Christina Waters

It was almost as if it had never closed. The crowd, the smooth flow of service from exhibition kitchen to full bar to packed dining room — Oswald was back and on Day Two was producing flawless meals to a packed house of overjoyed fans.
A modest opening menu, long on the brasserie-style, unfussy, flavor-intensive classics regulars had come to adore from Oswald’s heyday, did chef Damani Thomas and his crew of veterans proud. Most of the staff were the crème de la crème of area service professionals, including many from the original team. Manager Keet Beck made sure no glass was empty, and no table unattended and frankly it was a very impressive reimergence after nearly two years on the sidelines.

While some of us worried about the new location in the corner of a parking garage at the very tip of Soquel and Front, the opening week put that to rest. More…

Desserts were all excellent, including a textbook crème brulée, a sexy molten chocolate torte and a superb almond cake (seen here) topped with vanilla ice cream. And since the new Oswald has a full bar, we were able to enjoy adult digestifs like Fernet Branca with our after-dinner espresso.

Prices? Modest - most entrées $22, and appetizers averaging $10. Low enough to seduce a flourishing brasserie clientele. The wine list, with a small, fine listing of Italian and French varietals as well as California premiums, was also priced encouragingly. The bread - remember just how amazing the Oswald bread and its dense chewy crust always was? — the bread was up to our memories.

Get thee to Oswald immediately and taste what we’ve all missed for the past two years. Oswald - 121 Soquel Avenue @ Front Street - 831/423-7427.

Now here’s chardonnay intriguing enough to appeal even to diehard red wine lovers like me.

It’s the mighty Varner Santa Cruz Mountains, Spring Ridge Vineyard - Home Block - Chardonnay 2006. Yes it is a long name for a wine, but since winemakers Bob and Jim Varner also create several other very tasty chardonnays, the designation requires lots of specifics. Highly acclaimed by all the usual suspects — Robert Parker is a huge fan — this wine will take you for a better quality spin than you’re probably used to.

This very lightly oaked 14.3% creation is made from Portola Valley grapes. Actually, it’s only on the second day that the oak peeks through the firm mineral center.

Fraught with depth and tightly coiled, the Home Block chard is a Kundalini of a wine, offering cascades of kumquat, chalk, apricot and white pepper. More…

Big, bold, loaded with expressionistic energy, the paintings of Arthur Osver are currently on exhibit at Winfield Gallery in Carmel. Janus Red – 80” x 54” (shown here) and The Return, 67” x 52” (see below) are two prime examples of this painter’s mastery of gesture and color. More of Osver’s lavish oil paintings are on view at Winfield Gallery. Time for a visit to Carmel.
Winfield Gallery is located in central Carmel on Dolores between Ocean and 7th. 831/624-3369

Over at Capitola Book Cafe it’s a whole new world of cafe culture consciousness. Of course you knew about the lovely pastries and serious espresso drinks, perfect to linger with over the London Financial Times.

But now the lunch and light dinner menu has expanded. And there’s artisanel beer and a nice listing of wines by the glass. Charming staffers aim to please, and everything is tasty!

Here’s the deal: Capitola Book Cafe, still located at 1475 41st Ave. in Capitola (831)462-4415, is open during the holidays with these special offers:

8-10am - 2 for 1 espresso drinks to go

10am-1pm - soup, salad & half sand for $6

6-8pm - free small cheese and fruit plate with purchase of two wine or beer drinks.

And the whole place is open Mon-Sat 8am-10pm (yes, ten at night!), until 8pm on Sunday. I love it!

Nope. Not Jean Genet. It’s restaurateur Paul Cocking (Gabriella Cafe) eating his way through Paris last month, one eponymous restaurant at a time. Blown away by what he tasted, Cocking and his traveling companion Jeannine Bonstelle sampled freely along the Left Bank, the Right Bank and everything in between.

The Ile St-Louis provided this gorgeous dish at a place called Mon Vieil Ami, 69 rue St-Louis-en-l’Ile, 4th. Culinary researcher Bonstelle found the place in Clothilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris. The bistro showcases the cooking of Alsace’s Antoine Westermann - including this gossamer salad of lightly steamed vegetables in broth.

Here’s an example of the Sean Baker all-star line-up of handmade salumi, available to adventurous diners at Gabriella Cafe and at the new Le Cigare Volant cafe at Bonny Doon tasting room on Ingalls Street.

These gorgeous paper-thin specialties taste even better than they look.

Soprasata, prosciutto, coppa, finocchiona, oh my! Taste and you’ll understand why the buzz over salumi.

Lunch last week at downtown Santa Cruz’ Cafe Mare knocked me out - in two ways.

First off the kitchen had just received a huge harvest of fresh porcini mushrooms and was busy turning out a gorgeous variety of daily specials involving the sweet, earthy funghi. My companion and I sampled bruschetta topped (nicely over-the-topped) with melted tallegio and sauteed porcinis. It was incredible!

Another great revelation of the lunch was a bottle of Cumbre Pinot Noir Hicks Family Vineyard 2006, loaded with raspberries and licorice. This gorgeous wine made by Sal Godinez of the Wines of Vine Hill group More…

Yes, chef Giovanni diMaio did deliver what we expected last week at a wonderful Limoncello lunch. I like to use the holidays as an excuse to take my mom and aunt out for lunch, and Limoncello surpassed our hopes. Manicotti with a dreamy ragu, veal piccata with fragrant vegetables — all partnered with glasses of various Italian varietals from the house menu — molto bene. And for dessert, we feasted shamelessly on flawless tiramisu — the kind that’s not-too-sweet yet plush with mascarpone creaminess More…

We did Thanksgiving our way this year, and shared a small, informal, but luxurious meal - with no turkey in sight.

The menu:

fresh cracked Dungeness crab with three dipping sauces

creamy polenta topped with parmesan reggiano

braised bitter greens - mixed sorrel and chard

Veuve Clicquot champagne &
pumpkin pie

The crab - largest, sweetest I’ve ever tasted - was from the mighty Staff of Life. So was the fresh sorrel, which is never available in markets. And I made the pumpkin pie with double the spices, and used whole cream instead of condensed milk. Killer!