Author: Sheri Baer

Words by Johanna Harlow

It’s a weeknight at Sundance The Steakhouse and every seat is taken. Nothing new there. A true institution in its 50th year, the Palo Alto restaurant has served more than 6 million diners to date. “It was before Flemings. Before Alexander’s. If you wanted steak, you came here,” notes Galen Fletcher, current owner and son of Sundance’s founder, Robert Fletcher.

Prior to the sophisticated, low-lit, dark-wood dining room you see today, Sundance embraced a mining company theme. “Back in the early ‘70s, a lot of restaurants were very concept-oriented,” Galen relays. “There was mining stuff everywhere. In the bar, they had these rafters that came down—it was almost like coming into a mine shaft, like something you would see at Disneyland.” Servers delivered your aged USDA prime steaks with sides of creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes while clad in Gunne Sax dresses or leather vests with bank teller visors.

This was where Galen grew up, the restaurant opening on his seventh birthday. “I was so proud of my dad and his amazing accomplishment—the best birthday gift ever,” Galen says. “My mom ended up taking my brother and me home after a feast of prime rib, steaks, virgin strawberry-banana daiquiris and mud pie. Let’s just say the party continued well into the early morning hours!”

What was it like living in a steakhouse family? “First of all, we ate great,” Galen says. “I was literally brought up on prime rib.” Of course, growing up in the restaurant industry wasn’t all perfectly plated meals and candlelight. “It’s a lifestyle. The family needs to accept that dad’s not going to be around that much,” Galen notes. “You work on weekends, you work nights, you work holidays… But we could always visit him at Sundance. So we had dinner here a lot.” Throughout high school, Galen rolled up his sleeves alongside his father, working his way from busboy to dishwasher to fry cook. “You either have passion for the career or the career will eat you alive,” he observes.

When Richard first made the leap from opening restaurants on behalf of Hungry Hunter Steakhouse Group to opening his own place with a partner, he had his family’s support. “They spent every cent to get this thing open,” says Galen, adding that his father came up with creative ways of cutting costs. While buying glasses, for instance, he asked a restaurant supply store what they had the hardest time selling—and walked away with three dusty cases of snifters for a killer price. For a time, Richard served everything—cocktails, beer and wine—in those snifters. “It sounded crazy at the time, but it caught on,” Galen says. Guests seemed to appreciate the novelty. “We still have customers who come in today and ask for their cocktail in a snifter.”

Back in the present, a guest at the next table is digging into a jumbo Australian lobster tail, a 10-ounce beauty steamed on the shell and graced with butter and lemon. Another diner slurps down steamy spoonfuls of chowder. “It’s a collection of probably six different chowder recipes, all from the Boston area,” Galen says. “My dad would go to Boston and he would ask chefs and general managers, ‘What’s your key ingredient?’” The resulting combination won the Santa Cruz Chowder Cookoff three years in a row.

Galen explains that, rather than return to Sundance after college, he served a stint at the accounting firm Ernst & Young, but it didn’t “light my fire,” he says. When his father began thinking of retiring, Galen stepped up to take the helm of the family business. Under his management, Galen expanded the wine list from 70 selections to 500. “We had to build a couple wine cellars on the property to store it properly. During that process, we had wine everywhere, including the office, the kitchen and at my apartment,” he chuckles. He also visited East Coast gems like Chicago Chop House for inspiration in elevating the Sundance concept. “But we never got out of our lane,” Galen assures. “One of my dad’s favorite sayings to me while I was learning the business was, ‘Son, don’t mess this thing up with a brilliant idea.’ We keep up with the trends without sacrificing who we are and what we stand for.”

Another lesson learned on the job was how to strike a better work/life balance. “I was working probably 80 hours a week,” Galen says candidly. “After the first month with Megan, my oldest, my wife basically came to me and said, ‘We didn’t get married so I could be a single mom.’” Galen wholeheartedly agreed, learning to more fully rely on his team. “As I hired more management, we were able to do even more business, make better profits.”

Though Galen leads the team, you’ll still find his father’s fingerprints all over this place, particularly through his collection of sports memorabilia. Prominently displayed in museum-quality cases throughout the dining rooms, lobby and even the bathroom, items range from an autographed picture of Babe Ruth to a home plate signed by all 30 New York Yankees. It’s the kind of atmosphere where sports stars feel right at home, and Sundance has hosted greats like Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Jim Plunkett and John Elway.

Growing up, Galen says weekends were all about sports. “Boxing was our favorite back in the day. My dad would fire up the barbecue and grill some pork ribs and dogs served with a bowl of Lay’s potato chips and his famous cream cheese onion dip. Occasionally, he would allow my brother and me to split an ice-cold Budweiser if there was something special to watch, like a Muhammed Ali fight. On Saturdays, my dad coached my Little League team that played at Ford Field in Portola Valley.”

When the team won, they celebrated with burgers and fries at Rossotti’s Alpine Inn—a meaty memory befitting someone who’s carved out a place for himself at the family steakhouse.

raising the steaks – sundancethesteakhouse.com

Words by Elaine Wu

Everything about Sam Ceccotti’s culinary career has been about family. From the big Sunday dinners at her maternal grandparents’ house just outside of Philadelphia to the summers she spent as a kid with her pastry chef paternal grandmother in Florida, food was her connection to the people she loved. “My grandpa was always a good cook. He was self-taught and he always put love into everything. He sparked my love for the kitchen,” Sam recalls. “And my dad’s mother taught me everything in the Wilton cookbook, like how to make sugar flowers and cake decorations. It was all so beautiful and so creative. It was then I decided I wanted to become a pastry chef.”

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Sam landed the plum role of executive pastry chef at the Plumed Horse in Saratoga. But it was just a stepping stone to where she was truly meant to be. “When I first moved here in 2013, my first friend in the Bay Area took me on a tour of San Francisco. Craftsman and Wolves was actually the first place he took me to,” she remembers. That visit to the famous modern patisserie left an indelible impression on the young baker. “I remember walking into Craftsman and Wolves and noticing the smell, the aesthetic, the atmosphere. It was just so cool.”

In 2021, after going through lockdown and giving birth to her son, Sam was itching to get back into the kitchen. “One day, I saw an ad for the executive pastry chef job at Craftsman and Wolves and I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “I applied and, within a day, they emailed me back.”

Even during the extensive interview process where she was tested on everything from laminations to confections to entremets, Sam knew she was exactly where she belonged. “Before I even got the job I said to myself, ‘I like this place. I’m gonna stay here,’” she recalls.

Sam and Lawrence Lai, the owner of Craftsman and Wolves, worked so seamlessly together that she considered Lawrence and his wife Ann to be her closest friends. But tragedy struck in April this year when Lawrence died of late-stage esophageal cancer. Sam and Ann were left to finish the job he’d started, opening their first Craftsman and Wolves outside of San Francisco less than two months after his passing. “The Mountain View store was the last thing Lawrence worked on and what he was training me to manage,” she says with emotion. “He asked for my input on every little thing and he valued my opinion. I felt heard, like he cared about me. So I want to keep his vision and make this place come to life.”

