Reserve your seats now for the next wine dinner hosted by the Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries Association, at the most spectacular winery setting on the Peninsula. “Into the Fog,” set for Sept. 13 at Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside, will also showcase pours from David Bruce Winery, Kings Mountain Vineyard, Maison Areion, Madson Wines, Sandar & Hem Wines and Vidovich Vineyards, accompanied by incredible cuisine by Scott Cooper of Le Papillon. Tickets are $185 at https://winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/events/sept13totfogarty
Taste of Los Gatos, billed as an end-of-summer culinary street festival, is coming up Sept. 14, 1-5 p.m. Randi Chen of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce says organizers expect at least 1,000 people to attend and taste wine and food while enjoying live music, shopping and entertainment for the whole family, along with kids activities. Grab a wristband for $45, and you’ll enjoy samples of food from over a dozen restaurants, and wine and beer will be available to purchase at booths along North Santa Cruz Avenue, which will be closed to vehicle traffic for the day. Tickets are $48.47 at Eventbrite.com.
Ethan Carreon, the talented young chef at the Lexington House in downtown Los Gatos, has some summerific items on the menu right now, including assorted summer beans with olive oil chile crisp, topped with puffed grains and nuts; local yellowfin ceviche on blue corn tostada with Thai chile mayo; and Fogline Farm chicken with romesco, green lentils, mustard greens and sofrito.
Gardenia Los Gatos is off to a great start and no wonder, as the French-Asian fusion fare from Executive Chef David Intonato, who came from Pine Creek Cookhouse in Aspen, is already setting new goalposts for Los Gatos. Be forewarned: You need reservations for brunch and happy hour to https://gardenialosgatos.com/reservations.
Brunch includes some riffs on standards like a summer omelet with asparagus, mushrooms and Boursin, along with almond pancakes with lemon ricotta, organic Vermont maple syrup, berries and fancy butter.
The majority of items take familiar ingredients and combine them in dishes like Kalua Pork Hash Browns, in which potato pancakes and pork are uplifted by spicy Napa cabbage kimchi, or Pan Bagnat, a baguette topped with seared ahi, anchovy, capers and fresh tomatoes, or smoked wagyu brisket French dip with local honey butter and Emmental cheese. Vegans can look forward to avocado toast with cashew cream and miso tapenade with truffle honey, as well as Mung Bean vegan egg options for egg-based dishes.
Those who love crepes will appreciate the approach Intonato takes, filling them with fluffy scrambled Glaum eggs, large cubes of savory Niman ham, roasted peppers and caramelized onions. The accompanying Gruyere soubise makes the already rich dish next-level delicious.
We also tried the garden salad with Champagne mustard vinaigrette and grilled Mexican wild shrimp. The lobster deviled eggs are a big favorite, as is the ahi tuna tartare with grapefruit vinaigrette and Bonrai Yuzu salt. Loco Moco and hickory-smoked trout congee bring a taste of even more islands.
Ritual At Manresa is accepting reservations for September, when Lasarte, the three-Michelin Star restaurant from Barcelona, will be in the house. For reservations and membership information, visit https://www.ritualatmanresa.com.
Heading north, chef/co-owner David Nayfeld has been inviting some of the world’s most celebrated chefs into the Che Fico kitchen for “Che Fico & Friends” at Che Fico Parco Menlo. Chef Hillary Sterling from Ci Siamo in New York City is coming up next on Thursday, Sept. 12. Sterling is renowned for her modern take on Italian cooking focusing on market-driven ingredients. She made a name for herself as the chef de cuisine at A Voce under award-winning chef Missy Robbins. For reservations, visit https://www.cheficoparcomenlo.com/che-fico-friends.
You really want to enjoy brunch every weekend day at the Osteria at Domenico Winery in San Carlos. Seriously excellent food, including crab cake Benedict with brown butter Hollandaise, wagyu brunch burger with fried egg and provolone, fried chicken on herb macaroni and cheese waffle with orange infused maple syrup, brioche French toast with poppy seed ricotta, and Dom’s scramble with fennel sausage and peppers and crispy fingerlings. It’s as good as it sounds. And there’s wine. https://osteria.domenicowinery.com