Fans of Bistro Rustico will like this news: The European-Mediterranean restaurant at Palm and Bullard avenues has added a lounge, lengthened its hours and expanded its menu to include pastries, cookies, cakes and more breads, co-owner and chef Varouj Kachichian says.
"Everything is made from scratch," says Kachichian, whose repertoire includes chocolate cake, wedding cakes, Italian cheesecake and a vegan cake that's "almost like a fruitcake."
The restaurant, which was limited to lunches and dinners, is now open 7:30 a.m.- 10:30 p.m, Tuesdays- Fridays and 2-10:30 p.m. Saturdays.
Breakfast offerings introduced last week include plain and filled croissants, brioche, quiches and muffins. Lunches still are served 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and dinners 5-9:30 p.m., but the lounge stays open throughout the day. In the morning, customers can enjoy their breakfast pastries and coffee from the lounge's sofas. Later in the day, the lounge features wine and appetizers.
If you want to check out the additions, head to Bistro Rustico's open house 5-10 p.m. today. Wines and hors d'oeuvres will be served in the banquet room. The event is free. Call (559) 440-9603 for more information.
Also, on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, Bistro Rustico sells its pastries and breads from the Vineyard farmers market at Blackstone and Shaw avenues. The restaurant helps fill the hole left by Thierry's European Bakery, which used to sell brioche and made-to-order crepes until co-owner Tina Phelipot came down with respiratory illnesses and exhaustion. Thierry's pulled out of the market a month ago, but its treats still are available at its Bullard and Marks location. Call (559) 435-6795 for more information.
Also notable this weekend is The Cross Church's beerock fundraiser. For more than 40 years, the church has sold these pastries filled with beef, onions and cabbage.
Orders must be placed in advance, so if you want some beerocks, call (559) 222-3700 today. A batch of six costs $13; a dozen is $25. If the church sells out, call again in May or November. (The church makes beerocks three times a year.)
These pastries are popular: The church at Palm and Gettysburg avenues will sell 12,000 to 14,000 beerocks 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
It's a far cry from years ago, when volunteers made a few thousand at a time, says Dorothy Stumpf, the fundraiser's organizer. In the old days, the volunteers butchered their own beef and chopped their own onions. Now, thanks to J&D FoodService, the church can buy large, boneless chunks of meat as well as diced onions.
Even with these conveniences and better machinery, making so many beerocks still is a large production, Stumpf says. The fun starts Thursday, when volunteers cook the beef with bay leaves and shred the cabbage.
Starting as early as 5:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, teams of volunteers will work in shifts. Some will sauté cabbage and onions, then mix in the meat. Others will bring in 2,000 pounds of bread dough from Simpson's Bakery at Bullard and West avenues. Then there are the tasks of dividing the dough, rolling it out, adding the filling, pinching the beerocks shut and baking them -- as well as placing them in boxes and selling them to customers.
All told, it will take about 80 volunteers to fill this weekend's orders, Stumpf says. And here's the cool part: Children as young as 12 help in the kitchen. With the church elders passing on the tradition, there's a good chance we'll get to buy beerocks for the next 40 years and beyond.
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