Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Kathie Stark offers a taste of chardonnay at the Big Basin Bistro, which she and her husband, Dan, own.

Things come together at the Big Basin Bistro

By Suzanne Cristallo

Local vintners, wine aficionados, party-givers and just plain hungry folks are visiting Big Basin Bistro in Saratoga these days to take advantage of what Kathie and Dan Stark have created.

Their tapas bar has become a kind of meeting house for lovers of fine wines and good food. It's a place where Dan will help plan a dinner menu for patrons around special wines, where local wines made by small vintners can be tasted and where lunch can be enjoyed while learning about the features of new wine issues.

The Starks recently purchased the building that houses their Bistro, a tapas bar they have operated since 1993, and the restaurant next door, La Dolce Vita. A symbiotic relationship has grown between the separately owned establishments, which encourages neighborly exchanges.

"Sometimes their customers want to try one of our wines and will take a bottle over there to enjoy with dinner," Dan Stark observes. "And sometimes our customers will ask to have one of their entrées sent over here. I also work with their chef so we can get desserts from their menu. It's a very nice relationship."

The Starks offer 400 different wines--both local and worldwide--through a wine shop on the premises and conduct tastings of regional wines every Thursday evening. They just completed a series on zinfandels that lasted three months.

While tapas--or appetizers--are served to enhance the flavor of the wines and a number of beers the Starks pour, the couple places more emphasis on the variety of foods they offer and the size of the portions.

"Our menu has changed and involves more lunches and early evening meals," Stark notes. Five kinds of cheese--gouda, asiago, two super-sharp cheddars and a double gloucester--have joined the oysters presently in season, spicy sausage and crab cakes, the biggest seller. Kathie Stark serves as both manager and chef.

Previously the co-founder and manager of a chain of medical clinics, she became involved in the Bistro when they first opened as "The Best" in Aptos several years ago. When the person hired to prepare the food did not work out, Kathie plunged into the operation full time while Dan continued to run his risk-management business. They closed the Aptos location in 1992, reorganized over the next 11 months and reopened in Saratoga in 1993 as Big Basin Bistro.

Residents of Aptos, the Starks decided five years ago to plant a vineyard on 1 1/2 acres of their property. They planted two varieties--syrah, an ancient grape originating in the Near East more than 3,000 years ago, and mouvedre, a French strain probably of Spanish origin. Two years ago the young vines produced their first fruit and last year, their first crush.

"We have some loaded vines this year," Dan says of the more than one-ton crop he is planning to bottle and offer under his own label at the Bistro, probably in time for Christmas. "This is an example of how all parts of the business come together at our place," he adds.

Big Basin Bistro, 14480 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Open by 1 p.m. Wed.-Sun. Last call at 11 p.m. on Wed., Fri. and Sat., with last calls Thu. at 9 p.m. and Sun. at 6 p.m. Closed Mon. and Tues. 867-1764.

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