8 New California Pizza Kitchen Menu Items, Ranked and Reviewed by a Food Editor

This article highlights the top nine kitchen designs from thousands of projects published by Dwell throughout 2020, showcasing exceptional innovation in culinary spaces. These designs were nominated for the 2020 Dwell Design Awards, with voting open until December 16th. Each featured kitchen demonstrates a unique approach to style, functionality, and integration within its respective home. The first kitchen, located in a boxy Los Angeles bungalow, features steel-framed French doors leading from a side garden into a high-ceilinged, open-plan space. This area seamlessly combines a chef's kitchen with living and dining areas, characterized by a brass-clad kitchen island. The second example is a timeworn midcentury home in Connecticut, which received a moody makeover. This kitchen incorporates rich black soapstone counters wrapping black-matte IKEA cabinets, with appliances hidden behind cabinet fronts to create a recessed aesthetic. Storage extends under windows and along the dining area, complemented by Craigslist finds for the table and chairs, and custom powder-coated hardware matching the cabinet color. In Portland, a 1930s Tudor home boasts an irresistibly quirky kitchen. The design draws inspiration from nautical casework, reflecting the homeowners' past experience living on a boat, emphasizing a considered, exacting, and utilitarian approach to cabinetry. A Bondi Beach home presents a raw yet refined kitchen, where plaster and tile harmoniously interact with brick and steel, defining the space with sharp contrasts. Further afield, a curved holiday home nestled on a spectacular clifftop in New Zealand features a kitchen that opens to a covered courtyard with a fireplace, creating a cozy semi-outdoor living area year-round. The interior colors are inspired by the surrounding landscape, with the kitchen island clad in solid timber fluting of iroko and a granite top whose green-blue-brown hues echo the nearby Tutakaka harbor. An architect's South African digs borrow the stripped-down look of parking garages, offering a kitchen that is part of an open-plan lounge and dining zone. Natural light floods in through an extra-tall blue front door, and dynamic floor patterning and a concrete ceiling grid unite the various functional areas. The kitchen cabinetry utilizes lightweight plywood, and a blue-and-gray chevron floor connects the ground floor living spaces, with ambient lighting tucked into the concrete ceiling coffering. Another entry details how a couple built their forever home in less than six months, featuring a light-filled kitchen with MadeMeasure leather pulls, Maximum Australia Porcelain Panel countertops in Bright Onyx, and IE Francis leather pendants over a Victorian Ash island bench. A terra-cotta backsplash serves as a unifying element for the home's color palette. Finally, a traditional facade hides a dream home with emerald green accents in its kitchen. Modern green cabinetry provides a bright contrast to the home’s historic shell, with custom triangular brass pulls echoing other brass accents. The island top is Marmoleum, and the wall counter is stainless steel, matching the Bertazzoni range. The last kitchen is found in an English home with a barrel-vaulted brick addition, which creates an unexpectedly airy feel. The warm textures of the exterior continue inside, with exposed brick walls and poured-in-place concrete arches under the sink mirroring the arched doorways and barrel-vaulted ceilings. This addition uses local, handmade brick to seamlessly integrate with the existing Victorian terrace house, while also introducing a distinctive arched, load-bearing roof. #kitchenDesign #dwellDesignAwards #homeRenovation #interiorInnovation #modernKitchens #architecturalDesign #homeDecor #culinarySpaces #designTrends

