Jason Freund Profile

Favorite Cookbooks

All About Braising (Molly Stevens)

Potato (Selma Brown Morrow)

Available at William Sonoma

my bread (Jim Lahey)

Simple "Lahey method" for no knead bread

Restaurants I Recommend

Dos Coyotes ($) (Davis, CA)

#1 favorite of all time, any category. Sparked my first interest in food. I used to eat there an average of once a day when I was in college, and still go out of my way to hit it when I'm in the area.

Il Postale ($$) (Sunnyvale, CA)

Our favorite neighborhood restaurant with excellent service, large portions, and consistent quality. Somehow they manage to work equally well for romantic, business, and family dinners. Been a regular there for almost 20 years.

Plumed Horse ($$$$) (Saratoga, CA)

Haute cuisine with a somewhat trendy atmosphere, nice piano lounge with a bar menu.

Sierra Mar ($$$$) (Big Sur, CA)

At Post Ranch Inn. Spectacular views and interesting architecture. Supurb food with focus on healthy, seasonal, and local.

Chick-fil-a ($) (Any, CA)

My guilty pleasure. No, they don't use organic chicken. Yes, I know they use MSG. The founders are outspoken social conservatives. On the plus side, they use a very healthy peanut oil for frying everything on the menu, and the service and cleanliness is outstanding for a fast food restaurant. Update: Hooray! Chick-fil-a has finally delivered their Jesus chicken unto San Jose!

Los Altos Grill ($$) (Los Altos, CA)

Outstanding American bistro, with specialties like prime rib french dip, bangers and mash, tuna poke with avocado and shrimp, and oreo icecream sandwich

Cin Cin WIne Bar (Los Gatos, CA)

A new favorite. Very creative and successful fusion of California cuisine (if that can be considered a cuisine) with a hint of Asian influence. For example: Togarashi-Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna- charred avocado guacamole, tempura fried baby bok choy, rice noodles, mango nuoc mam sauce, wasabi salt

The Palace Kitchen (Seattle, WA)

Once a year, my wife, sister, and her husband make a trip from the bay area to Seattle, for a weekend party. Though we only stay two nights, the formula is fixed every year with Palace Kitchen first, then Elliot's New Year's Oyster Bash the second night. The ritual requires building an appetite by fasting, exercising, and arriving late (the kitchen is open until 1am. The bar selection is outstanding, atmosphere is great, and the staff is exceedingly nice. On our last visit, the waiter recommended the crispy pig ear which was fantastic, and a sausage appetizer dish which was in a completely different category from any other sausage