Photograph by George Sakkestad

Rick Ebster is executive chef at Valeriano's in Los Gatos




Hearty food, rich desserts are standbys at Valeriano's

By Suzanne Cristallo

Cooking devotees like to peek at what's going on in the kitchen of Ristorante Valeriano in Los Gatos. There's a window on the side of the building that's just right for glimpsing the bustling action directed by chef Richard Epster. Viewers might also see manager Jeanne Koepplin watching intently when the chef makes his signature dessert, tiramisu.

"I'm determined to find out why it's so good," Koepplin says with a chuckle. She admits the ingredients are generally the same wherever the rich Italian dish is made. She watches Epster mix mascarpone cheese with whipping cream, add sweet chocolate, espresso coffee and creme de cacao liqueur. She concludes: "It must be the freshness and the quality of the mascarpone cheese and chocolate. If they're not the best, it won't be as good."

Another signature dish, which pleases the mainly Silicon Valley group of professionals that Koepplin says frequent the place, is Melanzane Valeriano. It's baked eggplant stuffed with Ricotta cheese, pesto and fresh tomatoes. "Women are absolutely crazy for it," she says, "but pair that up with the tiramisu, and they'd better be runners!" The entree goes for $11.95 at lunch; the dessert is $5.95.

Entrees averaging from $11 to $22 include rack of lamb; veal dishes, including the special Lombata di Vitello--a grilled chop with gorgonzola cheese topping the mashed potatoes; fresh pasta like linguine pescatore; and the 16-ounce Porterhouse steak with garlic-mashed potatoes. A full bar serves martinis with little silver-plated holders for excess liquid left in the shaker, plus a variety of Los Gatos wines. Some 20 labels are available by the glass. Two meeting rooms can accommodate groups of 10 and 25.

"It's a great place for a first date--and then a wedding party," smiles Koepplin, a Pennsylvania native who had her own restaurant wedding party three years ago after spending a romantic first date there with her future husband.

Koepplin, Epster and most of the bar and waitstaff have worked together since the beginning--10 years ago when the old building across from the Town Plaza was converted to a restaurant after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Built at the turn of the century, the mostly brick structure has been owned by Robert and Muriel Brouwer since 1950, when they turned what had been a Bank of America into Village Floor Coverings. That business still operates as Accent on Rugs in an annex behind the restaurant.

Only the restaurant owners are new: since 1996 Sam Arnold and then his son Wendell--owners of insurance companies in Newark in the East Bay--have overseen the corporation, serving as restaurant proprietors and buying out a previous owner.

"It's the same kitchen and same staff," says Koepplin, clearing up the confusion created when the restaurant had to apply for a new liquor license after Wendell took over upon Sam's death. "I make it run as I always did," she notes.

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Ristorante Valeriano, 160 W. Main St., Los Gatos. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Sun. 5-11 p.m. (One day's advance notice required for tiramisu take-out orders). 354-8108.

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