Category: Food
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Last-minute bill aims to protect California restaurants from surcharge ban
Restaurant surcharges could be OK after all, if they’re clearly displayed. By Kate Bradshaw This story was first published in The Mercury News on June 6, 2024. Just weeks before the July 1 start of a statewide ban on so-called “hidden fees,” State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) has proposed a new law to clarify how…
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Renowned Oakland-Senegalese chef teams up on a new West African cookbook
Lisa Katayama and chef Pierre Thiam have written the cookbook “Simply West African” on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) “Simply West African” by Pierre Thiam and Lisa Katayama hits bookstores September 19 By Kate Bradshaw This story was first published in The Mercury News Sept. 5, 2023. Renowned…
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With roots in Silicon Valley, this century-old fruit business has ties to your cereal bowl
This fourth-generation dried fruit business supplies Raisin Bran’s raisins and has a street named after it at Apple headquarters. Mariani Packing Company president George Sousa Jr. at the company’s facility in Vacaville, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2023. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) This story was first published in The Mercury News on Sept. 22, 2023.…
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Bay Area: Who knew there were chestnut orchards right here?
Plus, how to collect your own haul. Hans Johsens prepares for the onslaught of harvest season visitors to his Skyline Chestnut In the Santa Cruz Mountains, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) By Kate Bradshaw This story was first published in The Mercury News Oct. 31, 2023. We’ve all heard the Christmas…
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‘My family doesn’t know I’m opening a restaurant’: Inside two sisters’ journey launching one of the Bay Area’s only Uyghur eateries
Almira adds tomato paste to a dish while cooking in the restaurant, Mrs. Khan, that she co-owns with her sister. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Sisters Almira and Kalbi are the faces behind Mrs. Khan in downtown Menlo Park. By Kate Bradshaw Published Dec. 8, 2022 in The Six Fifty. Almira and Kalbi grew up in…
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An initiative to reduce single-use plastics is brewing in Peninsula cafes
A barista prepares a hot drink in an Okapi Reusables insulated cup. Courtesy Jason Quigley. As San Mateo County eateries face new laws to curb throwaway plastics, the county is partnering with a new startup to bring reusable takeout cups to local shops. By Kate Bradshaw Feb. 17, 2023 About 120 billion paper, plastic and…
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Flipping the switch on all-electric housing
By Kate Bradshaw Sept. 21, 2022 For Juan Carlos, the electricity switch was both subtle and profound. His home in a newly-renovated unit in Light Tree Apartments is at the forefront of a trend that cities across California are trying to encourage to meet their sustainability goals: switching from natural gas appliances to electric ones.…
Kate Bradshaw 