Category Archives: Restaurants

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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Craveble — A New Food Delivery Service

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Lobster roll from Oakland's Sea Breeze on the Dock delivered to my door via Craveble.
Lobster roll from Oakland’s Sea Breeze on the Dock delivered to my door via Craveble.

If you’re a regular user of food delivery services, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a new one in town: Craveble.

It actually launched 2 1/2 years ago in Sacramento to deliver premade restaurant dishes to consumers. But slowly but surely, it has expanded its geographic reach to now include six other Western states besides California. They are: Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

It was established by Darren McAdams, who also founded past food delivery concepts Foodjets and FoodToYou.

My delivery box.
My delivery box.

What sets Craveble apart is the fact that you can mix and match dishes from its local partner restaurants to bundle together in one order. In the Bay Area, that means you can assemble one delivery from 10 different restaurants.

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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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Bow Down to Four Kings

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The signature fried squab at Four Kings. Only 15 are offered each night.
The signature fried squab at Four Kings. Only 15 are offered each night.

The food of my childhood has been stunningly reinvigorated at the new Four Kings in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

If you’re Chinese American and of Cantonese heritage like myself, one taste of the dishes here will take you back nostalgically to many a celebratory Chinese banquet meal of long ago, as well as just plain ol’ homey weeknight gatherings with family at Formica-topped tables at local hole-in-the-wall joints.

Four Kings, which officially opens to the public on March 14, is the brainchild of chefs Michael Long and Franky Ho, former sous chef and chef de cuisine, respectively, of Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s a block away. The duo, along with Millie Boonkokua, general manager of Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco, and Long’s wife, Lucy Li, an accountant, pooled their money along with that from friends and family to open this brick-and-mortar, following a series of sold-out pop-ups last year.

The open kitchen with counter seating.
The open kitchen with counter seating.

Last week, I had a chance to snag an early pre-opening reservation at the u-shaped counter that surrounds the open-kitchen — the best seats in the house if you enjoy seeing all the action up close.

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