Peninsula pop-ups & pastry delivery: Check out these local food events of note

by Elena Kadvany August 25, 2020 2266 Views

Burgers, cajun creations, matcha eclairs (!!!) and much more….

Pop-up perfections: (clockwise from top left) the Lil’ Eagle smashburger; hủ tiếu Gò Công (Mekong Delta style noodle soup) from Hết Sẩy; fried chicken wings via Samara Southern Creations; a box of baked goods from Jina Bakes; fresh brew by Tono Coffee Project; and croissants from John Shelsta of Love for Butter. (Images via Instagram, Elena Kadvany)

Mark your calendars: There are several food events of note happening on the Peninsula in the coming weeks, from a local pastry collaboration to a series of exciting pop-ups in Palo Alto (Quesabirria! Fried chicken! Smashburgers!).

Read below for more details.

A selection of John Shelsta’s pastries. (Photos by Nicole Ruiz Hudson)

Love for Butter and Jina Bakes

Two local pastry chefs, John Shelsta of Love for Butter in Palo Alto and Jina Kim of Jina Bakes in Daly City, are teaming up to offer a box of their pastries for local delivery on Saturday, Aug. 29. (Editor’s note: Their collaborative pastry box has since sold out but you can purchase their baked goods separately.)

For $35, you’ll get six baked goods, including Shelsta’s excellent kimchi-short rib croissant tart, plus a perilla-citrus croissant, matcha-strawberry cream puff and panna cotta made with mango, passion fruit and vanilla.

*A box of Jina Kim’s French and Asian-inspired pastries. (Photo courtesy Monica Lo)*

Kim grew up in Campbell and has spent much of her pastry career on the Peninsula. She worked at the now-closed Voyageur du Temps in Los Altos, Michelin-starred Chez TJ and Alexander’s Patisserie in Mountain View. She was making pastries for Dropbox until shelter-in-place started, leaving her without a job.

An informal quarantine request from a friend to bake “something yummy” eventually snowballed into Jina Bakes, which is now a full-fledged pastry business (and soon, a brick-and-mortar bakery in San Francisco). Kim makes a rotating selection of pastries, from black sesame cream puffs and matcha butter mochi to berry brioche tarts, and offers delivery throughout the Bay Area, including on the Peninsula.

The collaborative boxes of Kim and Shelsta’s pastries will be available for delivery on the Peninsula between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or for pickup in San Francisco on Aug. 29. To order, go to jinabakes.com.

Tantalizing treats by Tarts de Feybesse: meyer lemon meringue tarts and matcha eclairs. (Images via Tarts de Feybesse FB page)

Tarts de Feybesse at Camper

Monique and Paul Feybesse will be bringing their exquisite French pastries and bread to Camper in Menlo Park (898 Santa Cruz Ave.) on Sunday, Aug. 30. Preorders have sold out but some items will be available for purchase on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.

The couple, both professional cooks, has built a following on Instagram for their brightly colored eclairs, gorgeous stone fruit tarts, Parisian flan, choux puffs, brioche and other fare.

For more information, go to instagam.com/monicafeybesse.

*Mekong-style noodle soup, left, and pandan broken rice with a charcoal-grilled pork chop, from the* Hết Sẩy *pop-up in San Jose in February. (Photo by Michelle Le)*

Pop-ups at Salvaje

Palo Alto natural wine bar Salvaje recently started turning its kitchen over to local pop-ups on the weekends. You can still order wine during the pop-ups and dine outside or take the food to go. (If you’re a local cook interested in using Salvaje’s kitchen or want to suggest a pop-up, email owner Kasim Syed at [email protected])

Below is the lineup at Salvaje (369 Lytton Ave.) for the rest of August and September.

Hết Sẩy: The couple behind San Jose pop-up Hết Sẩy will bring their Vietnamese food back to Salvaje on Saturday, Aug. 29, 5–9 p.m. The menu will include grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf, goat in coconut curry and a salted duck egg cake.

The Lil’Eagle smashburger. (Image via Zachareats)

Lil’ Eagle Burger: Zack Fernandes and his Lil’ Eagle smashburgers, topped with gooey Kraft American cheese, caramelized onions and a secret sauce on Martin’s potato rolls, will return on Friday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m. Look out for a new vegetarian option inspired by his Indian roots: a crispy potato tikki topped with a tamarind sauce, green chutney and chiwda (a fried Indian snack mix) served on a Martin’s roll.
Tacos Los Gemelos: This Redwood City taqueria will be serving up quesabirria with consommé on Saturday, Sept. 5, 5–9 p.m.
Hermanita: Nicole Marin Tellez of the Hermanita pop-up serves Baja California food inspired by her childhood in Mexicali, Mexico, from pozole and barbacoa to halibut tostadas. She’ll be cooking at Salvaje on Saturday, Sept. 12, 5–9 p.m.
QBB: Syed also runs QBB in downtown Mountain View. Salvaje will feature off-menu items from the barbecue-and-bourbon-focused restaurant on Saturday, Sept. 19, 5–9 p.m.

Shrimp-n-grits from Samara Southern Creations. (Image via Samara Southern Creations’ Instagram)

Samara Southern Creations: This Oakland pop-up, run by Tamara White and Sarah Earring, serves Southern, Creole and Cajun fare, like short ribs and grits and bananas Foster chicken and waffles. They’ll be cooking at Salvaje on Saturday, Sept. 26, 5–9 p.m.
Tono Coffee Project: Bryan Chiem of Tono Coffee Project continues to serves coffee at Salvaje Wednesday–Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., along with a small selection of Love for Butter pastries.

The Ma’lawah Bar cooking class

Doreet Jehassi of The Ma’lawah Bar in Santa Clara will demonstrate how to make Yemenite dishes, such as jachnun (a pastry) and ma’lawah (her namesake flatbread), in this free virtual cooking class and conversation on Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m. Register here.

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