Lawrence managed the two San Francisco locations of Craftsman and Wolves like a family. It is now Sam’s goal to continue that legacy and foster the same kind of environment for the employees as well as their customers. “We have a very nurturing workplace. We make and share big family meals with each other, we celebrate each other’s birthdays, we give each other gifts during the holidays. It’s just a big family,” she says. “I want customers to know that everything we make here is with a lot of care and love. We aren’t pulling things out of a package. Everything is made from scratch and is well-thought-out, down to the gram.” She adds, “We’re making recipes that were inspired by my grandfather, my family and Lawrence.”

At the Mountain View location, find savory items like the famous ‘Rebel Within,’ a savory muffin with a perfectly runny soft boiled egg inside, as well as elegantly decorated desserts and confections, and a lunch menu that includes sandwiches and salads. “Everyone loves our house-made baguettes, sourdough and milk breads. But to have it on a sandwich that we’ve curated is another level,” Sam says proudly. “And I will always stand by my savory croissant. It’s got mortadella and Havarti cheese with a root vegetable confetti on top and a stoneground mustard-and-cornichon relish inside. It’s absolutely delicious.”

After four years, Sam knows that what she does at Craftsman and Wolves is more than just a job. She has found a place where she truly belongs and says it is a privilege to carry on the brand’s legacy. “It really doesn’t feel like work,” she says. “I wake up every day loving what I do and where I get to do it, so it doesn’t feel like a burden or a strain on me. I love it here.”

lovingly baked – craftsman-wolves.com

Strawberry Confiture

Sam Ceccotti uses this simple berry filling in her pastries and desserts. Use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients.

Ingredients
650 grams strawberry puree
130 grams lemon juice
195 grams sugar
12 grams pectin
1 pinch citric acid
1 pinch salt 
435 grams diced strawberries

In a saucepan, bring the strawberry puree, lemon juice, sugar and pectin to a boil, then add salt and citric acid.
Remove from heat and let it cool completely before adding the diced strawberries.

Words by Johanna Harlow

Primo Peruvian places.

limón

Mountain View / Redwood City / Burlingame

If you’re familiar with only two Peruvian dishes, they’re probably lomo saltado and ceviche. Limón masters both of these mainstays with panache. Diners find its lomo saltado—tender strips of char-grilled beef served with sautéed veggies and fries—hearty and comforting in equal measure. Meanwhile, the ceviche mixto—fresh Pacific red snapper, calamari and shrimp cooked by way of its acidic, lime-based leche de tigre marinade—packs a bright, refreshing zip from all that splendid citrus. The perfect accompaniment? Chunky yucca fries with an aji amarillo dipping sauce. To savor your meal surrounded by a playful profusion of plants, visit Limón’s Mountain View or Redwood City locations for their jungle-chic flair. 800 California Street / 885 Middlefield Road / 1101 Burlingame Avenue. Open daily.

la costanera

Half Moon Bay

Let the scenes from a Peruvian coastal town painted on the restaurant’s columns be your clue that this place will broaden your horizons. Consider launching your meal with a ceviche sampler, exploring the nuances of this dish with three variations. Will you favor the simple, supple red snapper, a medley of seafood or an Asian-fusion take with ahi tuna in a sweet soy sauce marinade? The pisco sour trio promises further exploration. This Peruvian national spirit, combined with lime, lemon and Angostura bitters, is made creamy with egg whites. Still hungry? You’ll want to try the tender, tangy chicken skewers as well as the sweet and spicy swordfish stew (pescado a lo macho). We suggest dining on the second floor for views overlooking the Pillar Point Harbor docks and a true fishing-boat-to-table experience. 260 Capistrano Road. Closed Mondays.

la ronda

San Mateo

You can rely on this classic white tablecloth establishment for all the traditional staples. Well-known for its standout seafood stews, La Ronda’s picante de camarones with sautéed shrimp and its picante de mariscos (prawns, calamari, clams, mussels, bay shrimp and fish) come served in a flavorful chili cream sauce that’s sure to satisfy. If your ideal dinner comes from the pasture rather than the Pacific, try the bistec a lo pobre, which serves up broiled steak with sautéed onions, tomatoes and plantains, topped with an egg. End the meal on a sweet note with helado lucuma, ice cream flavored with a fruit from the Andes known for its maple-like taste. 224 East Hillsdale Boulevard. Open daily.

Words by Johanna Harlow

What happens when you pair up a trailblazing chef with a culinary conservative? Macarena Restaurant’s paella pro Sergio Box is steeped in tradition, thanks to growing up around his family’s upscale restaurant in Jávea, Spain, while chef Toni Santanach prefers to push the envelope after mastering the art of elevated tapas in Barcelona’s vibrant food scene. “They have had to merge,” says owner Elizabeth Reviriego, who oversees Palo Alto’s newest upscale Spanish restaurant with her partner David Linares. Fortunately for Macarena, a little friendly back-and-forth has only elevated this kitchen’s culinary creations.

Macarena’s menu leans more classic than contemporary. “We’re trying to bring back dishes that were kind of lost in translation,” explains Elizabeth. “We want to bring back those dishes like casseroles, stews and dishes that require more time.” Their slow-cooked oxtail served with truffle mashed potatoes is a perfect example.

That said, there are exceptions to the rule. Take the potato-based churros bravos served with a savory sauce. “That’s his fault!” laughs Elizabeth, pointing at Toni. “We didn’t want that. We wanted the traditional patatas bravas, but he was like, ‘I know that you won’t let me bring all my innovative tapas from Spain, but just let me put one of the dishes on the menu.’ So we all agreed that he had to try it and test it out.” It has since become a fan favorite. “He’s very proud and happy that he was right in the end,” Elizabeth says, prompting a big grin from Toni. Sergio nods and concedes, “I like it now.”

The roasted calçots also have a unique spin. Typically served as whole baby leek stalks, Macarena cuts the vegetable into roasted cylinders and serves it with an unexpected hollandaise in addition to the requisite romesco sauce.
When asked about their favorite dishes on the menu, both chefs pick the other’s creations. “I’m enchanted with the octopus paella,” Toni says. Meanwhile, Sergio appreciates Toni’s heavenly cakes. “When I don’t see him, he eats my desserts,” Toni reproaches Sergio. The latter doesn’t even try to defend himself.

A trip to Macarena isn’t complete without experiencing Sergio’s paella prowess. Bomba rice, imported from Spain and immaculately cooked, is complemented with a choice of veggies, seafood or pork. Order the paella de pulpo and it arrives at your table with a lengthy octopus tentacle coiled seductively across a hulking pan, the rice sprinkled with cauliflower and bits of squid. Garlic aioli and lemon are served on the side to doctor the dish as you wish. “Rice is so beautiful and so enjoyable. It’s good with anything,” Sergio says, estimating that he’s made somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 paellas during his lifetime.

The chefs’ differences are also their greatest strengths. “Sergio, whom we affectionately call ‘the artist,’ is incredibly creative and passionate about crafting our paellas and main dishes,” Elizabeth says. “It’s in Toni’s realm to balance it out, look for the logistics and try to fine-tune the ingredients …. It’s very hard to present a dish and make it consistent for a restaurant.” The result is delightful flavors cooked up in a smoothly running kitchen. “The combination is super necessary. They balance each other out!”

