Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen

Cindy Pawlcyn has been involved in the creation of over a dozen new restaurants in the Bay Area including, Fog City Diner, Bix, Roti, Betelnut, Buckeye Roadhouse and Tra Vigne. Her latest creation is Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena.



Roasted Artichoke, lemon & chervil-tarragon aioli


Rabbit Tostada, red chile salsa, black beans & feta


Pablo’s Pollo Loco, chopped avocado salsa & stuffed green chile



Duck enchilada special

Kitchen Filming

Most days in the kitchen start out the same, turning on the hood system, firing up the grill and ovens, going through the coolers and reachins, etc. But not today, today it began with cameras hanging from the ceiling, lighting galore, a spiderweb of wiring and monitors, wireless mikes and of course the mandatory makeup to compensate for the irregular complexion shared by most people who cook for a living.

We shot a series of instruction cooking videos. These videos were more about ideas instead of exacting recipes. They're geared toward the avid home cook.

Setting up for the day


Any closer and he'd be on the cutting board

Olive Oil Ice Cream

As our summer experiments with frozen dessert development continues we find ourselves pushing the envelope. Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin, Michael Laiskonis, is the catalyst for the basic idea of using olives, basil and olive oil as a dessert match. His Workbook site is a creative source that tempers thought provoking ideas with the formulations of a scientist.

Of course, with this idea, like any good idea, we began to expand the parameters and move beyond the base idea and traditional thinking as we approached these desserts.

Fromage Blanc Ice Cream Infused with Basil & Olive Oil
Mediterranean olive “cannoli”, strawberries, mangos, dark cherries, julienne of basil.


Black Olive “Taco” Tuile
Seasonal fruit, basil and olive oil infused fromage blanc ice cream, mango puree.

Fruit Compote with Mango Coulis

Olive oil-basil ice cream, black olive tuile with orange zest.

Passion Fruit Ice

This simple passion fruit granite is a quick dessert or intermezzo for the summer. Passion fruit >> strain pulp >> add adjusted version of simple syrup >> freeze >> "Rake" often during the freezing process with a fork to produce large pieces of "Ice".

Artisan Chocolates & Port

A simple ending to a meal. Five Christopher Elbow chocolates with a 20 year port.

Venezuelan Dark, Tanzanie, Strawberry-Balsamic Caramel, Bourbon Pecan and Yuzu.