Ritz-Carlton San Francisco Embraces Whole World Water Campaign Presented by Yves Behar

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

 

If a grim popular-science prediction holds any water the wars of the future won’t be over oil or diamonds – they will be over water.

 

To alleviate the looming danger, Whole World Water, a social enterprise founded by a documentary filmmaker Karena Albers, and Jenifer Willig of the (RED) campaign, encourages the hospitality and tourism industry to filter, bottle, and sell its own water. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Whole World Water Fund to benefit clean water programs around the world. The concerted effort will result in the estimated $1 billion contributed to the cause annually. 

 

Among the biggest supporters of the program are business leaders and artists known as prominent environmentalists and sustainability advocates – Richard Branson and David de Rothschild, designer Yves Béhar, actor Edward Norton, and writer Jonathon Porritt.

On World Water Day, the international hospitality groups such as The Ritz-Carlton, Banyan Tree, Yoo Hotels, and the TAO Group embarked on the Whole World Water campaign. The global initiative launch was celebrated in Mumbai, Soneva Fushi Resort in the Maldives, theUlusaba Game Reserve in South Africa, The Savoy in London, TAO Asian Bistro in New York and at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco on March 22. 

 

To celebrate water in San Francisco, the new Parallel 37 restaurant located at The Ritz-Carlton’s recently renovated lobby, presented free flowing champagne and tasty bites crafted by Executive Chef at The Ritz-Carlton Nathan Beriau and Executive Chef at Parallel 37 Michael Rotondo (photo).

 

Designer Yves Behar and Allen Highfield, General Manager of the Ritz Carlton, San Francisco – the hosts of the event – greeted their guests and spoke about the campaign goals. The partnership is dedicated to raising awareness of the 1 billion people without access to clean water and to helping eradicate this global issue.

“When The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company got approached about partnering with Whole World Water and I found out that over a billion people don't have drinkable water, I don't think I even read through half of the notification before I said yes to this partnership,” said Alan Highfield. “Starting in April we'll be donating 10% of water bottle sales to this program."

 

Commenting on the initiative, Yves Béhar (photo) said, “We were really fanatical and very excited about this particular project. It is rare that you can align a business model that is this compelling with a cause that is this obvious and this important to the world." He also invited the guests of the evening and of the hotel to keep and reuse a glass bottle with a hermetic cap and Whole World Water and The Ritz-Carlton logos. More information: www.wholeworldwater.co, www.ritzcarlton.com, www.parallel37sf.com.

Chef's Tasting Menu at Ajanta Restaurant Showcases the Best of the House

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

In the multitude of good restaurants that serve Indian cuisine in the Bay Area Ajanta Restaurant in Berkeley is a standout. The bountiful all-region Indian fare served here is so remarkable that people frequent the establishment on all occasions – from a weekday family dinner to a sweet 16 birthday, and don’t mind standing in line for that.

The acclaimed restaurant’s chef/owner Lachu Moorjani recently introduced a nightly Chef's Tasting Menu, inspired by the venue’s 2013 Zagat Survey food rating (27 on a 30-point scale). The new abridged menu provides a glimpse of the diversity of Ajanta’s offerings that make this place so irresistible.

Seasonal tandoori appetizers include an array of Ajanta specials. Meaty slices of organic Portobello mushroom are served with a dollop of sweet and hot yogurt-cashew-mint sauce. Plump juicy Dayboat scallops are marinated in yogurt and spices, roasted in a tandoor oven, and served with a pleasantly tart yogurt-cashew-tamarind sauce.

 

For chicken chaat, organic chicken marinated meat is grilled in tandoor, then shredded and tossed with oil, lime juice, red onions, cilantro, and ginger – a cold dish spiced hot.

The main dishes section contains four perennially popular entrees. Chicken Mulligatawney, a South-Indian classic curry from Chennai, is made with organic chicken meat – boneless and cooked in a sauce with onions, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, lime juice, and spices. This satisfying soup-stew hybrid that can serve as a full meal on its own.

