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“We’ve been so fortunate to have connections and relationships and the goodwill of people around us.”
-Wendy Neff

Downtown San Jose’s latest brew café, Fox Tale Fermentation Project, on Santa Clara Street, is finally open. First-time business owners Felipe Bravo and Wendy Neff have endured a long road that was further delayed due to complications of the pandemic. Sitting beneath a beautiful painting of the company logo designed by local artist Brittni Paul, Felipe and Wendy look back on how they arrived here.

Bravo, a San Jose native who says he never even drank beer, had his interest sparked by a friend who introduced him to homebrewing. He fanned that flame further by shifting his focus from his graduate studies in engineering specifically toward the science of brewing: “I never thought about food or beer as a hobby, and it wasn’t until I saw [homebrewing] for the first time that I was like, oh, this seems really cool. I can probably get into this. To me, it seemed like you can really dive into it and figure out the formulas and the processes and kind of take this scientific approach,” he explains.

His master’s thesis focused on building and programming an AI system that would learn to formulate beers on its own—essentially an automated homebrewing system. “That was not working,” he says. “I had never worked in a professional beer setting. I didn’t have the professional skillset to really talk about it in the way that I wanted to. The only option I felt I had left was to quit engineering. So, in 2014, I basically went to my local brewery and asked for a job.”

Bravo moved his way up the ranks at various breweries, first working the floor, then working with packaging, and eventually moving into production. He landed at Fort Point Brewing in San Francisco as their research and development manager, where he now had the opportunity to develop some of the beer recipes.

at age 18, essentially on a whim she says, but would return home a few years later for a life reset. While home, she got a job at the Brinery in Ann Arbor, famous for their fermented products such as sauerkraut and kimchi. It was a short-lived but instrumental gig, as it sparked a passion of her own.

“I really fell in love with fermentation,” she says. “Then when I came back to California, it just stuck a whole lot more.” She landed a job at Facebook on their superfoods team, making “really amazing, unique dishes that were raw and vegan and gluten-free” to serve in their on-site restaurants. “It exploded my whole desire to help people get interesting foods and ingredients and unique flavors. [They] let me create my own fermentation program, which they had never done before. So, then I had three years of experimenting and going wild with it as much as I wanted to.”

Fermentation, whether it be with alcohol or food, is part of humanity’s long and storied history. The process of combining food preservation with exploration of flavor has created a rich history that overlaps with the development of cultures around the world. The yeasts that turn grains into beer and cabbage into sauerkraut are not so different, and modern techniques have accelerated innovation and subsequent overlap in the fields of both food and alcohol.

When Bravo and Neff met, this overlap resulted in an immediate burst of creative energy as the two batted around ideas for sour beers using pickle brine and other unusual combinations of ingredients, imagining what sorts of flavors they might produce. They also discovered that they both harbored a dream to open a space where they could build community through their fermented creations.

As the two came up with projects to experiment with together, their relationship grew as well. They started making limited runs of beers using things like mushrooms, beets, radishes, and flow-

ers, which they fine-tuned and shared with friends and local beer enthusiasts. They named their venture Fox Tale, a whimsical reference to the stories that can be found behind each collaboration.

The next step was to open their dream space, but opening during COVID was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done, for sure,” Neff says. “We’ve been so fortunate to have connections and relationships and the goodwill of people around us.”

The small space is cozy and inviting, decorated with a rotating collection of art from local artists. They serve small bites that highlight the ferments, keeping things simple so as to remain approachable. They offer a mocktail and kombucha as nonalcoholic options and hope to offer classes on fermenting and homebrewing. They want their patrons to feel welcome, and more importantly, like part of the story. And as for what’s on tap: it’s not all pickle brine and mushroom beer.

“Taking twists on familiar things is a big part of what we want to do,” Bravo explains. The menu still offers recognizable styles like IPA and lager. “It’s a little different, [but] it’s not crazy blending these concepts that are unique and pique people’s interests, trying to redefine what those styles mean and create something new.”

