One chef is creating more than a dozen restaurant concepts, debuting them at a new San Mateo location
My guilty pleasure food is Sushirrito. I loved the (now-discontinued) Fiery Chicken Sushirrito so much that I wrote about it in What I’m Eating in October.
And while it pains me that I may never again sink my teeth into the perfection that was the Fiery Chicken, I am excited by the possibility of brand new Sushirrito options served in an upscale ambiance at the co-founder’s newest venture, Colander Kitchens.
Ty Mahler recently launched his latest restaurant in San Mateo, and the menu will eventually serve a little bit of everything. Think hand-diced steak burgers with lobster, scallop tacos with housemade tortillas, Hawaiian pupu bowls, cocktails galore and even the return of Mochiko Mochi Pizza. While these items aren’t being served quite yet, these are just a few dishes that will be part of more than a dozen unique concepts housed under one roof.
I sat down with Mahler to learn more about his ambitious project and what plans he has in store for Colander Kitchens. More on that in this week’s food feature.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
Sushirrito co-founder launches Colander Kitchens, a San Mateo restaurant primed to offer at least a dozen original concepts
Sushirrito’s co-founder is crafting a lot more than sushi burritos at his newest restaurant – he’s producing fresh pastas, milling wheat berries for French Riviera-inspired pizzas and making tortillas for seafood tacos.
A San Francisco coffee shop expands south, a local acai chain takes root in Mountain View and a new AYCE hot pot and sushi spot
- Home Coffee Roasters, known for its unique flavored lattes and freshly roasted coffee, has opened its newest outpost in Sunnyvale.
- Acai chain Palmetto Superfoods will host the grand opening of its Mountain View location Saturday.
- Nom Nom Bistro, a Cantonese restaurant specializing in soups, rice bowls and handmade dim sum, recently opened in the former Easterly space in Millbrae.
- Oy! Gluten Free Baking Co. will no longer sell its baked goods at the Campbell and Los Gatos farmers markets and will instead focus on its brick and mortar in Los Gatos, according to a recent Instagram post.
- Meet U BBQ, a Chinese barbecue restaurant, recently opened in Cupertino in the former home of Beijing Duck House.
- Milli Cafe, offering specialty espresso, matcha and more, soft opened July 16 in Millbrae.
- Party Pot, which offers hot pot and sushi in an all-you-can-eat-and-drink setting, recently opened in the former Shoryuken space in South San Francisco.
- Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery in Campbell has permanently closed, according to San Jose Spotlight.
Tom yum everything at Sen Thai Noodle
I will devour anything that’s spicy and tart: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, pickled jalapenos and definitely anything tom yum-flavored. Tom yum is a Thai soup often made with lemongrass, ginger, lime, chiles and fish sauce, which combine to create a refreshingly puckery, zingy and spicy flavor. When I saw there was a restaurant in San Carlos offering a tom yum margarita, I knew I had to try it.
Sen Thai Noodle opened in June in the former Patxi’s Pizza in San Carlos. The ambiance is stunning – it looks like a moody, upscale cocktail lounge rather than a Thai restaurant. Featuring a black-and-gold color scheme with a bar that faces both the outdoor patio and indoor dining space, Sen Thai Noodle offers inventive cocktails and a one-page menu featuring rice bowls, noodles and tapas-style dishes.
I decided to make my whole meal tom yum-themed. I started with the tom yum marg ($17), then had the scallop crudo in tom yum sauce as my appetizer ($23) and finished with my main course of traditional tom yum noodle ($18).
The margarita was to die for. I will seriously go back to Sen just to drink these margaritas, and I’m not even a fan of tequila. Made from tequila, Aperol, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaf, lime and Maggi (a savory sauce made from fermented wheat), the tom yum margarita was spicy, salty, sweet and sour – and extremely drinkable. As soon as you take a sip, you’re hit with the heat and salt, but both flavors quickly dissipate and are replaced with a pleasant sweet-and-sour after taste. You almost forget it has alcohol. This margarita doesn’t even need a salt or Tajin rim because each sip already tastes like it has one.
The scallop crudo featured housemade chili jam, coconut milk, lime dressing and fried shallots. I loved how the crispy fried shallots contrasted with the soft raw scallops, and the tom yum sauce was insanely delicious. Personally, I like my raw seafood dishes super bright and acidic, so my one suggestion would be to be more heavy-handed with the lime.
The traditional tom yum noodle, made with ground pork, fish balls, fried wontons and peanuts, was delicious as well. The portion size is considerably smaller than what you’d find at more casual Thai restaurants, and I didn’t think the fried wontons were necessary. The sliced pork served in the soup was incredibly tender, well-seasoned and just a touch sweet. The broth was gingery, limey and perfectly spicy (which means it might be too spicy for some – I have a pretty high spicy tolerance).
I really enjoyed my time at Sen and would love to return to try some of the other cocktails, which feature flavors like Thai tea, pandan, lychee, Thai basil and more.
Sen Thai Noodle, 677B Laurel St., San Carlos; 650-622-4919, Instagram: @senthainoodle. Open daily from 4:30-9:30 p.m.
Handmade masa, fresh tortillas and whole branzinos: Mexican restaurant Flores expands south to San Mateo’s Hillsdale Shopping Center
Culinary director proud to bring restaurant to hometown
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