Local Flavor | The Food Party! | Laura Stec | Mountain View Online |

Local Blogs

The Food Party!

By Laura Stec

E-mail Laura Stec

About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...  (More)

View all posts from Laura Stec

Local Flavor

Uploaded: Apr 15, 2016
The Food Party! has been keeping it local lately.

Rendezvous Café and Catering

Hidden away east of 101 is a relatively new café called Rendezvous, part of Redwood City’s Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, a group of youth development, housing, health and human service providers. Rendezvous is a program of CALSO, a California nonprofit whose parent organization Groupe SOS is headquartered in Paris.



Classified as a “social enterprise,” Rendezvous offers work opportunities to the underserved of Silicon Valley – people who dropped out of school, people with a history of incarceration, homeless youth, teen parents, etc. – and empower them to become self-sufficient through a food-oriented training program.

Employees of Rendezvous come through San Mateo County’s 12-week Job Train program, and enter year-long work at Rendezvous. The goal is to take 85 people per year through the program to better employment and a better life.

Chef Charles Crossley offers a classic lunch menu including grass –fed burgers and gluten free options. I had the Minnestone soup ($5.95), with a deep umami flavor-flave, even though the soup was vegetarian. I also enjoyed the Grownup PB & J, a grilled yum of almond butter, fig jam, melted goat cheese and caramelized red onion ($5.95). The café keeps prices all under $10.



It’s a bright breezy café open to the public from 8 AM – 3 PM, with lots of room to set up your computer and get some good work done over the free wifi. Important to note is any 501c3 nonprofit can reserve a free conference room in the Sobrato Center for meetings or gatherings. Get details on their website.

And if you’ll need food while there, or at any lunchtime gathering around town, remember Rendezvous for catering.



Tava Kitchen

Next a visit to Palo Alto’s Tava Kitchen to test out it’s new “no boundaries” menu, a fusion of Indian and South Asian cuisine. Tava has a full-flavored focus with a modern, handmade touch, from the roti, to their spice mix and chutney’s. Every item has an extra zing, and vegetables are given the respect they deserve. Match your Chicken Tikka with Crunchy Kale & Quinoa, and the Chilled Brussels Sprouts & Grapes. Or combine Braised Beef and Pineapple Gastric Glazed Sweet Potatoes with South Asian Mac & Cheese (sharp cheddar and jack cheese with a South Asian crumb topping). The Candied Pistachios make a super side much, and Slow Braised Chicken was my favorite. Tava, any chance you’d share that recipe with Food Party! readers?



Co-founder Hasnain Zaidi opened Tava with his Duke friends Vijay Brihmadesam and Jason Pate) He’s a cute, young entrepreneur, so full of positive energy, you know it transfers into his restaurant and food. I love meeting this new generation of sincerely pumped up business owners trying to change the food world. Go Tava!

The Tech Museum of Innovation

Then a stop at The Tech in San Jose this past Tuesday for Bio + Hacking. It was a one-night event, but you can still check out their ongoing Bio Design studio. Two stations caught my eye during the event. The first we built bricks out of mushrooms and agriculture waste. A mushroom “root” system grows throughout the brick to form a solid mass, super light-weight and biodegradable. They are being grown as a foam replacement for packaging and building materials, and Mycoworks CEO Sophia Wang said future uses are a possible replacement for leather.



The second station was by The Odin, an online business that sells bio hacking supplies to the public. Owner Josiah Zayner hosted an amino acid taste test. He, Ph. D, is all into "Crisper." We sample 8 of the 20 amino acids in pure form. The difference in flavor was dramatic. Glycine tasted like sugar with honey. Proline was a very complex mix of bitter and sweet. Cystein like rotten eggs, Glutamic Acid was big in umami flavor. I was fascinated thinking how one might use this in commercial food products. Who knew you could taste individual amino acids?



The Milk Pail

Lastly, a quick shout out to The Milk Pail for its staying power, 42 years and counting. I was surprised during a recent drive-by, at the intensive development surrounding this charming European produce and specialty market, off San Antonio in Mountain View, and even more surprised to see that the market survived it! Their parking lot has moved and now open, so stop by next time you are in the hood and support this classic community establishment. A great place for produce, cheeses and a lot of international foods you can find nowhere else.





Rendezvous Café and Catering
350 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City

Tava Kitchen
855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (Town and Country, behind Trader Joes)
Also San Francisco and coming soon to Santa Clara and Alameda

The Tech Museum of Innovation
201 S. Market Street, San Jose

The Milk Pail
2585 California St., Mountain View


Local Journalism.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Moos, a resident of another community,
on Apr 15, 2016 at 6:36 pm

I love milk pail! 1974 answer to sign?


Posted by Good work, a resident of Oak Knoll School,
on Apr 16, 2016 at 8:23 am

I've been to Rendezvous. Great program. You might miss it if u don't look close though. No signs


Posted by from Steve Rasmussen, a resident of another community,
on Apr 16, 2016 at 12:40 pm

Milk Pail owner - via email:

1974 !
Thanks for noticing !


Posted by Kiran Prasad, a resident of Charleston Gardens,
on Apr 18, 2016 at 1:55 am

Kiran Prasad is a registered user.

I heard that the Milk Pail Fresh Market started over 30 years prior. Since milk was their principle item at the time. Their program is really appreciable. Milk pail's exclusive new parking area and its system is excel ant.


Posted by Gale Johnson, a resident of Adobe-Meadow,
on Apr 18, 2016 at 12:31 pm

Gale Johnson is a registered user.

The Milk Pail Market. What a great success story of perseverance, to be one of the survivors, and to keep their business open there while huge cranes are working all around them to erect another huge multistory addition to the San Antonio Road development. I remember the early days when it was mostly milk. We'd drive up and order and they'd bring it to us or maybe we picked it up at a window just like a fast food place. It was one of those two ways but age can do funny things with memories. Hang in please, at least as long as I'm still around. I'll give you more business, and thanks for your many years in that same spot.


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: other,
on Apr 19, 2016 at 7:01 am

Thanks everyone for your comments. So many wonderful establishments here in town.


Posted by Beth, a resident of Menlo Park,
on Apr 21, 2016 at 6:27 pm

The Milk Pail has fantastic produce! I love the ambiance, too. Thanks for staying put through it all. It's worth the trip there.


Posted by resident, a resident of Old Mountain View,
on Apr 21, 2016 at 10:44 pm

I'm curious about what "fusion of Indian and South Asian cuisine" really means? I thought South Asian is mostly Indian to begin with.


Follow this blogger.
Sign up to be notified of new posts by this blogger.

Email:

SUBMIT

Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from Mountain View Online sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

California must do a better job spending cap-and-trade revenue
By Sherry Listgarten | 3 comments | 2,183 views

Got the Munchies at Hardly Strictly? Your Weekend Guide.
By Laura Stec | 2 comments | 1,753 views