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Seared and pureed, poached and braised – the tasting menu at Los Altos’ newest restaurant reads like an encyclopedia of culinary technique.

Beginning in late June, 30 diners will have the opportunity to take a 10- to 14-course tour of the eating world each evening at Ambience, opening at 140 State St.

Photo Courtesy Of Derek Wolfgram

Derek Wolfgram samples six different beers brewed with barbecue-smoked malts at the Sudzers/Slow Hand BBQ Beer Competition.

With the availability of such outstanding craft beers on the market these days, people often ask why homebrewers would go to the trouble of brewing their own beer.

Reasons vary. Some brewers enjoy crafting recipes to create a certain flavor profile. Others enjoy the engineering challenges of tinkering with equipment to streamline processes or increase production efficiency. Many enjoy taking pride in a handcrafted product to share with friends and family.

Photo Courtesy Of Eve Hill-Agnus

Toss herbs with pasta or on potatoes, or simply immerse them in hot water for a spring tea.

Every night, my mother plucks from her garden a handful of herbs that add bursts of flavor to her salad. It’s a reminder that big, generous basil leaves and curly tufts of parsley don’t have to be mere garnish.

If you love the idea of fresh herbs but don’t always know how to use that fragrant fistful, following are ideas for a spring awakening with herbs like tarragon, mint, oregano and thyme.

Photo Photos By Eliza Ridgeway/Town Crier

Get ’em while they last – the asparagus and sweet peas of springtime are filling the stalls of the Los Altos Farmers’ Market this month.

Far West Fungi, new this year, carries specialty items like bright pink and yellow oyster mushrooms, natural tropical variations on the usually brown fungus.

Far West founder Toby Garrone, above right, suggests shaving the yellow mushrooms over an arugula salad and cooking the pink in an omelette.

Photo Courtesy Of Monica Sircar

Defanged, nettles cook up into a bright-green soup.

If you have a taste for danger, try taming a defensive yet delicious green – the stinging nettle.

Stinging nettle is an edible wild plant found throughout North America and Europe. Its namesake characteristic comes from thin, hairlike tubes covering the leaves and stems, which deliver a potent sting to careless handlers.

Photo Eliza Ridgeway/Town Crier Steins Beer Garden founder and beer-picker Ted Kim pulls a pint at the bar last week. He stocks more than 30 draught beers.

Craft beer is flowing in Mountain View these days – a shop opened last year, Jane’s Beer Store, sources unusual bottles from around the world, and SteakOut has been serving up burgers and draft beer at the intersection of Castro and California streets for the past year and a half. Aiming even bigger, a new locale opened two weeks ago in a sprawling space just down the street as an expansive American spin on the European beer garden.

General manager Ted Kim dreamed up Steins Beer Garden at 895 Villa St. as something of a temple to good beer. He experienced European beer culture as having a leisurely, amiable spirit that values the setting, and the story, behind the drink.

Photo Courtesy Of Alley Burger HouseMarty Cattaneo, new chef for The Alley Burger House, plans to develop a menu that features a high-quality burger that’s “set apart from the rest.”

Construction begins on Alley Burger House

Within the gutted building that once housed Beausejour’s French cuisine at 170 State St., a burger joint is rising.

The Alley Burger House aims to invent a new kind of hybrid experience – a subterranean speak-easy-style cocktail bar with top-shelf drinks for grownups; an upscale restaurant and milkshake bar for all ages; and a play area with bowling lanes, a karaoke stage and a climbing wall for youngsters.

Photo Photos Courtesy Of Blanche Shaheen Top hummus with sauted mushrooms, parsley and pine nuts for a vegan, nutrient-rich dinner and serve with pita bread at any meal.

You can watch a video guide on making this recipe, hosted by Blanche in her Los Altos kitchen.

When I was a child, I remember getting strange looks from my classmates when I brought my hummus sandwiches to school.

“What is that weird beige stuff in your sandwich?” wide-eyed children would ask time and again.

Photo Courtesy Of Collective Roots Chard is among Collective Roots’ seedlings for sale Saturday.

Spring greens are sprouting for local gardeners at Collective Roots’ 2013 Annual Heirloom Seedling Sale, scheduled 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at De Martini Orchard, 66 N. San Antonio Road.

Proceeds from the sale support Collective Roots, an East Palo-based nonprofit group that sponsors garden-based learning programs. The seedlings are from the organization’s greenhouse.