The Porto Vista Hotel, where I am the Executive Chef has finally opened our new lobby just in time for the Little Italy Art Walk. This annual event brings many thousands of people to our little corner of San Diego for 2 days of art, eating and for some…drinking. This event was a perfect time to make some food from our banquet and special event menu’s to pass along to all of the people who stopped by the hotel to see what we have been up to.

We choose to do 4 samples from our bar and passed hour d’ oeuvre menu’s. One of these is this Caprese Satay. This is a easy appetizer to make for any size group of guests that may stop by your house. Organic sweet 100 tomatoes, fresh Bocconcini mozzarella and Horapha or spicy Thai basil. Sprinkle with a bit of ground sea salt and your ready to impress your family and friends with your culinary prowess and creativity. This is what you’ll need for this exciting and tasty dish.

Bamboo skewers

Bocconcini mozzarella

Thai or regular basil

Sweet 100 or another small cherry tomatoes

Now just follow the photo to assemble these tasty and easy appetizers and your ready to go!

chefRob

No Comments »

OK,

So an exhaust hood might not get a normal person exited. Chefs are, by any stretch of the vocabulary not normal so this get me excited!!!

It means that we are one day closer to opening, one day closer to doing what I love to do and one day closer to turning on my hometown to the foods I have experienced in the last 15 years of traveling and cooking around the country and the world.

So, without further ado…the hood!

and another view of the view…

chefRob

No Comments »

OK,

So I began the process of opening another new restaurant today…day 1…ground zero…whatever you want to call it. As glamorous as it sounds, I worked with Drevan on the menu’s (dinner, banquet, catering) and went over the equipment list, which I will have to go over in detail very soon. Out of all of this grandeur, I did find time to snap some pictures (4) with my iPhone. I know this thing would come in handy one day.

This is the status of the Glass Door restaurant as of 17 March 2008.

Restaurant - the kitchen,

the bar, from the kitchen,

the Glass Door bar close up,

and finally the view (and what a view it is!)

More photo’s when I get my DSLR in house and work some magik!

chefRob

No Comments »

Yes…that is right, but not your regular type of restaurant. Let me explain a bit…

This restaurant is attached to a new, boutique hotel here in San Diego’s Little Italy and is unlike anything the city has to currently offer. Wi-Fi, and all the amenities one would expect from a 4-star hotel just without the pricing structure. The rooms, for their location are, in my mind inexpensive…but more about the hotel later.

The restaurant is called the Glass Door and boasts a commanding view of San Diego Bay (which no other restaurant has in Little Italy), a great bar and a menu that is going to bury the other restaurants in the city. The cuisine is New American, the decor is modern lounge and your invited to experience this all with me.

I will be posting, starting Monday my journal 3 times a week chronicling the build out of the restaurant. So stay tuned and I hope you all enjoy the ride!

chefRob

No Comments »