Restaurant established 124 years ago reopens with Michelin-cred chef
Breathing new life into historic businesses while paying homage to their roots is a tricky balance. Along the Peninsula, two businesses are rising to the challenge.
In Woodside, Aubriana Kasper has reopened The Little Store, originally established as a restaurant in 1902 (although closed to the public for years). Kasper brought on a chef with Michelin-star cred, reopening it as a flower shop and cafe, offering breakfast sandwiches on housemade biscuits and avocado toast with a twist.
And in Palo Alto, Zola + BarZola owner Guillaume Bienaime recently reopened beloved sports bar The Old Pro as The Pro. While the interior has been completely renovated (including the addition of a podcast studio), he’s kept Easter eggs that old-timers will recognize, such as a retired Bucky the Bull propped up as decoration. With former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck as one of the investors, there’s even a Luck Margarita on tap.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
Historic Woodside restaurant reopens as flower shop and cafe with Michelin cred chef
Nearly every day for five years, Aubriana Kasper drove by the olive-tinted facade of The Little Store in Woodside. Most recently, the building — identified by an eponymous wood sign celebrating its standing since 1902 — was used as a test kitchen for Hero Bread, but hadn’t been open to the public for years.
A Palo Alto sports bar is revived, a new Asian fusion brunch spot opens and two Mountain View closures
- A Palo Alto sports bar established in 1964 has been reborn as The Pro.
- The former executive chef of Asian fusion brunch pioneer Sweet Maple recently opened his own brunch spot, Whisper, in downtown San Mateo.
- Here’s how you can grow a tea garden at home and which plants grow well in the Peninsula climate.
- After 34 years in Mountain View, Mexican restaurant Los Portales is closing Feb. 10.
- Grocery store Nob Hill Foods is expected to close its Mountain View location in May.
- Dehaati Indian Cuisine, a new Maharashtrian restaurant in Sunnyvale, soft opened Jan. 17 in the former Bawarchi Biryanis space.
- 7 Mile House in Brisbane is celebrating the 168th anniversary of its historic building on Saturday, with the first 200 guests receiving free adobo and rice bowls and free dog meals.
- Oasis Baklava’s Sunnyvale location has permanently closed, but its products can still be found at LeVant Dessert in Menlo Park.
- Jagalchi is hosting a K-Food Fest Thursday through Sunday with tastings and live performances in the store.
- The Silicon Valley Lunar New Year Festival is Saturday and Sunday at Santa Clara Commerce Plaza. Expect a wide variety of Asian cuisine and fair food. Find this and other local Lunar New Year events here.
- Tessora’s Wine Bar in Campbell is celebrating its one-year anniversary Saturday with live music and free tastings.
- Mollie Stone’s Market in San Mateo is permanently closing, according to a Jan. 26 press release. The grocery store will likely close within one or two weeks, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.
Shawarma Ma’lawah Wrap at The Ma’lawah Bar
If you’re looking for a quick, on-the-go meal that’s extremely filling and flavorful, I’d suggest swinging by The Mal’lawah Bar in Palo Alto.
The fast-causal restaurant specializes Yemenite-Israeli food, all kosher and vegetarian. And for nonvegetarians like myself, don’t let the vegetarian part turn you away – the shawarma wrap was flavor packed even without the real meat (and no accidental bites of gristle!). For $25, the wrap is definitely on the pricier side, but it is so large that the single wrap completely filled me up for two separate meals.
Ma’lawah is a flaky, puffy and doughy flatbread with a somewhat similar texture to a Chinese green onion pancake. Stuffed with vegan Beyond steak, cabbage, shug (a hot sauce with garlic, chili, cilantro and cumin), tahini and amba sauce (a tangy and spicy sauce made from pickled green mangoes, vinegar, chili and fenugreek), it makes for very tasty bites.
The Ma’lawah Bar also offers a wide variety of stuffed jachnun, a sweet and savory crispy and flaky pastry, which I’m excited to try on a return visit.
The Ma’lawah Bar, 4131 El Camino Real #100, Palo Alto; 408-489-7227, Instagram: @themalawahbar. Open Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Covour Coffee, a specialty coffee shop offering lattes with flavors like burnt honey and pandan, opens in Palo Alto’s Midtown
In addition to freshly roasted coffee, find treats from local bakeries The Midwife and the Baker and La Kalidad
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