Rob Fischer has another hit on his hands. Fischer is a local restaurateur who owns the Palo Alto Creamery and Reposado, an upscale regional Mexican restaurant across the street from the old-school diner. Last month, he opened Scratch, a fine-dining American restaurant in downtown Mountain View.

Peruvian cuisine sounds exotic, but at least as far as it’s expressed in Silicon Valley, it’s quite tame. There’s a lot of meat and potatoes, and rice and beans; often all on the same plate. It many ways, it resembles Spanish food, with paella-like dishes, grilled and fried seafood and stewed meats.

People often ask where I get my ideas for restaurants. The answer is everywhere—word of mouth, suggestions from friends and colleagues and simply walking into places that look intriguing. The story about how I found Tu Mero Mole, a Mexican restaurant I review in this week’s issue, is a little more involved.

Tue Mero Mole sits just off Union Avenue on a side-street minimall between Cambrian Go Carts and the Nowhere Bar and Grill. Inside there are bright lime and terra cotta walls and only a half-dozen tables or so. And chances are those tables will be full, because word has gotten out about this little gem.

We are lucky to live in such a bountiful state. Where else can you taste wine from three different local wineries, eat incredible cheese then finish the week with rare Bordeaux brought directly from France? Some might call us spoiled, yet it’s just another week of food and wine events in the Silicon Valley. Jan 12-19.

Andrea Blum learned fresco painting from a man who once served as the assistant to Diego Rivera. She was living in Italy then, also apprenticing to master cheesemakers. She worked as a decorative painter at the same time creating a cooking school in Tuscany. She graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism, focusing her reporting on food issues. Wherever she goes, whatever she’s doing, art and food are tightly intertwined.

Kaygetsu is not only one of Silicon Valley’s best Japanese restaurants, it’s one of the best restaurants period. The restaurant specializes in kaiseki-style cooking, a visually stunning, technically demanding school of Japanese cuisine served in multiple courses. But that’s not what this review is about; it’s about sushi, really great sushi. This restaurant within a restaurant is one of Silicon Valley’s premier, if lesser-known sushi destinations.

Stay true to resolutions for a healthier New Year with a macrobiotic dinner on Monday, then break all the rules with sake bombs on Tuesday, Singaporean delicacies on Wednesday, Fresh Pasta on Thursday and a happy hour on Friday. It’s yet another week of food and wine events. January 8-16.

Some of the best meals I ate in 2010 were at Baume, Chez TK, Chinjin Eastern House, Bistro Elan, Evvia, Madera, Alexander’s Steakhouse, and Flea Street Cafe.