KZSU's Food Celebration:
We celebrated the Holiday Season by interviewing 3 of Palo Alto's very popular restaurants: Il Fornaio, Evvia and 3 Seasons.
At Il Fornaio, we interviewed Vice President & Executive Chef, Maurizio Mazzon and Steve Boyden, Il Fornaio's Manager in Palo Alto. Il Fornaio celebrates Italian food by Festa Regionale every month that showcase food from Italy's 21 regions. Il Fornaio does that so well that the Italian Government gave Il Fornaio the prestigious award Hospitality Marchio Q Award (Q is for quality). Chef Mazzon, who comes from Venice said that if we're curious about Venetian food, then we could sample the best Venetian food at Il Fornaio's Canaletto restaurants in Las Vegas and New Port Beach. Il Fornaio plans a big Chrismas Eve menu in all its restaurants.
To find out about Greek food we went to Evvia where General Manager Panos Goganos and Executive Chef Mario Ortega took us on a tour of what Evvia served at the White House's celebration of theGreek Independence Day last April. We asked if President Obama liked the food, Chef Ortega said, of course and that Vice President Biden and all the guests had a great time. Who could argue, when the owners and management of Evvia are also in charge of their second Greek restaurant Kokkari, which was voted Best Restaurant in San Francisco in 2015 (Zagat). Evvia's New Year's party was sold out on January 3rd (so we could not get tickets); It features Mythos Band.
We chose 3 Seasons Restaurant on Bryant Street because it's building is fun and it has a small courtyard that surrounds the building and a fountain. Chef John Le, who also owns 3 Seasons described how the building helped shape 3 Seasons' business because customers can host large parties; 3 Seasons even has a 25 foot Christmas Tree every year. Chef Le told us how he was honored to be invited to cook an Asian dinner for the James Beard Foundation in New York and that he still serves the entree and appetizer that he cooked for them today.
To listen to, or to download this interview, please click here.
We would like to thank Chef Maurizio Mazzon, Chef Mario Ortega and Chef JohnLe for the delicious food ideas they gave us for the Holidays. We hope to use these ideas every day. Steve Boyden and Panos Gogonas gave us great insight on how to make restaurants very successful!
Happy Holidays from KZSU and we wish you very many happy banquets and celebrations!