East Bay Times

>>Reservatio­ns may be made at www.blackangus.com/reservatio­ns

`Top Chef' star is bringing dessert-in-a-jar to Emeryville

- By Linda Zavoral and John Metcalfe Bay Area News Group

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

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

Chips are great, and dips are nice, but one of the most welcome bites at any game-day spread is a crispy, tender chicken wing bathed in spicy Buffalo sauce. It's salty and tangy with just enough meat to satisfy.

Recipes that incorporat­e inventive and tempting flavor combinatio­ns abound, but for this Taste-Off, we headed straight for the freezer section and loaded up on heat-and-eat frozen wings doused in the most popular of all chicken wing flavors — Buffalo.

For the uninitiate­d, Buffalo sauce is a spicy, creamy mix of butter, cayenne, vinegar and garlic first served in 1964 at a bar in Buffalo, NY. The sauce is used on everything from fries to pizza, but its real raison d'être is to transform the lowly chicken wing into an unforgetta­ble bite.

Before diving into the particular­s about frozen buffalo wings, it should be noted that chicken wings are so loved that they spark debates: Which part of the wing is best, the doublebone side (wingette) or the drumette? Should wings be fried or baked? Should the sauce go on before or after cooking? Podcaster Dan Pashman of The Sporkful devoted two entire episodes to the topic,

 ?? ?? Black Angus is offering not just French toast, but its Signature Molasses Bread French Toast during its one-month brunch celebratio­n.
Black Angus is offering not just French toast, but its Signature Molasses Bread French Toast during its one-month brunch celebratio­n.
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