If you could take a bite of Tomales Bay, what would be the taste of its foggy mornings and coastal dunes, its briny waters, the exhalations of its wildlife?
What would be the flavor of the dank, primeval aliveness of the redwoods at Nisene Marks State Park or Mount Lassen’s now-hushed, fire-seething volcanic landscape?
For chef Julian Silvera, a New York kid who never even saw the forest for himself until he was in his 20s, they are singularly distinctive—edible snapshots that form the musculature of his work at the new fine dining restaurant Vicinity in Los Gatos.
Tomales Bay Bloom and Fog with skate, ogo beurre blanc, fermented gooseberries, and caviar(Jesse Cudworth)
Silvera’s been here since 2023, running the kitchen at Tasting House (368 Village Ln.), a wine bar and bistro tucked into the little town at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains. But there were others that came first (including New York’s Alder, Jones Wood Foundry, and Luthun, and Orlando’s Michelin-starred Knife & Spoon), shaping his point of view both as a chef and as an individual.
The 13-course menu at Vicinity is an autobiography of that journey, each dish a literal and figurative representation of places and memories from both coasts.
Santa Cruz—a pistil of abalone around which wrap petals of scallop cured in bay laurel oil, Indonesian sambal layered underneath like soil—is served on a 45-lb. stone imprinted with the phantoms of fossilized sea creatures Silvera found while on a nine-mile hike. He was so taken with the rock, the way it encapsulated a region that’s both ancient and ever-changing, he packed it out himself.
Pacifica captures Silvera’s first crab fishing excursion, one that ended with a bite at what’s got to be the most beautiful Taco Bell in the country. The crustacean-shaped tostada, stuffed with Dungeness crab and scallop mousseline and served on a tiny crab trap, is made with blue corn masa and dressed in Silvera’s rendition of a pico de gallo and yuzu kosho beer foam.
NYC Delicatessen is served on a 3D-printed map of the neighborhood in which chef Silvera grew up.(Jesse Cudworth)
Though their ingredients hail from the more than 30 local farms with which Vicinity works, these dishes aren’t exactly California cuisine. They are, instead, says Silvera, “California through the lens of somebody from New York.”
That New York upbringing is presented in NYC Delicatessen, teeny-tiny everything bagels filled with Bodega Bay smoked salmon, perched on a 3D-printed representation of the neighborhood in which Silvera grew up, and served with pastrami floss. Accompanied by other New York ephemera (a deli check, a coffee cup), it’s arguably the most playful of the courses.
Narratives like this one or Half Moon Bay—a bite of uni, mussels, and calamari served with ice cream cone-and-anchovy “sand” and avocado-bergamot purée that arrives on a bespoke tray layered with a spiral of mussel shells found on Silvera’s first foraging expedition—bring main-character energy to Vicinity’s elegant, lightly curated space.
The 16-seat restaurant-within-a-restaurant(Jesse Cudworth)
A restaurant hidden within a restaurant, guests enter the small, 16-seat room through the wine cellar. On one side is a stone wall where a sideboard stands topped with a brilliantly colored stuffed pheasant; on another is a crackling fireplace that casts a subtle glow on neutral cloth-draped tables and green chairs the color of vegetation.
Along with the 13-course food menu ($195/per person), Vicinity offers two wine pairings, one from Northern and Central California purveyors ($120/per person), the other from international makers ($145/per person). Bottles and a full bar are also available, as well as supplemental a la carte courses.
Silvera’s autobiographical journey ends in San Jose’s Japantown, with delicious, sweet-savory black sesame mochi donuts served with matcha ice cream, followed by Fare Thee Well, a wooden fortress crowned with an Earl Grey scone, an oolong salted caramel, an osmanthus jelly, and a moat of chamomile flan.
Full of unexpected flavor combinations and stunning presentations, impeccable ingredients and laudable interpretations of place and time, Vicinity is an odyssey worth taking—one that’s likely to ultimately land executive chef Julian Silvera right at Michelin’s doorstep.
// Vicinity is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm to 10pm; 368 Village Ln. (Los Gatos), vicinitycalifornia.com
The final Fare Thee Well dessert course at Vicinity (Jesse Cudworth)
