Southern grit is definitely what Chef Kelsey Barnard Clark exhibited when she triumphed against a tough field on “Top Chef” season 16 and also snagged “Fan Favorite” honors.
The more than 100 recipes in this book are definitely not aimed at those counting calories. Be fair-warned that here is an eye-popping abundance of butter and mayonnaise used throughout. The homey dishes include the likes of “Squash Casserole,” “Smoked Gouda Grits with Redeye Gravy,” “Creole Tomato Gravy Shrimp,” and “Golf Cart Cinnamon Rolls.”
Case in point: “Seared Duck Breast with Caramelized Orange Butter.” The easy sauce is made with an entire stick of butter. For two servings. Oh, my!
First, it’s one of only two restaurants in the town of Napa that holds a Michelin star. (Kenzo being the other one).
Second, it’s one of only two restaurants in that city to require proof of vaccination for all patrons entering the restaurant, no matter where they are seated. (The other is Morimoto Napa.)
Third, its entire staff is vaccinated.
If you’re at all skittish about dining at a restaurant these days, then La Toque may be a reassuring option for you.
That’s what I found when my husband and I dined there earlier this month. We actually sat at a table on the outside terrace. As Chef Ken Frank explained, though, some diners may not consider this “outside” enough, because the heated terrace with a roaring fireplace has a tight awning overhead, plus tall, slatted windows that for the most part are closed during chilly winter evenings. Because the tables are well spaced apart, and the staff approaches the tables masked, plus patrons are asked to don masks if they get up from their seats, it feels as safe as it can in these still rather precarious times.
Chef Ken Frank with white truffle in hand.
Hot towels are brought to the table after you’re seated. There’s also a bottle of hand sanitizer on each table. Both are thoughtful touches.
Choose from the a la carte menu, a chef’s vegetable tasting menu ($98), or a chef’s tasting menu ($175) with wine pairings ($95). The latter is what we went with.
The surprise of ‘nduja in these chicken meatballs gives them a sweet-spicy taste.
Mama Mia, that’s a spicy meatball!
But don’t fear, these are not throat-throttling fiery. Instead, they are just hot enough, with peppery warmth and a kiss of sweetness, thanks to ‘nduja, the Italian spreadable salami seasoned with roasted Calabrian chili peppers.
The book, written in conjunction with food writer Jamie Feldmar, is by Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, the married chefs behind Michelin-starred Don Angie in New York City.
Indeed, these are not rigidly Italian recipes that haven’t changed in centuries, but ones that reflect the comforting home-style fare that Italians made their own after immigrating to this country. At Don Angie, those lusty, flavorful red sauce-dishes get even more playfully and vibrantly updated.
You’re sure to find yourself licking your chops over recipes for “Sicilian Pizza Rolls,” “Polenta Gnocchi with Rosemary, Honey & Toasted Sesame,” “Eggplant Parm Pinwheel Lasagna,” and “Tre Latte Olive Oil Cake.”
Chewy ginger cookies with the depth of ras el hanout.
After seasoning a lamb dish spectacularly, my leftover ras el hanout had been languishing forlornly in my pantry.
Remnants of this aromatic and punchy Moroccan spice blend were badly in need of a purpose and home.
Thankfully, the ideal one arrived in the form of “Chewy Ginger Spice Cookies with Ras El Hanout.”
Ras El Hanout is Arabic for “top shelf.” Like liquor at a bar, it connotes the best a mixologist or spice shop owner has to offer.
It’s a blend that can consist of more than a dozen spices, including cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, coriander, peppercorns, paprika, fenugreek, turmeric, fennel seeds, aniseed, and galangal.
I’ve always associated it with savory cooking. But this clever cookie recipe demonstrates just how well it takes to sweet preparations, as well.
Scallop with pine nut miso and pine nut brittle at Nisei.
When you enter Nisei in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood, you may experience a little deja vu if you’ve dined at Michelin two-starred Californios in SoMa.
The walls are a dramatic dark charcoal, just like at that daring, high-end Mexican restaurant. Both establishments were designed by Carolyn Cantu, co-owner of Californios, to create a cloistered yet elegant atmosphere. Some of the plateware are rough-hewed. minimalist matte gray at both, too.
And of course, there’s also an uncanny banana-caviar dish at each that will leave you talking long after you’ve taken the last bite.
It’s all not by coincidence, but in tribute, as Nisei Chef David Yoshimura was formerly the chef de cuisine of Californios. He opened Nisei in August to spotlight washoku cuisine or Japanese home-cooking that has deep reverence for seasonality and purity of flavor, and is often centered around rice.
In other words, don’t come expecting California rolls and chicken teriyaki. In much the same way that Chef Val Cantu doesn’t do burritos necessarily, but has broadened the definition of Mexican food, Yoshimura, who also worked at New York’s cutting-edge wd-50, does so with Japanese-American food, serving a 12-course tasting menu for $184.
Nisei does not offer outside dining, though its Bar Iris next door, which serves up Asian-inspired craft cocktails and small bites, has a parklet. If you dine inside at Nisei, the host will carefully check your ID and proof of vaccination before seating you. When I was invited in as a guest of Nisei recently, the restaurant actually let my husband and I sit by ourselves in the private dining room — with its own portable air filter system off in a corner — since the room wasn’t otherwise booked.
The embroidered kimono hanging on the wall in the private dining room.
While the main dining room is adorned with brightly colored murals, the private dining room is more sedate with a gorgeous kimono hanging on one wall, and a unique triptych on another that’s over-layed with gold leaf designed to flake off over time, altering the work’s composition naturally. Fleetwood Mac and other classic rock tunes play over the sound system to impart a casualness to it all, despite the room’s inherent grace.
