Tasting House Los Gatos has been curating an exclusive series of winemaker dinners. The wine bar and bistro recently featured DANA Estates wines paired with a California/Korean fusion menu.
In preparation for what would become “A Taste of New Zealand,” Executive Chef Julian Silvera traveled to Napa with his sommelier staff to meet with Blair Guthrie, the winemaker and vineyard manager at Stewart Cellars.
The trip evolved into conversations over food and drink, where Blair shared stories of growing up in New Zealand, nostalgic memories, and how history has influenced his winemaking. That experience made it clear to Chef Julian that Blair’s story should become the theme for a curated Tasting House experience.
On August 20th, the team at Tasting House translated those stories into a six-course menu of elevated dishes from Blair’s childhood paired with Stewart wines while preserving a particular New Zealand twang. They sought to re-create the discovery and connections made during their visit through an immersive multi-sensory experience.
Twenty guests attended the winemaker’s dinner and were greeted by sparkling wine and marmite on Japanese milk bread. The scene was complete with the ambiance of New Zealand reggae from Blair’s youth funneled through the speakers.
Everyone was seated together like a big family in two long rows. With each course, Blair stood at the head of the table, clinked his glass for attention, and spoke about each wine, then Chef Julian described each dish and its New Zealand roots.
Abalone ceviche in coconut milk with a peppery heat balanced the acidity from the Napa Sauvignon Blanc picked early for New Zealand-style grassy and gooseberry notes–Blair used to freedive for Abalone growing up. A juicy Rossi Ranch Rhone-style GSM blendcomplementedthe gaminess from the minced meat croquette. PB&J (jam, *not* jelly) and savory duck liver mousse partnered with a crowd-pleasing Bordeaux-style blend. Lamb porcini in black currant demi conversed with a nuanced and layered Bourn Vineyard Cabernet from Stewart’s NOMAD series of Beckstoffer heritage sites. Finishing on dessert, a dry rosé of pinot noir and pinot gris stood up surprisingly well to the sweetness of pavlova, fresh golden kiwi, and whipped creme fraîche. Each turn revealed a new story and fostered more conversation among the guests.
Afterward, everyone was slow to leave, chatting as they chose bottles to bring home. Blair had hoped this event would get folks “back to the table to remember how good this feels, to sit next to a stranger and talk to them for an hour or so. And then want to do it again.”
Photo Credit: Provided by Feature M Public Relations Tasting House Executive Chef Julian-Silvera (first image), Tasting House exterior and interior by Carly Hackbarth Stewart Cellars Winemaker Blair Guthrie by Emma K Creative (third image) Plated dishes images by John Holleman 1. Ika Mata Abalone, Young Coconut, Serpent Cucumber (Ceviche) 2. Mince Meant Croquette Toma, Beef Garum 3. Lamb Porcini, Black Currant Demi, Pomme Puree 4. Pavlova, Golden Kiwi, Olallieberry 5. Duck Liver Mousse Boysenberry, Fix & Fogg Everything Butter (PB&J)
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John Holleman is a South Bay-based designer, writer, and certified wine enthusiast (WSET3).
A Taste of New American or Melting Pot Menu
Nicko Moulinos, executive chef at new American restaurant Eos & Nyx, isn’t one to get boxed in. With a menu that spans the globe, his restaurant’s fusion dishes hop borders with enthusiasm. Because, why limit yourself to just one kind of cuisine? “I take inspiration from everything,” Nicko says as he crosses heavily-inked forearms. “It could be an ingredient. It could be a technique. It could be a dish.” On any given night, you can spot Nicko hustling alongside the rest of his team in the restaurant’s open kitchen. Look for the man with the immaculate beard and man bun, a bandana tied around his forehead karate-kid style.
Curious about the driving force behind this chef’s fluid and flexible approach to culinary creativity? You’ll find answers in his personal journey. After growing up on Corfu, Nicko worked in kitchens preparing varying cuisines, including Le Bernardin (French), Kith/Kin (Afro-Caribbean), as well as Taverna and Dio Deka (Greek). Today, Eos & Nyx’s worldly menu finds inspiration from across the 22 countries bordering the Mediterranean as well as Mexican, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean cuisines to reflect the Bay Area’s diverse demographic. “Californian cuisine is almost like the Mediterranean,” notes Nicko. “It’s a big medley.”
One adjective you’ll never hear as a descriptor of Nicko’s cooking is “traditional”—and he’s just fine with that. “Traditional is very subjective,” Nicko holds. “You can have a local dish called pastitsio, which is the Greek version of lasagna, and they’ll tell you when you go to the islands that it’s made with bucatini. Then you go to the mainland, and they tell you it’s made with penne rigate. And they’re going to argue. Guys, it’s the same thing. You’re just changing the pasta.” You won’t find Nicko sweating that small stuff. “We’re honoring those traditions. We use them as inspiration, we use them as guidelines, and then we build on that.”
