California Fish Grill heading to NorCal
Until recently, California Fish Grill was a misnomer.
You might say it was really the Southern California Fish Grill, a chain of 20 fast-casual eateries based in Irvine.
But the company founded in 1998 by Victor Topete has now set its sights on the Northern California market. The first opened at Daly City’s Serramonte Center and new restaurants are coming to the Orchards center in Walnut Creek and to Sacramento.
Sustainable seafood tops the menu here. Wild-caught choices include ahi tuna, sockeye salmon, pollock, swordfish, ono and calamari. And the company works with stewardship councils to ensure that the farm-raised seafood they serve — trout, catfish, shrimp, tilapia and sea bass — comes from certified sustainable operations.
Flame-grilling is the cooking method of choice here, with a selection of seasoned olive oil, garlic butter sauce, chimichurri sauce or Cajun spices. But the restaurant also offers battered and fried classics, salad bowls, rice bowls and seafood tacos. Sides include “kaleslaw,” fire-roasted street corn, grilled zucchini, sweet potato fries and balsamicglazed Brussels sprouts.
Look for a fall opening in Walnut Creek. You can follow the progress at www.cafishgrill.com.
Historic San Jose building will house a new restaurant
Call it a win for both history buffs and food lovers.
Prominent South Bay restaurateur Jordan Trigg has leased one of the oldest buildings in San Jose’s Japantown and plans to reopen it as JTown Pizza, the district’s first such restaurant.
“It was too good of an opportunity to pass up,” said Trigg, whose Dipsomania Inc. already owns properties in Japantown (7 Bamboo, Jack’s) as well as in downtown Campbell (Boiler Maker, Spread) and Willow Glen (20Twenty).
“I’m excited to be going into the oldest building in Japantown.”
For building owners Carol Chen and Max Soloviev, who spent $2 million renovating the North Sixth Street landmark as Wenzhou Fish, Noodles & More, it’s the answer to their quandary.
The first-time entrepreneurs — he’s a computer engineer, she’s in real estate — found that running a restaurant was challenging for their family, so they had been searching since early this year for an operator who could offer both restaurant savvy and an appreciation for the building’s historic significance.
“Our restaurant was originally part of Chinatown, which is now more known as Japantown,” Chen told Mercury News columnist Sal Pizarro in January, “and we feel that if someone could take it to the next level, e.g., upscale fusion cuisine style, he or she would have high chances to make the business grow and help us maintain this beautiful landmark.”
They did a great job on the renovation,” Trigg said. “We don’t see changing the look of the exterior” — except for the name on the neon sign.
He added: “About the only thing we’re going to do inside is add beer taps.”
While the new menu won’t be the one that Chen had been initially hoping for — she wanted to preserve the focus on Chinese cuisine — the building is no stranger to cultural evolution.
Besides plenty of Japanese restaurants, diners can find Chinese, Korean, Mexican and Hawaiian cuisine along with American fast food and barbecue in Japantown. However, there’s no pizza within walking distance, Trigg said. He’s planning to focus on thin-crust New Yorkstyle pies. An autumn opening is envisioned.
Berkeley’s Tacubaya taking Pompette space
For its 15th anniversary, Tacubaya is moving — two doors down.
East Bay restaurateur Dona Savitsky’s vibrant Mexican eatery at Berkeley’s Fourth Street row is taking over the larger place most recently occupied by Pompette.
That Cal-French restaurant shuttered this spring after less than a year in business, with no public announcement by owners David and Caramia Visick. Their stint (and redesign) followed the closing of Marsha McBride’s pioneering Cafe Rouge, a mainstay at the site for 20 years.
Construction is underway on transforming the French bistro into Tacubaya.
Look for a spot as colorful or more colorful than the original — after all, the taqueria is named for the Mexico City neighborhood of architect Luis Barragan, who was famous for his contemporary work and splashes of color.
The counter-style restaurant will double its space, to 2,285 square feet, allowing for the addition of a full bar specializing in tequila and mezcal, an outdoor cocktail seating area and a mezzanine. Other extras will include new menu items and rotisserie chicken dinners to go.
A mid-July relocation date is envisioned. Follow the move to 1782 Fourth St. at www.tacubaya.net.
Hawaiian lemonade comes to Danville
A Danville family in love with Hawaii — and the islands’ Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade — is the first to import the drink concept to California.
The Neri family has opened an East Bay location at the Danville Livery.
“On a trip to Oahu in 2016 we met one of the owners of the Oahu store,” Carolynn Neri said. “We fell in love with the concept and purchased the Danville territory.”
They amped up for the brick-and-mortar opening by selling at farmers markets, where the most popular flavors have included the mango-pineapple lemonade, the strawberry-mint lemonade and the lava flow, a coconut-pineapple-lemon drink with a float of fresh strawberry puree.
Lemonades are made with California-grown produce and other organic fruits.
Wow Wow serves from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday (closed Mondays) at 806 Sycamore Valley Road West, Danville. Details: www.wowwow lemonade.com.
Lottie’s Creamery now scooping in Palo Alto
Roasted Strawberry Swirl. Whiskey Coffee Crunch. Rose Cardamom Pistachio.
Five years after opening in Walnut Creek, Lottie’s Creamery has brought its artisanal, small-batch ice creams to the Peninsula.
Those are just three of the dozen flavors they’re scooping at the new store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. The seasonal selection rotates frequently, so even if you missed one — like Honey Candied Kumquat — it’s sure to return.
Toppings include praline peanuts, hot fudge, caramel sauce and whipped cream that’s house-made instead of squirted from a can. The shop, located between Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, serves from noon to 9 p.m. weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends. Details: Facebook.com/LottiesCreamery.