Category Archives: Spirits/Cocktails/Beer

Where’s the Beef At Gozu? It’s In Practically Everything

At the new Gozu -- dining is like theater with the kitchen its stage.
At the new Gozu — dining is like theater with the kitchen its stage.

Much like you wouldn’t expect to a half chicken set before you at a yakitori restaurant, don’t come to the new Gozu in San Francisco craving a brontosaurus-sized steak.

Nope, you won’t find that here.

Unlike so many Wagyu-focused restaurants of late in the Bay Area, this one doesn’t focus solely on the primo primal cuts. Instead, Chef-Owner Marc Zimmerman employs a nose-to-tail philosophy here, making use of far more parts of the Japanese specialty-breed, heavily marbled cow than a typical steakhouse ever would.

You’ll find him burning the bones as charcoal, rendering the fat to make sauces and to preserve vegetables, and using lean cuts to even make a house-made version of shoyu.

Charcoal-grilled skewer of the flat-iron of Hokkaido A5 Wagyu Snow Beef.
Charcoal-grilled skewer of the flat-iron of Hokkaido A5 Wagyu Snow Beef.

Zimmerman got the idea for this unique restaurant about five years ago when he was the chef at Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco. He would regularly travel to Japan to source Wagyu from farmers there. But back then, he was only buying the loins, which prompted the farmers to question when he would buy the entire animal. After all, a farmer can’t make a living by only selling part of a cow. The only way to maintain a sustainable business is to make use of every bit of what you’re raising.

It got Zimmerman thinking, and agreeing that it only made sense to buy the entire animal.

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Teleferic Barcelona Opens With A Sizzle in Palo Alto

The Catalon G&T at the new Telefèric Barcelona in Palo Alto.
The Catalon G&T at the new Telefèric Barcelona in Palo Alto.

There’s no doubt that Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village is a happening place. Just try to park there most any time of day or night, and you’ll be hunting for a parking spot because that’s how busy it gets.

Now, it’s bound to get even crazier than the long lines there for Boba Guys. That’s because the new Teleferric Barcelona just opened its doors last week, with plenty of Spanish flair, pulsating music, and flaming cocktails lighting up the dining room.

It’s the second Bay Area locale for the Teleferic Barcelona Restaurant Group of Barcelona, joining the original Teleferic Barcelona that opened in Walnut Creek in 2016.

Brother and sister, Xavi and Maria Padrosa took over the original restaurant in Barcelona, which their mother had started. They were lured to bring their concept stateside by a Walnut Creek developer.

Xavi Padrosa had long wanted to open a restaurant in Palo Alto, a city close to his heart since he lived there for seven years while attending Foothill College in Los Altos Hills and Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Just inside the entry way.
Just inside the entry way.
The bar.
The bar.
Seats right in front of the open kitchen.
Seats right in front of the open kitchen.

The contemporary Palo Alto restaurant is all clean lines with a long bar, sleek open kitchen, colorful Spanish tiles, and basket-like light fixtures. When it’s full, as it was for a friends-and-family and media dinner that I attended the night before it opened to the public, it can be very loud. You will have to lean over the table to converse with your dining companion.

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Sorrento Limoncello From A Carmel Restaurateur

The family recipe for this limoncello dates to 1902.
The family recipe for this limoncello dates to 1902.

Rich Pepe may have grown up in New Jersey, but his family’s southern Italian roots have lived on deliciously since his grandparents emigrated here.

His upbringing, surrounded by a large extended family who made their own wine, jams, breads and pastas, had a profound impact on him. Indeed, after arriving on the Monterey Peninsula, Pepe worked as a baker, and eventually purchased the historic Carmel Bakery in Carmel-by-the-Sea. He, his wife and two sons now oversee half a dozen Italian-inspired establishments in the area. Besides the bakery, they include Little Napoli, Bistro Italian; Vesuvio; and Peppoli at Pebble Beach.

If that weren’t enough, he also makes his own limoncello. PepeCello is hand-crafted in small batches in Sorrento, using only certified organic Sorrento lemons.

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Check In For A Dose of Wellness At the Stanford Court Hotel

Presenting the "Maude,'' made with rooftop honey at the Stanford Court Hotel.
Presenting the “Maude,” made with rooftop honey at the Stanford Court Hotel.

San Francisco’s Stanford Court Hotel is buzzing — in more ways than one.

Last year, the Nob Hill hotel added an apiary to its rooftop terrace just outside its Seven Stills restaurant. Now, it’s reaping the sweet rewards of those bee hives — from honey that’s accenting fun offerings on the menu.

I had a chance to try a few recently, when I was invited as an overnight guest of the hotel.

The restored, 3-ton penguin statue by Beni Bufano graces the entrance.
The restored, 3-ton penguin statue by Beni Bufano graces the entrance.
Depictions of horses owned by industrialist Leland Stanford decorate the lobby.
Depictions of horses owned by industrialist Leland Stanford decorate the lobby.
The night-time skyline view from one of the rooms.
The night-time skyline view from one of the rooms.

Take a seat at the bar or one of the tables in the restaurant that’s open to the lobby to order one of the specialty cocktails ($15 each) that are all named for movies that were filmed in San Francisco.

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SF Bakesale for Planned Parenthood, Mixology Fun & More

Get your sweet tooth on at this wonderful bake sale for a great cause. (Photo by Molly Decourdreaux)
Get your sweet tooth on at this wonderful bake sale for a great cause. (Photo by Molly Decourdreaux)

Zuni Cafe and Guittard Chocolate Team Up With A Host of Bakers For A Grand Bakesale

Get your sweet fix — and support a worthy cause — at the “SF Bakesale for Planned Parenthood,” 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 13 in Rose Alley between Gough and Market streets (behind Zuni Cafe) in San Francisco.

Modeled after a similar event in New York City, this local one is presented by Annie Callahan of Zuni Cafe and Amy Guittard of Guittard Chocolate Company. It will feature a tantalizing array of baked goods for sale by some of the city’s top restaurants and bakeries. A live auction also will be held, with one of the items up for bids a dinner at NOMA Copenhagen.

All proceeds will benefit Planned Parenthood NorCal and Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates.

Among those baking the sweet treats are: Atelier Crenn, Bi-Rite Creamery, Boulevard, Cala, Che Fico, Frances, Liholiho Yacht Club, Mister Jiu’s, Nightbird, Quince, Rich Table, Saison, Tartine Bakery, 20th Century Cafe, and Zuni Cafe.

Unable to attend the event, but still want to help? A GoFundMe site has been set up to take donations.

Mixology Classes From The Mulberry Guy

You know him as the Mulberry Guy, the farmer who brings prized, fresh-picked mulberries to sell at the Palo Alto Downtown Farmers Market in the summertime. Now, Kevin Lynch is putting a newfound hobby to work — he’s hosting mixology classes in his backyard full of mulberry trees.

Kevin Lynch is known for his home-grown mulberries. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)
Kevin Lynch is known for his home-grown mulberries. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Lynch and his wife are both teachers, so they know how to instruct so that the lessons stick.

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