 

Succulent Lamb Rib Chops are marinated in yogurt and spices and grilled in tandoor to reddish-golden color and perfectly smoky flavor.  

 

Green Fish Curry from Mumbai has ling cod fillet simmered in a sauce made with cilantro, mint, onions, garlic, green chili, coconut milk, cashew powder, lime juice, and spices.  A plateful of fragrant curry is enlivened by a sprinkling of yogurt, cashews and cilantro.

 

Achari Baingan from Rajasthan is made of an organic Chinese eggplant sautéed and then cooked in a tomato sauce with ginger, garlic, lime juice, and Indian pickling spices, like fenugreek and nigella. Any dish can be prepared mild, medium, or hot and spicy, and speaking of pickling spices, the Chef’s Tasting Menu comes with a cup of sharp and sweet house-made pickled carrots.

 

Other accompaniments include assorted hot pickles from a trusted vendor, mango chutney, basmati rice, and hot from the oven freshly-baked naan.    

The spicy menu is well supported by the substantial international wine list, with a number of vintages from India. By-the-glass selection boasts some interesting choices – whites, like 2011 Edelzwicker from Mendocino County – a blend of Riesling, gewürztraminer, and pinot gris; 2010 Alta Luna pino grigio from Terentino, Italy, and 2011 Villa Maria sauvignon blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, and reds – 2010 M. Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone (a biodynamic product from France); California 2010 Double Decker blend of cab, petite syrah and barbera, and 2011 Red Diamond malbec from Argentina.  

 

Desserts from the Chef’s Tasting Menu present a choice of kulfi, cardamom gelato, mango sorbet or gulab jamun (milk powder ball, fried and soaked in rose-scented syrup). As Chef Lachu points out in his famous cookbook, Ajanta: Regional Feasts of India, “The mere mention of kulfi makes Indians salivate,” and for a good reason. This Northern-Indian incredibly light and delicate dessert is made of milk, cream, cardamom, sugar, and flavored with saffron and pistachios – a great finale to a flavorful feast.   

 

The Ajanta dining room features design components and artwork inspired by Ajanta caves, a World Heritage Site located in the central Indian state of Maharashtra. Paintings on the walls depict cave artwork, and light box fixtures with translucent shades on the ceiling bare photo-images from the caves.

 

The Chef's Tasting Menu is served from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. every night and priced at $27.00 ($24.00 for the vegetarian offering). It includes three appetizers and four main dishes, sides of rice, naan bread, chutneys and pickles and a choice of dessert.

This Sunday: Easter Dining at Ajanta

On Easter Sunday, March 31, Ajanta Restaurant will be open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. serving a regularly priced Chef’s Tasting Menu.

Ajanta Restaurant is located at 1888 Solano Avenue in Berkeley, California. The restaurant is open daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call for reservations 510-526-4373 or visit www.AjantaRestaurant.com.

New Lunch Menu at 31st Union in San Mateo is True to California Bounty

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

 

31^stUnion boasts “California chic” ambiance of reclaimed barn wood and polished cement, floor to ceiling windows, Edison light bulbs under a high ceiling, and a communal table with bench seating.  

 

Now open for lunch, this popular Peninsula restaurant, adorned with the California Republic flag and a map of the 31^ststate with all the local food producers marked by colorful darts, highlights the bounty of California, and lets all the sunshine in during its daytime working hours.

The menu is short, but sweet – who has the time to ponder a multiple-choice list on a short lunch break? The good news – you can’t go wrong with anything here.

Executive Chef Paul Burzlaff focuses on healthy comfort food with seasonal ingredients, making a midday meal well-balanced, energizing, and as light or as hearty as you pick and choose.

 

The farm-to-table fare menu always includes a seasonal soup. Brightly colored and delicately seasoned carrot and pear soup-puree, served in a cup, is just one example of the chef’s creative approach to this lunch staple, which is exquisitely delicious and never to be missed.

 

House cut fries with herbs and sea salt is another little indulgence that some people just can’t go without – served in a toy zinc bucket with ketchup and aioli.