Macarena’s ambiance reflects its food in a union of old and new. The olive trees, large leafy plants and eye-catching wood partitions invoke traditional Andalusian patios. The grand, old-fashioned fireplace, velvety curtains and moody chiaroscuro paintings of fruit summon up Old World imagery. “Those vintage lamps were also a requirement for us,” Elizabeth says as she points them out. “We wanted to tap into those old living rooms in Spanish homes back in the 1940s and 1950s.”

Despite those vintage touches, the place undeniably has contemporary flair. From the colossal chandeliers, spiky and golden like huge heads of wheat, to the sleek, sophisticated bar, there’s nothing dusty about this decor. “We wanted some sort of urban feeling. A restaurant that could be in Madrid—or Barcelona, which is more cool and underground,” Elizabeth says.
There’s one area where both chefs are always in agreement: they’re big fans of each other’s work. “I like what others do better,” declares Sergio. Toni wholeheartedly agrees, adding, “I love your cooking, maybe because I didn’t make it.”

paella paradise – macarenarestaurant.com

Get stoked about these wood-fired pizzas.

impasto
San Carlos

The golden tiles of the pizza oven glitter in the amber glow of the fire within as flour and water is transformed at the newest Italian eatery by the team behind Terùn and Italico in Palo Alto. This sleek space produces perfect pizzas and delectable focaccia. Try the focaccia pugliese, enriched with tomatoes and served with rosemary butter. Find classics, like a pizza margherita made with traditional buffalo mozzarella or a San Daniele draped with luxurious prosciutto and drizzled with truffle oil. Heat things up with the spicy Nduja sausage-and-zucchini pizza or the Calabria, featuring broccoli rabe and creamy burrata cheese. Cool off with the curated selection of Italian wines or double down on the heat with a chili-spiked Calabria Margarita. 661 El Camino Real. Closed Mondays.

doppio zero
Mountain View, San Carlos

With a coveted Vera Pizza Napoletana certification, Doppio Zero stays faithful to the iconic style—a thin, lightly blistered crust with a tender, fluffy interior and simple, fresh toppings. In fact, the restaurant’s name comes from the fine 00 flour prized by serious pizza professionals. For a pie that packs a punch, try the Diavola: rich smoky chorizo cured in-house, balanced with delicate basil and a tangy red sauce. For a delightfully rich white pie, opt for the restaurant’s namesake that marries mild, milky burrata with salty prosciutto and peppery arugula. Vegetarians will drool over the Fungo pizza’s earthy wild mushrooms and blend of goat and fontina cheese, seasoned with truffle oil, thyme and Italian chilis. 160 Castro Street; 617 Laurel Street. Open daily.

vesta
Redwood City

Honey might not be something you expect on your pizza, but trust Vesta on this one. A drizzle of sweet golden goodness atop Italian sausage, serrano chilis, rich mascarpone cheese and a robust red sauce creates the perfect balance of sweet, spicy and savory on the Sausage & Honey pie. Get exploratory with your toppings while maintaining a satisfying comfort food vibe by opting for the Carbonara. This white pizza with applewood-smoked bacon, garlic, onion and plenty of black pepper is decadently creamy from mascarpone, pecorino and parmigiano cheeses, not to mention the egg cracked on top. Savor your splendid summer night by lingering on the patio with a bowl of hazelnut gelato. 2022 Broadway. Closed Sundays.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Redwood City’s Deb Lemos is obsessed with sourdough—but with 375,000 followers on Instagram and a successful Etsy shop, clearly she’s not the only one. Baking is part of Deb’s daily routine, which she deftly balances with a full-time job as the director of finance and operations for the math department at Stanford University, where she’s worked for almost 40 years.

“Sourdough is my passion,” Deb says. “I’m not someone who can be idle, and so I get up very early in the morning to get all of my sourdough baking and prep work done before the normal workday starts.”
Deb, who grew up in Los Altos, started baking with her grandmother when she was young, but it wasn’t until the last decade that she really got into sourdough. A friend gave her Jim Lahey’s My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method, which prompted her to start experimenting using his no-knead technique and conventional yeast. Then Deb decided to try making a sourdough starter. She was successful on her first try, and it’s the same starter she still uses today. “I loved it and became really obsessed; my family would say, ‘Oh gosh, she’s talking about sourdough again,’” Deb laughs.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Deb saw a huge rise in interest in sourdough baking and quickly launched her business. “All of a sudden, I became incredibly relevant,” she says. “Everybody was home, and everybody wanted to bake bread.”

Deb launched her Etsy shop selling dehydrated sourdough starter, complete breadmaking kits and a beginner’s guide. Her Instagram account is where she shares her love of sourdough baking by way of tempting recipes, practical advice and encouraging words. She also teaches classes a few times a month, has an Amazon storefront selling recommended tools and bakes for a few clients every month.

Deb likes to use the expression “easy peasy” to describe her approach to sourdough breadmaking, as her recipes require minimal equipment and hands-on time. Her two-loaf-pan technique eliminates the need for a Dutch oven, and most of her recipes don’t require kneading. “My goal is to teach people how to make the best loaf of bread for the least amount of work,” Deb says. “I want people to understand that it’s not as hard as it seems.”

Beyond perfectly baked loaves of bread (cranberry-walnut is one of her go-tos), Deb has created many recipes for other sourdough-based foods. Among her favorites: scones, focaccia and flour tortillas. She makes tortillas by taking the starter right out of the fridge, making the dough, dividing it into balls and freezing them, enabling fresh tortillas on demand. “They’re so easy and delicious that I tell people once they make them, they’ll never buy flour tortillas again,” she says.

Deb answers every question and Instagram direct message personally, ready to help fellow sourdough enthusiasts troubleshoot. “If you’re having trouble, it’s usually one of two things: Your starter isn’t healthy and active or you’ve over-proofed your dough,” she says, adding that over-proofing is one of the most common problems newer bakers tend to experience. “You have to get to know your starter and then be able to tell whether your dough is properly proofed or not, and that’s really different for every recipe and for every environment.” To help people with the process, Deb provides tips for proofing in warm and cold weather, as well as how to slow down proofing or speed it up.

Dispelling common misconceptions about sourdough baking is another priority for Deb—first and foremost, that it’s time-consuming. “It does take time, but most of it is passive time,” she clarifies. “If you feed your starter in the morning, it takes less than five minutes and it can go weeks in the refrigerator without needing to be fed again.” Developing a routine for making dough and proofing provides flexibility to bake when the timing is convenient, she adds.

Another common misconception Deb often sees is that people think their starter is “dead” when a layer of gray liquid, or “hooch,” forms on the top. “Nine out of 10 times when someone thinks their starter is dead, it really isn’t; all you need to do is feed it and see if you notice any activity and bubbling,” she says.

When Deb retires from Stanford, sometime in the next few years, she plans to see where her sourdough business goes organically. She’d also like to publish a cookbook. “I’m looking at this as my encore career, and I plan to do it as long as it’s still fun,” she says.

sourdough rising – @everything.sourdough

EVERYTHING SOURDOUGH TORTILLAS

Deb Lemos’s recipe comes with a promise: Once you make these, you’ll never buy flour tortillas again. Any extra tortilla dough balls can be stored in the freezer. Bring them to room temperature and cook as directed.

