Category Archives: Chefs

This Season’s Asparagus and Spring Allium Strata

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Cheesy asparagus strata with a bevy of spring onions and spring garlic.
Cheesy asparagus strata with a bevy of spring onions and spring garlic.

“Asparagus and Spring Allium Strata” combines my three most favorite spring ingredients:

Green garlic or young garlic with their Fabio-like, long, flowing green tops, no papery skins, and a fresher, sweeter flavor.

Spring onions or immature onions with their small, compact, and tender bulbs that boast a milder flavor.

And of course, asparagus. When I can find them, I always go for the thick stalks because they cook up more tender with a more robust taste, too.

If you’re new to stratas, just think of them as a savory bread pudding — perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner. It’s just toasted or day-old bread saturated with an eggy custard mixture much like making French toast, then layered in a baking dish with vegetables, cheese and other ingredients.

This delicious version is from “The Vegetable Eater” (Workman Publishing), of which I received a review copy. It was written by Cara Mangini, a San Francisco chef and creator of Little Eater, a produce-inspired company that offers catering and weekly meal-service delivery, and opened a number of locally sourced restaurants in Columbus, OH. She was named one of the top 50 plant-forward chefs in the world by the Culinary Institute of America and the EAT foundation.

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Dining At Table Culture Provisions

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"From the Turf'' at Table Culture Provisions
“From the Turf” at Table Culture Provisions.

Feel how you may about Elon Musk, but there’s no denying that Tesla stock has proved a boon for many.

That was certainly true for chefs Stéphane Saint Louis and Steven Vargas. During the height of Covid, the two made the daring decision to invest their Small Business Loans pandemic stimulus checks in Tesla stock, which turned out to be a brilliant move. It took all of five months for their $2,400 investment to balloon into a $17,000 windfall.

That provided the seed money not only to kick-start a successful fried chicken pop-up during the pandemic, but allowed them to generate enough funds to open their first restaurant, Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma in November 2020.

The restaurant, which has garnered glowing reviews, sports a teeny dining room and an equally tiny outdoor dining patio.

So, it comes as no surprise that Table Culture Provisions would soon find itself needing more space. As such, it will be moving to a much larger location around the corner later this summer that will feature prix fixe and a la carte menus. Its current location will remain open, as a laboratory of sorts for more forward-pushing tasting menus.

That’s what I gleaned when I dined recently at the spare and elegant little space done up with denim-colored walls.

A view of the chefs from the dining room.
A view of the chefs from the dining room.

The chefs in the kitchen are visible behind a row of windows that look onto the dining room. Given the space limitations, it’s rather remarkable the elegant, elevated food that comes out to the table.

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Kenwood Part II: Dining at Golden Bear Station

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Don't miss the hot honey pizza at Golden Bear Station.
Don’t miss the hot honey pizza at Golden Bear Station.

Kenwood, CA — With soaring white rafters, furry throws on the bar seats, and a menu of specialties that skew Asian and Italian by way of Wine Country, Golden Bear Station not surprisingly attracts a packed house of locals and visitors.

Even on a Wednesday night, which is when I decided to dine there recently for the first time.

But when you have a husband-and-wife team at the helm whose reputation precedes them, that’s to be expected.

Chef Joshua Smookler and Heidy He opened Golden Bear Station, which takes its name from the original gas station that once stood on the spot, in late 2023, right around the same time they decided to close their critically acclaimed, more upscale Animo in Sonoma.

Golden Bear Station.
Golden Bear Station.
Counter seats with furry throws.
Counter seats with furry throws.

Smookler, who was born in Korea and adopted by a Jewish family in New York, worked previously at Per Se and Bouley in New York City. The couple then ran their well-regarded Mu Ramen in New York City (the New York Times heralded it as the best ramen in the city), before closing it during the pandemic to move with their young daughters to Sonoma County.

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Crack Open A Cold One — To Bake This Marvelous Beer Bread

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Red Stripe beer and loads of rosemary infuse this aromatic, moist, and easy quick bread.
Red Stripe beer and loads of rosemary infuse this aromatic, moist, and easy quick bread.

On your next trip to the store, pick up a six-pack of Jamaican Red Stripe beer, and feel free to sit back and sip a cold brewski.

But do yourself a major favor and save at least one of those distinctively stubby bottles to bake a loaf of “Rosemary Red Stripe Beer Bread.”

That’s right — this incredibly moist and flavorful quick bread uses one whole bottle of the beer, plus copious amounts of fresh rosemary.

There’s no yeast involved and no rising time required. Just mix, bake, and enjoy a warm slice slathered with butter in no time flat.

This wonderful recipe is from “For the Culture” (Harvest, 2023), of which I received a review copy. It takes its name from author Klancy Miller’s For the Culture digital magazine.

A New York chef and food writer, Miller spotlights 66 inspiring Black women in her book with interviews, and 47 recipes from them.

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The Allure of Alora

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A salt cod fritter goes glam at Alora.
A salt cod fritter goes glam at Alora.

The newest restaurant by Vikram and Anu Bhambri, the husband-and-wife team behind a handful of contemporary Indian establishments in the Bay Area, is a major departure.

And it’s a doozy.

Alora opened in late-January on Pier 3 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero to serve up ambitious Mediterranean fare with aplomb, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week.

The couple, who have tech backgrounds, got their restaurateur start with Rooh in San Francisco, followed by a second Rooh in downtown Palo Alto. Then, came Pippal in Emeryville in November. Look for Fitoor, and Indian grill, to open March 19 at San Jose’s Santana Row.

The stylish dining room.
The stylish dining room.

For Alora, they tapped Ryan McIlwraith as executive chef, who formerly held that position at Bellota in San Francisco, and was chef de cuisine at Coqueta in San Francisco and director of culinary development for Bottega restaurants in San Francisco and Yountville.

It’s an interesting setup with the main dining room in one building and the kitchen in another one a couple yards away connected by a breezeway. McIlwraith may have jested that servers have to ensure that the dill doesn’t blow off a plate in transit, but noted it’s actually a smooth path unless there’s a major storm. In cases like that, they take extra care to put covers on all plates.

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