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Diane Sturla, the head chef at San Juan Oaks’ newly-opened 36º North, has come a long way since her first attempt at cooking, a nearly failed batch of peanut butter cookies she and a friend made when they were in the Girl Scouts. Sturla’s mother spotted their mistake: they used tablespoons when the recipe called for teaspoons.
“She had us triple the rest of the ingredients,” Sturla said. “We had a giant batch, which my mother had us give away for not following directions. We didn’t get to keep any, but she did let us both try one.”
After years of cooking for family and friends, Sturla ended up running a catering business and hired a chef undergoing recovery—who turned out to be a Michelin-starred chef. (“There are always chefs in recovery,” Sturla said.) From there, Sturla opened a restaurant and continued hiring chefs who knew more about cooking than she did.
“Every single time, I hired people who could teach me something,” she said. “I still do it to this day —I did it when I opened this place.”
Through various twists and turns, she ended up as a chef in a Morgan Hill restaurant—Sturla declines to say which one—but thought she could do more in the profession. She came for an interview when she heard that San Juan Oaks was looking for a chef.
“I sat on the patio and looked out at the golf course,” she said. “It just gives me this feeling that I was at home and that this is where I belong.”
The panoramic view of the golf course is only one of the charms of 36º North, which, with its companion cafe, McCann’s, was re-imagined from a space previously used as a banquet hall. The restaurant features high ceilings and a spacious dining area punctuated by a centrally placed and very real-looking artificial olive tree.
“It is a nod to the orchard at the front entry to the property,” said James Kellogg, the food and beverage director for San Juan Oaks. “I think there should be a little trap door with a little Keebler Elf.”
If the elf never appears, it is probably because Kellogg is too busy with the rest of his job: hiring the chefs and staff, ordering the wine and liquor inventory (heavy on local wineries), overseeing the service, and taking care of all the technical aspects, such as deciding on the capacity for weddings and other special events.
“The idea was to create an upscale dinner restaurant to service the new community that is being built next door,” he said, “and to give Hollister residents and people beyond something a bit more upscale than what is currently out there.”
Kellogg said the old space had become a bit tired, and the new restaurant was designed with an eye toward sophistication without pretense.
“Ambience and comfort are big parts of dining,” he said. “We wanted a special occasion location where you could look out over the grass and hills instead of being in town and looking at the streets and parking areas.”
As with every restaurant, it always comes down to the food, and one of the more impressive aspects of the menu is how it name-checks local food producers with almost every item.
“I love farmers markets,” Sturla said. “The farmers put their life and soul into what they do, and it’s what I do for my cooking, so it resonates with me. It becomes a sense of responsibility on my part to support them, especially if I am cooking in-season.”
Sturla said her contemporary American menu is an effort to build a bridge for her customers between the better restaurants in the area and the truly fine dining experience she intends to offer at 36º North.
“We are taking familiar things and playing with them in ways people might not have seen before,” she said. “Usually, a rack of lamb is served with mint jelly, but I use an African harissa spice blend and a mint sour cream sauce, then serve it with seared cabbage. It is just a little on the different side.”
Similarly, the watermelon soup Sturla developed with her son when she first started catering takes a unique turn with the addition of a salt-cured scallop, an ingredient not seen on many menus. Made with Pinnacle Farms watermelon cooked sous-vide, lemongrass, cilantro and lime, the concentrated flavor is given even more punch with the addition of black lava salt.
The signature dish is the 20 oz bone-in ribeye steak, served with horseradish cream, caramelized cippolini onions, potato gratin, and compound butter.
“I started off with a smaller ribeye,” Sturla said, “and ownership said, ‘Yeah, it’s good.’ But when I switched to the 20 oz., they said, ‘That’s it. That’s what we want.’ It is sharable, but I have seen several grown men eat a whole one since we opened. So apparently, it’s not as big as I think it is.”
The compound butter deserves its own mention. As served with the dinner rolls, it is whipped and infused with honey, garlic and black salt. Kellogg said that customers are already asking for takeaway containers of the stuff, and it is not hard to understand why. It is a pure joy—imagine something tasting like the smell of fresh spring rain and you are close. It is a small detail, but it indicates the care that goes into every aspect of the menu.
