Walnut Creek: A surprising foodie mecca

It may not be the same as a few Michelin stars, a feature in Gourmet  magazine (oops! That magazine went away!)  or even a few crumbs of a mention  from the San Francisco  Chronicle’s Michael Bauer. But Walnut Creek’s food scene has just scored in the top 10 of another national measure. This is a ranking of 10 Undiscovered Restaurant Towns put out by the lifestyle website, Livability.com.

Livability.com, based in Nashville, says that Walnut Creek, while located next door to other San Francisco Bay Area foodie meccas, has “enough culinary heft to stand on its own.”

Take that Mr. Bauer! (Sorry, I was just mildly amused by the lack of imagination he and the Chronicle used with their latest Top 100 Bay Area restaurants list,  relying on their usual East–of-the-Caldecott standbys, Va De Vi and the Chows in Lafayette and Danville. Don’t get me wrong. I like those three restaurants but it’s ever more clear that the Chronicle--me-ow--is not interested in putting many resources into getting to know anything about life in our neck of the woods.)

Rant against Bauer done. Back to Livability.com’s  list of surprising restaurant towns.

Walnut Creek is No. 5 behind  Traverse City, MI, (Now, that’s surprising!), Asheville, NC, Boulder, CO, and Kansas City, Mo. The Creek is ahead of Pueblo, CO, Witchita, Alburquerque, and Eugene.

“Foodies worth their sea salt know metropolitan cities like Paris, New York City and San Francisco are considered food meccas. But diverse dining offerings and a deep-rooted food culture can be uncovered in smaller towns and cities, too,” Livablity.com says in its announcement of its new ranking. The website  is geared to the 35 million Americans who relocate each year, and its content is produced by a staff journalists.

Here’s what Livability.com says about the Creek.

“Its annual Art and Wine Festival, recognized by the Contra Costa Times as East Bay’s Best Outdoor Festival, draws 100,000 visitors to sample award-winning local and regional wines and microbrews and delicacies from dozens of local restaurants. Some eateries worth more than just a taste include the back-to-basics bakery Walnut Creek Baking Co., tapas favorite Va De Vi and the Zagat-rated Italian mainstay Prima, which features one of the most extensive and distinguished wine collections in the world. Walnut Creek dining also boasts a bit of star power – guitarist Carlos Santana is a partner at Maria Maria, the regional Mexican restaurant chain that began here and is named for the musician's 1999 hit song.”

Lark Creek and Pizza Antica owners among semi-finalists for James Beard Award

Some notable East Bay suburban restaurants made the cut for consideration for James Beard Foundation Awards. For foodies, the James Beard Awards are like the Oscars. "These awards confer prestige on recipients, inspire neophytes, and draw attention to food innovation across the country," writes Jennifer Dawson on the Diablo magazine website.

Michael Dellar of the Lark Creek Restaurant, which owns Lark Creek Walnut Creek and other eateries, and Tim Stannard of the management group that owns Lafayette's Pizza Antica, are on the shortlist to receive an outstanding restaurateur award. Lark Creek happens to be a a date night favorite for my husband and me. It's an easy place to go, casual but sophisticated enough to feel special. I've never tried its famous pot roast, but have appreciated the bacon-wrapped meatloaf for the comfort food it is. Another favorite is the shredded chicken tamale pancake, an appetizer that can also be enjoyed as a main course.

Usually, I love to get whatever fish is on the menu. And, through February 28, it is featuring its annual Dungeness Crab Festival, with, crab cakes and flatbread, wood-oven baked with crab.

It's been a while since I've been to Pizza Antica, the upscale but family-friendly pizza which tends to be one of the few restaurants, east of the Caldecott Tunnel, that receives much notice from the San Francisco Chronicle's venerated critic Michael Bauer. Well, I did have an amazing pizza there a few years ago--an unusual pizza that I remember mixed, yes, lemon with possibly tarragon (?) and possibly leeks.  On the other hand, my son's basic cheese pizza came with black char on its crust.  Sorry, Mr. Bauer, but was that supposed to be a sign of something incredibly gourmet?

(OK, my swipe at Bauer. Think his reviews are mostly a pain to get through--foodie porn is what a friend calls it--but I happened to like his dishy, news-y blog.)

Back to those James Beard Awards: The finalists will be announced on March 22 in New Orleans, with the honorees to be awarded on May 2 and 3.