Though market saturation and the pandemic have been tough on small beermakers, these two entrepreneurs are taking on the challenge. They understand that support from the San Jose community will be key, and have already built much of the foundation while eager to continue earning that support. And as they talk, new ideas keep springing up—the creative energy has not subsided.

“The business is an extension of us,” says Bravo. “The goal is to incorporate as many people into this project as we can. It’s not just us. We’re always going to be putting it back into the community. We’re not totally on our own.”

foxtalefermentationproject.com

Instagram: foxtalefermentationproject

Enter Fitoor, Santana Row’s new contemporary Indian restaurant and lounge, and find yourself transported. The front room, a low-lit space swathed in dark-wood panels, rich earthy browns, and a plethora of plants, somehow gives the impression of a forest after midnight. The slat ceiling, carved into a wave of wood, seems almost to ripple with movement. A fire dancer mimics this motion, twirling flames in both hands as she sways to the music. When owners Anu and Vikram Bhambri, a husband-and-wife team, say they want their meals “presented in a lively and immersive setting,” they don’t mess around.

The goal, Anu explains, is “immersing guests in a sensory journey.” To achieve this, the couple collaborated with Manu Studios, the architecture firm behind MOMENT SP2 (those micro-retail storefronts across from San Pedro Square). “Each dining room offers a unique experience,” continues Anu, “from the inviting open-air facade to the sultry ‘Gold Room’ and intimate ‘Green Room.’” This suits the restaurant’s name, inspired by the Hindi word for “passion.” It’s a title that “embodies the fiery energy and soulful essence of modern-day India,” Anu shares.

But what is a restaurant without its food? Fitoor is so much more than a pretty face, and Chef Vaibhav Sawant takes obvious pride in his craft, creating appetizers and entrees that are intricately layered and immaculately plated. Each dish is served on a unique plate: cerulean serving platters, tree round boards, or pedestal trays with marble.

He’s also a maestro of texture. The Asado Branzino with coriander mint pesto is generously topped with salli (deep-fried potato straws), which, along with the crackle of the fish’s skin, adds a crunch to the buttery soft meat. There’s also a standout Indian-Japanese fusion dish that takes supple scallops in a peanut butter salan curry and embellishes them with the crunch of finely chopped onion, finely chopped nuts, and the pop of fresh roe.

“Specializing in grilled dishes infused with fiery energy and bold spices, Fitoor’s menu is designed to ignite culinary curiosity,” adds Anu. That means feisty flavors like spicy prawn balchão stuffed in fried kulcha bread and peppery lamb curry with coconut flakes and curry leaves. For some respite from the hotter dishes, the restaurant offers some creamy (and pleasingly unusual) cocktails like the Canchanchara (rum, gardenia mix, citrus, and black garlic) and the Milky Way (bourbon, port, banana, lemon, and cream cheese).

As for the sweet story behind Fitoor’s restaurateur power couple? Anu met Vikram through her parents while she was still living in India and he was working in the U.S. at Microsoft. “We talked on the phone without seeing each other for over six months before we actually met,” Anu recalls. The two became a force to be reckoned with, united in their shared dream to bring authentic Indian cuisine to the States. They now oversee a restaurant empire that also includes ROOH (which now has several locations), Pippal in Emeryville, and Alora on San Francisco’s Waterfront. Yet despite their success, the couple remain grounded, prioritizing family time by gathering around the dinner table. “Mealtime is generally family time at home,” Anu says. “We have three generations living together in the same house.” With warmth, she describes her mom making dishes while grandma makes bread in the tandoor. “During summer, it is accompanied by salted lassi or a raw mango (panna) drink to cool down the heat,” she says.

Anu and Vikram’s international concept is well suited for a place like Santana Row. “It’s a melting pot of diverse cultures and tastes,” Anu says of the area. Here, “people appreciate culinary innovation and cultural exploration.” A quick glance around the room at contented guests licking the last of the 72-hour pana cotta from their plates leaves no doubt—these seasoned restauranteurs know how to seek out the like-minded.

EatDrinkFitoor.com

Instagram: @eatdrinkatfitoor

377 Santana Row #1140, San Jose, CA 95128

Photography by Neetu Laddha | Provided by Fitoor

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