Dungeness crab sorrentinos at Morella in San Francisco.
There’s been no shortage lately of prominent fusion cuisines — born not of confusion, but of history.
Nikkei cuisine originated when thousands of Japanese immigrants settled in Peru at the end of the 19th century. Indian Chinese food developed when Chinese immigrants for work to Kolkata. And Italian and Spanish influences began to flavor Argentinian cuisine in the 19th and 20th centuries with a wave of immigrants from those countries.
Morella, which opened in the Marina District last November, is one of the city’s first of late to celebrate that melding of Argentinian, Italian, and Spanish flavors.
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?
The fun and delicious popcorn flan at Pedro’s in Los Gatos.
What happens when a Mexican restaurant that’s more than half a century old undergoes a 9-month overhaul?
Wonderful things, as in the case of Pedro’s in downtown Los Gatos.
Not only did it get a slightly fancier name, Pedro’s Cocina & Cocktails, but also a new stylish interior, as well as a former fine-dining chef in the form of Julio Aguilera, who hails from San Francisco’s Michelin two-starred Saison.
The Saison connection makes absolute sense when you realize that both that restaurant, along with Pedro’s in Los Gatos and Pedro’s in Santa Clara, are co-owned by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jag Kapoor.
But don’t worry that your neighborhood Mexican restaurant has gone all chi chi. The Los Gatos restaurant may have gotten a revamp late last year, but it remains a comfortable, casual place serving many of its classic favorites along with some more updated fare.
The focal point bar at Pedro’s Los Gatos.
Diners seem to be embracing the new look and menu, as evidenced by the steady stream coming through the door on a rainy and windy Thursday night when I dined. Although my husband and I paid our tab, the chef sent out a couple dishes on the house for us to try.
When Chef Bruno Chemel shuttered his Bistronomie by Baume in Palo Alto in August 2023 after less than a year, he thought about retiring.
Who could blame him? After all, before transforming that California Avenue space into a more casual establishment, he had spent the previous 13 years overseeing it in its original incarnation as the cutting-edge, fine-dining Baume restaurant known for its eye-popping molecular gastronomy.
It garnered him one Michelin star for three years before it was elevated to two stars, a distinction it held for a long nine years even in its later stage when it was only Chemel and his wife Christie running the entire restaurant alone.
If anyone deserved a rest after all of that, surely he did.
Chef Bruno Chemel.
Of course, that lasted all of a heartbeat. Only a month later, he was scouring locations for a new restaurant.
Last summer, he opened Le Parc Bistrobar in the Galleria Park Hotel with his wife by his side, designing the cocktails and running the dining room. This time, though, they do have the help of other employees.
A simple and delicious recipe from Chef Lee Anne Wong, who lost her restaurant in the devastating Lahaina fires.
In times of natural disasters or catastrophic world events, not only do firefighters and paramedics immediately mobilize to help, but so do chefs, cooks, and others in the hospitality industry.
After all, they know better than anyone the power of food to comfort, nourish, and heal.
As I watched the news accounts of the gut-wrenching destruction wrought by the Southern California wildfires, it reminded me eerily of the 2023 firestorm that obliterated the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui.
In each case, restaurateurs and their employees — including some whose establishment or homes had been ravaged by flames — turned up in droves to cook meals for anyone in need, despite their own dire circumstances.
Wildfires may be growing more severe nowadays due to climate change. But it’s heartening to witness the indefatigable resilience, resourcefulness, and compassion of a community rising to meet it.
“To Lahaina, With Love” exemplifies that. Proceeds from this cookbook, which debuted last month, benefit Fresh Help Maui, a non-profit that provides meals and locally-caught fresh fish to those impacted by the Maui fires.
