Saratoga’s Plumed Horse restaurant hosts an elegant four-course winemaker dinner with J Vineyards’ George Bursick Nov. 10. Jessica Theroux film screening and book signing at Villa Montalvo Nov. 12.
Articles by Stett Holbrook
Over the past few years, Silicon Valley’s dining scene has undergone a transformation that’s allowing local restaurants to emerge from the long shadow cast by that city by the bay up north. Just last week, the venerable Michelin guide bestowed new stars on four Silicon Valley restaurants. But it’s not just the higher-end places that stand out. Silicon Valley’s strength has long been its off-the-beaten-path ethnic restaurants and that continues to be the case.
Marco Fossati, the new executive chef at Quattro at East Palo Alto’s Four Seasons Hotel, has a particularly deep résumé. Born in Portofino, Italy, Fossati grew up in a family of great cooks. His great-great-grandfather was the chef of the cruise ship Michelangelo and may have started the family’s love affair with food.
Chef Michael Miller has owned several acclaimed restaurants, the last being Trevese in Los Gatos, but you can currently sample his cuisine at the Silicon Valley Capital Club, where his favorite thing to cook and eat is the ever-changing tasting menu. Some other favorites include the “mer rouge,” a combination of scallops, halibut and shellfish in a tomato lobster broth, and the pepper-crusted pork chop.
Every Sunday, the Hernandez family would roast a piece of meat on a spit in their back yard, and little Arnulfo, who would later become chef “Arnie” of Reposado, being the youngest would get to be the first to press his homemade tortilla to the succulent roast, soaking up as much of its juices as he could. His parents both loved to cook and eat well, so it is not surprising that when he landed his first restaurant job, which was supposed to only last a summer, he fell in love with the freedom-loving, high-energy world of the restaurant busines
As a boy growing up in India, Kirti Pant, executive chef at Palo Alto’s Junoon, moved around a lot. His father was in the air force, and every couple of years his family would pack up and relocate to another part of the country. While all that moving was undoubtedly hard on his friendships, it offered him a great education in the regional cuisines of India.
Dominique Faury was born and attended culinary school in Paris, came to New York when he was 23, looking for adventure and a break from the strict rules and tense atmosphere of the famous three-star restaurants where he had been working. He fell in love with the friendly people and decided to stay. Through corkscrew turns of fate he married a girl from Michigan and ended up in California where word of his delicious American food with a French twist quickly spread. In 2003, he opened Twist Bistro in Campbell.
At their best, restaurants are more than places to satisfy an appetite, they are a reflection of the community. They are gathering places, an extension of our kitchens and living rooms. While we have little control over what’s happening in Washington and Sacramento, we have complete control over what we eat and where. Voting with your food dollars is a powerful statement of our values.
El Camino Real in Sunnyvale is the place to go for Korean food and one of the stars of the show are the hearty, spicy bowls of bubbling soontofu, a classic tofu-based stew.
The South Bay does have vegetarian restaurants. They generally fall into two groups: south Indian food (dosa, utthapam) and Asian-ish restaurants that lean heavily on tofu and faux meat. I love south Indian food, but I think the fake meat thing is lame. If you’re going to cook or eat vegetarian food, embrace it. Why dress up food to look like meat?
