HOFFMAN’S REDUX A very energetic and can-do staff walked me through some of the notable changes at Hoffman‘s last week. Famously, the longstanding Pacific Avenue bakery and dining establishment enjoyed a makeover at the hands of a team of designers from the Food Network‘s “Restaurant Impossible.” After more than a decade on the Pacific Avenue mall, the homey restaurant built with hard work and persistence by June and Ed Hoffman is enjoying a renaissance of interest sparked by the recent re-model.
Gone is the familiar glass-front pastry counter, replaced by a sleek wine bar. The staff told me that patrons are really responding to the wine bar and nightly jazz.
Indeed, later that evening when we arrived for dinner, the jazz quartet was just setting up. We took a seat at the long turquoise banquette that faces the familiar line of booths, now upholstered in a vivacious turquoise-and-white tropical pattern ala ’70s van interior. The wine list offered plenty in the way of local wines—we chose excellent Alfaro Pinot Noir 2008 and Storrs Merlot 2008. The menu itself sticks with a modest lineup of crowd-pleasing recipes, from halibut chowder, burgers and duck sliders to a sampling of seafood, poultry and meat entrees.
A substantial salad of mixed baby lettuces arrived with a delicious vinaigrette and was studded with cherry tomatoes and pickled veggies. The same theme of brightly colored pickled creations reappeared on a well-made charbroiled halibut filet joined by rice and spicy purple slaw. The halibut was moist and expertly dispatched. I loved my tapas plate of two barbecue duck sliders slathered with melted cheese. The tapas dish plus salad made a very nice light dinner all by itself.
You can catch the televised Hoffman’s makeover sometime in January.
UPDATES I ran into Germaine “Red” Akin at the opera last weekend and she told me she’s in the thick of decorating her new restaurant on the wharf. Look for the opening of Splash sometime in early 2012. . . . More than 700 guests helped raise more than $57,000 at last month’s 8th annual Gourmet Grazing on the Green Food & Wine festival. It was all to benefit the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group—even during tough times people’s hearts are in the right place.
HOT PLATES This week it’s a toss-up between the luscious San Xian noodles studded with chicken, prawns and scallions and bathed in spicy sesame oil at O’mei and the perfection of the calamari tagliatelle at Gabriella. Both offer affordable and memorable culinary comfort.
Send tips about food, wine and new dining discoveries to Christina Waters at [email protected]. Read her blog at http://christinawaters.com.
