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Why has Chef-owner Rodney Worth added “pear” to the names of three of his four restaurants?
The clue was hanging on the wall of The Bourbon Pear in Livermore.
“At one time, the entire Bishop Ranch in San Ramon housed the largest Bartlett pear orchard in the world,” said Worth. The walls of Bourbon Pear in Livermore feature vintage posters of Calif. pear ranches.
San Ramon’s pear past resonated with East Bay native Worth. A man with many interests including history and building construction, he opened The Peasant and The Pear in San Ramon in 2004. Soon he relocated it to a corner building in Danville, which he noted had a European sensibility.
“I build the menu around each restaurant’s building. The food served in Danville is influenced by France and Italy,” said Worth. His French onion soup with a crusty cheese skirt on the rim and chicken piccata are classics. The most popular flatbread pizza is the Parma, marinara, prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula.
The Bourbon Pear opened in Livermore in early 2023 in a First St. building with a stamped, patterned ceiling. The ambiance reminded Worth of eateries in New Orleans with the same architectural elements and food that he loves. Inspired by the surroundings and his mother’s Mississippi heritage, he added Southern touches to the menu. Hush puppies with cinnamon honey-butter, shrimp and grits, a fried catfish entrees and catfish po’boy sandwich pepper the list.
Pear food and drink creations appear at all The Worth Group restaurants including The Little Pear in Walnut Creek and The Courtyard Peasant in Alamo. The pear quesadilla is a grilled flour tortilla filled with pear and brie accompanied by house-made pear chutney. A throwback dish is the New York white cheddar fondue—served with pear slices and bread.
Worth projects a humble attitude. When asked about his favorite foods, he replied, “Italian burrata cheese, my mother’s cornbread stuffing, and Grandmom’s tomato sauce.” At The Peasant’s Courtyard, his smaller, breakfast and lunch only café, he named bacon-stuffed pancakes with two eggs, the Lumberjack Stack.
The chef often eschews the fancy for the local and offers weekday fair pricing options. At Bourbon Pear, the burrata Caprese starter is topped with local Olivina extra virgin olive oil from Livermore; the lamb shank simmers in Rubino Estates Winery Barbera from Pleasanton. At Bourbon Pear, the all day Monday options are a $10 meal of grilled cheese with smoked tomato soup or a $5 Wheatley vodka martini. Every Tuesday is Fat Tuesday with $8 hurricane cocktails featuring fresh juices and/or a $15 meal of gumbo with chicken and sausage.
Worth’s first job was at the Taco Bell near the exit of the San Mateo Bridge. Always fond of cooking, people told him not to be a chef, which meant working nights and weekends. For a few years, he worked as a hi-tech mechanic for Applied Materials in Santa Clara.
Working in noisy clean rooms with face masked co-workers did not appeal to him long term. At 26, he became a serious, “older student” at Diablo Valley College (DVC). He stayed late, creating his own mustards, barbecue sauce, and canning produce. His first professional kitchen was at Wente Vineyards while at DVC. Later he learned gourmet French cooking at then acclaimed Bizou in San Francisco. Soon after opening in Danville, he garnered Diablo Magazine’s Best East Bay Chef award in 2008.
What about the bourbon?
“Livermore needed a good bourbon and whiskey bar. I sell twice as much bourbon here as Danville,” said Worth. Old Fashioneds and Barrel Aged Manhattans are popular. Worth’s whiskey sour is also renowned.
Worth’s culinary training shows up at the bar. The most popular call in Livermore is the Pear-tini (pear martini), Focused on quality ingredients, Worth went on a fruitless hunt for pear-infused vodka. He eventually contacted the owners of Wild Root Vodka in Ore. about making a pear vodka, and they obliged.
To enhance the pear flavor, Worth avoids buying commercial purée mixes to build the vodka drink. His kitchen team prepares the pear purée by poaching the pears in Chardonnay and then adding a bit of lemon juice to the mix. The freshness and full pear flavor of the cocktail is testament to Worth’s recipe.
Sipping his Manhattan, my friend Joss expressed delight at the delicious cherry garnish. Worth told us that he buys Bing cherries in season and cans them.
I asked my friend Jane Durant from Livermore about her Bourbon Pear favorites. She gave me a long, well-liked list: fondue, hush puppies, grilled cheese, the Grand Mère sandwich, Wente Cabernet Braised Beef Short ribs, the Black and Blue salad, and Bourbon bread pudding.
At a recent dinner, I dove into the hush puppies and shrimp and grits, favorite Southern comfort foods from my years on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When asked about the excellent Bourbon chicken, Worth said, “I can’t eat or serve cheap chicken and only use Mary’s organic, free range chickens. I also add a touch of Jack Daniels to the sauce for added flavor; the alcohol dissipates during cooking.”
As he cut into the lamb shank, Joss recalled a good The Peasant and The Pear memory. His daughter, in a young, fussy eating stage, ate creamy artichoke soup for the first time. This was a happy, hopeful family moment that she would explore more foods.
In the summer, I feasted on the generous portion of the fried chicken salad with fresh corn peeking through. My friend Monica and I ordered several entrées to allow for leftovers. The large, well-seasoned shrimp Louis salad arrived with warm, plump seafood and the crispy onions I requested. The big mound of Cajun chicken pasta was later demolished by her husband.
The pumpkin bread pudding and pear tart are fine finishes to a meal.
Evoking Worth’s first name, the Rodzilla burger is a big, eight-ounce American Wagyu version from famed Snake River Farms with crispy onions, barbecue sauce, cheddar, and bacon. The chef proclaimed that he is not a “pie crust person” that matches my preference. I look forward to his pecan pie in a jar.
I asked Worth about his role as restaurateur. “I like the cooking, menu development, tweaking the recipes, opening the restaurants, and most of all, developing staff,” said the chef. An addition to the team may be his son who is studying at culinary school in Santa Barbara.
We don’t know if Worth’s next restaurant is named a pear. But the chef shared that he wants to establish a seafood house. His group may soon cover the entire Tri-Valley. Expect pear quesadillas on the menu.
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