It's all a matter of taste for this eclectic eatery
By Suzanne Cristallo
The shop may look like it's full of untouchables, but little faces smeared with chocolate often grin into the huge antique mirror over the ornate wine and lunch bar and dangle their legs comfortably from the French bar chairs. A Matter of Taste in Los Gatos is a family-friendly place. It is 900 square feet--including the kitchen--of whimsical touches, bouquets of colorful flowers and cozy tables. The French food is served with artful touches, dreamed up by a chef who is considered part of the family.
"Sherry and I have a bond," says owner Libby Brost of her chef, Sherry Horst, who has been with her at the small restaurant on E. Main Street for nine years. "She came here at a very difficult time in my life."
Horst has also been there to experience the joy of Morgan. Now 5 years old, the child was born to Brost and husband Bob--owner of Sunnyvale Auto Body--after 14 years of marriage. Morgan's toddling years have been spent under the bemused and watchful eyes of delighted customers and a staff of 10, which includes her cousins Lennie, Lisa and Angelo.
"She's such a part of the business," Brost says, smiling. "She's been here since she was born, and that's what is wonderful about a family business." Brost compares the atmosphere to that in Europe, where cousins, aunts and uncles all work together, and children are a part of it.
The small restaurant can seat 30 and often is used for private dinner parties during the week, like bar mitzvahs and holiday parties complete with an a cappella chorus. Adjoining the restaurant is a retail store, also owned by Brost, filled with furniture and accessories and a section devoted to floral arranging--all of the things Brost might use in the interior design part of her business. Catered dinners for an additional 35 guests often spill into this area.
Brost says the emphasis of her business is combining the three parts of it: flowers, food and interior design. "Putting food on a plate is an art form," she notes, and the surroundings in which it is eaten are part of that. To keep art alive, she changes the flowers on the tables every other day. The furniture and accessories are rearranged five times a year, and a new menu comes out nearly every other month.
The present entrée menu, ranging in price from $20 to $38, is highlighted with duck confit, lamb loin, beef tenderloin and fresh Dungeness crab. A legume plate enjoyed by vegetarians includes half of a roasted acorn squash with asparagus and shiitake mushrooms over ravioli or garlic mashed potatoes.
Four salads priced at $9 are the Caesar, bistro (haricot or green string beans), salad Lyonnaise (bacon and bleu cheese) and spinach with duck and warm goat cheese.
Desserts include petite pot de creme chocolate, apple tarte Tatin (a pastry tart baked upside down with butter and sugar to achieve a caramel topping when turned upright), creme bruleé (burnt cream on custard) and a cheese plate.
Children are not forgotten. Horst will make anything they want, but perhaps the best thing is a birthday party for them at the restaurant. A recent party for 10-year-olds started with the invitation painted on a rolling pin. A cooking class in the kitchen was conducted for the guests, who made hamburgers cut into shapes and quesadillas. The kids also got to decorate their own canvas aprons with paste-ons and build their own sundaes. But what about all of those pretty things around the shop?
A Matter of Taste, 35 E. Main St., Los Gatos. Open weekdays for lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. Call 408.399.1599 for more information.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