“I think Julia Child said it best,” Sturla said. “She said, ‘You really don’t need to do much if you start with good, fresh ingredients.’ We will take what is in season and just elevate it a little. The customer shouldn’t have to stop and think, ‘That’s pretty good.’ You want them to take that first bite and think, ‘Perfect.’”
Besides a great view and fine dining, 36º North offers indulgent customer service, something Kellogg learned was critical when he was breaking into the industry as a busboy at a Pebble Beach restaurant.
“Nobody was paying much attention to a couple on their anniversary,” he said. “I added all the little touches I could, and they told me, ‘We hardly saw our waiter, but you made this a night we will remember.’ There is an immediate gratification when you know you have given good service.”
Dining at San Juan Oaks’ 36º North
Bruschetta ($17) – This appetizer spotlights Swank Farms’ heirloom tomatoes, which are diced and mixed with Kalamata olives and garlic. Served with herb-and-black-pepper-crusted goat cheese and crostini, it is a perfect balance of flavors, with the restrained proportion of olives offering just enough saltiness to bring out all the tart sweetness of the tomatoes. I suspect I could have eaten a bowl of that mix on its own.
Swank Farms tomatoes are also used in the Grilled Cantaloupe Caprese ($17), a mix of LJB Farms cantaloupe, heirloom tomatoes, burrata and basil, topped with a peach vinaigrette and basil oil. It sounds refreshing and is on my must-try list for my next visit.
Arancini ($16) – “My sous chef brought me this recipe,” Sturla said. “He makes risotto like nobody I have ever seen.” Three deep-fried parmesan risotto balls are served with a coulis made from Pinnacle Farms red peppers and extra virgin olive oil, then sprinkled with black pepper and micro basil. The risotto is tender but firm, the coulis has a warm and piquant taste, and the greens give the whole dish a bright accent.
Steak Diane ($64) – For years, a standard of continental cuisine, this was my favorite of the dishes I tried. It reminded me of the version I used to order at a Gold Rush-era restaurant in San Francisco, where servers cooked it table-side in tuxedos. Sadly, that location is now a McDonalds, but this version brought back fond memories. Sturla uses a grilled 8 oz Certified Black Angus filet mignon and serves it with mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, fried oyster mushrooms, and cognac sauce. The steak was perfectly cooked to a fork-tender medium rare, and the rich sauce complimented it nicely.
Short Ribs ($36) – Made with red wine braised Certified Black Angus beef short ribs, it is served with mashed potatoes and a demi-glaze, then topped with fresh herbs. It is a deceptively straightforward dish but very satisfying. The meat is full of flavor and fall-apart tender and the sauce is rich and complex—comfort food at its finest.
Apricot Chicken ($28) – “We used sustainably raised chicken from Mary’s Free Range,” Sturla said, “It’s just kind of a fun dish.” The airline chicken breast is served with a parmesan risotto. The whole dish is slathered with B&R Farms apricot demi-glace for a restrained flavor and sweetness, avoiding overwhelming the chicken’s delicate taste. If you love apricots, this is a must-try.
Pavlova ($14) – 36º North’s desserts are made by pastry chef Laura Zorro, and I chose the Pavlova, if for no other reason than I had not seen a Pavolva on a menu for a long time. A snowflake-shaped meringue is placed on a gelled apricot veil and then covered in Chantilly cream. Topped with a scoop of passion fruit sorbet, the dessert is plated with dots of mango ganache. It is an elegant dessert: the meringue is sweet and crunchy, the sorbet is boldly fruity, the Chantilly is smooth and light, and every bite is a delight.
36º North
Thursday through Saturday: 5:30-9:00 p.m. Reservations required.
(Closed Sunday – Wednesday)
McCann’s
Sunday – Thursday: kitchen 11-6, bar 10-7
Friday – Saturday: kitchen 11-7, bar 10-8
36º North and McCanns are located at San Juan Oaks, 1996 San Juan Oaks Rd, Hollister
Readers may email recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
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