.Food & Drink

Not only do East Bay distilleries produce world-class spirits, but the stories behind their inceptions are beguiling. East Bay checked in with four of them. Absinthia and the Green Fairy Absinthe was illegal and banished from the world of...

From novice, clumsy kitchen explorers, to kids hungering to use their own hands to make oodles of noodles or pizzas from around the world, to master chefs shoring up established skills or learning new techniques, anyone can...

Having only been open a couple of weeks, Pizzeria da Laura is already making a ton of dough. Alongside the Grandma, Meyer is making a classic New York thin crust, Sicilian squares and a Detroit deep dish. It sounds like a TV slogan from the 1980s, but there’s really something for everyone.

The warming flames that emanated out of the stone hearth downstairs inspire a pub-like coziness. Risotto, pizza and gnocchi are on the menu, along with the feeling that intimate conversations, epiphanies and revelations are taking place at every table.

The owners of The Punchdown named their natural wine bar and bottle shop after a harvest term. During the process of fermentation, winery workers push the grapes down as they’re producing carbon dioxide. “Those are the little bubbles that push the grapes to the top,” explained DC Looney, one of the co-owners. Throughout the winemaking process, you need to push down on the mixture, ‘for a healthier fermentation.’”

At the start of a weeknight meal service, a young, curly-haired commis, or assistant chef, asked his boss if he was plating an oyster dish correctly. Chef James Syhabout studied the plate for a nanosecond before directing the commis to rearrange the layers. Unlike a reality TV kitchen, the Michelin-starred chef of Commis didn’t shout at or berate his employee. Syhabout answered the question simply, neutrally, without an emotional flourish. The commis nodded, replied with an affirmative acknowledgment and returned to his station for a second attempt.

The Rendez-Vous is a new Frenchified boîte on the other side of Temescal.