Best Bites: Random Favorites

by BEaCOE

| March, 18, 2024

Best Bites: Random Favorites

A list of delectable dishes we’ve eaten lately.

 

Fresh Oysters from  Rustic House Oyster Bar & Grill 

It was an unexpectedly warm winter day when we stumbled upon happy hour at Rustic House while going for a leisurely drive on a serendipitously free afternoon. We planted ourselves at the bar and ordered a half dozen plump, succulent half-shells, served glistening on ice  with a perfectly tart mignonette and a zippy cocktail sauce with just the right amount of horseradish. Ice-cold, so fresh, and perfectly briny. So divine, we ordered a half dozen more.

Rustic House Oyster Bar & Grill * 295 Main Street, Los Altos, CA 94022 * rustichouselosaltos.com

 

 

 

Butter Chicken at Mantra

When I get the craving for Indian food, I make the half-hour drive to Mantra in Mountain View. The lunch buffet at Mantra is vast from chaat, fresh made-to-order dosas (weekends only), curries, biryani and on and on – the buffet covers nearly an entire wall of the whole restaurant. Creamy butter chicken over basmati rice scooped up with pillowy naan with a sliver of pickled mango always satisfies my cravings. 

Mantra * 288 Castro Street,  Mountain View, CA 94041 * mantraindiausa.com

 

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Tortino Di Spinaci E Tartufo Nero at Belotti Ristorante E Bottega

What this is in a nutshell is a delicate spinach flan cooked in a savory sauce of D.O.P. tomatoes (certified tomatoes guaranteed to  have come from San Marzano, Italy) and brown butter, topped with generous shavings of black truffle. The creamy flan topped with rich egg yolk and perfectly sauteed spinach, slick with olive oil and adorned with discs of black truffle – the perfect bite. The housemade pasta dishes here are amazing too. Worth the drive. 

Belotti Ristorante * 5403 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618 * belottirb.com

 

 

 

Sea Scallops at La Forêt

This lovely little appetizer dish always leaves me wanting more. Tender pan-seared scallops in a buttery saffron cream sauce with just the perfect little triangle of flaky puff pastry. Sometimes one order isn’t enough. So, I order two – one as my appetizer and another for my entree. With a glass of bubbly it’s the perfect meal.

La Forêt * 21747 Bertram Road, San Jose, CA 95120 * laforetrestaurant.com

 

Kouign Amann from Manresa Bread

Don’t let the question mark in the pronunciation intimidate you from ordering this scrumptious little pastry. Manresa is the king of breadmakers and this confection is the queen of the bread empire. Well, at least that’s how Kouign is pronounced – it’s “queen a-mahn”, thank you very much. The deceptively dense pastry is surprisingly light and buttery, with a delicately crisp bite from the crown on top. With a hot cup of Verve coffee, it’s a match made in heaven.

Manresa Bread * 40 N Santa Cruz Avenue, Los Gatos, CA 95030 * manresabread.com

 

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