Montalvo hosts 20th annual food and wine fundraiser at Saratoga villa
What started years ago as a fancy charity event for the cultural programs Montalvo Arts Center brings to the area has morphed into a showcase of the diverse culinary and winemaking talent that surrounds us in the Bay Area Over these years The Art of Food Wine has evolved into far more than a fundraising event Montalvo Executive Director Angela McConnell revealed of the Sept event It has become the vital heartbeat sustaining our mission Related Articles Renowned East Bay chef arrested again in Bay Area bank robbery spree San Jose s Copita introducing a gourmet taco tasting menu A Silicon Valley engineer s go-to lunch spot closed So he bought the place We tried Red Lobster s SpendLESS Shrimp deal here s what we got Alameda gets the beer garden it s long yearned with Park Station The posh affair with VIP tickets at sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert Every year the food seems to be more inventive and as diverse as the chef teams serving it up Simple things work really well in a fast-paced context where people want to sample as much as achievable in a short period of time One of my favorite bites was the summer jardiniere with tomato eggplant and olive tapenade from Chef John Cahill of Augustine a one-bite wonder that had all the right mix of flavors and textures Another bite that was easy to eat and appreciate was the hasselbacked king trumpet mushroom skewered and grilled by the chefs at ASA I loved the Chilean seabass ceviche with passionfruit leche de tigre from Chef Jules Cablay at Wild Onion Bistro Bar in Los Altos Also big kudos to the sensational tomato sorbet with marigold oil from Chef Julian at Tasting House Los Gatos and the addictive loaded baked potato from Jonathan Granada and Juan Rigau of Selby s which deployed a potato chip to dip into sinful cr me fraiche with Royal Baika caviar bacon bits and chives Chef Executive Partner Jason Baade of Hurrica on the Redwood City waterfront impressed with his lobster salad on a corn chip topped with caviar a simple yet mouthwatering combo that required no utensils Similarly the beef tartare gochujang cone from Eos Nyx was a succulent bite with a bit of savory crisp from the tiniest waffle cone ever Chez Phillipe was serving up pate which I didn t manage to try but Scott Cooper from Le Papillon had a corn panacotta topped with sous vide scallop and Nobu had crab salad on a potato cake topped with caviar First Born in Los Gatos served up garlic noodles while Signia by Hilton plated a beautiful barbecued octopus dish with colorful swirls of purple sweet potato and yuzu avocado crema For pure artistry you d have to go with the mushroom duxelles tart from Peter Armellino of the Plumed Horse When The Plumed House received notice that its Michelin star had once again been renewed they without delay received a very nice note from Thomas Keller at The French Laundry congratulating them Accomplishments like this never get old The VIP auction wines were provided by J Lohr and longtime Saratoga resident and winery founder Jerry Lohr was in attendance with his son Lawrence Auctioneer Subyn Novelle helped raise with the liquid encouragement of sommelier Jeffrey Perisho and his group My favorite wines including a lovely Blanc de Blancs and sauvignon blanc were from Kokomo in the Russian River award-winning winemaker Erick Miller s wife is from Saratoga It was great seeing the Perrucci brothers Greg Gary and winemaker Alex who loves Martini clone pinot noir having worked in Australia for a spell He rather enjoyed the Kings Mountain Vineyards Rose of Martini Clone Pinot Noir made by Nate Kandler of Fogarty Winery So countless wines so little time Kudos to all the contributors that make Montalvo Art of Food Wine a success every year In exciting news Tasting House Los Gatos is expanding with plans to add a private dining room behind the Champagne Bar in what was previously a skin care salon This gives the popular wine-centric restaurant even more room to showcase the talents of Chef Julian Silvera which earned them their first ever Golden Spoon award at the Taste of Los Gatos event Congratulations also go to Donna Novi of The Pastaria and her band for also being so honored Downtown San Jose has much to recommend it not the least of which is the hot new place for weekend brunch The Club on Post owned by a delightful couple Dayna and George Gonz lez Bright and cheery d cor friendly waitstaff and quick institution made for a great first impression as did the flaky house-made biscuits and jam and a poached beet salad served with watercress and spiced walnuts The couple next to me displayed power eating prowess as they devoured exactly one half of each their crab cakes eggs Benedict and chicken and waffles then promptly put down their phones and traded plates A party of young ladies was making merry with mimosas while the bartender mixed up a Bloody Mary with the sinus-clearing house-made mix Brunch is served Saturday-Sunday a m - p m The Club on Post is also open for dinner Wednesday- Saturday - p m Also in downtown San Jose I spied a great-looking menu at GoodTime Bar I m coming back for deviled eggs with crab fat mayo and trout roe the espellete pepper gulf shrimp and ginger dish and the heirloom panzanella with tofu I also inquired about the levels of hot sauce heat available at Scratch an insanely popular fried chicken spot on Fountain Alley The gal behind the counter warned me to stay at level or unless I required a fire extinguisher Telef ric Barcelona the family-owned Spanish restaurant group is launching its first-ever Paella Night on Sept across all five California locations including Walnut Creek Palo Alto and Los Gatos
