Category Archives: General

RN74 Celebrates Sweet Birthday, First Walnut Creek Restaurant Week & More

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Vanilla bean panna cotta with rhubarb, red wine and poppy seed granola. (Phot courtesy of RN74

San Francisco’s RN74 Offers Up Takeaway Treats for Bargain Price

To celebrate its third anniversary, RN74 in San Francisco is making batches of takeaway dessert treats for $3 each (regularly $5).

If you need an afternoon pick-me-up, head over to the restaurant, April 22-28,  to indulge in a to-go order of an assortment of French cookies, peanut butter mousse with sea salt and bourbon caramel or vanilla bean panna cotta with rhubarb and red wine.

It’s sure to be a sweet time.

Creamy peanut butter mousse with bourbon caramel and chocolate-covered peanuts. (Photo courtesy of RN74)

Student-Run Restaurant Opens in Sunnyvale

The Art Institute of California in Sunnyvale just reopened its student-run restaurant, The Bistro, with a new menu and decor.

Interior Design students, who revamped the space as part of a class project, chose neutral hues, bamboo and grasses for an organic, natural look.

Culinary students manage the dining room and oversee the kitchen, turning out seasonal lunches that are mostly organic. Choose from small plates, salads, entrees or sandwiches.

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Masterful Tea and a Food Gal Giveaway

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Who couldn't use a hot cup of "Ancient Beauty'' tea?

Enjoy a sip of some rather discriminating teas, made from just the top two leaves and bud from each plant.

You can with the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s new, limited-edition Tea Master’s single-batch tea blends.

The Southern California-based company is selling these six, loose-leaf tea blends online only: Shree Dwarika Estate Darjeeling (3.5 ounces for $9.20), Thailand Wulong Oolong (1.25 ounces for $6.20), Ah Li Shan Taiwan Oolong (4 ounce at $20.20), Bogawantalawa Estate Sri Lanka (3 ounces for 7.20), Ancient Beauty (2 ounces for $12.20), and Japanese Sencha Green (4.5 ounces for $13.20).

Large leaves impart a smooth flavor to this tea.

When I had a chance to sample a few of them, I couldn’t pass up trying Ancient Beauty. Heck, the name alone entices. These days, as I feel quite ancient at times, I need all the beauty I can get.

This oolong tea from thousand-year-old trees has a honey-earthy fragrance. Steep a cup to enjoy a clean tasting tea with smooth, subtle tannins. It would be an ideal accompaniment to dim sum.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a tin of each of the six tea varieties. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST April 21. Winner will be announced April 23.

How to win?

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Thai Lemongrass is a Family Affair

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Gingery ground pork with crunchy-chewy rice cakes make up this delight salad at Thai Lemongrass.

The Chakreeyarat family ran the tucked-away Thai Bistro in San Jose for many years.

Doing it all, every day, at that small eatery, though, eventually wore on  matriarch Pat Pongsil. She closed shop, and retired.

But it wasn’t long before the 70-year-old was itching to get back in the kitchen.

So, in August of last year, she opened Thai Lemongrass in a strip mall off El Camino Real in Sunnyvale, in what was once an Indian restaurant.

Last month, I was invited to be a guest of the restaurant. The dining room is simple and sparse. But from the moment you walk in, you feel like you’re in Pongsil’s warm home about to enjoy a most satisfying meal.

Pat Pongsil at work in her kitchen at Thai Lemongrass.

Thai Lemongrass is a true family affair. Daughter Jenny Chakreeyarat, who used to work at the nearby Ginger Cafe in Sunnyvale, runs the dining room. Her sister, Jennet, helps her Mom cook in the kitchen.

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A Sweet Way to Celebrate the Giants’ Home Opener

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"Pitchersnaps" and "ShortBEARD'' cookies from Waterbar. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Sure, you can dress in your best orange and black.

You can whoop and holler, too.

But best yet, you can nosh on cookies baked in honor of your fave players as you cheer them on.

Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti wants to help you celebrate the San Francisco Giants home opener on Friday, April 13 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. She’ll be selling fresh-baked Giants-themed cookies at a pop-up outside her restaurant, Waterbar on the Embarcadero.

Choose from Pitchersnaps (a riff on gingersnaps), Pablo Sandoval’s Panda Prints (peanut butter and jam thumbprints), Buster Posey’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Brian Wilson’s Chocolate Sea Salt ShortBEARDS (get it?).

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Marvelous Meatballs — With A New California Whole Wheat Pasta

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A plethora of meatballs to dig into.

“I Love Meatballs!”

That’s the fun title of the newest cookbook (Andrews McMeel) by the ever prolific New York cooking instructor, Rick Rogers, of which I recently received a review copy.

But it might also very well be a mantra we would all shout happily from the rafters.

Come on, say it with me now: I. LOVE. Meatballs.

If that doesn’t put a big smile on your face, I don’t know what will.

Rogers circles the globe with is recipes for meatballs in this book. You’ll find everything from “Beef Meatballs in Pho” to “Persian Meatballs in Pomegranate and Walnut Sauce” to “Chinese Rice-Crusted Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Dip.”

I gravitated to the “Ziti with Sausage Meatballs and Broccolini.” The meatballs are actually made from ground pork and sweet Italian sausages that have been removed from their casings. Mix in shredded onion, egg, and milk-soaked bread crumbs for added moisture.  The results are juicy, fluffy meatballs perfect for nestling in pasta.

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