 

Another wonderful comfort food staple turned gourmet treat is Bellwether Farms Carmody cheese grilled between two slices of artisanal bread and accompanied by tomato jam and micro greens. Bacon is optional, but who doesn’t know that everything is better with bacon…

 

Pork belly tacos are topped with some wonderfully fresh radicchio and cilantro slaw, spiced up to perfection by just the right amount of harissa and shaved jalapeno.

 

A weekly braised meat sandwich comes on a grilled Acme Bakery roll. It can contain juicy pulled pork, topped with crunchy frisee and pickled red onions, cutting gently into the warmth and chewy texture of meat.

 

No matter how much you eat at 31^st Union, it is impossible to leave without dessert. Acme chocolate pecan bread pudding with caramel bourbon sauce and crème fraiche is only rivaled by the real vanilla bean ice cream from Romolo’s – a local San Mateo confectioner.      

 

Lunch is served at 31^stUnion on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The 31st Union bar offers a section of contemporary, classic and original cocktails, local artisanal craft beers and a California wine list that include a dozen keg wines on tap, six white and six red. A Happy Hour menu, available Tuesday through Friday from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 p.m. to close, features a select wine and beer of the week for $5.00 and four to six food items, each priced at $5.00.

31st Union is located at 5 South Ellsworth Avenue in San Mateo, California. The restaurant is open for dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to midnight, and Sunday 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Call for reservation (650) 458-0049 or visit www.31stunion.com.

Chocolate Lovers and Fragrance Junkies of San Francisco Are Looking Forward to Sunday

Photography by Yuri Krasov

 

Sunday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion 1 Fort Mason San Francisco. Featuring the "Best of the "Best" selected and curated by the Organizers, the 7th Annual International Chocolate Salon participants include over 40 master chocolatiers, confectioners, wineries and other culinary artisans.

Some of the speakers for this year include: Leslie Sbrocco, TV Host, Author, KQED "Check Please" and Thirsty Girl TV; Marcia Gagliardi, Author, Writer, Tablehopper.com, KGO Radio, "The Tablehopper's Guide to Dining and Drinking in SF"; Art Pollard, Award Winning Master Chocolatier, Amano Artisan Chocolate, and Stephen Durfee, Author, CEPC, Culinary Institute of America, "World Chocolate Masters", TLC, Coupe de Monde de la Patisserie.

 

Other speakers: Kathy Wiley, Poco Dolce; Gary Guittard, Guittard Chocolate Company; Heinz Rimann, The TeaRoom Chocolate - Chocolate Mousse Demo; Bruce Rogers - "Chocolate Scented Orchids and Vanilla Bean Vines";  Professor Suzanne C. Toczyski, Sonoma State Univ. - "The Story of Chocolate in France"; Amy Sherman, CookingwithAmy.com; Chuck Siegel, Charles Chocolates - "Don't Call it a Comeback!"; Elyce Zahn, CocoTutti Chocolates - "Essences and Aromas for Chocolate Lovers."

Tickets are $25 ($30 at the door) www.SFChocolateSalon.com

The Art of Fragrance

 

Same time, same place – 2^ndAnnual San Francisco Artisan Fragrance Salon.

The "Best of the Best" participants include smell bent, COGNOSCENTI, Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery, Sebastian Signs Fragrances, PK Perfumes, Parfums Lalun, Roxana Illuminated Perfume, INEKE, Divine Life Perfume, Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes, Artemisia Natural Perfume, EnVoyage Perfumes, A Wing & A Prayer Perfumes, Imaginary Authors, MIKMOI Scents, YOSH olfactory sense, Ayala Moriel Parfums, Bruno Fazzolari, Smells & Bells Organics, and SANAE Intoxicants.

Tickets to either Salon allows attendance at both events. Tickets are on sale now.

Tickets are $25 ($30 at the door). www.ArtisanFragranceSalon.com

Other Fragrance Salons:

SEATTLE: 1st Annual Seattle Artisan Fragrance Salon on May 5, 2013.

LAS VEGAS: 1st Annual Las Vegas Artisan Fragrance Salon, date TBD.