Ordinary Sesame Chicken Salad Sandwich,” and a weekend tasting menu.

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A Taste of Tuscany

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Tender lobster with fluffy gnocchi.

Truth be told, it was more than a taste.

It was more like the ultimate Italian gorge fest.

That’s what happens when Donatella Zampoli, executive chef of the wine estates of Marchesi de` Frescobaldi in Tuscany, whizzes into town for 48 hours to cook with Dominique Crenn, chef de cuisine of Luce at the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco.

I was invited to the multi-course dinner last Wednesday, which was a benefit for CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture.

Each dish was paired with a different wine from Frescobaldi, which has been making wines for more than 700 years. The two chefs took turns preparing each course, volleying back and forth, for a most memorable and filling repast.

An unusual buckwheat amuse.

The evening began with two amuses: First, Crenn’s unusual combination of organic buckwheat, trumpet mushrooms and lobster puree. It came to the table looking like a loose-formed granola bar of sorts. And the crispy grain puffs almost made the amuse akin to a new-wave, savory Rice Krispie treat.

Creamy, rustic duck liver.

Zampoli’s rusticly wonderful duck liver mousse followed, topped with crispy sage leaves.

Next came Zampoli’s organic eggplant timbale tower filled with diced carrots and squash, and Scarmorza cheese. You don’t even have to be a devout vegetarian to love this comforting, satisfying dish.

Eggplant timbale.

Crenn followed up with what was probably my favorite dish of the night: an updated rendition of her mother’s potato gnocchi with lobster and a sphere of bone marrow custard. Lobster, which so often suffers from over-cooking, was perfectly moist and tender here. The gnocchi were incredibly fluffy and buttery. I’m not sure the dish even needed the tiny round of bone marrow custard. Still, it was an intriguing addition.

Zampoli presented parmesan risotto that hid a well of intense duck jus in its center. Thinly sliced smoked duck breast was fanned over the top, and fried leeks finished this elegant dish.

Risotto with smoked duck and fried leeks.

It was time for an intermezzo, and Crenn provided a doozy — a bubble of apple cider balanced on a silver spoon.

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The Phenomenon Known As Kogi BBQ

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Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ talks about his unlikely business that's become a runaway hit.

We in the San Francisco Bay Area like to think we have access to everything tasty.

But one thing we sadly don’t have is Kogi BBQ.

At least not yet.

Roy Choi, a Seoul-native who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and cooked at the likes of Le Bernardin and Aureole, both in New York, has turned the world of tacos topsy turvy on the streets of Los Angeles.

The classically-trained, extremely articulate chef has taken his high standards and top-notch skills, and applied them to humble taco truck offerings. Ten months ago, he started hawking his own brand of Korean tacos from one roaming truck that announces its location via Twitter. Now, he has four trucks, each of which serves more than 2,000 people a day. How crazy is that?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to drive all over Los Angeles to chase down one of his trucks to try the famous Kogi taco. Instead, I was able to snag one when Choi did a cooking demo at last weekend’s “Worlds of Flavor” conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. With this year’s theme, “World Street Food, World Comfort Food,” what could be a more perfect fit than a Korean taco?

And a most delicious one at that. As Choi explained, street food often gets the bum rap of being something thrown together, slap-dash. But take a bite of one of his tacos and discover how incredibly complex it is.

The sweet, smoky, tender taste of Korean short ribs transforms the taco into something all together new. The meat is marinated in a blend of soy sauce, maple syrup, yellow onions, green onions, garlic, kiwi, Asian pear, mirin, orange juice and 7-Up. It’s cooked at high heat to char and caramelize it. Then it’s diced, cooked on the flat-top, and heaped on two soft corn tortillas along with salsa verde or salsa roja; diced onion; a mix of shredded cabbage, romaine and green onions; Kogi chilie vinaigrette; and toasted and crushed sesame seeds.

Grilling corn tortillas until they're puffy and a little crisp.

Constructing the famous taco.

Aren't you dying for one?

It’s a thing of absolute beauty. And it sells for an absolute pittance.

“We make everything from scratch, and we sell our food for $2,” Choi said. “I’m not sure if that’s the best business model, but our goal is not to lose money. My other goal — I don’t achieve it every day — but it’s that every single bite hopefully makes you stop in your tracks.”

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Take Five With Masaharu Morimoto, On His New Svelte Figure and New Napa Restaurant

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A trim Chef Masaharu Morimoto. (Photo courtesy of the Food Network)

Masaharu Morimoto, the star of the original Japanese “Iron Chef” and the newer Food Network version, “Iron Chef America,” may be sporting a trimmer physique these days. But the celebrated chef, who was born in Hiroshima, Japan, is still one commanding presence.

Morimoto visited the Napa Valley last weekend for the 12th annual “Worlds of Flavor” conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, the theme of which this year was “World Street Food, World Comfort Food.” The chef, who was there to do cooking demonstrations, drew crowds wherever he went, especially at the marketplace, where his crew cooked up okonomiyaki (a Japanese savory pancake layered with noodles, pork and a fried egg) and takoyaki (a Japanese octopus donut hole).

During a break, I had a chance to talk with the 54-year-old chef about his sixth restaurant that will open next summer in the Wine Country — Morimoto Napa.

Q: What made you choose Napa as opposed to San Francisco for your restaurant?

A: Two years ago, I came here for the “Worlds of Flavor” conference. It was my first time in Napa. I liked it. It is a special place. It’s a culinary place.

Q: What will Morimoto Napa be like?

A: Thomas Schoos, who did Tao in Las Vegas, is the designer. There will be three components — a fine-dining room with a sushi bar and omakase, a late-night lounge, and a retail store. People will be able to buy fish and Wagyu beef from Japan to take home to cook. We may sell bento box lunches and do catering for parties, too.

Q: Will the restaurant look like a piece of Japan? Or a piece of Napa?

A: It will look like a piece of Morimoto.

Morimoto supervises his crew at the "Worlds of Flavor'' conference.

Cooking up a Japanese savory pancake.

Tender octopus donuts get flipped so they're golden all around.

Q: With so many restaurants already, how often will people expect to see you actually in the Napa restaurant?

A: I will be there as much as I can.

Q: Will we be buying a place to live here? Perhaps a house with its own vineyard to make Morimoto wine?

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