by Christina Waters | Apr 22, 2007 | Food, Home |
Steve Spill is an ace photographer, bon vivant and, as it turns out, can whip up some mean curries when he wants. And he wanted to last week, in the professionally equipped kitchen of the King Street bungalow he shares with his Sylvia. Munching pappodoms and an array of lip-numbing chutneys and sambals, we watched as Spill simultaneously surfed a dozen dishes bubbling and roasting and stir-frying on six burners and two ovens. Was he completely in control of the situation? Is any chef? It was often difficult to tell, as everything needed continuous stirring, browning, and turning. From a wall of spices lining one section of the kitchen, floor to ceiling, Spill had retrieved the ingredients that mysteriously merge into the perfumed results. Onions and lamb had been chopped and seeds toasted and crushed, earlier in the day. Thanks to a large trove of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and a few choice zinfandels, a dozen of us worked through the appetizers and then at exactly 9pm, dove into fragrant dishes the color of sunrise and sunset. My favorites included the crisp chicken kofta, the elegant, fiery mint, cilantro and chili chutney and a sensuous dal that would have done any London curry house proud.
Homemade mango chutney, chili and lime chutney, a South African tomato chutney – these zippy dips were cooled by a succulent cucumber and yogurt raita. To spoon over Spill’s perfect jasmine rice, were fat roast new potatoes – curried of course – a sauteed okra dish called bhindi bhajee, crunchy long beans with tomato, a delectable, tender lamb bhuna and rogan gosht. The latter was a splendid stew of lamb, laced with cardamom and cinnamon and tons of garlic and ginger. Probably many more spices as well. Heady stuff! Can you say “ambitious”? Steve had made even more but my palate eventually gave out after so many big flavors.
I can’t remember the last time a “civilian” chef produced such an impressive line-up of brilliant flavors. The atmosphere was wonderful too. My compliments!
by Christina Waters | Apr 13, 2007 | Food |
Amish Gold, Amish Paste, Ananas Noir, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Aunt Ruby’s Cherry, Azoychka, Barad’s Yellow, Basinga, Berkeley Tie Dye, Big Beef, Big Rainbow, Big White Pink Stripe, Black Cherry, Black Ethiopian, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Black Plum, Black Prince, Blondkopfchen, Bloody Butcher, Brandywine OTV, Brown’s Yellow Giant, Camalay, Caspian Pink, Cherokee Green, Cherokee Purple. Sound good? These are only some of the over 100 varieties of heirloom, exotic, hybrid and rare tomato seedlings on sale at Ben Lomond’s mighty Love Apple Farm, this weekend April 14 & 15. Proprietor Cynthia Sandberg, who grows biodynamic produce exclusively for the kitchen of acclaimed, Michelin-starred Manresa restaurant, has the greenest thumb for miles around.
Don’t miss this opportunity to purchase intriguing varieites, and to tour the grounds of Sandberg’s fertile acres. From 10am to 5pm – this weekend. For details, check the website, Love Apple Farm, 9299 Glen Arbor Road, Ben Lomond, CA.
(831) 588-3801
by Christina Waters | Apr 3, 2007 | Food, Home |
Thank God! After years of waiting for something more like the Westside’s old Aldo’s Cafe (brainchild of the original Sestri chef), our waiting is over. Bistro Al Mar specializes in tapas so authentically Old World we thought we were in Madrid last week, sharing a little teaser of fava beans and diced feta, washed down with Spanish white wine.
In the place of the former Xin noodle shop (841 Almar, at the end of the Almar Center strip), Bistro Al Mar has a lively menu wandering the Mediterranean waterfront from Marseilles and Nice, to Genoa and Barcelona. There are even a few North African dishes on offer. The place looks smart, with sensuous fedo and Catalan pop music in the background, and a simple long lace curtain adding privacy to the central dining room. Open for dinners Tuesday – Sunday, Al Mar is already attracting inquiring grazers who like the low prices and sexy menu. I also liked the service — smart and on-the-ball, our server offered to pour samples of wines when we weren’t sure what we wanted. That’s always a sound restaurant practice.
We began our small courses with a large plate of outstanding Catalan semi-dry garlic and pepper sausage “Fuet de Vic” ($7), and a $2 basket of “unlimited refills” focaccia. Yes, Al Mar has your number. 
A country Rusa potato salad, mixed with peas, carrots, tuna, egg, red peppers and capers in an aioli dressing arrived in a glazed pottery ramikin ($7), and my trio of grilled baby lamb chaps, done rare — perfect lamb is always very pink, as far as I’m concerned — came on a generous sea of Tuscan white beans and topped with a fresh sprig of sage ($11). This was a knock-out! Joined by a glass of Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel 2004, this was a meal to get out of bed for. You know what I mean.
We plan to work our way, slowly and with relish, through the entire Bistro Al Mar menu. See you there!
by Christina Waters | Mar 20, 2007 | Food, Home |
Lunch at Gabriella with Gayle Ortiz — of Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria — satisfied my on-going cravings for loads of local gossip, plus fresh, seasonal culinartistry by chef/earth goddess Rebecca King. How was I to know that I’d find the best burger I’ve had in a decade? Take a look at this image! If you think it looks good, I gotta tell you it tasted ever better. Elegant and intensely satisfying. That is a super juicy, medium-rare grilled Kobe beef burger on fresh focaccia, topped with melted mozzarella, caramelized onions and mustard aioli. (The photo only shows my half of the burger.) Served with a small salad of deluxe greens, it was a bargain for $14. Gayle is nothing if not an adventurous diner — she confesses that she’ll eat anything! – so we began our lunch at Gabriella with a split Dungeness crab salad, before sharing the burger. The salad was very pretty with pale green avocado and pink and red beets, on a bed of spicy watercress. But it proved a bit dry in the eating. The burger was terrific — it kissed up to all those burger cravings at once, and without any of the guilt. We called for ketchup and then stopped talking for entire minutes as we feasted on what has to be one of the best burgers in town. Any town.
Gabriella, still hosted by Paul Cocking and still a downtown dining must, is located at 910 Cedar Street in Santa Cruz (call 831/457-1677 for reservations).
by Christina Waters | Mar 8, 2007 | Food, Home |
At the Shadowbrook – yes, that Shadowbrook – last week, I had pizza so amazing that I found myself comparing it with the thin-crusted, sophisticated, completely addictive varieties I tasted in Rome. (Or, for that matter, at La Posta.)
Shadowbrook may not be known for its pizza. But that needs to change right now. At the main landing of the restaurant, down the winding, landscapes hillside, take a left and enter the Rock Room. Substantial appetizers are the rule here, and that’s where the pizza comes in. From the wood-fired oven comes a variety of satisfying $10 pizzas — perfect to share over drinks. The version I sampled last week featured a thin layer of pesto topped with toasted pinenuts, artichokes and grilled chicken, all on a feather-light, crisp crust. It has been a long time since I got this excited about pizza, but there it is!
The Rock Room feels good and it’s very user-friendly hours start at 4pm every day – from 2:30pm on Sundays.
by Christina Waters | Mar 2, 2007 | Food |
Check out my profile of O’mei restaurateur and cultural analyst Roger Grigsby, on p. 37 of the March 1 issue of GT Weekly.
