Spice up dessert with these under-the-radar bakeries
This International Women’s Month, we’re highlighting three Peninsula-based bakery founders incorporating global flavors into their tasty treats.
San Mateo-based Cat & Crumb is sprucing up traditional madeleines and cookies with flavors from Hong Kong, where owner Kat Liu grew up. Go south to Cupertino and find Sunnyvale resident Janki Chauhan at the farmers market selling her South Asian-fusion treats, many of which are vegan or gluten-free. And at farmers markets in Palo Alto, Brisbane and Foster City, Hillsborough’s Julianne Zuniga sells her ube Filipino leche flan.
Looking for more global sweets? Food intern Tessa Berney stopped by a new Mexican ice cream shop in Mountain View offering a wide variety of scoops and paletas.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
Meet 3 woman-owned small businesses bringing globally inspired treats to the Peninsula
These under-the-radar bakeries are far from vanilla. This Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting three woman-owned small businesses baking up big and bold global flavors.
An omakase influx, a new Mexican ice creamery and a fermentation workshop
- An influential Bay Area sushi chef is opening what may be his final restaurant, Sushi Adachi in Mountain View, on Saturday.
- Named after the owner’s daughter, Mia’s Paletería y Nevería in Mountain View offers Mexican ice creams and paletas.
- Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company is offering some good craic on Friday with an Irish soda bread-making class taught by the Grainbakers.
- The Breakfast Club at Midtown continues to expand in Silicon Valley: Its newest location opened Monday in Mountain View.
- Learn how to ferment fresh produce at a two-hour workshop Saturday in East Palo Alto, hosted by Fresh Approach.
- Don’t Eat Me Cafe recently opened along Mountain View’s Castro Street.
- Tal Palo in downtown Los Altos is hosting a community bake sale Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with all proceeds going to RAICES, a nonprofit that supports immigrant rights.
- Stroll (or stumble!) around downtown Los Altos during the Downtown Los Altos St. Paddy’s Beer Stroll March 13 from 6-9 p.m. The ticketed event offers unlimited beer sampling stations throughout the downtown area.
- Reposado, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Palo Alto since 2009, recently expanded to San Mateo.
- Hidden Villa is hosting two-hour classes teaching the basics of foraging on Saturday and March 21, ending in making a wild salad.
- Tandoori Junction in Mountain View is now open 24 hours Tuesday to Saturday.
- Looking for Coastside fun? Sip beer and learn how to make a bonsai tree at Hop Dogma Brewing Co. on Sunday from 4-6 p.m.
- Lawza Bakery, which specializes in Moroccan pastries, will be popping up at Junbi in Mountain View on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lunch at Tal Palo
If you’re indecisive about choosing what to eat, you’ll love Tal Palo. Like an omakase restaurant, Adriana Domínguez-Porter and Aaron Porter will craft a multicourse meal for you. (And they gladly cater to vegetarians and vegans.)
Tal Palo has been in downtown Los Altos since 2022, offering seasonal Mexican dishes served family style. Adriana Domínguez-Porter is the daughter of Gloria Domínguez, who is opening the highly anticipated upscale Mexican restaurant Amado in Burlingame. (In a recent interview, Dominguez told me, “(Adriana is) beating me at my flavors. I said, ‘Adriana, wow, I’m scared of you.’”)
I went to Tal Palo for lunch on Tuesday, which costs $35 (including tax and tip) and is prepaid when booking the reservation.
The lunch started on a sweet note with housemade pan de elote, an extremely moist and tender Mexican cornbread, speckled with juicy and sweet corn kernels. Just thinking about it makes me realize I need to go back to Tal Palo soon. Next was a salad course of crisp and refreshing local greens, tossed simply with a light vinaigrette, lemon zest and sesame seeds.
My favorite dish was the charred multicolored carrots over a bed of sikil p’ak, an ancient Mayan dip made from toasted pumpkin seeds, charred tomatoes and habanero peppers. The dip was rich and savory, with a hint of spice that complemented the natural sweetness of the carrots.
The final dish was a piece of toasted Acme sourdough baguette topped with refried beans, melty Oaxacan cheese and housemade salsa. It was crispy, comforting and flavorful.
Tal Palo, 149 Main St., Los Altos; 650-935-4070, Instagram: @tal_palo. Open Tuesday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Amazing Katsu, a Japanese Korean fusion ghost kitchen, opens in Santa Clara
Find thick-cut crispy katsu, gooey cheese katsu and other katsu varieties at this to-go only restaurant
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Mountain View residents launch app to help homeowners navigate building permitsMarch 11, 2026 8:29 am