Ingredients
1¹/³ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
1¼ teaspoons (7 grams) salt
¼ cup (56 grams) softened butter, coconut oil or olive oil 
100 grams (slightly less than ½ cup) room-temperature water
½ cup (100 grams) sourdough starter, fed or unfed

Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut butter or oil into the flour mixture using the back of a fork, a pastry knife or your fingers. Mix by hand until well incorporated or use a stand mixer with paddle attachment on low speed.
Add water and sourdough starter and mix until you have a shaggy dough.
On a floured surface, knead the dough by hand for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and does not stick to your work surface. Use additional flour as needed. 
Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls.
Cover dough balls with a light kitchen towel, inverted bowl or plastic wrap. Let them rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to two hours, or refrigerate for up to 48 hours. 
Heat a 12-inch cast-iron pan on medium-high or use a non-stick skillet.
Roll out each room-temperature ball to about 8-10 inches
in diameter, flouring the board, rolling pin and tortillas as 
needed. They should be so thin they’re almost transparent. 
Lay a tortilla in the hot pan and cook until it puffs and browns in patches. Flip over and cook until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes each side.

The chef and veteran oyster-shucker at Clark’s Oyster Bar in Menlo Park opens up about celebrity diners, sauté station stressors and the best mollusk you’ll ever eat.

What’s a surprising fact about oysters you wish every diner knew?
Despite their size and odd flavor, Belon oysters are the best thing you’ll ever eat.

What drew you to the culinary world?
I couldn’t make it in the real one.

At work, what task do you look forward to the most?
A super busy shift working the sauté station. You get absolutely destroyed. It’s amazing!

What makes the sauté station so brutal?
It’s definitely the highest-volume station in the kitchen. You’re picking up 8 to 10 pastas at a time, searing fish, steaming mussels, all while listening for the next dishes. I’m a sucker for organization so, for me, it’s like a game of Tetris.

Sum up your personal philosophy in one sentence.
There is no crying in the walk-in.

Do you have a favorite dish currently on Clark’s menu?
Crispy rockfish with grits and sofrito.

What’s at the top of your bucket list?
The Kentucky Derby.

Outside of the Bay Area, where’s your favorite destination for food?
Late-night Chinese in NYC.

What’s the most memorable meal you’ve had?
My first French fine dining dinner in New York, at Chanterelle. Everything from the handwritten menus to the floral arrangements was perfect. The food was amazing. It made me realize how much a really good dinner can wow all of the senses.

What subject has been occupying your mind lately?
The fall of the Roman Empire.

Can you share something that always surprises people to learn about you?
I never went to culinary school.

Are there any foods that remind you of your childhood?
Watermelon with salt and pepper.

Where do you find the best oysters?
Maine. Always.

Who’s the best B-list celebrity you’ve cooked for?
Chuck Norris. At the time, my chef friends and I had a running competition of who had the best B-list celebs (A-list is boring). I hands-down won with Chuck!

What was your childhood dream job?
Architect.

How do you feel about being a chef?
Being a chef is the worst job you’ll ever love.

Words by Johanna Harlow

Have you truly embraced summer if you haven’t gone on a picnic? Dining al fresco, breathing in the smell of freshly cut grass, feeling the gentle warmth of the sun on your skin—these are life’s little pleasures. So select a destination, pack a wicker basket with your favorite finger foods and immerse yourself in this pleasurable pastime.

Gamble Garden – Palo Alto

As Gamble Garden so succinctly says on its website, “Life is simply better in a garden.” A lovely location in any season, this place flourishes from the first blush of spring flowers to the fiery flush of fall leaves. Keep in mind that there are only two picnic tables (first-come, first-served), but plenty of places to spread out a blanket. As you hunt for the right locale, crunch down the garden’s gravel paths where special sections are devoted to roses, lavender, wisteria, herbs, California natives and more. Hoping someone else will plan the menu for you? Attend one of the monthly luncheons on the Carriage House patio.

After you’ve eaten your fill, wander the grounds some more or snap a few photos over at the gazebo. Even if you’ve been here before, you can learn something new by taking a self-guided tree walk. Find the route mapped out on Gamble Garden website (gamblegarden.org), and follow along for an introduction to the garden’s splendid array of trees, from its crabapples and crape myrtles to its Japanese maples and magnolias.

Photo Credit: Robb Most

Huddart Park – Woodside

Grassy meadows, forest slopes and second-growth redwoods await at Huddart Park in welcoming Woodside. With ample picnicking areas to choose from, you’ll find many tables shaded by trees, pergolas or roofed awnings. Some have horseshoe pits and volleyball poles nearby. This over 900-acre park can easily handle larger groups, though you’ll need to make reservations for parties of 25 or more.

Walk off your meal on one of Huddart’s many shaded trails. For something less than a mile in length, opt for a gentle jaunt on the Skyline Trail through madrone trees, sword ferns and huckleberry or the mostly-level Chickadee Nature Trail through redwoods and chaparral. Meanwhile, hardcore hikers can take the nearly five-mile Crystal Springs and Dean trails loop, one of the park’s most popular routes. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for black-tailed deer tiptoeing through the brush.

Photo Credit: Johanna Harlow

Central Park – San Mateo

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of packing your own lunch, San Mateo Central Park is conveniently located blocks away from the city’s thriving downtown. Order takeout, then scout out this park’s plentitude of perfect picnicking spots. Choose to unfurl your blanket across the sprawling lawn, settle at the tables by the playground or dine on a bench in the shadow of Leon, the park’s towering giraffe sculpture.

After lunch, explore the park’s several gardens. Feed hungry koi at the Japanese garden, and embrace whimsy by admiring the tiny, decorated homes at the fairy garden. Then stroll through the rose garden and marvel at its 100 varieties with playful names like Lady of Shalott, Good as Gold and Scentimental.

San Gregorio State Beach – San Gregorio

Recognized as one of the state’s cleanest beaches (according to Heal the Bay), San Gregorio is a pocket beach bordered by dramatic bluffs just south of Half Moon Bay. A smattering of tables on the edge of the bluffs offer breathtaking views of the waves, basking beachgoers and the nearby bridge over San Gregorio Creek, which flows under Highway 1 and spills out onto the sand. As you savor the last bites of your meal, watch seagulls surf the skies, while sea rocket, beach bur and California sagebrush shiver gently in the breeze. Don’t leave without a walk in the golden sand and a quick peek inside the cave tucked into the cliffs. For those seeking to unleash their inner architect, collect armfuls of the driftwood that washes up on this beach and build a fantastical fort.

Photo Credit: Robb Most

Sharon Park – Menlo Park

Load up your picnic basket with sandwiches and watermelon slices, then set out for this peaceful park at the heart of Sharon Heights. With a koi-stocked pond, wooded area and charming walking path, it’s an idyllic setting. Though there are only a few tables, it makes a great picnic blanket locale. As you lunch, watch turtles sunning their shells on the water’s edge, while ducks bob for pondweed. If you’re lucky, you might even spy a stately snowy egret stalking on long legs through the shallows.

