Bourbon Highway ya’ll
It’s chicken and waffles with a country music soundtrack.
Bourbon Highway has thrown open the doors in Walnut Creek for a soft launch of its Southern food and drink concept.
The inaugural menu by consulting chef Noah Larson (he’s at Rooftop, with previous stints at A Cote and Belli Osteria) features a small but well-defined array of Southern dishes and California faves.
You can start with fried house-made dill pickles or soft pretzels with a warm bourbon-cheese dip, then head into main dish territory for baby back ribs, a pulled pork sandwich or chicken and waffles (the bird’s brined in buttermilk and cayenne pepper). Sides include mac & cheese and barbecue-seasoned french fries.
Not a meat eater? There’s a mahi mahi taco entree with pineapple salsa and a kale salad packed with sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower and pears.
As the name Bourbon Highway indicates, this place is serious about its whiskey. We counted no fewer than 70 bourbons, ryes, scotches and Irish, Canadian and Japanese whiskies on the liquor list — and that includes several rare, limited-release bottles. Bourbon cocktails and bourbon flights
are also featured.
Details: The restaurant is open from 4 p.m. daily until 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday, until 11 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday through Sunday at 1677 N. Main St. 925-979-1678; www.bourbonhighway.com.
Latke chefs compete in cook-off Monday
Is the best latke a traditional one or can you go crazy with ingredients — and still please grandma come Hanukkah?
Latke lovers can learn some secrets to holiday success Monday, when the annual Hanukkah Latke Cooking Contest takes place in Los Altos. The public is invited to attend.
Four culinary teams will put their skills to the test at the event sponsored by the Jewish Study Network and Whole Foods, which is hosting the fry-off at its market. The cooks will be competing against each other — and racing the clock.
Leading the judging team will be Effie Speigler, executive chef at the Oakland Coliseum. Rabbi Joey Felsen will serve as the emcee.
At 7 p.m., the latke teams will start competing and shoppers can sample their entries, along with other kosher goodies. (Children’s activities are planned too.) At 8:30, the judges will announce the winner and talk about what makes a great latke.
Last year’s winners — a team made up of Jonathan Benassaya, Ingrid Garzon, Andrew Garzon and Dina Betser — went the classic route. Could a contemporary recipe take the title this time?
Details: Free; 7 p.m. Monday at Whole Foods Market, 4800 El Camino Real, Los Altos. www.jsn.info
Chef Acheson rolling into Santa Clara today
It’s a cookbook tour in an Airstream travel trailer.
That’s how award-winning celebrity chef Hugh Acheson is rolling this year. But his 25-city tour doesn’t only promote his new cookbook, “The Chef and the Slow Cooker” (which, by the way, is a perfect match for road travel). He’s also educating the public about his nonprofit, Seed Life Skills, which aims to introduce more kids to cooking and connect school curricula with science, culinary and entrepreneurial lessons.
Today, Acheson and the Airstream Endless Caravan will make a stop in Santa Clara at the Whole Foods Market. From noon to 2 p.m. he’ll make tacos to sell to benefit Seed Life Skills, sign cookbooks and chat with fans.
A James Beard Award winner and frequent “Top Chef” judge, Acheson and his group own and operate numerous restaurants in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia.
Details: Free; Whole Foods is at Santa Clara Square, 2732 Augustine Drive; www.hughacheson.com.