Khaki, a modern Indian bar and canteen located in City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, California, offers a contemporary interpretation of Indian comfort food. The restaurant, founded by Akash Kapoor and led by Head Chef Krishna Gupthan, aims to tell a cultural story of India through its menu, combining traditional flavors with California's fresh produce and a nostalgic nod to the 1950s and '60s. Chef Gupthan, with a global culinary background including a tenure at Gaggan, known as one of Asia's best restaurants, brings fine-dining precision, which is complemented by co-founder Sujan Sarkar's grounded approach. The menu features a variety of dishes that represent different regions and eras of India. A notable small plate is the ragda pani puri, semolina shells filled with spiced white peas, tamarind, green chutneys, and chilled mango water, offering a complex blend of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Another innovative starter is the edamame avocado bhel, a gluten-free adaptation of a Mumbai street-food classic, incorporating avocado, edamame, puffed black rice, green apple, mango, radish, and togarashi, catering to Californian tastes. Vegetarian options include the zucchini and ricotta kofta, delicate dumplings in a silky, spiced tomato-onion gravy, a dish that elevates traditional Mughal-era cuisine. For seafood enthusiasts, the meen pollichathu is a Kerala-style dish featuring a whole branzino marinated in fiery masala, wrapped in a banana leaf, grilled, and served with coconut rice, evoking the coastal flavors of South India. Representing colonial-era comfort food, the dak bungalow chicken is a rustic curry with deep garlic and spice flavors, traditionally improvised in British-era rest houses. This dish is served with aged basmati rice or house-made naan or roti. The restaurant's beverage program includes thoughtful cocktails with Indian gins, infused spirits, and spiced garnishes that align with the culinary theme. The interior design, a collaboration with Kolkata-based studio Curryfwd, reflects a minimalist yet textured aesthetic, blending nostalgia with a modern Indian canteen vibe. Khaki is presented as an immersive experience, offering diners in the Bay Area a chance to explore India's culinary heritage and future through its creative menu, craft cocktails, and modernist design. The restaurant operates from Tuesday to Sunday, with specific hours and a happy hour on the patio and at the bar. It is located at City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. #IndianCuisine #BayAreaDining #ModernIndianFood #ChefKrishnaGupthan #CulturalCuisine #CaliforniaFoodScene #FineDining #CulinaryExperience

The latest edition of the 'Lily Belli on Food' newsletter provides updates on the Santa Cruz County food scene, including new restaurant openings, notable collaborations ending, and community initiatives for food assistance. Julianna Mireles and chef Desmond Schneider have launched Mane Kitchen & Cocktails in downtown Santa Cruz, transforming the former Betty’s Eat Inn into an Art Deco-inspired establishment. The restaurant, which opened on Halloween night, aims to provide an elevated dining and lounge experience. Its dinner menu features bistro-style small plates and entrees, such as chicken liver pâté, wedge salad, and mussels with caponata. An early pre-opening event highlighted a well-balanced martini and a French onion soup served with a miniature grilled cheese 'crouton.' The restaurant operates Tuesday through Sunday evenings. Another significant development is the conclusion of Hanloh, chef Lalita Kaewsawang’s Thai pop-up, at Bad Animal Books. This partnership, which began in October 2022 and lasted three years, is ending amicably. Kaewsawang's final day in the kitchen is December 14. The collaboration achieved considerable recognition, including features in KQED, Food & Wine magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle, and was named among California’s best 100 restaurants by the Los Angeles Times food critic. Kaewsawang plans to take a break before embarking on her next culinary venture. Bad Animal Books co-owner Andrew Sivak has indicated that an announcement about their next "culinary artist in residence" will be made soon. In retail food news, Spontaneous Confections has opened in the Capitola Mall food court. Locally owned by pastry chef Justin Lenorovitz and his wife, Stephanie Lenorovitz, this new sweet spot offers a variety of pastries and desserts, including mini fruit tarts, fudge brownies with lavender ganache, and lemon "moukie." The confectionary operates on specific days and hours, adding to the mall's local food vendor lineup, which already includes Dani O Bakeshop, Ramen Kaito, and Taquizas Gabriel. The article also highlights a pressing community issue concerning Supplemental Nutrition Program Assistance funds. Over 35,000 individuals in Santa Cruz County are affected by a disruption to these benefits. Local food banks are preparing for increased demand, and various restaurants, businesses, and community groups are mobilizing to provide support. Lookout’s Cecilia Schutz has compiled a continuously updated list of available food pantries and restaurant meals for those needing assistance. Finally, the newsletter mentions the sale of Mission West, a Santa Cruz bar known as a “five-star dive,” by owners Max Turigliatto and Grant Staudt. New owners are set to take over in January after a New Year’s Eve celebration. An upcoming event, "Wine & Roses," an annual fundraiser for Community Health Trust’s programs in the Pajaro Valley, is scheduled for this Saturday, offering rare wine tastings and auction items. #SantaCruzFood #RestaurantOpenings #PopUpRestaurants #LocalBusinesses #FoodAssistance #CommunityEvents #CulinaryNews #PastryChef