A Plethora of Picnic Places:
+ Coyote Point Recreation Area (San Mateo)
+ Edgewood Park (Redwood City)
+ Flood Park (Menlo Park)
+ Foothills Nature Preserve (Los Altos Hills)
+ Pulgas Water Temple (Redwood City)
+ San Pedro Valley Park (Pacifica)
+ Shoreline Park (Mountain View)
+ Memorial County Park (Loma Mar)
+ Point San Bruno Park (South San Francisco)

Go-to gelato places to cool down on those hot summer days.

gulino gelato

Half Moon Bay

Making dessert into an art form, the folks at Gulino Gelato whip up their constantly rotating flavors from scratch. No matter what they have displayed in the freezer when you visit—be it creamy creme brûlée or mouthwatering white chocolate—you’re in for a treat. There are also plenty of inventive options on the sorbetti side. Think strawberry-basil, grapefruit and lemon-lime. But why stop there? This gelateria also offers hot-from-the-pan bubble waffles and crepes. Another benefit is its location doors down from the Full Hearts Arcade. So embrace your inner kid and drop by to try your hand at the Jaws pinball machine or win a stuffie from the claw machine. 330 Main Street, Suite 101. Open Thursday to Sunday.

gelataio

San Carlos

Always, always get the chocolate drizzle. A wafer cookie takes a quick plunge under a stream of molten Belgian chocolate (milk or dark, your choice) and is twirled atop your frozen treat, leaving a lacy, crunchy flourish. You won’t find suspiciously green pistachio or day-glo strawberry here. Everything at Gelataio is made from scratch with no preservatives or food coloring, just organic, seasonal ingredients, fresh milk and cream. Don’t miss the mouth-watering, dairy-free sorbetto in flavors like fig, mango, raspberry and peach. 664 Laurel Street, Suite B. Open daily.

caffe stellato

Palo Alto

You’ll find a ton of choices tucked into this tiny shop located just off University Avenue. With a rainbow row of 40 flavors, there’s something for everyone at Caffe Stellato. Those seeking a little decadence will want to try the bourbon butter pecan or Kahlua dutch almond, while those who prefer fruitier flavors can make refreshing choices like strawberry honey lavender, mango and Meyer lemon. At your back, the wall is stocked floor-to-ceiling with nostalgic treats. So throw in a box of Pocky or some Trolli Peachie Os with your order. You know you want to. 435 Emerson Street. Open daily.

It’s hard to believe, but Georgette Nelson didn’t come from a foodie family. The former chef and Redwood City resident runs Kitchen Table Travel, and even if you haven’t been on one of her food tours in Italy, you might have spotted Georgette and her distinctive set of wheels. Her tiny Piaggio Ape truck, known as Large Marge, displays Georgette’s carefully selected array of unusual cheeses, charcuterie and other gourmet treats, at both private and public events.

Georgette grew up in San Bruno with a father in the military and a mother who worked swing shifts as a nurse. Cooking was not a priority in their house. “If you have three kids and you’ve worked all day, you don’t want to deal with making dinner,” she says of her mom. Dad liked to cook but his repertoire consisted of “super unhealthy things” he’d learned in the Navy. “It was all very, very basic,” Georgette recalls. “I had never really tasted fresh food.”

That changed when Georgette took a solo trip to Italy in her early 20s and experienced a culinary awakening. “I think I ordered a steak with peppercorns on it. It’s so silly and so simple, but my palate had never had anything like that,” she says. Georgette marveled at how even the humblest of fare is treated with respect. “I stayed at a hotel and they brought coffee—a pot of espresso and the other pot was half cream and half sweetened condensed milk, steamed together. Who knew there could be such joy in having coffee in the morning?” she laughs.

Georgette’s dream of becoming a cook took root in Los Angeles, where she was an assistant to the editorial director of Out and Advocate magazines. “I worked with so many amazing people who were just driven by passion and love,” she says. “So I decided to go to culinary school and pursue a passion of my own.” Georgette worked at restaurants and hotels in LA, then came back to the Bay Area and got a chef job at Google. “Chef life is difficult,” she admits. “Even with the nice hours at Google.” Now that she works as a buyer for a produce company who specializes in cheeses, her workday starts early in the morning (“fishmonger hours”) and ends at 2PM.

That leaves Georgette’s afternoons free to walk her dog and pursue her current passion project: Kitchen Table Travel. “I arrange food trips and culinary tours for myself. And a good friend said, ‘Why don’t you do it as a business?’” Georgette recounts. Mindful of Italy’s overtourism woes, she schedules small-group trips in the off-season, leveraging her culinary connections. “Anyone can pretty much arrange a food tour in the city,” she says. “So we like to go to the countryside to meet the people who do things the traditional way, and put money in their hands so we can help keep those traditions alive.”

Why Italy? Well, why not? “It is the greatest place to eat,” Georgette says. “Everything there food-wise is treated with respect about where it comes from, about its history. The food tells a story about the people, a place, a time—even the economic circumstances behind how food is made there.”

It was on a tour of the Sicilian city of Catania when Georgette’s sister-in-law and business partner Cat Nelson got the idea for Kitchen Table Travel’s eye-catching cheese-mobile. People were selling produce out of Apes, the workhorse cousin to Italy’s famous Vespa scooters. “I’m an introvert, but I also really love talking to people about food,” Georgette says. “The idea of getting out in the community and having my own little chunk of something was so enticing … I decided to go for it.”

Georgette began building a following selling hard-to-find cheeses and artisan foods out of Large Marge on weekends. “We stick close to the area. She goes 25 miles an hour. I think she would tip over if she went faster,” she says. “I’ve been creating my own little community of other business owners and friends, people who are crazy about food, people who show up for cheese.”

Find Georgette and Large Marge at La Honda Winery on Saturday, July 19, 2025 from noon to 4PM, for the Open Day Wine Tasting, where she’ll be selling cheese and charcuterie boxes. You can also find Large Marge at the monthly Friends with Denim “pre-loved fashion” pop-ups.

The selection is constantly changing. “We try to focus on cheese that you don’t normally find in a grocery store, but nothing too esoteric,” says Georgette, who bubbles with enthusiasm when she talks about food. “People are very afraid of cheese and cheese should not be scary at all,” she says. “We are there to talk about cheese in a fun, approachable way … Come and ask any kind of question, and taste it!”

Make It

This after-dinner cheese course is sure to impress. Georgette garnishes it with a sprinkle of rosemary almonds and a dollop of Nancy Cantisano’s plum-almond jam.

TRIPLE-CREAM CHEESECAKE

Toffee Graham Crust 
1½ cups fine graham cracker crumbs
¹/³ cup cane sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 F. Mix together all ingredients and pat into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. 
Bake for 7 minutes. Let cool completely before adding filling.

Filling 
32 ounces triple-cream cheese, such as Brillat-Savarin, 
Delice Bourgogne or Delice Cremeux, with the rind removed
1 cup cane sugar
²/³ cup sour cream
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten 
Plum-almond jam and toasted rosemary almonds 
(optional: Find jam at Kitchen Table Travel)

Heat oven to 325 F. In a mixer, lightly beat the cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla and salt, scraping the sides of the bowl, until well-combined. Gradually add the lightly beaten eggs (a fourth at a time), mixing on low speed until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the cooled crust and place the springform pan on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 45-60 minutes. Remove from the oven when the edges are browned and the middle is still jiggly. Let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Note: Make toasted rosemary almonds by gently heating raw sliced almonds in a pan with a sprig of rosemary, a dash of black pepper and a splash of olive oil. Keep the almonds moving constantly until desired color is reached.

say cheese – kitchentabletravelco.com

Words by Elaine Wu

The Peninsula certainly has no shortage of sushi restaurants. But head chef and co-owner of Sushi Ai in Redwood City, Yong (Brandon) Wu, says he offers an experience like no other in this part of the Bay Area. “Here, we focus on dry-aging,” he explains. “We’re conditioning the fish so the moisture content on the exterior of the fish dries out and the enzymes and connective tissues break down. That’s when the true flavor of the fish comes through.”

