Category Archives: Food TV

Stephanie Izard Debuts Valley Goat

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A mound of "disco fries'' at the new Valley Goat.
A mound of “disco fries” at the new Valley Goat.

It’s always an occasion when a “Top Chef” champion opens a new restaurant. Even more so when it’s Stephanie Izard, arguably one of the most successful winners to emerge from the Bravo TV show’s 22 seasons (and the first woman to win). And especially when she chooses to do so in Silicon Valley.

At the end of March, the James Beard Award-winning chef opened Valley Goat at the new Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale.

After opening her original Girl & The Goat in Chicago in 2010, Izard was named Food & Wine “Best Chef” in 2011. When she opened Girl & The Goat in Los Angeles in 2021, she gave up the Windy City for Tinsel Town, moving there with her family. Valley Goat is her first Northern California restaurant, and what she told me is the first of several planned restaurants she will open with Treehouse Hotels.

Chef Stephanie Izard, who has spent the past six weeks in Sunnyvale, to oversee her Valley Goat restaurant.
Chef Stephanie Izard, who has spent the past six weeks in Sunnyvale, to oversee her Valley Goat restaurant.

Quirky and playful, the hotel is like a glamping playground gone wild for Gen Z. There’s a beer garden with picnic tables set with Jenga towers, rubber duckie floats in the pool, and a fence cleverly painted with tree trunks to blend in and create the look of a lush forest with real trees.

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Take Five with Chef Douglas Keane of Michelin-Starred Cyrus, On His Revealing New Memoir “Culinary Leverage”

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Chef-Owner Douglas Keane in the kitchen at Cyrus in Geyserville. (Photo by Cynthia Glassell)
Chef-Owner Douglas Keane in the kitchen at Cyrus in Geyserville. (Photo by Cynthia Glassell)

You may know Chef Douglas Keane as a victor of “Top Chef Masters,” and the owner of Michelin-starred Cyrus in Geyserville. You may even know the brutal ups and downs he faced when the original Cyrus closed in Healdsburg in 2012 following a landlord dispute and his ensuing 10-year struggle over five different properties to reopen the restaurant in a new location.

Despite all of that, Keane, his 20-year business partner Nick Peyton, and longtime chef Drew Glassell, managed to bring that vision to fruition to open the new Cyrus in 2022 in a modern glass, steel, and concrete building among vineyards on the grounds of what was once the home of a Sunsweet prune packing plant.

Through that whole ordeal, he was also busy writing a memoir, “Culinary Leverage’‘ (Koehler Books), which debuts Feb. 25.

It is at points illuminating, frank, brave, jarring, and hilarious. And yes, there are even a handful of recipes included at the end. I had a chance to chat with Keane about his reasons for writing the book, and on revealing so much about himself and the restaurant industry.

Q: What made you want to write this book?

A: At first, I just thought I had some interesting stories to tell, that a lot of weird shit had happened to me that I should just put down. But everyone’s story is unique, so that’s not what this became about. I wrote the book to make changes in the industry, to illuminate why I got to the dark, weird places.

Q: There are definitely some very dark and intense moments in this book, especially at the start of it, which will surprise people. Did you think twice about including those?

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A Sweet Pairing For Valentine’s Day

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These cookies are two treats in one.
These cookies are two treats in one.

Newman and Woodward.

Travis and Taylor.

Kermit and Miss Piggy.

What’s your ideal sweet pair?

For me, it’s got to be peanut butter and dark chocolate.

If you know someone with a similar predilection, then bake them a batch of “Peanut Butter Cup Cookies” this Valentine’s Day. You’re sure to win their heart with these treats that are like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — but in cookie form.

Best yet, this recipe makes a reasonable six treats — just enough to satisfy, but not too many to feel as if you’re going overboard.

This nostalgic yet timeless treat is from “Small Batch Cookies” (Kyle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Edd Kimber, the London baker and food writer who was the inaugural winner of “The Great British Bake Off.”

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Tom Colicchio’s “Possibly the Best Grilled Cheese You’ll Ever Have”

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'Nduja and plenty of mozzarella make this grilled cheese extra messy and delicious.
‘Nduja and plenty of mozzarella make this grilled cheese extra messy and delicious.

Tom Colicchio may be a household name now, thanks to 21 seasons as head judge and executive producer of the Emmy-winning, Bravo hit show “Top Chef.”

But as a kid, he felt a little lost and a lot unsure while growing up in northern New Jersey, especially with a father who was often moody, silent, and a gambling addict.

One day, when he was 13, his mom dragged him to her weekly hair appointment. As he waited, he happened to pick up a magazine, Cuisine. Leafing through it, he grew mesmerized by a recipe for roasted, stuffed eggplant. So much so, that he asked permission to take the magazine home, where he made the dish, the first meal he had ever cooked.

His dad took a taste and remarked, “Not bad, Tom” — words that Colicchio would cherish.

Three years later, when Colicchio was 16 with nary a thought to his future, his father suggested he become a chef, saying, “I think you’d be good at it.” Coming from his usually stoic dad, it carried immeasurable weight and would propel him into his exceedingly successful career.

So Colicchio recounts in his new book, “Why I Cook” (Artisan, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

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Dining at Violetto at the Alila Napa Valley

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Smoked sturgeon and cauliflower rillettes with caviar at Violetto at the Alila resort.
Smoked sturgeon and cauliflower rillettes with caviar at Violetto at the Alila resort.

The resort now known as Alila Napa Valley (formerly Los Alcabas) has always been one of my favorite properties in St. Helena for its striking juxtaposition between old and new.

In 2021, the Alila hotel group took over the property with its oversized, minimalist, gray-toned rooms with spectacular vineyard views, with the vines so close to the ground-floor rooms that you could walk out your terrace to touch them.

In May 2024, it completed its transition by debuting its new restaurant, Violetto, housed in the property’s beautifully ornate 1907 mansion.

Chef Thomas Lents serves a French-Italian menu with thoughtful options for a 7-course tasting menu ($145) with optional wine pairing ($85), four-course prix fixe ($105) with optional wine pairing ($65), or a la carte. There are also supplemental items you can choose to add.

Violetto is housed in a 1907 mansion.
Violetto is housed in a 1907 mansion.
The main dining room.
The main dining room.
The bar-lounge area.
The bar-lounge area.

Recently, I was invited as a guest of the property and restaurant to stay overnight and to experience the new menu.

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