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Local flavor
Madera, the new restaurant at Rosewood Sand Hill hotel in Menlo Park, captures the Peninsula feel

by Jane Knoerle

Peter Rudolph, executive chef for Madera, the new restaurant at Rosewood Sand Hill hotel which opened April 2, grew up in the East Bay and lives in San Francisco, but says: "My heart is in the Peninsula. I feel so at ease and comfortable here."

Rudolph, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, brings top credentials to his new position. He most recently cooked at Campton Place in San Francisco, and became familiar with the South Bay through working at Navio at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay.

His last job was running his own catering company, Personal Taste, where he got to know many Peninsula residents. "I'm done with that now," says the personable young chef. "This is my full-time job."

Madera offers upscale, casual dining. Its menu is described as rustic American cuisine and includes a variety of California offerings from a "grand platter of shellfish" to rotisserie chicken with creamy polenta and Swiss chard. Grilled rib-eye steak with gnocchi ragout, sand dabs with artichokes and parsley potatoes, and smoked Arctic char with sweetbreads are other selections.

Ingredients are top notch, but the presentation isn't fussy. Rudolph says he likes working with small, independent farmers, and visits local farmers markets for the food.

I ate there Sunday morning, and the prices ranged from $65 for the grand platter (shellfish) to $18 for a hamburger. A grilled Sand Hill burger comes with cheddar cheese and bacon, fries and pickled vegetables. Light eaters will find a Caesar salad or Nicoise salad on the lunch menu. The bill for three of us was $73 with taxes and tip.

Eggs Benedict was $17. The corned beef hash was $17, and very good. The Ribollita stew was called a starter dish, but was really a light meal for $10. Coffee for three was $12.

The dessert menu features such homey favorites as rhubarb cobbler and butterscotch panna cotta.

Madera, which means wood in Spanish, features an open kitchen with a wood-burning grill. Rotisserie chicken is a signature dish. However, Rudolph intends to add other entrees prepared in the imported French rotisserie oven.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Along with the usual breakfast items is an intriguing lobster, ricotta and asparagus frittata. Those in a hurry can order a continental breakfast prepared in French, Italian or San Francisco style.

Food is also served in the lounge and includes a selection of oven-baked flat breads spread with braised lamb, chickpeas, and broccolini; or smoked salmon with creme fraiche and caviar.

The lounge also features whimsical desserts, such as s'mores, made with Scharffen Berger chocolate, and a creamsicle float.

Chef Rudolph devised the menu himself, assisted by his chef de cuisine, Anna de Batista. He also had advice on the kids' menu from his 3-year-old son.

Opening a new restaurant keeps him busy these days, but as a cyclist, he hopes to find time in the future "to make the loop" around Portola and Alpine roads. He also would like to join a spin class in the hotel spa.

Most chefs dream of someday opening their own little restaurant. How about Peter Rudolph? "I'm already here. This is my little restaurant," he says with a smile.

A room with a view

As for Madera's interior, the appointments are luxurious. The artwork is impressive. And you can't beat the view.

Madera takes the California concept of indoor-outdoor living to heart. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the vista of the Santa Cruz Mountains. There are tables on the terrace for outdoor dining. And two private dining rooms have their own terraces and outdoor fireplaces.

The open kitchen, with a copper hood and green tile walls, is the center of activity with a rotisserie and wood-burning stove.

The restaurant's interior, designed by Bamo Inc. of San Francisco, features an enormous black wrought iron chandelier glittering with five-inch glass sun catchers.

Light walls are hung with striking contemporary art by California artists. A gray-green limestone fireplace rises to the paneled cedar ceiling. Brown and white carpeting accents the walnut flooring.

Tables are spaced widely apart with comfortable gold-color upholstered chairs or banquettes. For daytime dining, tables are laid with white linen placemats edged with yellow.

The overall effect is upscale yet casual.

"This is a place to be comfortable, to be yourself," Rudolph says.

Madera

Rosewood Sand Hill hotel

2825 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park

(650) 561-1500

Jane Knoerle writes for the Menlo Park Almanac, the Voice's sister paper.