Rustic. Simple. Unadorned. None of these words apply to the dishes coming out of the kitchen at Café Vivant. Helmed by executive chef Jared Wentworth and chef de cuisine Emily Phillips, a meal at this Menlo Park restaurant redefines and updates the term “New Age” for the 2020s.

As a dining experience, Café Vivant is an evolutionary step forward. There are nods to culinary practices from the past, from sauce and sauté work to reductions and deconstructions. The old recipes and techniques have been studied, examined, and then reconceived until they reach an unassailable level of excellence. Mistakes either aren’t taking place or they’re intercepted and destroyed before they make it into the dining room.

I’m not suggesting that the chefs favor, or err, on the side of a cerebral approach. Ra

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