Thoughtul Gourmet Blog

When cooking outdoors, my family relies on a gas grill. (No judgments, please!) Cleaning and prepping the grill was always the most challenging part of grill cooking until I discovered Grill Wipes. Produced by , Grate Chef, a company that develops products for the backyard griller, Grill Wipes clean and oil your grill without any […]

Let me get this out of the way upfront: I do not own a Panini press. But I do like sandwiches. Ideal platforms to showcase leftovers, sandwiches have a structured elegance, the layers of ingredients ensuring the capture of all the flavor components. To enjoy Kathy Strah’s 2013 “The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook”, you do […]

With construction underway at their new location at 115 San Anselmo Ave (across the driveway from MH Bread & Butter), Greenbrae’s Bistro Vis à Vis will soon become San Anselmo’s Bistro Vis à Vis. The final meal, i.e., the last supper, at the Bon Air Shopping Center location will be Saturday, September 14 with a […]

Trademark southern touch intact, new executive chef Tim Humphrey has taken over the stoves at Tiburon Tavern. Humphrey, who built his career working as sous chef to his executive chef brother, Joseph, brings the same caliber of experience (Meadowood, Murray Circle at Cavallo Point, Dixie) in fine dining to the fore at Tiburon Tavern. As […]

It is impossible to walk into Bisou Bistro, an unimposing restaurant at the edge of the Castro, and not notice the red velvet. A long banquette that runs underneath the upstairs gallery is swathed in the stuff; cherry red velvet wraps seat cushions, the wall and the lowered ceiling in its intimate embrace. It is […]

Lasagna is back. If you are a gluten-free eater, not the “no carb” kind but the “gluten intolerant” kind, the ability to eat lasagna is a gift, an Italian-American treasure lost when the doctor who examined your blood and the lining of your gut looked into your eyes and said; “not for you.” In chef […]

The Frette napkin was a red herring. After taking my seat during a recent visit to San Francisco’s 1760 restaurant, I oohed over the softly crisp napkin, perfectly positioned over what appeared to be a hand-thrown plate. Things, I thought, are looking good for a fine meal. After placing the napkin on my lap, I […]

It’s no secret – apples and cheese make great bedfellows. At the 8th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, held March 21 to 23, 2014 in Petaluma, chef and cheesemaker Sheana Davis of Sonoma’s The Epicurean Connection adds a new dimension to the cheese & apple get-together: cider. Just one of the numerous seminars, tastings and […]