While attending college in San Francisco, Brandon started working as a server at his friend’s sushi restaurant. When there was a lull during service, he would watch the sushi chefs working. “It’s amazing how a block of fish could be turned into a piece of art,” he recalls. “To me, Japanese food is an art, especially in an omakase setting.”

In Japanese, the word “omakase” means to trust all the details to the chef. It usually involves a more intimate and interactive dining experience that highlights the skill and artistry of the sushi chef. Multiple curated courses of various nigiri (a slice of raw fish placed atop a dollop of sushi rice) are served based on seasonality, freshness and the whims of the chef.

“Opening an omakase restaurant was a personal goal of mine,” says Brandon. “I love serving people one course at a time and seeing their reaction. Nothing is rushed. Guests take their time, chat a little and enjoy their food. It’s a different setup than the usual casual Japanese restaurant. I love it so much.”

After training for three years with Michelin-starred sushi chef Mitsunori Kutsakabe while working at his namesake restaurant, Brandon eventually made his way to another eatery in San Francisco that dry-aged some of its fish. “Dry-aging beef became so popular a while back and I would always question why no one was doing that to fish,” recalls Brandon. “I found it fascinating how food could be changed through science.”

These days at Sushi Ai, a large standalone machine that uses UV light, salt blocks and a constant flow of circulating air is what Brandon uses to dry-age most of the fish the restaurant serves. But not everything gets this treatment. “If dry-aging doesn’t add anything to the fish, then I will serve it fresh and traditionally,” he says. “Shellfish, for example, doesn’t need it.”

The process transforms the fish in some unexpected ways. “For example, if you dry-age saba (mackerel), it actually makes the flavor milder and butterier,” he explains. “The true umami of the fish comes through. It also makes the flesh more tender. And if you dry-age some types of fish with the skin on for two to three days, the skin gets very crispy. That’s a nice bonus.”

Though his techniques might seem a bit avant-garde for sushi purists, Brandon insists his intention is to honor the history and craft of sushi. “We love to mix things up and use modern refrigeration and dry-aging methods,” he says. “But at the same time, we still want to incorporate tradition and respect for Japanese food in everything we serve.”

The menu changes frequently, but signature items like the braised ankimo (monkfish liver), soy sauce-cured fatty tuna, and mandarin orange snapper make frequent appearances. At $175 per person for a total of 18 courses (10 pieces of nigiri served individually, several small plates, soup and a dessert), Brandon wants his guests to leave satisfied and delighted after having experienced something new and surprising.

Despite all the nearby competition, he’s not worried about solidifying Sushi Ai’s place in the community. “Even if I didn’t do dry-aging, the flavor of every restaurant is different,” Brandon says confidently. “We could all serve the same piece of salmon from the same fish vendor, but the end result—because of our different methods, techniques and ideas—would all taste totally different.”

The word “ai” means “love” in Japanese, and it’s at the center of everything Brandon does at Sushi Ai. “I love what I do and that’s the meaning behind our name,” he explains. “Do what you love and love what you do.”

This traditional Japanese steamed egg custard recipe serves one but can easily be doubled or multiplied for additional servings.

CHAWANMUSHI

Ingredients
1 egg
½ cup dashi (see note)
2 teaspoons mirin (see note)
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Whisk together all the ingredients and then pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. If you skip straining it, you won’t achieve the smooth and fluffy texture.

Pour the mixture into a ramekin and place it in a steamer or a large pot with an inch or two of boiling water. Cover and steam for nine minutes.

Carefully remove from the heat and serve.

Note: Dashi is a fish stock made from bonito flakes and kombu (dried sea kelp). Find powdered dashi and mirin (sweetened sake) at Japanese specialty markets and many large supermarkets.

chef’s choice – sushiai-rwc.com

All you can eat opportunities.

pizzeria delfina

Palo Alto

Live out your fantasies of feasting at an Italian farmhouse al fresco at one of Pizzeria Delfina’s monthly pig roasts this summer. Gather at one of the long communal tables lining the restaurant’s inviting patio, grab a plate and dig in. The centerpiece is a succulent whole roasted pig accompanied by bountiful seasonal salads and side dishes like crostini topped with spring pea puree and creamy stracciatella cheese, roasted leeks in a peppery vinaigrette and crispy fried artichokes alla guidia. As you eat to your heart’s content, salute the season with a glass of wine or bottomless cups of lemonade while you chat up your tablemates at this convivial event. 651 Emerson Street. Second Tuesday of the month. (Photo courtesy of: Pizzeria Delfina).

seapot

San Mateo

Satisfy an ocean of cravings at Seapot, a restaurant offering all the hot pot and Korean BBQ you can eat within a reasonable hour and a half window of time. On the hot pot side, you’ll get to select from several spicy and savory soups, before layering in meat and other toppings. Meanwhile, the Korean BBQ side offers 25 meat options as well as other add-ons. Make sure to include favorites like A5 Wagyu, beef toro and pork belly. Whichever you opt for, you’ll get to play chef, cooking your meal over burners built into the tables. What’s more, you’ll select your veggies and seafood by grabbing them from a conveyor belt winding past your table. 1952 S El Camino Real. Open daily.

donato enoteca

Redwood City

Find your stretchy pants. You’re going to need them when you visit Donato Enoteca for Giro Pizza Sundays. Offered weekly from 4PM to closing, help yourself to a variety of slices with meat and veggie toppings. You might go with a margherita—that comforting classic with sauce, fresh mozzarella, oregano and basil—or something bolder, like a slice with spicy spreadable nduja sausage, ricotta, cherry tomatoes and wild arugula. Your meal also includes salad—and sweets, as a reward for eating your greens. 1041 Middlefield Road. Every Sunday.

Words by Johanna Harlow

Jackie Peng is living the sweet life. “I’m a huge dessert fiend,” she admits. “I have to have dessert after every meal.” But she’s a dessert fiend on a mission. “I plan to convert everyone out there!” Her plan for taking the world by sugary storm? Macarons.

But not just any kind of macaron. Fatcarons. (Or “fat macs” as they’re also called.) A Korean twist on a French favorite, these meringue-based masterpieces have a more generous amount of filling sandwiched in a larger shell. “They’re thicker, they’re creamier, they’re chewier …. It feels like a heftier dessert,” Jackie describes.

Though one might be tempted to picture this macaron maker wearing pastels to match her pastries, Jackie cuts a sleek figure in jet-black befitting a business-savvy entrepreneur. As owner of Anytime Macarons, Jackie has introduced a food ATM (an elevated vending machine) to satisfy dessert devotees in a new way. “People always think of vending as fast chips, drinks, sodas, things like that,” Jackie says. “But I want them to know that you can actually get a really good quality dessert in a vending machine as well.”

A baker’s daughter, Jackie grew up surrounded by a host of flaky, buttery things. Her first job as a teen was working a register at her parent’s French pastry shop in Houston. “I would help my dad roll croissants on the weekend,” she recalls. “I not only learned how to bake, I learned how to run a business. I learned how to deal with customers. I learned how to come out of my shell.”

