Latest news with #DustinFalcon
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Big cookies arrive to big lines, plus more new Peninsula and South Bay food
Pudgy cookies, late-night Korean barbecue, Laotian smashburgers: The Peninsula and South Bay food scene saw exciting additions in recent weeks. Fans lined up for cookies in Los Gatos. A popular dim sum chain opened a shiny new outpost in Palo Alto. A new sweets shop specializes in Persian-inspired desserts. There's a lot of new food out there; read on for more on eight new Peninsula and South Bay food businesses. Hit cookies get their own home Batch 22, a popular South Bay business known for its oversized cookies, opened a bakery in Los Gatos to much anticipation in May. Co-owner Amy Wong, who left a marketing job to start the cottage food business in Cupertino in 2020, built a loyal following for her thick, 6-ounce 'pudge' cookies, inspired by New York City's famous Levain Bakery. The rotating menu includes flavors like chocolate chip, earl grey milk chocolate and dark chocolate-orange (as well as a few smaller, thin cookies). The best-seller is the ube dulcey, made with the purple Filipino yam, caramelized white chocolate and toffee. The Los Gatos bakery is airy and colorful, with one wall carved in the shape of a cookie with bites taken out of it. Batch 22 often sells out; check Instagram or call 408-827-4184 to find out what, if any, flavors are left. 15466 Los Gatos Blvd., #113, Los Gatos. Dumplings descend on Peninsula mall Bay Area mini dim sum chain Dumpling Time brought its latest outpost to the upscale Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. With it came a slew of new dishes, debuting here and then rolling out at all Dumpling Time locations, like pho-flavored xiao long bao filled with beef broth and a twist on mapo tofu with deep-fried batons of tofu served over a shiitake mapo sauce. The new menu is courtesy of Dustin Falcon, who comes with experience at the three-Michelin-star French Laundry and now serves as corporate executive chef for Omakase Restaurant Group, which runs Dumpling Time as well as Niku Steakhouse and Prelude in San Francisco. The new restaurant has an ample outdoor patio, dumpling bar and view into the dumpling-making process in the open kitchen. Dumpling Time became known first in San Francisco for handmade dim sum and oversized soup dumplings, and has since steadily expanded throughout the Bay Area. Sunnyvale now has an outpost of popular East Bay Korean barbecue restaurant. Don Blanc, one of the Chronicle's picks for the Bay Area's top Korean restaurants, is known for meat cooked on cast iron grills (including a specialty in beef intestine) and a lively vibe. The menu also includes Korean specialties like marinated raw crab, fried chicken and beef tartare. While the Oakland original stays open until 2 a.m. on weekends, Sunnyvale closes at midnight daily. Plus, a Korean kimbap specialist arrives A local kimbap shop just opened, devoted to the Korean sushi rolled with fish cake, spicy beef, Spam, pickles and other fillings. Bibimmate, located inside a San Mateo ghost kitchen, comes from Seonghye Park-Kwak, a local veterinarian who's long wanted to open a kimbap shop, according to a social media post. 66 21st Ave., San Mateo. Lao food truck debuts Enter: A rare Lao smashburger. It comes courtesy of Szn N Spice, a new food truck parked in Redwood City. The burger comes with double beef 'sai oua' patties (made in the style of the Lao sausage), pickled onions and cucumbers, American cheese and a Thai chili crema. Also on the menu are chicken satay, truffle fries and beef croquettes. A sweet new dessert shop Petal's Creamery is now scooping ice cream and serving desserts in Los Gatos. The new shop, elegant with pastel-green walls, black-and-white checkered floors and tufted banquette seating, serves creative, Persian-inflected ice cream flavors like orange blossom creamsicle, cardamom-chocolate and 'rozu' (rose plus yuzu). Toppings come in the form of saffron brittle or sour cherry sauce. A glass case is also stocked with Persian-inspired desserts. Con Azucar Cafe's calling card is an Instagrammable giant concha, and it's now available in Redwood City. The San Jose cafe's second location just opened on Middlefield Road with coffee, iced horchata and conchas in a colorful, almost arcade-like space. A nostalgic Italian-American joint Mountain View is home to a new Italian-American restaurant from the team behind popular Peninsula pizzeria chain Doppio Zero. Johnny & Sanny's — a twist on the names of co-owners Gianni (Johnny) Chiloiro and Angelo Sannino (Sanny) — is serving Italian-American classics like chicken parm and housemade pastas, plus Roman-style pizza.
