Valley Fair lines up new eateries
When shoppers head to Valley Fair to check out phase one of the Santa Clara center’s $1.1 billion expansion, they’ll see tempting signs of what’s to come in the way of new restaurants.
The Restaurant Collection, which is being built around an open-air plaza, will include both upscale destinations and popular fast-casual spots. Look for a flurry of openings from now through year’s end.
Among the heavy hitters joining the center will be ichina, a luxury two-level restaurant serving modern Chinese cuisine; Mastro’s, an upscale steakhouse known for its Kobe beef and wine offerings; King’s Fish House, a Southern California favorite; and Bamboo Sushi, a sustainable sushi eatery now expanding in the Bay Area.
The first to welcome customers will be a couple of cult favorites. Both Shake Shack, the New York-born burger joint, and Portlandbased Salt & Straw, known for its small-batch, handcrafted ice cream, are expected to open sometime this month.
Capping off this restaurant row will be Eataly, the Italian food marketplace that has selected Valley Fair and Silicon Valley for its first Northern California emporium. As previously an
nounced, a 2021 opening is forecast for this “shop, eat, learn” concept that will feature products from Italy’s 20 regions as well as local purveyors.
Antojitos expands to Walnut Creek — with 12 kinds of tortas
Heads up, torta lovers. Dulce’s Antojitos now has a sister restaurant — after a decade of serving customers in Pittsburg and Bay Point.
The new location, called Antojitos Taqueria, has opened at The Orchards center in Walnut Creek.
Both restaurants specialize in tortas, with a dozen choices of fillings that go beyond carne asada and carnitas to include nopal, chorizo con queso, milanesa (breaded steak or chicken), Hawaiiana (pork, pineapple and ham) and others.
Other highlights include a juice bar with freshly squeezed juices (think naranja-zanahoria, or orange-carrot); grab-and-go bionico cups of fruit, granola and cream; and desserts like tres leches cake and flan. The raspado (shaved ice) comes in flavors of guava, vanilla, tamarind, walnut and mango.
DETAILS » Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 2333 Oak Grove Road, Walnut Creek. 925-954-7684; www.dulce santojitos.com.
Zareen’s samosas, chai headed to Redwood City
Zareen’s is moving up the Peninsula.
The Indian-pakistani fast-casual restaurant with the popular tikka masala wraps, paratha rolls, samosas, desi burgers — and complimentary cups of masala chai — is renovating a downtown Redwood City space.
Chef-entrepreneur Zareen Khan has posted on social media that she expects to open there this spring.
It will be her third location. She launched her eponymous restaurant in 2014 in Mountain View after careers in the corporate world and in catering, then expanded to Palo Alto a couple of years later.
Bestsellers include the Memoni chicken samosas, made from “a secret recipe known only to 35 Memoni grandmothers worldwide,” the website says. These spicy appetizers also meet halal standards.
If you can’t wait until the Redwood City location opens, you can try Zareen’s food at 1477 Plymouth Drive in Mountain View and 365 S. California Ave. in Palo Alto.
Plucked Chicken & Beer coming to Livermore
Plucked Chicken & Beer, the poultry concept from the folks behind Sauced BBQ, is coming to Livermore.
It will be the third location for the counter-service eatery that owners Barrett Gomes and Brenden Scanlan launched in San Ramon in 2018 and then expanded to Pleasanton in 2019.
Plucked will join the flagship Sauced BBQ on Livermore’s First Street — but will be located at the other end of the downtown strip, in the former Cloud 9 Pizza space. No opening date has been set yet.
Plucked offers several versions of fried chicken sandwiches — many with a little heat — on brioche buns. The Rooster tops the chicken with sharp cheddar, applewood-smoked bacon, a cage-free over-easy egg and house pepper jelly. Others include a Sticky Chicky Asian-style sandwich, the Buff Chick with blue cheese queso and Buffalo sauce and a Naughty Nash riff on Nashville chicken.
You’ll also find chicken atop salad greens, chicken and waffles, chicken tacos and chicken wings.
New to the menu are the Flaming Mo, a chicken sandwich topped with ghost pepper cheese, pickled jalapeño and sweet heat slaw, and cauliflower “wings.”
A dozen beers are available via selfserve beer taps.
Follow the progress on the new restaurant at www.pluckedchicken andbeer.com.