Haven is Daniel Patterson's follow-up to his popular Uptown spot, Plum. The Jack London Square restaurant offers slightly larger portions and more comfortable seating plus the trendsetting techniques of executive chef Kim Alter. Alter and her team deliver on high quality ingredients and polished service.
Lovely Livermore: Set aside any thoughts of taco joints. Livermore's new El Sacromonte offers gourmet, regional Mexican cuisine that evokes romance in its very dish descriptions -- a corn quesadilla is infused with rose petals and drizzled with strawberry sauce, crepes are stuffed with vegetables
New at Valley Fair: Finally, there's culinary action on the other side of Stevens Creek Boulevard. Westfield Valley Fair has a new sit-down restaurant -- remember the old California Cafe space?
A stylish setting, attentive service and creative Latin American tapas add up to a delightful night out. Once inside, you won't even realize you're in a Dublin mall.
The following are shortened versions of recent full-length restaurant reviews. The date the original review ran and its overall rating are in parentheses.
Au revoir, Dean Dupuis: Chef Dean Dupuis will bid Oakland's Pican restaurant farewell after this weekend to take on a new toque at a new resort restaurant in Atlantic City.
From Undercover Boss' sojourn at Kendall-Jackson to the Bachelor's foray at Girl & the Fig, Northern California's restaurants and wineries recently have gotten starring roles on TV.
Very vegan: Vegan and macrobiotic devotees will be delighted to hear that Oakland's incredibly popular Shangri-La Vegan restaurant just opened an offshoot -- Potala Organic -- in Albany.
Francophile alert: Some foodie neighborhoods can't support one French bistro. In the 400 block of Palo Alto's California Avenue, they're becoming the rule rather than the exception.
The following are shortened versions of recent full-length restaurant reviews. The date the original review ran and its overall rating are in parentheses.
Kitchen performance still doesn't match the level of the 60-year-old restaurant's inviting, updated interior. Though some dishes are very good, consistency is lacking, especially at lunchtime.
