Calafia bounty

Calafia Cafe
855 El Camino Real
Palo Alto


Calafia opened earlier this year, heralded by full-page ads in the local newspaper. Chef Charlie Ayers is known for being the original chef at Google and, before that, personal chef to the Grateful Dead.

The spare interior is inviting. A communal table at the front of the room is made of reclaimed redwood; overhead is a long chandelier composed of 66 amber glass milk bottles.

A first visit for brunch, about a week after the opening, revealed a few rough edges. French toast had a lovely orange-cinnamon aroma; inside, however, it lacked the proper egg/bread fusion. Sourdough pancakes were fluffy and generously sized, but one was frankly burnt and should not have reached the table.

















The best dish was chicken fideo, a spicy noodle entree. A cumin-scented tofu scramble looked a little messy but tasted great, and came with a good-sized portion of crispy-velvety hash browns.

















I returned for a mid-week lunch and was greeted in the parking lot by a lovely smoky scent from the woodburning oven. My affable server confirmed that my choice of small plates would not be an overwhelming amount of food for a solo diner. He also made wine recommendations confidently and offered a second choice if I wasn't pleased by my first selection.

If all vegetables were as delicious as my bowl of braised greens with almond butter, no one would have trouble getting their recommended daily allowance. The chard was cooked with onions and turmeric, lightly sweetened with dried cranberries and topped with toasted walnuts.

Lamb meatballs looked like party food, skewered with cubes of toasted bread and Manchego cheese, then dipped in a sweet and savory tomato sauce. I was glad I didn't try to resist the crispy fries; I ate more than I intended, trying to decipher their spice mix. Garlic, definitely; cumin, maybe; sweet paprika?

Calafia's pyramid of "death by chocolate" is worth the caloric binge. Real whipped cream, intense chocolate flavor, super-strong (not burned) coffee... sip, repeat.

I've been back since then for an evening meal, and every dish has been a winner. Thoughtful touches abound. Nearly half of the seats in the house are barstools facing the shiny open kitchen, but there are purse hooks and a thick wooden beam at the ideal height for a footrest. The hostess who seated us saw me shrugging off my jacket and returned to hang up my coat.

Servers take your order on hand-held devices that allow you to settle your bill at the table. Coffee is brewed a cup at a time using a Clover machine, an $11,000 built-to-order device revered by coffee fanatics.

Even the servers' uniforms are designed with the customer in mind: The T-shirts helpfully provide a phonetic spelling on the back, "kal-uh-fee-ya."

Midday meditation

For my second visit to Jin Sho, I sat at the sushi bar, thinking I'd have a simple lunch. Instead, I decided spur-of-the-moment to ask for omakase, a Japanese phrase that means "It's up to you" (from 任す, entrust).

To a sushi chef, omakase means, "Serve me whatever you choose, whatever is best today." Jin Sho's best is very good indeed. This meal was so pretty and flavorful that it was like a little midday meditation.

I watched the sushi chef assembling this attractive little bowl and hoped that it was for me. When it was placed before me, I found yellowtail tartare, topped with a dab of caviar, and a small pool of wasabi soy sauce. I was instructed to save the small red fruit for last: it was yamamomo, a soft-fleshed fruit rather like kiwi in texture, equally tart and sweet.

Next was tuna sashimi salad, a dish I tried on a previous visit and was happy to see again. The fish was slightly seared and coated in crushed peppercorns, with just enough bite to accent the sesame dressing.










The rock shrimp tempura didn't look all that remarkable on the plate, but it was a perfect blend of crunchy, creamy, cool and spicy. It reminded me incongruously of a New Orleans po'boy in the way it combined crispy seafood, seasoned mayonnaise and lettuce.

The miso-marinated black cod was another fascinating fusion: sweet and salty, earthy yet delicate. It was followed by a bowl of miso soup and a sushi plate: tuna, white tuna, ocean trout, and the freshest, sweetest scallop sushi I've ever tasted.

March rose

700 block, Webster St
Palo Alto

Not just sushi

Jin Sho
454 S. California Ave
Palo Alto

Jin Sho's Web site describes the restaurant's style as "executive-class Japanese cuisine," which may come as a surprise to a first-time visitor who glances at the menu and the unassuming storefront.

The sushi and sashimi served at Jin Sho looked very attractive and fresh, but there's much more to the menu.

The chefs who opened Jin Sho last year are alumni of Nobu, the popularly acclaimed modern Japanese restaurant in New York City restaurant headed by chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

The interior of Jin Sho is light-filled and modern, with a dozen seats at the sushi bar facing the open kitchen.

I was attracted by the lunchtime prix fixe menu offering three courses, starting with several seafood-based appetizers. When I ordered "tuna sashimi salad," I expected rosy slices of raw tuna and some greens, so when this plate arrived, I was surprised, pleasantly so. The tuna steak was seared, coated with black peppercorns, and served with an addictive sesame dressing. The pepper was spicy but not too aggressive, and the portion size was just right.

















The entree, miso-marinated black cod, was even better. The broiled fish was perfectly cooked, almost translucent and slightly sweet, with a wonderful earthy aroma. I was tempted to order another plate -- not because the portion left me wanting, just because it was so delicious.

The meal ended with a tiny dish of strawberry panna cotta, served in a wooden sake cup the size of a large shot glass. It was creamy with good vanilla flavor and tasted like fresh strawberries.

An amazing platter of fresh corn tempura on the table next to mine looked like golden puffed-corn cakes, piled high and encircled by powdery green trails which my server told me were maccha (green tea) salt. The two men at the table demolished the stack in short order.

