Reserve a Table

Dear Friends, 

For Valentine's Day, John took me to Berkeley where we shopped at some of our favorite stores: Tokyo Fish - great for Japanese ingredients, Hida Tools - a haven for Japanese chef's knives and gardening tools, and Berkeley Bowl where John likes to buy pre-ground spices. (I'll never understand why he doesn't grind them himself...)    

 

Ten days later, I took Mustards sous chefs Alejandro and Javier to the same spots plus Zand - a Middle Eastern deli in Albany, Monterey Market and Monterey Fish Market, The Cheese Board, and Vik's Chaat Corner. It was such fun to introduce the chefs to Berkeley's "gourmet ghetto" - perfect for chasing off the winter doldrums and a lot cheaper than a trip to Europe. We returned to the valley all fired up with fresh, new ideas and ingredients. 

 

The Daily Meal, a cool website dedicated to all things food and drink, just released its second annual list of the 101 Best Restaurants in America. I am thrilled to announce that Mustards Grill placed 55^th. Only four Napa Valley restaurants made the list. 

 

This month for Mustards' Pour-Off Pair-Off, we do a riff on my Big Small Plates cookbook with food cooked on sticks. We've been having a ball matching wines to the dishes. I can't wait for you to try the pairings.

 

March is the time to celebrate the love and luck of the Irish. After sampling wonderful cuisine on my visit to Ireland in January, I am so excited to bring a taste to the Napa Valley. Michael, our chef at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, and I thoroughly enjoyed creating an Irish menu for this month's Supper Club. I think you'll love it.

 

And at my dear, sweet, new joint, Brassica, get ready for...Pie Flight... Pick a pizza and three 2-oz. pours of wine on tap for $20. (Available 3-6pm and 9-10pm - late night in the bar only.) Congratulations to Laura Whitmer for the winning name! Our Saturday night Vintner Splash is turning into quite the party, and this Saturday we're adding tapas recommendations to pair with the featured wine. Come on down.

 

Spring is full of great events:

• March 23^rd I'm doing a demo and dinner at the California Artisan Cheese Festival in Sonoma. (My dinner is sold out, but tickets are still available for many other delicious activities.) 
• April 13-15 I'll be at the Fifth Annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival - a spectacular setting with celebrity chefs and world-class wineries and seminars.
• My new cookbook, Cindy's Supper Club, debuts May 15^th! Stay tuned for the party...
• Cooking for Solutions takes place at the Monterey Bay Aquarium May 18-20. As the host chef, I can tell you it is an amazing food and wine weekend devoted to the preservation of the oceans. Get your tickets now - this event always sells out early and I would love to see you there.

Happy Eating!

 

P.S. I'm including a recipe inspired by Julia Child.These cheese wafers make the greatest hors d'oeuvres and the dough keeps well frozen. We served them last month at the Cameo Theater to rave reviews. 

 

P.P.S. Tune in to the Cooking Channel's Unique Eats series Monday March 12^th at 7pm or 11pm for an encore of "Wine Country Weekend" featuring Mustards Grill and our Mongolian Pork Chops. Many thanks for your support.