Eater
23-05-2025
- Business
- Eater
A Major San Francisco Steakhouse Is Finally Reopening After a Fire
The Omakase Restaurant Group's big-hitter restaurant Niku Steakhouse, is heading back to its original Design District location after a fire on Saturday, March 29, forced the restaurant to temporarily shutter. In an Instagram post, ownership for the restaurant let diners know to get OpenTable reservations in now for the Friday, May 30 return. The team has been located inside the Jay Hotel since March 2025. The restaurant's revival is a big deal; Niku is considered one of the better steakhouses in San Francisco. Executive chef Dustin Falcon cut his teeth at Lazy Bear and the much (recently) discussed the French Laundry. Niku Steakhouse opened in January 2019 with Mt. Lassen trout with ginger-scallion rice and Japanese Wagyu tastings. Longtime Mission District restaurant reopens, too After suffering water damage, Cuisine of Nepal will reopen on Saturday, June 28. Chef-owner Prem Tamang, who opened the restaurant in 2016, wrote in an email he sees the city's failure to address flooding water as to why Cuisine of Nepal closed in the first place. Tamang runs Little Nepal, too, and has worked in the city for decades cooking food honoring his homeland. Glaze your own mugs at this Potrero Hill workshop There's an anti-single-use plastics event at a beloved bakery near you. Artillery AG's Climate Conscious Initiative: Project Mission Mugs will set up shop with Le Dix-Sept Patisserie in its new Potrero Hill outpost. On Saturday, June 14, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., attendees receive a ceramic reusable mug, glazing materials, and get their work fired in the kiln. RSVP in advance. Tech company takes over legendary Valencia Street corner In other Mission District news, friendly neighborhood digital payment platform Square just opened a temporary installation inside the former Lucca Ravioli storefront. The Corner Store, as it's called, will run from Tuesday, May 27, through June, hosting events with local purveyors such as Sysco. The idea, per a press release, is to 'provide hands-on support and educational resources to area merchants and create a point of connection where home-grown businesses can network and collaborate.' Okay! Sign up for our newsletter.
CBS News
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
San Francisco restaurants busy with Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year parade, All-Star weekend
With Valentine's Day weekend, All-Star Game and Chinese New Year celebrations, many local restaurants are busy with fully-booked reservations. Executive Chef Dustin Falcon of Niku Steakhouse said he and his staff are busy preparing for influx in customers. "On Friday and Saturday, we seat eight guests around here and it's a very, very private experience. We dim the lights, and it's just myself, and then eight guests," Dustin Falcon told CBS News Bay Area. According to OpenTable, this Michelin star restaurant is one of the top businesses fully booked for Valentine's Day weekend. "Restaurants and diners are definitely feeling the love today on Valentine's Day. Reservations in San Francisco are trending 22% higher than last year, which is great to see for the restaurant industry," Amy Wei, the chief operating officer of OpenTable, told CBS News Bay Area. Wei added that a recent survey shows 75% of San Francisco diners plan to try a new restaurant on Valentine's Day. Almost 30% of those surveyed said they will spend more money this year than last year. Additionally, 56% of diners said they would go on a first date on Valentine's Day. "One trend that I find very interesting is of all of the San Francisco diners who are going to celebrate Valentine's Day, three quarters of them are looking to do so in a group. And I believe that's because over the last couple of years, this trend is on the rise. Valentine's is no longer just about the romantic dinner for two. It's about celebrating friendships, celebrating with your family," Wei said. "The city has had a lot of ups and downs. And we're thankful every single day, for one how busy we are, and the fact that we get to take care of so many people and they look for us for those special moments," Falcon said.