I'd also like to try one of Jin Sho's signature appetizers: "yellow tail with jalapeno," paper-thin slices of sashimi tuna dressed with jalapeno, cilantro and yuzu (Japanese citrus) soy.

Yelp me some katsu

Hattoriya

799 San Antonio Road

Palo Alto, CA

It was lunch time, and I didn't know where to go or what to eat. So I Yelped the neighborhood, and a few minutes later I was eating homey Japanese food in a little place that I would never have noticed on my own.

Hattoriya looks like it was a burger joint or a donut shop in a previous life. If you enter through the side door, the entry is lined with bookshelves, stocked with Japanese-language books and magazines. I received a warm greeting from the lone server and a shout from the chef in the kitchen.

I ordered a dish that several Yelpers had recommended, beef curry tonkatsu. Before I could even finish my appetizer bowl of miso soup, the beef curry arrived in a metal gravy server. Rice was served on a large flat plate, alongside a piping hot tonkatsu (pork cutlet).

The tonkatsu was perfectly fried, crispy, tender and greaseless. The curry was mildly spiced but very flavorful, with small chunks of tender beef.

The server playfully congratulated me for cleaning my plate.

... but I kept looking, and found some!

This is Cupcake Week in Palo Alto -- I have declared it so, and why not, seeing as my birthday is approaching? Sprinkles may be famous and all that, but my new favorite place for a personal-sized cake is Kara's Cupcakes, which opened last week in Palo Alto's Town and Country Village shopping center.

I wasn't sure I was going to like Kara's cakes, based on my first bite. My two boys go for plain vanilla, and neither of them finished their "sweet vanilla" cupcakes, to my surprise. E said they were too sweet, and I had to agree when I sampled (OK, finished) the leftovers. The frosting was pure sugar, held together by a little butter and a solid layer of vanilla sprinkles. The cake had a genuine, home-made flavor.

The "grown-up" cupcakes were a real treat. The filling of the passionfruit cupcake was wonderfully fruity and tart, and this frosting was just sweet enough.

The "fleur de sel" cupcake was intense. Dark chocolate cake was topped with bittersweet chocolate ganache and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Inside there's a dollop of caramel. I would have liked more filling in this one; the caramel was a little lost within all of that chocolatey goodness.

Next time, I'll try chocolate velvet (chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate buttercream) or java (chocolate cake with espresso buttercream).

Baker Kara's bio on her Web site gave me a chuckle. Her father, a dentist, disapproved of sugary treats. "Thankfully... she no longer needs to hide sweets."

A good cupcake is hard to find...

When I learned that a Sprinkles cupcake bakery had opened in Palo Alto, I was suddenly in need of a sugar fix.

Me and a lot of other people.

My sweet tooth was sated, but I'm still in search of the ideal cupcake.

I tried two flavors, red velvet and mocha. The red velvet had lovely brownish red cake, not food-coloring red. But can a cupcake be too moist? When I peeled off the paper liner, the cake nearly collapsed under the weight of the frosting.

The cream-cheese frosting was achingly sweet. A flat candy decoration on top -- the trademark "modern dot," color-coded for each cupcake flavor -- was stylish, but so hard that I wondered belatedly if it wasn't meant to be eaten.

The mocha cupcake was more satisfying, with delicious frosting. There's no substitute for real butter in cake frosting, and this one had it in spades, with just the right amount of coffee flavor to match the deep chocolate cake.

(Sorry I don't have pictures of the cupcakes. I love my iPhone, but it takes inexplicably bad pictures. No one else I know has this problem.)

Next time I'd try the black and white cupcake, or chai latte (which apparently only makes an appearance on Fridays), or maybe ginger lemon.

I've gone by the store twice, and each time there were lines out the door, perhaps 30 people long. I'm going to have to study that flavor schedule to plan my next visit.

Seen in the city

If you have a motorcycle, do you even need espresso?
MotoJava, 9th Street @ Bryant, San Francisco





















Stick to reusable shopping bags, or become a fashion victim like this poor soul. (It's a little more effective when you see it in motion, but there is a pair of legs underneath the bags.)
University Avenue, Palo Alto, Ca.

















Happy hour with a view.
Locals (those of a certain age, at least) call this the "jukebox Marriott," which is just what it looks like from the street.
The View, 39th floor, San Francisco Marriott, 55 Fourth Street





















It's just another Westfield Shoppingtowne, but I like the curvy escalators.
Westfield San Francisco Centre, 865 Market Street

Art in the streets

The Palo Alto Festival of the Arts was a great way to spend a Saturday: enjoying the sun, strolling down the middle of University Avenue, looking at the work of talented artists, and indulging in the sort of food you only eat at street fairs.

Fried artichoke hearts with mayonnaise, fried calamari, kettle corn, skewers of grilled meat. (Where else could you walk around chomping on a stick of teriyaki chicken without feeling self-conscious?)
















One block was set aside for Italian street painting, and a vivid patchwork of ephemeral art emerged.




































The City from Grizzly Peak, by Tom Killion

I took home this wonderful woodcut print and its mate; together the pair gives a panoramic view of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay. The artist, Tom Killion, draws on the techniques of early 19th century Japanese ukiyo-ë landscape masters as well as those of early 20th century American and European wood-engraving and book illustration.

Working from his own sketches made on site, Killion carves the images onto blocks made of cherry, linoleum or other materials, using Japanese hand tools. Sometimes a different block is made for each color. Other times, a block is printed with a light color; then parts are carved away and another color is used, overprinting the first.

I enjoyed talking with Killion at his festival booth and looking at his samples demonstrating the complex process by which the layers of color are added to the print. It's wonderful to have a piece of art in your home that you enjoy looking at every day, and it's even more meaningful to have met the artist and listened to him or her describe the creative process.