Later in life, Jackie put these lessons to the test by opening a macaron shop called Sweet Burger. But when the pandemic closed its doors, she intended to hang up her apron to focus full-time on raising four kids. Her fiancé (who was also one of the investors behind Sweet Burger) kept checking in with Jackie, asking whether she wouldn’t be happier returning to professional baking. He asked nearly every day for two years. “He didn’t want me to give up my dream,” Jackie says with a smile.

Unsurprisingly, it was only a matter of time before Jackie made her return. But “I’m not going to come back in the same way,” she decided. In December 2023, her dessert-dealing ATM came to Hillsdale Shopping Center. And though her concept may be “contactless,” Jackie loves running into customers. “If I see someone at the machine, I will go up and talk to them, get their feedback and what their favorite flavors are,” she says.

Jackie keeps the dialogue going with macaron enthusiasts through Instagram, where she shares advice on how to make this infamously finicky dessert at home. Her tips and tricks range from perfecting the texture of meringue to piping techniques to removing bubbles from batter. “I never gatekeep anything,” Jackie promises.

Her foremost piece of advice? “Practice. Practice. Practice. It doesn’t happen overnight,” the macaron maker counsels. And master one recipe at a time. “Jumping from recipe to recipe is like jumping from job to job… You’re going to start all over again,” she points out. “If you come up with a problem halfway through, fix that recipe.”

After countless hours honing her own skills, Jackie forgoes staid staples like chocolate or vanilla and opts for more adventurous flavor combinations. Think peanut butter brownie and matcha crème brûlée. “It’s never just a plain flavor with me. You always get a little something extra,” she says. That could be a sprinkling of toffee, nuts, coconut or Maldon sea salt flakes. Maybe a drizzle of caramel or Nutella. “I’m really big on texture, so creamy and crunchy is always best.”

Will we one day find Jackie’s macaron ATMs in malls across America? “I’m a small-batch baker,” Jackie says. “Not to say I wouldn’t expand, but I would only expand to where I felt the quality was the same.” She adds that she’s toying with the idea of rolling out an Anytime Macarons truck so she can share the love with those across the Bay.

As Jackie readies to return to the kitchen to whip up her next irresistible batch, she shares her thoughts on what it means to be in the dessert business. “I’m the end of their evening. I’m the last thing after their meal,” she reflects. “I get to put the exclamation point on their day!”

sugar & spice – anytimemacarons.com

Words by Johanna Harlow

Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan, the chef behind upscale Cal-Indian restaurant Eylan, didn’t always plan to pursue a career in the food industry. But growing up in his family’s communal home in the southernmost part of India, complete with a farm, rice paddy and coconut orchard, meant every meal was farm-to-table. Young Srijith watched his family make palm sugar by boiling sap from trees, scoop the meat from coconuts and dry it, and pick peppercorns from the vines winding up their house’s walls. “I grew in the midst of all these things … This was secretly simmering in my mind without me knowing it,” Srijith observes. Then, committing to the food metaphors, he adds with a grin, “I don’t think I planned to be a chef … It was definitely not force-fed. It has been a very cage-free, organic life!”

This inadvertent education paid off. Initially planning to pursue engineering, Srijith ended up attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York. “New York City was the center of the universe when it came to food at that point,” he reflects, adding that he blew the little money he had dining at high-end restaurants like Nobu. “Those days, it was like going to temple,” he reminisces.

After working as a chef at Taj Exotica Resort in the Maldives (and surviving a tsunami), Srijith became the executive chef at San Francisco’s Taj Campton Place Hotel. His trailblazing menu gained the hotel not one but two Michelin stars—the first Indian concept to do so in the U.S. Most recently, he’s opened a string of elevated and artful Cal-Indian restaurants with design-savvy restauranteur Ayesha Thapar. Their most recent, Eylan, serves wood-fired dishes like black cod and lamb kebabs in a room aswirl in bold colors, textures and patterns.

Srijith’s down-to-earth demeanor and gleeful chuckle seem unaltered by success and accolades. And he gives everyone their dues, pointing out that a successful restaurant isn’t fueled solely by its food. The beverage program, service and design are just as integral. “Restaurants get a personality by all these things being tied together,” Srijith emphasizes. “One person cannot take credit for it. It’s multiple people’s ideas. It’s a very collaborative, complex thing.”

Portrait Photography: Johanna Harlow

Take the restaurant’s interior, a decadent dreamscape of jewel tones, geometric patterns and funky wallpaper brought to life by Ayesha in partnership with Schoos Design. Embracing a lively bohemian tone, Ayesha included a stunning floor-to-ceiling macrame hanging behind the host stand and tigers on the backs of the barstools. Vines coiling around columns evoke temple ruins, while ancient-looking artifacts and a village mural enhance an atmosphere of antiquity. Art is everywhere. Lampshades like rumpled baskets elicit a bustling bazaar scene.

“Ayesha and myself, we are artists in our own ways,” Srijith says. “Where you eat is as important as what you eat.” The two previously joined forces to launch Ettan in Palo Alto (commended by Architectural Digest for its design) and Copra in San Francisco (which recently ranked among San Francisco Chronicle’s top seven restaurants citywide).

“We’ve taken a very deliberate decision of not repeating a concept,” says Srijith. Copra is named after dried coconut, a popular ingredient in South Indian cuisine. The restaurant highlights the Indian state of Tamil Nadu where Srijith grew up, meaning there’s plenty of seafood on the menu as well as ingredients like tamarind, turmeric and rice, which are also common to the region. “Out of all these concepts, that is a little more emotional and personal to me, because it’s home food,” Srijith says.

Ettan, an homage to the eclectic nature of Indian food, offers bold dishes in a bold space. The decor includes chandeliers, pendant lights and hanging plants, all suspended below a grand glass dome. India doesn’t just have one cuisine, Srijith points out. “We have 28 states, and they have more than 200 different cuisines. It’s so complex.”

And Eylan’s focus? Wood-grilled dishes inspired by the hearth-centered cooking of Srijith’s youth. But that doesn’t mean Srijith’s menu is a traditional one. As a pioneer of Cal-Indian dishes, Srijith shines when he pushes the envelope. Take his twist on butter chicken. This decadently creamy, yet arguably over-ordered curry, is often a go-to for Western diners. But when you order it at Eylan, it arrives at your table in an unexpected shade of green instead of that traditional tomato-tinged orange. That’s thanks to the tomatillos. Srijith says he didn’t have butter chicken in mind when he first started experimenting with the fruit. After grilling it, he tried to counteract its acidity by adding a little honey. “It was still sour so then I added a little bit of butter.” Then, a spoonful of cream. He kept tweaking it with cardamom and spices and other adjustments over a two-week span. “When I finished it, I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m at butter chicken—but no tomatoes!”

While delicious, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to explore the rest of the menu. Try the beautifully butterflied black cod adorned in tamarind, curry leaves and turmeric with coconut rice or the bright citrusy hamachi served alongside battered sesame leaves. Sample the savory, succulent trumpet mushrooms with achaari, mint and yogurt when you’re ready to amp up the heat. Then indulge in refreshing rose water shaved ice with rose lassi frozen yogurt and a sprinkling of ground pistachio to end the night on a sweet note.

