Summer sitting: Outdoor dining policies along the Peninsula
Summer is in full swing along the Peninsula, and with that comes crowds of eager outdoor diners. My personal favorite part of outdoor dining is increased opportunities for people watching, but if you just love a gentle breeze, a boost in Vitamin D or a higher chance of petting a dog walking by, those are also valid reasons for choosing to sit outside. This week, assistant lifestyle editor Karla Kane has a roundup of local policies surrounding outdoor dining and parklets.
And speaking of summer, hot weather necessitates cold treats, like ice cream. I made a reservation at a new dessert spot specializing in an Instagrammable Korean street food and filmed the experience. Prefer pastries to ice cream? I also talked with Lawrence Lai, co-owner of Craftsman and Wolves, who is expanding his popular San Francisco bakery to Mountain View in the fall. It’s going to be dangerous on the waistline.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
P.S. I’m going on a vacation to Spain and Greece next week, but don’t worry – you will still be receiving a Foodist newsletter! We have a special guest temporarily taking over for me. 👀
Eats on the streets: What’s up with outdoor dining?
Although we in the Bay Area are lucky enough to be able to dine outdoors for much of the year, in the summer months you may find yourself wanting to enjoy the warm evenings and spend mealtimes outside all the more. Here are the latest policies from several cities on the Peninsula.
A popular San Francisco bakery expands, a Mountain View pop-up opens and Boichik Bagels is coming to Los Gatos
- Pastry fanatics, listen up: San Francisco bakery Craftsman and Wolves is opening its third location in Mountain View this fall.
- A pop-up cocina serving Mexican, Venezuelan, Guatemalan and Salvadoran food is now open at Ava’s Downtown Market and Deli in Mountain View through the month of July.
- San Mateo refillery Bryd’s Filling Station is closing Aug. 11 after five years in business, according to a recent Instagram post.
- Boichik Bagels is opening a location in Los Gatos in late September.
- Do you know someone who makes awesome adobo? 7 Mile House’s Adobo Cookoff is looking for sign-ups for its Aug. 24 fundraiser where 100% of the proceeds will go to the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center.
- Love books, brunch and history? The Los Altos History Museum is hosting a brunch July 27 in its courtyard followed by a talk with author and historian Robin Chapman on her latest book, “The Valley of Heart’s Delight: True Tales from Around the Bay.”
Ice cream s’more at Coco S’more
I love the idea of a s’more, but I’ve never actually enjoyed eating a s’more. I find store-bought graham crackers dry, reminiscent of cardboard and generally flavorless. I think the quintessential Hershey’s milk chocolate is plastic-y and devoid of chocolate flavor. And perhaps the worst offender of all is the marshmallow itself – cloyingly sweet with an unappetizing springy and foamy texture.
That being said, what I do love about s’mores is how fun it is to make them. It’s pure joy spearing a Jet-Puffed with a stick and plunging it into the hot flames of a wood fire before messily glopping it onto a piece of cardboard with two pieces of Hershey’s plastic on top. It’s just not fun to eat them.
Yet everyone I know loves eating s’mores, so perhaps I’m the one in the wrong here.
This was a long-winded way of giving you some context as to why I will not be absolutely raving about a new s’mores dessert that is now offered in Sunnyvale – it’s because I already have a thing against s’mores. So why did I even go there? Because the experience itself was fun.
Currently in its soft opening, Coco S’more only takes prepaid reservations via its website. At the start of your reservation slot, you’ll be greeted with a personalized card and an employee bringing out a tray with a cubed vanilla ice cream on a stick coated in marshmallow fluff alongside three toppings (chocolate sauce, rainbow sprinkles and graham cracker pieces). The employee will torch the ice cream s’more in front of you and ask which toppings you’d like on your treat. You’ll also be given a chocolate slushy topped with more torched marshmallow.
Undoubtedly, the dessert itself is visually stunning and extremely Instagrammable. The taste? Exactly how you would expect, like vanilla ice cream with toasted marshmallow fluff. If that sounds good to you, you’ll definitely enjoy it. The drink, on the other hand, was a throwaway item, even if you love s’mores. The chocolate flavor was barely there, it was extremely watery (both in texture and flavor), and ironically its saving grace was the torched marshmallow fluff.
Overall thoughts: If you have a generous sweet tooth or have kids (I have neither), this is definitely a fun spot to check out during the hot summer months.
To learn more about Coco S’more, read my article here and watch my video here.
Coco S’more, 573 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale; 669-291-6167, Instagram: @cocosmoreicecream. Currently open Friday to Sunday 3-5 p.m., reservation only.
No ice for this ice cream
Scoop Microcreamery makes small-batch ice cream with liquid nitrogen
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