light APPETITE 82 South Bay Accent OCEAN MEDLEY LARK CREEK BLUE 378 Santana Row, San Jose, 408/244-1244, www.larkcreekblue.com FISH DISH For a restaurant focused on seafood, this member of the Lark Creek Group still has plenty of meat items to entice you during colder months. But steer toward fish entrees during this season, such as lovely grilled swordfish with green olive tapenade and herb salad. Enjoyable any time is pink salmon trout roasted on a cedar plank and topped with mustard-dill beurre blanc. The restaurant’s signature dish is Maine lobster, perched on top of spaghetti tossed with tomatoes and calabrese chilies. IT’S RAW This is the place for oysters and other raw items, with the offerings on display over ice in the front of the restaurant. Consider the “keeper” platter that presents four oysters of your choice, three jumbo shrimp and mahimahi ceviche. The latter can also be ordered separately and comes with house-made flatbread. Or tuck into seared ahi tossed with butter bean vinaigrette, served with broccoli rabe, escarole, Castelvetrano olives and anchovy relish. STANDOUT STARTERS While clam chowder seems out of place in this season, there are other early-meal picks that underscore the restaurant’s focus on fresh ingredients. Dive into the baby kale and apple salad in light vinaigrette, which is vegan and tasty with its toasted hazelnuts and dried cranberries. Fried calamari—that perennial people pleaser—is particularly enjoyable here as well as minimally greasy, featuring shishito peppers, scallions, cilantro, red cabbage and charred tomato ragout. GRAND FINALES Given its parent company’s focus on classic American food, Lark Creek Blue is the right place to find well-executed iterations of comfort desserts, including strawberry rhubarb crisp and lemon meringue pie. Or splurge on an enticing ice cream sandwich featuring chocolate brownie cookies wrapped around vanilla ice cream. But the star of the show is the unbelievably creamy butterscotch pudding, which might not be light but at least it’s cold. BAR FLY The restaurant brings the same freshness focus to its cocktail menu, which—naturally— has some classics as well as house creations. An ideal summer pick is the strawberry Pimm’s Cup, which is like an alcoholic fruit salad. Also winsome are some modern concoctions with citrus and a tequila-lover’s dream called Blood & Flowers that mixes hibiscus-chipotle tequila with orange grenadine and lime juice. THE OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WARM-WEATHER FARE by SUSAN HATHAWAY photography by TERESA GIOVANZANA HOT SUMMER DAYS can define your dining choices. Who wants stick-tothe ribs dishes when sizzling weather calls for light, cool cuisine—if possible, featuring all of summer’s divine fruits and vegetables. So slip into your shorts and peruse our list of 10 great restaurant choices for summer dining and drinking, featuring dishes so delectable that you’ll want to have them all year long.
South Bay Accent - Aug/Sep 2014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above