Food, Srijith says, is “India’s soft power,” and “I’m trying to do as much as possible to expose its cuisine to the people in this part of the world!”

spice it up – eylanrestaurant.com

Words by Andrea Gemmet

After I turn off of Highway 84 and follow the curving route to Twisted Fields, a research farm in San Gregorio, I feel like I’ve traveled back in time to California’s rural past. My car surprises little quails that grudgingly scurry out of the narrow road and into the underbrush. The feeling intensifies when I turn into a driveway lined with a riotous profusion of bright orange flowers and find an old farmhouse at its end.

The picturesque property sprawls across 127 acres of steep hillsides in an abstract patchwork of fields, some prepared for planting, others hosting a verdant tangle of soil-replenishing cover crops. Flocks of heritage-breed chickens forage for insects while a herd of goats munches weeds. A couple of petite cows and an enormous pig loll around next to a barn.

Cover Photo and Above Photo: Paulette Phlipot

The one glaring incongruity in this 20th-century agricultural daydream is a 21st-century contraption that looks as if a Mars Rover had been built with a giant Erector Set. The Precision Farming Rover, a sturdy, solar-powered autonomous vehicle, is a defining feature of Twisted Fields—a place that marries time-honored sustainable farming practices with tech-driven tools.

Though he was a standout student at MIT and a tech entrepreneur focused on robotics, AI and the Internet of Things, you don’t have to tell Twisted Fields owner Daniel Theobald to go outside and touch grass. A passionate fan of regenerative farming, his love of growing things started while exploring his grandmother’s bountiful garden in Los Altos as a child. It carried through to his days living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Daniel kept bees and raised chickens in what he describes as a tiny “postage-stamp” of a yard.

Photography Courtesy of: Twisted Fields

Though he grew up in San Jose, Daniel’s career kept him based on the East Coast for years—but he never stopped looking for opportunities to return to California. On a trip to the Golden State, he came across this beautiful piece of farmland bisected by tree-lined seasonal creeks. Sure, the soil was trampled and depleted from over-grazing, and the fields were littered with all kinds of old junk—including a mattress and a mysterious pile of garage doors—but he could see its potential. “It’s just magical. I knew that if I didn’t buy it, I’d always regret it,” he recalls.

Daniel has spent the past nine years using his Coastside farm, complete with a farmhouse dating back to the original Rancho San Gregorio land grant, to test his theories and to experience first-hand the challenges facing small-scale farms that shun industrial farming techniques. The problem, he says, is that while small-scale farms are great for their communities, the health of the planet and the quality of the food they produce, it’s really hard to make them work on a scale that can feed the world’s population. The solution, as Daniel sees it: “Either everyone goes to live on a farm again, or you use technology.” So while Twisted Fields sells vegetables and rainbow-hued eggs at farmers markets, it’s also a testing ground for innovative farm tech.

Photo: Paulette Phlipot

Daniel sees some big flaws in a lot of agriculture technology—it’s too expensive or it’s designed as a solution to problems that farmers don’t actually have. “Farmers don’t want something engineer-executed by someone who’s never farmed before,” he says. “I bought the farm to understand what the real problems are and explore solutions—to create an opportunity for small, local farmers that’s scalable and sustainable.”

That meant coming up with equipment that’s affordable and easily adapted to different uses. His partner in that pursuit is Katie Bradford, the CEO of Rotate8, the company she co-founded with Daniel to develop a solar-powered farm automation suite. On my visit, Katie pointed out key features on the farming rover, from the optional seat under a canopy of solar panels—since it’s autonomous, it doesn’t need a driver—to the variety of tools that can be attached to the sturdy frame. It’s like a walk-behind tractor, only you can ride it or send it out solo to do defined tasks, she says. Batteries are optional, since they are costly.

Photography Courtesy of: Twisted Fields

“A lot of tech companies are making equipment to do one thing, like weed strawberries or pick tomatoes,” Katie says. “It’s geared toward monoculture.” Their utilitarian rover, on the other hand, is designed to be endlessly adaptable and runs on open-source software. You can raise it for taller crops, widen it to fit your farm’s furrows and attach all kinds of equipment to its base.

Katie says they’ve put a lot of work into making sure the rover can keep rolling in all kinds of conditions, like muddy fields, steep slopes and loose gravel. The solutions they’ve come up with include installing wider tires, adjusting the weight so it’s lower on the platform and using intelligent algorithms for slip detection. “Our rover can go where tractors can’t. Our large tractors get stuck in the mud in the rainy season, but the much-lighter rover is able to navigate a variety of terrain,” Katie says.

Photo Courtesy of: Twisted Fields

And while the farm rover’s design may be devoid of flashy flourishes, it is resilient. A car hit it the day before I arrived and the rover was perfectly fine—it was the car that got damaged, Katie and Daniel recount, laughing. The impact set off a sensor and no one could get the car to stop beeping.
The car illustrates one of the big complaints about modern technology in general and farm tech in particular: it’s no longer possible for farmers to fix things themselves. They have to send them off to an authorized dealer and wait for repairs. Daniel knows this from personal experience. “If my tractor breaks, I’m out of business. You can be waiting for parts from Germany for six months—which is what happened to me last time,” he says.

That won’t be the case with their farm rover. “If we go out of business, you’ll be fine. You own it, you can fix it.” He and Katie are aiming to start selling rover kits later this year.

In the meantime, Twisted Fields has been focused on restoring the land while raising chickens and poultry. Daniel says they grow their own chicken feed, mostly in the form of pumpkins, sunflowers and corn. “The vegetable garden, anything we don’t sell or eat ourselves, goes to the chickens,” he says. “Our chickens probably eat better than most of the people on the planet.”

Photo: Paulette Phlipot

Besides a gaggle of ducks, Twisted Fields has four flocks of chickens, made up of a variety of heritage breeds and housed in mobile coops. The doors open automatically at sunrise and close at night. A row of nesting boxes are set into the sides behind red flaps. When we go to inspect one of the coops, the disgruntled birds stop pecking and scratching and hightail it out of our way. A few hens are too busy to leave the nesting box and cluck at us disapprovingly when we lift a metal flap to admire the collection of freshly laid eggs. Outside of the fenced-off field, watchful white Akbash dogs help safeguard the flock from hungry predators like mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats and skunks.

“We focus on having as wide and diverse a population of chickens as possible,” Daniel says. While heritage birds may not produce as many eggs as their conventional counterparts, Twisted Fields customers love the colorful results. “Genetic diversity is really important in everything we do here,” Daniel says, gesturing toward trestle tables covered with plastic pots growing elderberry, yarrow and loquats. “We propagate plants from seeds and incubate our own chickens.” Even the redwood saplings he’s been planting to restore the creekbanks are grown from seeds.

Twisted Fields is an unlikely farm with an unlikely business model: eschewing more efficient industrialized agriculture for time-honored sustainable practices. Rotate8 is developing low-cost tools for farmers—people who rarely have much money to spend on anything, let alone experimental equipment. And its open-source platform means customers will be able to adapt it themselves.

“A customer said to us, ‘If you make it so simple, people are going to hack it,’” says Katie. “But that’s the whole idea.”

Or, as Daniel puts it: “We think we will do well by doing good.”

future farmers – twistedfields.com