For the first time in 60 years, Black Angus serving brunch
Never before this weekend had Black Angus served its steaks with eggs. Or turned its signature molasses bread into French toast.
But for one month, the steakhouses are doing just that, introducing brunch for the first time since the chain's founding 60 years ago. All 32 U.S. locations — three in the Bay Area — are taking part in this celebration of the chain's diamond anniversary.
On weekends through April 28, the brunch menu will offer Steak & Eggs (plus a Tomahawk & Eggs for two), Steak Breakfast Burrito, Steak Chilaquiles, a Classic American Breakfast with applewoodsmoked bacon, plus a certified Angus beef Breakfast Burger topped with a cage-free, sunny-side-up egg.
The warm molasses bread that customers fight over when it lands on the dinner table will be featured in both sweet and savory dishes: Avocado Toast with eggs and guacamole, and French Toast with maple syrup and strawberries.
The bar will make classic brunch drinks, including Mimosas (orange, cranberry or pineapple), Bloody Marys (the mix is made inhouse) and Micheladas. And a justannounced Black Angus partnership with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will mean a new java blend.
Black Angus was founded in 1964 by Stuart Anderson, a Seattle entrepreneur (and later a rancher) who famously appeared in TV commercials for years as his own brand spokesman. The chain is now headquartered in Burbank.
In the Bay Area, there are steakhouses in San Jose (1011 Blossom Hill Road), San Lorenzo (15800
Hesperian Blvd.) and Brentwood (2355 Sand Creek Road). There's also one in Citrus Heights in Sacramento County, and 18 locations in Southern California.
Brunch hours will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from Easter till the end of April. At 3, the dinner menu kicks in; right now that includes seasonal specials of cedar-plank Chimichurri Ribeye and Steak and Crab with Beurre Blanc.
DETAILS >>Reservations may be made at www.blackangus.com/reservations
`Top Chef' star is bringing dessert-in-a-jar to Emeryville
Eating out of a jar — it's no longer just for lazy dads.
This year, “Top Chef” alum Fabio Viviani plans to open a sweet shop in Emeryville called Jars. True to its name, the shop will offer single-serve portions of sweet treats in jars: tiramisu, blackberry
pie, honeysuckle cake, something called Pistachio Ambrosia and more. The flavors will rotate, with special limited-time desserts appearing each month.
The Italian-born Viviani, who starred on the fifth season of “Top Chef,” debuted Jars in Chicago in 2022 and has opened others in Texas and Southern California. The first NorCal Jars will be located in the Bay Street Emeryville shopping mall at 5649 Bay St.; a sign on the door indicates it will open this summer.
Other layered desserts that Jars has experimented with include carrot cake, Rice Krispies Treat, strawberry cannoli, berries and cream and blueberry pie.
“We've started a movement — changing the way people eat dessert,” asserts the Jars website, whose copywriter definitely deserves a gold star. “At JARS, we think outside the little box. And refuse to conform to a space filled
with cookies, cupcakes and copycats. We've forced dessert outside of its comfort zone with an insanely adventurous twist on traditional treats from around the world.”
Jars arrives amid a bustle of restaurant activity at the Bay Street Emeryville mall, with new restaurants, including Pippal, Flores, Arthur Mac's Little Snack, Saucy Asian and Fogo de Chao, popping up in quick succession. As quirky as the concept sounds, it's not the only jarred-dessert place in town. Right across the railroad tracks is Petit Pot, another Emeryville place making pot de crème and other French-inspired treats in little jars available at local markets.
Michelin's `discovery' list includes S.F. restaurant
The dining world's prestigious Michelin Guide recently dropped one of its occasional midseason lists of “new discoveries” — restaurants that impressed its inspectors.
“While we're not ready to reveal the entire 2024 selection quite yet, here are 10 tasty spots to hold you over til then,” the announcement said.
One of the highlighted restaurants is in San Francisco, and the other nine are in Southern California.
These establishments are listed as “New” on guide.michelin.com. Michelin highlighted “new discoveries” for the first time in the summer of 2021, and has done so every year since.
Will the praise for these restaurants be elevated to Michelin stars later this year? Or become Bib Gourmand honors, the Michelin awards given to restaurants that offer “excellent food at reasonable prices” to diners? It's a wait-and-see situation for these chefs.
The summer 2023 star announcements solidified California's reputation as a culinary mecca, reaffirming all six of the state's three-star restaurants and all 12 two-star restaurants and praising hundreds of others for impressive cuisine, affordable meals or high sustainability standards.
Here are the Michelin inspectors' tasting notes about 7 Adams in San Francisco:
“In this city, finding a five-course menu for under a hundred dollars is a tall order. Chefs Serena and David Fisher make it seem effortless, though, bringing their signature magic to this second act in a sleek new space. The cuisine keeps an unfussy Californian simplicity, featuring solid technique and thoughtful flavor combinations that allow quality seasonal ingredients to shine. Think carefully shaped caramelle pasta that pairs a filling of sweet and nutty kabocha squash with buttery chanterelles, or crisp-skinned black cod with sunchoke confit and a finely tuned shellfish broth. Desserts never fail to end the meal on a strong note, as in a perfectly tender, moist apple crumb cake dressed up with an orange bay leaf ice cream and satsuma granita.”
Find the SoCal honorees at https://guide.michelin. com/us/en, where they are listed as new discoveries for March 2024.