Khaki: San Ramon Mall a New Destination for Indian Cuisine in the East Bay’s Bishop Ranch | Eater SF

"Set in City Center Bishop Ranch at a former Curry Up Now address, this Indian bar and canteen from the teams behind Curry Up Now and Michelin Guide–approved Tiya pairs co-owner Akash Kapoor with chefs and brothers Sujan and Pujan Sarkar (Sujan took Chicago’s Indienne to a Michelin star) to deliver comfort food with fine-dining technique and personal memories of eating and living in India. A seasonally rotating menu aims to survey the country, with opening dishes like a Calcutta-style jackfruit cutlet, dry-aged beef nodding to coastal Karnataka, clay-pot Champaran mutton from Bihar, Bengali fish paturi steamed in banana leaf with assertive mustard, plus chaat and other street snacks. The name reclaims “khaki” (from the Urdu word for soil), and the look and feel channel the ’60s–’70s era of post-colonial India’s bright, zany colors; a 14-seat bar follows suit with a truffle-and-goat-cheese Negroni served with a cracker, a grapefruit–tequila paloma riff built on Bengal’s panch phoron, and a cocktail relying on clarified vanilla ice cream, basil, yuzu, and elderflower. The goal is a familiar community hangout serving “honest” food rather than a special-occasion classroom; dinner runs 4–9 p.m. Monday–Friday and until 10 p.m. on weekends, with lunch to follow, and opening night is Thursday, July 31." - Paolo Bicchieri