Tapestry weaves menu of eclectic, gourmet food
By Suzanne Cristallo
Have a yen for something different to eat but don't know what? Let Gary Messick whip up a five-course tasting menu at his Tapestry restaurant in Los Gatos. The contrast will honor all the taste buds and conjure the farthest corners of the culinary world.
Imagine this: steamed mussels in sake and coconut milk, a cured salmon and onion tart, black bass with fennel puree, squab couscous and pomegranate syrup and a petite salad of mache (salad greens with a nut-like flavor), chanterelles (bright yellow wild mushrooms) and pont l'Eveque cheese.
Maitre d' Charles Mourey is nearby to suggest the correct wines to accompany the courses. His background lends a legitimacy to his choices--he grew up on his father's winery in Bordeaux, France, and has a extensive background in the food and beverage business.
"The sampler is totally spontaneous," notes Messick, who says that's the fun for him and for the diner, who won't know what will be served. The $50 price does not include dessert, as the delicate creations do not come in sampler sizes.
"But 60 to 75 percent of our customers order it," he observes, adding, "People sort of muddle through the food to get to the dessert." This is a modest and deferential comment, since the pastry chef is Vickie Messick, Gary's wife and business partner.
The couple is celebrating Tapestry's second anniversary this month with co-partners Joe and Carol Hargett of Los Gatos, who also own Dolce Spazio, the Italian ice cream store, and 2wenty 9ine E. Main Cafe.
"We try to be a big city restaurant but with a small town feel," Messick explains. He is referring to the jeans and tennis shoes with white shirts and long bistro aprons worn by their six waiters as contemporary big city, but their "user friendly" atmosphere as small town.
"We want people to feel it's their 'Cheers' place where they can come right from work in their Silicon Valley garb and be known by name," he adds.
Many customers come from the apartments next door and nearby neighborhoods to enjoy Messick's signature dishes, sometimes eating lightly during the week, spending $35 each, or more expansively with more courses, wine and dessert on the weekends. They may sit on the tree-shaded patio of what once was the 100-year-old home of the Puccinelli family, or enjoy the boisterous atmosphere inside the house, which was reconstructed on the footprint of the old.
Since his days as chef at the old California Café, Messick has retained his award-winning Mongolian-style fillet mignon on the menu. It's marinated in soy sauce with ginger, garlic "and about 20 other things," then grilled. There is also his familiar lemon/dill linguine with sun-dried tomatoes, grilled corn, shiitake mushrooms and crab meat. These dishes are about all that remain constant on the menu, which changes frequently and with the season. Vickie's boysenberry pie is available right now because the berries are, but in two weeks the season will be over and something else will be fresh on the dessert menu.
Change is constant. "We get ideas for food combinations by going out a lot, coming home and experimenting on new creations with the guys in the kitchen," Messick says.
Tapestry, 11 College Ave., Los Gatos. Open for lunch Tues.-Sat., 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Sat., 5:30-10 p.m. 408.395.2808.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