This by no means implies that Nicko doesn’t appreciate culture. “Being in the melting pot is great because you can get inspired by so many different things—but growing up somewhere where everybody’s kind of the same and you feel that you can fit also has its charm,” he says with evident nostalgia. Back on Corfu, “Everybody knows your father, right? And if you tried to be a scoundrel, he’s going to find out.”
But back to the dining room. Like its chef, the menu at Eos & Nyx makes bold moves. Take Nicko’s crispy fried Brussels sprouts with smoked bacon, capers, and pickled onions, tossed with chili honey and bacon jam. “Pork goes with everything. I don’t care what you say,” Nicko declares. Each ingredient is packed with flavor, and balances the dish’s other components through contrasts. “Like a rollercoaster,” the chef describes.
Another standout veggie dish is the “everything” carrots. “I wanted to pay tribute to the philosophy of nose-to-tail [eating]. So we’re doing root-to-stem,” he explains. Roasted carrot chunks and raw carrot shavings are accompanied with a carrot crumble made from dehydrated peels, carrot oil and a ginger carrot puree. “If they grow together, it goes together,” Nicko says.
You’ll also find plenty of handmade noodles, ranging from rigatoni to tagliatelle. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a nonna that would make fresh pasta. But once I was taught the proper ways of pasta and how pasta should be treated, it’s very hard to go back.”
While 80 percent of Eos & Nyx’s ingredients are sourced from California (like rockfish from Half Moon Bay and honeycomb from Salinas), the rest come from around the world. That means octopus from Spain and Portugal, dorade from Greece, king salmon from New Zealand, and bluefin from Osaka. “Our food is built in such a way that less is more,” Nicko insists. “We’re not trying to hide behind sauces and foo foo garnishes.”
Eos & Nyx, named after the Greek goddesses of day and night, also welcomes the morning crowd. “The brunch menu is the younger brother that’s a little more of a rascal. And the dinner menu is the older brother that’s a little more sophisticated,” Nicko describes. His lighthearted side shines in the brunch offerings. “It’s all about puns,” he says, calling out items like Friends with Benedicts and Another One Bites the Crust.
As Nicko prepares to dive back into the fray of the kitchen, he takes a final moment to survey the full dining room with a satisfied smile. “When I met with ownership, this was literally two by fours and concrete—nothing else in here.” Not so now. The space, bathed in an amber glow, is a masterpiece of natural elements—plants twining through the light fixtures, indoor trees stationed at the center of the room. Ferns and beds of river rocks border the booth seats, evoking elevated park benches. If tonight is anything to go by, Eos & Nyx is sure to flourish for years to come—with plenty of plates of lobster tagliatelle, lamb chops, and loukoumades along the way.
Software engineer-turned-small business owner Steven Huynh is the co-owner of Goodtime Natural Wine Bar in his hometown of San José. Steven’s love for natural, low-intervention wine began as a hobby he found through travel but later inspired him and his wife to open their own business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steven did not come from a wine or wine-making culture. Instead, he discovered natural wine when visiting a mom-and-pop natural wine bar in Portugal. He was not only impressed with the taste but also with the welcoming personalities and environment provided specifically by natural wine.
Steven’s vision for Goodtime Bar was to create a unique environment inspired by the welcoming personalities and ambiance of natural wine bars he had experienced. Recognizing the importance of food in creating that experience, he partnered with Chef Alex Whiteman to offer a menu of seasonal and thoughtfully curated dishes that perfectly complement the natural Wines.
Prior to Goodtime Bar, Steven spent over a decade working in Silicon Valley high tech., but during the pandemic, he got burnt out. He recalls the blurred lines between work and home caused by remote work as creating “one big blob of a working day.” That feeling catalyzed Goodtime, a name conceived by Stevens’s Wife and co-owner, Ann. The plan was to create a welcoming space for everyone, including parents with small children, to eat and enjoy a glass of wine.
Sous Chef Ronnie Keli’i Apolo and Chef Alex Whiteman
Born and raised in San Jose, Steven takes pride in creating a space in his hometown for the community to gather. He has expanded his vision for the community by organizing a weekly run club and hosting comedy and live music in his space. While owning a small business is more work than he could have imagined, the connection he has made with others around his love for natural wine has been more fulfilling than imagined.
In our conversation, we discuss Steven’s origin story, the life-changing effects of martial arts on his life, the lessons he learned one year into operating his own business, and his plans for Goodtime Bar’s first anniversary.
Don’t miss Goodtime Bar’s first-anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 27th.
This all-day event will feature DJs, delicious food, natural wine, and many good times.
