BiteClub Eats

Authentic BBQ spot in Calistoga where a smoky tri-tip is the best way to go

I’m not usually a fan of chain restaurants. And I know most of you hate them as well. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Sometimes, occasionally, once in a blue moon, they really have some redeeming qualities. Mr. Pickles is one of them. Now, understand that my universal hatred of chain [...]

BiteClub hears that Petaluma’s Cafe Zazzle will re-open on Friday, January 25 at 11am, according to owners. The restaurant has been closed since late October when a kitchen fire did significant smoke damage to the building. Can they make a comeback?

If the shark has indeed jumped on retro-chic steak joints, nobody told Santa Rosa. Just a week after opening, Mark and Terri Stark’s Railroad Square steakhouse is packed with curious locals willing to pay top dollar for organic, dry aged, corn and grass-fed cuts of beef hand-picked by the city’s favorite chef. You’ll get the [...]

Check out the photos of Zazu’s nose to tail feast, held Jan. 20, 2008. Celebrating the Feast of Saint Anthony (the patron saint of butchers), chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart invited friends and eaters to indulge in an homage to pork. As founder of Black Pig Meat, Stewart is a preserved-meats master and porcine [...]

I love it when discussions start up spontaneously that get everybody thinking. This week, folks started talking about the area’s best Caesar salad–a thread that spawned from the opening of Stark’s Steakhouse. And that got me thinking. After a week of shortribs, mashed potatoes and gut-busting stews, where can you get a top-notch salad? Despite [...]

Everything but the squealOkay, word on the street is that when it comes to food trends, salumi has officially jumped the shark. Along with artisan bacon and, well, anything pig related. I say phooey. Like the little black dress, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Chanel No. 5, pork is a timeless classic. Settling in for the [...]

Don’t know a Tourtiere from Poulet Basquais? Ever wonder what the heck bouillabaisse actually is? Me too. Over the weekend, I found what’s quite possibly the coolest book ever, 1001 Foods to Die For, a compendium of the most fascinating foods in the world, with entries written by a who’s who of food — from [...]

It’s rare that I’m speechless after a meal. Even rarer when that meal comes out of a take out box. But consider Ms. BiteClub stunned into a reverent silence for the now decimated container of Boeuf Bourguignon from Chloe’s French Cafe. Je suis dans l’amour. Tipped off by a reader (thank you! thank you!), Chloe’s [...]

Ubuntu: Please don’t use the v-word to describe the vegetable friendly eatery

Chatter over Ubuntu continues. With the Chronicle’s Michael Bauer practically giddy (recently naming it among the Top Openings of 2007) it seemed worth another look. Though I was originally skeptical, Chef Jeremy Fox is converting local carnivores to la vida veggie–at least for a meal or two. Originally written for WineTravel.com, this piece is a [...]

Chloe’s French Cafe is a best bet for croissants, French pastries and delish entrees.

A bevy of new restaurants ring in the New Year, starting with the official opening of Stark’s Steakhouse Thursday (Jan. 10) after it’s preview party on Dec. 31. The restaurant is targeted to a “young, urban audience” (in Santa Rosa?). The focus is on dry-aged steaks and grass-fed beef with a pedigree. In addition to [...]

Back in the 1990′s, absinthe was all the underground rage. You couldn’t buy the stuff legally, mind you. Like marijuana and raw milk cheese, it was only available if you knew a guy who knew a guy who was willing to sell some to you at ridiculously high prices. You could even get busted for [...]